“Good morning, Applejack! Congratulations on leveling up!” cheered Minerva, first thing the next morning. “Your transformation skills are level eight, so you can transform every seven minutes. Your Restorative Magic is level five, which means your Heal Spell—which also increased to level three—now restores nine HP. Also, at level five, you can start learning the Antidote Spell. And in addition to those, you learned the Lingam and Fellatio Skills at level one.”

“Great. Two more sex skills.” Applejack sighed to herself.

“Your daily quests have also been renewed, but no new ones.” Minerva added.

“Ah’m sure as hay not gonna do anything with Taki sleeping next to me, no matter how horny Ah might be.” Applejack thought, getting out of the bed. She thought about getting off in the toilet but found it less than conducive to the getting in the mood. So after washing up a bit and checking the wall clock, Applejack headed downstairs for breakfast.

In the dining room, she discovered that breakfast was set up as a buffet. So she grabbed a plate and some silverware and started filling her plate. Mostly, she went with fruit, berries, and scrambled eggs, but she also took a couple slices of toast. She even grabbed a couple slices of bacon, before realizing it probably wasn’t haybacon.

Sitting down, she poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table and decided to try the bacon first. The first bite was…not very good. There was a little bit of sweetness, but it was well hidden by the almost ashy flavor. Applejack ate half the crispy, paper-thin strip of meat, hoping it would get better, but it didn’t. So she drank half a glass of water and moved on.

Applejack had just finished when Taki finally came in. She waited for him to fill his plate and join her.

“Not gonna finish your bacon?” he asked, biting into a piece of his own. “Never mind. This is why I prefer thick-cut. The thin-sliced stuff is too easy to burn. Lucky Flamme’s not picky.” he added, breaking the rest of the slices to test them, then bagging them when they proved just as overdone.

“So what are you planning to do today?” Applejack asked, sliding her plate across the table.

“I need to stop by the Tamer’s Guild and sell some Soul Crystals. Which reminds me…Here.” he said, pulling out and handing over the Giant Fox’s Soul Crystal. “After that, I don’t know. What about you?”

“Ah’m not sure. Ah want to get that canteen, like Ah said before, but Ah don’t know where to look for one.” Applejack said. “Ah also want to replace the couple healing potions Ah used in Woodglen. Ah’ve still got three weak healing potions and a couple antidotes, but better safe than sorry. And Ah’d also like to pick up a book or something else to pass the time when there’s nothing better to do, like yesterday.”

“I don’t know where to find any of that, either.” Taki said. “We should be able to find out at the guild, though. If you want to come with?”

“Sure.” Applejack agreed. While Taki ate, Applejack did some pony—that is, people-watching. Not that there were many people to watch. Two dryad women at one table and a blue-skinned man with animal ears at a second. The dryads were discussing something seriously, frequently raising their voices loud enough for Applejack to hear them clearly. But they were speaking in their native tongue, so despite their volume, Applejack didn’t understand a single word. The Furred Race man was eating quietly, with a book in one hand.

Applejack soon started to wonder where the proprietor was, and eventually got an answer when the dryad came out of the kitchen with a covered tray. A second or two later, Applejack realized that he hadn’t introduced himself last night. She wondered why, but shrugged it off after a moment, figuring it had to do with what time they’d arrived.

When Taki finished, he and Applejack collected Flamme from the courtyard, left through the gate, and headed north, towards the Tamer’s Guild in the Second District. As they walked, Taki explained what the mayor’s aide had told him last night about the districts.

Like most settlements, the near-city had started as a simple village. As it grew, they’d eventually replaced the wooden palisade with the stone wall it had now. And as it had kept growing, they’d had to start building outside the wall, which had of course, necessitated building new walls. The citizens had considered it not worth the effort to tear down the now-redundant sections of wall, merely adding several new gates, instead. As a result, Silberwald had become informally divided into two sections. The old/original village and the new village. The next time the growing town had expanded enough to need new walls, the sections had been officially renamed Original, First, and Second Districts.

“Nowadays, Silberwald has six districts. We’re in the Original District, also known as District 0, right now.” Taki finished, as he and Applejack passed the fifth or sixth small park. Though it was really more of a small grove taking up a corner lot.

Even after just a few minutes of walking, Applejack had noticed the city had more greenery than Ponyville. In fact, now that she actually paid attention, she realized there was something on every block. A stand of small or medium trees here. A grassy alleyway lined with flowers or shrubbery there. The occasional shade-tree tall enough to be visible over buildings. It was very nice, and Applejack wondered if it was a dryad thing, or something more multicultural.

The gate was a little more crowded than the street but passing through wasn’t any worse than mealtime at the orchard. On the other side of the gate, there were slightly more people on the streets, and they were dressed more casually. Except—or maybe especially?—the occasional naked person. Applejack didn’t bother to count them, but she guessed maybe one in twelve or fifteen people were completely bare.

It actually reminded her of some areas of Canterlot.

Eventually, they arrived at the Tamer’s Guild. The walls were covered in a mural with more creatures than the average zoo, frescoes of a myriad of different creatures higher up, and the roof and balconies were decorated with a host of colorful statues. Inside, there were about a dozen people, three or four of whom had summoned creatures of some sort with them. Mostly critters, but there was one terrier-sized yellow slime.

Several of the people were sitting at tables, drinking—coffee, judging by smell filling the room—but a couple were browsing at a glass-fronted counter that ran most of the length of the room. The shelves inside were lined with small baskets full of Soul Crystals, Applejack saw, as she and Taki approached the plum-skinned woman behind it.

“Good morning, how can I help you two?” the elf—up close, her pointed ears were more visible—asked.

“Morning.” Applejack replied.

“Good morning. I need to sell some Soul Crystals, and maybe see if you’ve got any interesting ones.” Taki explained. “But before that, we were hoping you could give us directions to a bookshop and/or a travel supply shop. And I assume a town this size has a training hall?”

“Two, actually.” the elf woman confirmed. “There’s one about a dozen blocks northwest, and another one in District 5. And most of the specialty shops are in District 3, north of here. And of course, we have a fight pit out back, if you want to train your summon.”

“A fight pit?” Applejack asked, appalled and disbelieving.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds. It’s just a way for summoned creatures to spar safely.” Minerva reassured her. “After all, combat is best way to train, since it lets you practice tactics as well as Skills and Stats.”

“But in a pit?” Applejack questioned.

“That’s just safer all around.” Minerva pointed out. “You’ve seen Flamme spit fireballs, remember? Imagine if he missed, or his opponent dodged. Out in the open, collateral damage would be a major risk, but in a pit, it’ll just hit the walls or arc off into the sky.”

“What about a shield spell?”

“The Shield Spell is intermediate Aether Magic, so not many people can cast it. Which also makes Shield spell tools rare and expensive.” Minerva said.

“Aether Magic?”

“One of the ten elemental schools of magic.” Minerva told her.

Applejack had more questions, but she put them aside when she heard Taki ask for directions to an apothecary. There was one in every district, which wasn’t much of a surprise, in retrospect. The nearest one was just a block west of the training hall, but the one in District 3 was less than half a dozen blocks from the bookshop.

Applejack got exact directions, let Taki know she’d probably swing by the training hall to check it out after she finished her shopping, then left the guildhouse. As she made her way north, she continued to see the occasional naked person. On the other side of the gate, the number decreased to about one in twenty, but there were even more people on the streets.

It took Applejack half an hour to reach the apothecary, which turned out to sell a lot more than just potions. After looking around for a couple minutes, she picked up a canteen that cost fifteen coppers and a deck of cards for two more. Reading wasn’t her favorite pastime, so the cards would give her some options. And help her Dexterity, as Minerva pointed out. Then she spoke to the dryad running the shop about refilling her empty flasks. That was another twenty coppers. She also bought a flask of lube for six coppers.

Before she left, Applejack got directions to the bookshop. When she got there, she spent quite a while skimming the shelves, looking for something that interested her. Eventually, she settled on one book about farming, and a large, second-hand collection of adventure stories. She hoped it would give her some idea of what creatures she might expect to encounter, or what skills might be useful.

After spending another twelve copper, Applejack started heading back towards District 2. She still planned to stop by the training hall, like she’d said, but she probably wasn’t going to stay very long. After all the money she’d just spent, she would prefer to earn a little back before spending on anything she didn’t need. Especially since she’d need to buy lunch.

Though she didn’t have much idea how to make money, except for hunting. She didn’t exactly have any marketable skills, after all. Except for Cleaning, but she didn’t think her level was high enough to get a job doing it. The best she could do would be to find some physical labor somewhere. If her Stats were high enough, of course.

Applejack was distracted from her thoughts by a sign on a building just past the gate.

“What’s a tattoo?” she asked Minerva.

“It’s a little bit like a non-magical version of a cutie mark.” Minerva started, before explaining more in-depth. How they’re applied, and the different kinds. The idea of getting a tattoo of her cutie mark crossed Applejack’s mind, but she dismissed it almost immediately. She didn’t miss her cutie mark quite enough to put up with the pain. And temporary versions like henna were probably too expensive. Though she might reconsider later, once she was more financially secure.

When Applejack reached the training hall, she was not very surprised to find that it was pretty much a gym. She was surprised by the fifteen copper cover charge, though. And the rates for trainers, none of which were less than six coppers an hour. Most were ten or more.

“It’s a lot cheaper to train with the guards.” Applejack thought.

“The guards are also drawing a salary from the crown, so they can afford to charge less.” Minerva pointed out. “For most of these trainers, this is their primary or even sole source of income.”

“Yeah, okay, that makes sense.” Applejack admitted, looking around for Taki. When she didn’t see him, she left and started back for the public house.

A couple blocks away, she thought she’d gotten turned around somehow, since she seemed to be approaching the Tamer’s Guild. Except that it was on the wrong side of the street. And as she got closer, she noticed other details that set this building apart. Different statues, for one. And no paintings on the walls. At least none visible past the topiary.

Also, the statues were anatomically correct, Applejack realized, as she walked past the first one. She tried not to stare at the variety of strange—or in some cases, strangely familiar—creatures atop the wall, and their detailed genitals. As she walked past the wide-open gate, she read the sign over the front door.

Beastie Brothel

Seeing that, Applejack froze for an instant, before forcing herself to walk on. She tried to tell herself it meant something else—maybe it was a place to have sex with Furred Races in their animal forms. But the small statues along the wall, and the bigger ones on the building, with their vivid, stony arousal, mocked her attempts.

A block or two later, she sat down on a bench shaded by a tall tree, with lots of strong, spreading branches. What a pegasus back home would call a roosting tree. Applejack tried again to tell herself it hadn’t meant what she thought. That it was just a name, chosen for…whatever that kind of wordplay was called—she couldn’t remember at the moment.

“Maybe it really is just a brothel for transformed Furred Races.” she tried to tell herself. “That wouldn’t be too bad.” She really wasn’t too bothered by that idea. After all, those forms were a lot closer to what she was used to, from Equestria. As long as all those involved were sapient, it didn’t count as bestiality.

“But those statues…” she thought, her attempt at self-deception crumbling again. Eventually, she gave up and asked, “Minerva, was that place really a brothel just for…bestiality? Or is it just somewhere to take pets, maybe?” she asked, as the idea occurred to her. “Like Taki was joking about? Or for breeding Tame pets, or whatever?”

“It’s where you can hire beasties for sex, for whatever reason.” Minerva said. “And breeding or just treating a summon or pet is not unheard of, but it’s mostly for people who want to fuck something more exotic, that they can’t find otherwise.”

Applejack was stunned for a long moment.

“Now, Ah…Ah know you said that bestiality isn’t illegal here, but still. A brothel that caters to that, just right out in the open?” she asked, finding it hard to believe.

“Bestiality isn’t just ‘not illegal;’ it’s completely legal. The appearance of the Furred Races and Manimals complicated the issue for a world that only had one confirmed sapient species before that, and the laws were eventually changed. Then repealed altogether. Four millennia later, it’s not only legal, but very common. It’s estimated that more than eighty percent of people have had some kind of sexual interaction with a non-sapient creature. Even if it’s just exploring a creature, letting one lick them to orgasm once or twice, or just simple voyeurism.” Minerva said, stunning Applejack again.

“…”

“…”

“Eighty percent?” she eventually managed.

“Less than half of those ever go beyond experimenting. And most of those who do, keep it more of an occasional thing. Like hardcore domination, most people are more likely to dabble, than to make it a full-time lifestyle.” Minerva explained.

“That’s still a whole lot more than Ah ever would’ve imagined.” Applejack commented, still in shock. “Wait. What do you mean voyeurism? Do you mean watching creatures having sex with each other, or…”

“Or having sex with other people, yeah.” Minerva finished.

“Is that really very common?”

“In some places.” Minerva nodded. “The city of Rana, for instance, where Yanagi is from, has herds of deer living in the parks. Mostly spotted deer, but there are a couple small herds of cervine beasties, too. They’re free to roam anywhere in the city, and anyone can walk right up to them and talk to them, pet them, feed them, or whatever.”

“Even have sex with them?”

“There’s a few places in the city where you’re not supposed to, but for the most part, as long as you’re not blocking streets or doors, no one will object to you stripping off and enjoying yourself with a buck or doe.”

“What about the deer?”

“They’re technically Wild, but they’ve been living with people in that city since before the Advent1, so they’re as docile as any summoned creature. They’re so used to people that they’ll walk right up to you and ask for things. They’ll rub on you if they want petted, bow if they want fed, or nose your crotch if they want sex.”

“Wait. So it’s up to the deer?” Applejack asked, baffled.

“You can also proposition them by lightly petting their back ends, right around the tail, or by exposing yourself for them. They’ll make it perfectly clear whether or not they’re interested.”

Minerva’s words had an image forming in Applejack’s head, of her slipping her fingers under a deer’s tail, rubbing them against a vulva that looked like Yanagi’s. She shook her head to get rid of it, but it was replaced by a miniature Hart of the Woods licking the tip of her hard cock.

“Damn this heat.” she thought, noticing her real cock was getting hard too, despite herself. “Ovulation, whatever.” she corrected herself, before Minerva could. She told herself that the near absence of disgust was because she was still thinking of deer as sapient.

“There are other settlements where bestiality is a normal, or even celebrated, part of their culture, too.” Minerva said.

“Celebrated?” Applejack asked automatically, before realizing she probably didn’t want to know, after all.

“Some settlements hold parades or contests—”

“Contests—never mind, Ah don’t wanna know.” Applejack added quickly. Wanting to change the subject before she figured it out for herself, she thought desperately, trying to come up with something else to ask about. A few seconds later—and just in time, as ideas were beginning to creep in—she managed to remember something she’d meant to ask earlier.

“You mentioned something about elements, earlier?”

“Right. There are ten elemental schools of magic.” Minerva started, projecting a diamond in front of Applejack, with each corner labeled. “Earth, air, water, and fire are the four primary elements. You can learn spells from those schools any time. Or spend Skill Points on them. The six secondary elements only become available after reaching level 20 in two of the primary elements. Earth and air unlocks the Aether Magic school, which includes spells that don’t fit anywhere else, like Shield, Magic Blast, and Telepathy, which allows it’s targets to briefly communicate without needing to talk. It’s very useful when dealing with intelligent opponents, as it lets you adjust plans mid-combat without your opponent hearing you.”

“Sounds like unicorns back home.” Applejack thought, looking at the two lines that had grown out from opposite corners and converged, creating a bottomless triangle across the middle of the diamond

“There is a fair bit of overlap.” Minerva admitted, as two more lines grew out, making a triangle with one side of the diamond. “Earth and water unlock Wood Magic, which can create things from different kinds of wood, and control plants. Earth and fire unlock Metal Magic, that can throw flechettes, and sharpen or reinforce weapons and armor, among other things.”

“Air and water unlock Ice Magic, and air and fire unlock Electricity Magic, both of which are fairly straightforward.” Minerva continued, as more triangles grew from the diamond. “And finally, water and fire unlock Void Magic, which controls shadows, and does a few other things.”

“Right.” Applejack thought absently, studying the diagram in front of her, that now looked kind of like a 3-D starburst.

Thinking about magic made Applejack suddenly realize that she’d been depending on her Clean spell since leaving Woodglen, which meant she hadn’t had a proper bath in almost four days—a couple quick dips in the cave pond didn’t count. Applejack did understand the importance of regular bathing, despite what Rarity might think.2 She just didn’t think they needed to be as frequent or thorough as the unicorn did.

That in mind, Applejack decided to head back to the pub and take a bath. When she arrived, she found Hospitality’s bathing chamber almost identical to Mirembe’s. The biggest difference was that it had six tubs, instead of four. Applejack also found the blue-skinned man who was at breakfast. He was sitting on the rim of the tub, rinsing his short hair.

Though Applejack did wonder why she was thinking of him as a he, since those small breasts didn’t belong on a guy. “Then again,” she thought, as her pants suddenly got tighter, “A dick doesn’t belong on a girl, either.”

“Like I told you back when you were creating your character, gender is how you see yourself. He self-identifies as male, despite the female anatomy, so he must have set his gender as male at a temple somewhere.” Minerva spoke up.

“A temple?”

“Shrines allow you to change your Class, and are found just about everywhere. You can even find them in dungeons, sometimes.” Minerva added. “In a temple, you can change Class and gender, and even make some minor cosmetic changes. Things like hair color, eye color, how tanned your skin is—or how sun-bleached your hair and/or fur is. You can't add or remove any body parts, but you can change the size of certain parts. But only by one size at a time, and only once a year. Temples can be found in nearly every city, and many larger towns. Including here in Silberwald. Cathedrals, which are found in metropolises and some national capitols, allow you to change pretty much anything except your Race.”

“So there’s no way to change my Race, then?” Applejack asked, turning on the water.

“Not permanently.” Minerva confirmed. “There is a Metamorphosis Potion, but it only lasts about an hour per dose.”

“Metamorphosis? Like what beasties do?”

“Exactly. You can turn into just about any race or creature, so long as you have a sample of their hair, or skin, or blood.”

As Applejack waited for the tub to fill, she undressed, casting Clean on her clothes. Which made her realize she hadn’t been practicing her transformations or her spells. Annoyed, she shook her head and told herself she had to do better.

A minute or two later, Applejack stepped into the water and started washing. While she was rinsing the last of the shampoo out of her tail, she noticed the Furred Race man getting dressed. Out of nowhere, it suddenly clicked, what his round ears reminded her of. Harry.

“So, he’s a bear, then.” Applejack thought, pulling the plug. Once the tub was empty, she refilled it and settled in to relax for a while, and to recover her MP.

Her cock wasn’t cooperating with her, though. So after a couple minutes of trying to will herself soft, Applejack gave up and, since she was alone in the bathing chamber, she gripped her cock and started stroking it. The water kept her hand from moving very quickly, so it was a slow climb to the edge of orgasm. When she got there, she slowed her stroking even more, edging herself for a long moment. Then she took the head between her lips and suckled gently. She couldn’t take more than an inch without her muzzle dipping underwater.

It didn’t take very much longer before Applejack felt her head flare, and a second after that, relief washed over her as the first shot hit the back of her mouth. She swallowed the first four shots before choking and pulling off. She milked the last few spurts of cum out, then used her fingers to stir the clumps into the water.

“You completed some quests.” Minerva told her unnecessarily, as she finally relaxed.

“Your MP is fully refilled.” Minerva said some time later, startling Applejack out of her doze. The water had gone tepid, so she got out quickly and pulled the plug, casting Heal as it drained. Feeling a touch chill, she turned on the hot water and splashed it on herself, before pulling out her towel and drying off.

Once she was warm and dry, Applejack got dressed and went out to the courtyard, where she enjoyed the sun as she made a meal from things in her inventory. She also made her contraceptive tea and filled her canteens. Then, with nothing better to do, she pulled out the book of adventure stories. Skimming the table of contents, Applejack didn’t find any that particularly stood out, so she flipped to the first one and started reading. It was about an ogre who left his home on the southern tundra for the Western Elven Forest.

Applejack read for about an hour and a half, until her MP was full again. She’d gotten about a third of the way through the first story in the collection, which was enough for her, for now. Feeling the need to move, she decided to take a walk.

“So, what should Ah do now?” she wondered a couple minutes later, passing a grove where an elderly couple were sitting on a bench, enjoying the shade.

“I could start teaching you meditation.” Minerva offered.

“Ah’m not planning to change class anytime soon, but Ah suppose that’s no reason to procrastinate.” Applejack mused.

“Meditation is good for more than just class changes.” Minerva told her. “While meditating, your Willpower is boosted by your Skill level, making it very useful for magical training.”

“Ah’ll bet.” Applejack agreed, deciding it was as good an idea as any. Instead of heading back straight away, she wandered the streets a little while longer. She didn’t pay much attention to the buildings around her, but she did notice a restaurant. When she looked through the window, it looked like it might be more expensive than she wanted to pay for.

When she got back to the room, Applejack used the restroom, then sat on the bed and crossed her legs, the way she’d seen Zecora do. Then she spent an hour struggling to keep her mind clear. By the time her MP had refilled, a bit before 17:00, she thought she pretty much had the hang of it. And when Taki and Flamme returned, startling her out of her trance, she realized she’d been in it for over an hour.

“Hey, Applejack. You have dinner yet?” Taki asked, as Flamme hopped up on the bed beside her. The tinderwolf gave her a quick sniff and a lick on the cheek before sprawling out.

“Not yet.” Applejack answered, just as she noticed a band around Flamme’s hind leg. It had a Soul Crystal on it, with a lot of sides. More than she wanted to take the time to count. Each facet was ruby-red, with bright blue, marble-like veining.

“Then you should come down and eat now. I spoke to Mr. Bierman, to pay for tonight and tomorrow, and he told me that dinner’s only served until 20:30.”

“Alright, sounds good.” Applejack agreed, giving Flamme a few awkward pets, remembering the day before. She climbed off the bed, stretching her stiff legs, and followed Taki to the dining room, where two women were entertaining the dozen or so diners. They were singing a slow, romantic song as the dryad cuddled the human tight against her front. Taki and Applejack found a table and ordered a roast turkey. Applejack ordered a pint of ale to drink, while Taki went for something darker.

A couple minutes later, Applejack was surprised by how big the bird was, compared to the chicken she’d had in Woodglen. And then how small it was, compared to a live turkey. It smelled good, but it was a little too hot to eat, so she started on the vegetables as the singers started swaying together, to a faster song.

“So, after dinner, I was thinking about giving Flamme a bath, and that usually goes easier with two people. Would you be willing to help? No funny business, I promise.” Taki said after a few minutes, as he cut a leg off the bird.

“Alright. Ah got nothing better to do.” Applejack agreed, copying Taki. Tasting it, she discovered it was a lot stronger than chicken, but she liked it all the same. She couldn’t get through more than one leg and half the thigh before she was full, though. So she bagged the rest. A few minutes later, Taki finished eating and bagged the rest of the bird.

As they cleaned up, the singers started a salacious number. Applejack didn’t notice at first, but when she did, she looked over and saw them running their hands over each other erotically. After watching them caress each other for a few seconds, Applejack felt her cock twitching. She focused on keeping it down while she headed for the bathing chamber. Taki and Flamme arrived a minute after she did, by which time she’d regained control of herself and started the water running.

At least until Taki started stripping.

“What’re ya doing?” she asked, a bit upset.

“I don’t want my clothes getting wet.” Taki explained reasonably. “Besides, I’m going to take a bath myself, afterwards.”

Applejack realized he had a good point, especially if Flamme liked to play in the water, like Winona. Or even worse, if he hated baths, like Naomi had.3 So she bagged her tunic, pants, and brassiere, but she kept her panties on. She didn’t want Taki to see her drop a boner and get the wrong idea. A second later, Applejack realized her panties wouldn’t actually hide anything, so she bagged those, too.

“So, what is that?” Applejack asked, seeing Taki remove the band from Flamme’s leg.

“It’s a Salamander Soul Crystal.”

“A salamander? You mean like the amphibian?” Applejack asked, confused. “A huge one, or something?”

“No, a Salamandyre. D-Y-R-E—some people pronounce it salaman-dire. It’s a species of wyrm, which is in the draconic family of beasties. A lesser fire serpent, in other words.” Taki explained. “For every hundred experience Flamme gains, it gives him 34 Fire Magic experience. It makes getting his Fire Magic Skill high enough to metamorphose a little easier.”

“How high does it need to be?” Applejack asked, turning off the faucets.

“Level 18. And he’s at 14, now.”

“So not too much more, then.”

“Maybe not, but he still needs to increase his Strength, Endurance, Intelligence, and Willpower a few levels. And his Agility and Perception one, each, but those won’t be any problem.” Taki said, as he directed Flamme into the tub and pulled out a bottle of shampoo.

“How do you level up his Willpower?”

“By having him interact with other creatures. Trying to intimidate or even dominate them. Or by having someone cast weak debilitative spells on him. Like Fear, Stun, or Slow.”

Applejack and Taki spent the next several minutes chatting about Flamme as they scrubbed his fur. Applejack learned that Flamme was currently level 15. And that Taki had only decided to true summon him after finding the Salamandyre Soul Crystal. It had been level 12 and really expensive, but worth it. Also worth it were the almost two years it had taken him to train the Salamandyre to its current level of 17.

Once Flamme was clean, Applejack equipped her tunic and returned to her room, where she resumed her meditation practice. It took her a few minutes to get into the trance, and she needed a couple more after Taki and Flamme’s return snapped her out of it. After that, she came to only briefly when her MP was full, to cast Heal. Then she meditated until almost quarter of 23:00, when Minerva told her her MP had refilled again.

As she became aware of her body again, Applejack realized she needed to use the restroom. When she came out, Taki was waiting for his turn, and Flamme was asleep on Taki’s sleeping bag. Getting in bed, she checked her Quest Panel.

Day 14 – Late Spring, 4147 AA
22:48
TOTAL STAT POINTS-1
TOTAL SKILL POINTS-14
TOTAL SPELL POINTS-0
QUESTS
Suck a Cock
1 Skill Point + 1 Skill Point (No One Said It Couldn’t Be Your Own!)

Swallow a Load of Cum
2 Skill Points + 7 Skill Points (No One Said It Couldn’t Be Your Own!)

Masturbate
1 Skill Point

Feeling in the Feline Mood
2 Skill Points*

Lay with a Lupine
2 Skill Points*

“What happened to the equine quest?” Applejack asked.

“You went seven days without completing it, so it was removed. Not permanently, of course. It’ll be back eventually.”

“Makes sense, Ah guess.” Applejack shrugged. Since she didn’t have enough points to level her transformations, she thought about spending them on Restorative Magic, instead. But she only had enough points to boost it two levels, and eleven wasn’t that much more than nine, so she decided to save them.

That decided, she cast Heal as many times as she could without cutting into her HP and said goodnight to Minerva, letting the wave of tiredness wash her into the ocean of sleep.

Author's Note

1. Yes, Rana is based on the real world Nara, where Sika deer really do wander some parts of the city. And according to Wikipedia, some of them really do bow to ask for the crackers you can buy specifically for them.

Of course, the bit about bestiality is unique to this fic, so if you’re ever visiting Nara, and one of the deer were to start nosing your crotch, it’s NOT asking you to whip it out or bend over. (That should go without saying, but if I don’t say it, some idiot’s going to end up blaming me for their arrest and/or injuries.)

1. Admittedly, Applejack was partly to blame for this, as she liked to play up her fondness for dirt, just to rile her friend.

2. Applejack didn’t remember much about their old dog—she’d been young when Winona’s mom had died—but she did remember all the trouble they’d had getting her into the tub. The first swear word she’d ever heard had, in fact, had come from her Pa trying to get her in the bath.

Sorry this took so long. I was hoping to get the entire stay in Silberwald in a single chapter, and in a perfect world, I might've managed it. But in a perfect world, I wouldn't have had to deal with internet connection issues, and then computer issues that may result in having to buy a whole new laptop.