The Envoy

Through the blurry wall of indistinct dreams, reality slowly trickled into my mind, awakening me, but I just ignored it, unwilling to get up just yet. It was too hot to get under the blanket, so I was just lying atop of the bed on my left side. I could feel Sapphira’s soft and warm skin pressed against my back, and a fluffy fur could be felt on my chest. My slight movements must have woken up Lily. She moved closer and snuggled up to me, her hot breath blowing against my skin. As my hand moved to stroke her mane and scratch behind her ears, she cooed in pleasure.

I buried my face in her silky mane, inhaling her pleasant, sweet fragrance with a tinge of… cinnamon? “Cinnamon?” After a certain thought flashed through my head my fingers quickly moved to check the tips of her ears and, indeed, didn’t find any tassels there, though they were soft and nice to the touch, too. As I tried to open my eyes, squinting from the sun rays reflecting off the glass of the opened window, I saw Sugar snuggling to my chest. “Just as I thought.” Though, after a brief delay, my hands resumed what they were doing, ignoring the strange situation. Strange for me, that is.

“Ponies…” I whispered with a sigh, arching my neck, trying to find Lily, and saw her snoring and hugging Sapphira from behind, covering her with a wing. “Everyone is here, but why Sugar is in my arms? Another friendly snuggle?” I turned back to Sugar and saw her green eyes looking at me with a coy smile on her face. Her ears flicked twice. Sugar looked disturbingly cute.

“Morning,” Sugar whispered, and closed her eyes in pleasure as my hand once again scratched between her ears.

“Morning, sweety. What are you doing here?” I gently whispered back.

Sugar arched her brows as if I was asking her why the sky is blue. “Just snoozing with little ol' you,” — her smile just got wider, — “and cuddling.” She lazily stretched all her limbs, her forehooves ending up around my neck, pressing her head under my chin. Sugar’s breath tickled my skin, then, after a soft and cute snort, she indicatively inhaled my scent. Letting out a content sigh and finally pulling away, she looked into my eyes with a pleased smile.

“You have no idea how much I wish it was my day off.” Sugar said in a hushed voice and raised her head, looking at the clock on the wall. “Just a little past midday, not too late.” Then she let her head fall back on my arm. “Thank you for everything.” She reached for my cheek and placed a light peck on it.

“Well, I couldn’t just stand and — watch something bad happen to you…” I couldn’t help but smile at her little antics.

“Yeah, I know.” Sugar smiled and sighed lightly. “It’s time for me to go prepare for work.” Then her sight fell on the hole in the ceiling, eliciting a brief giggle from her. “I should remember to fly to the carpenter and place a repair order.” Then she agilely slid from the bed, landing on her hooves, which made a muffled thud on the carpet, then stretched her beige wings.

“Damn, does everyone in this place already know about our yesterday's exploits in our room?” I grumbled internally, getting a hint from her reaction, while marveling at her spread out wings. I couldn't help but think she is showing off her well-groomed plumage before me, as I caught her sidelong glance. She seemed very content that I was looking. Also, I was still pondering about the ways ponies show their affection. That’s cute, but I’m still getting used to things like that. Perhaps I should just stop thinking too much about it and seeing something more in their behavior than there might actually be. Seems it became my primary way of dealing with situations like this one, but anyway, I find such physical contact pleasant.

“M-m-m…” Sapphira woke up. “What time is it?” She asked in a sleepy voice.

“Twenty past midday,” Sugar said quietly.

“I see.” Sapphira’s eyes closed again. She wiggled her body to get more comfortable.

“I’ll borrow this for a while.” Sugar showed me my already washed and dried jeans.

“What for?” She baffled me.

“I’ll sew them up. That won’t take much time. Can’t let you walk around in torn clothes.”

I scratched my head. “Thanks, sweety, I appreciate it.”

“Oh, no need for that. We are friends, after all. I’ll be back soon.” Sugar threw the jeans onto her back with a wing, then trotted to the door and beamed at me before walking out.

I turned to Sapphira, who was still dozing off along with Lily, knowing they are no longer sleeping. I grabbed her and rolled on my back, putting her atop of me. She usually likes it a lot. The moment I tried to ask her a certain question, I found my mouth already occupied by her lips while Lily unceremoniously grabbed my hand and put it atop of her head. Seems we must postpone my questions for now, and so, I got myself busy stroking and caressing both of them, carefully avoiding certain spots. We still have a lot to do today, and Sugar will return soon, so I better not accidentally turn our late morning into another lovemaking session.

This time Sapphira didn’t occupy my lips for too long, giving Lily the same opportunity. Lily’s soft kiss was a little ticklish because of the short, velvety fur around her lips. Lily was much more careful and gentle than Sapphira, compared with a rather wild and passionate demeanor of the latter. I just let Lily do it in a way she is comfortable with as she was discovering a whole new palette of her own feelings and sensations, if my guess is right. My hands slowly glided down her neck and, having reached her shoulders, embraced her. Her tongue timidly touched mine, asking for attention, which was quickly given to her.

Lily’s yellow eyes right now were no less enchanting than Sapphira’s. They were looking into mine with love as we finally broke our gentle kiss. Lily’s ears perked up as a content smile adorned her face. Her wings were spread wide behind her back and lightly trembled. Then she rubbed her cheek on mine and snorted happily into my ear. It was a cute and very pony-like gesture. Sapphira giggled, seeing it, then just hugged her from the side.

“Girls, I love you, but we have to get up now. Half a day has already passed.” I said with a smile, patting their backs.

“We know,” said Lily, still smiling, “but we just wanted a bit of your attention.”

“I’ll give you as much as I can later.” I got up, and the girl’s groggily followed suit as the two of them gave a slight shiver from no longer being able to feel the heat of my body. Giving off a yawn whilst wiping the moisture from my eyes, my sight fell on the table and the leftovers upon it. “Welp, at least we don’t have to worry about food.” I offhandedly remarked, as I sat down on the couch with a relieved sigh.

“Yes, Sugar had literally robbed a kitchen.” Sapphira chuckled as both she and Lily joined me.

Having some well-deserved rest from last night, we set upon the food with gusto as we chatted about various topics, but it eventually came back to how the morning started.

“Oh, right, about what I wanted to ask earlier. Why did I find Sugar in my arms when I woke up? I — well — don’t remember being that close with her.” I raised my hands, showing my confusion.

“Well, that… You didn’t like it?” asked Sapphira.

I raised my brow and smiled wryly. “Sapphi, do you even need to ask that?”

Sapphira grinned. “Then don’t say you are not that close. You are good friends, at the very least, and you know it.”

“Yes. I know you are not too familiar with pony culture, but that’s quite a common thing for friends to sleep together. With no funny business,” Lily said while brushing her unruly hair whilst Sapphira looked out the window. The brush itself had no handle but a strap to fix it on a hoof instead.

Sapphira turned to me. Her eyes akin to a crystal ocean as they focused on me. “I didn’t merely see it, Ray, I felt it. The anxiety, fear, all of it. For although she hid it well behind that thick joyful mask of hers, it was too much for a common young pony like her. Being with me and Lily at all times may have given you the wrong idea. I wouldn't take me as the standard, our hive was desensitised to such emotions, and merely taking a single step outside brought danger along with it. Ponies however, are different. Discounting the guard, most of them meet danger with fear, not resistance. Sugar is no different. She was at a knife’s edge, on her way to a breakdown... but you know what stopped her?” Her gaze was locked onto mine as she strode over and with a gentle smile, she gently prodded my chest, right by the heart. “You did, Ray. Know it or not, you helped her not only at the bar, but throughout the night. You gave her the comfort she needed, the feeling of safety. I’m sorry for not telling you,” she paused as her smile took on a bit more of a mischievous look, “but we both know you enough not to protest when given a cute little mare to cuddle. Besides, she really seems fine already, you should be proud, not worried about such small things.” Sapphira said those words as if she was proud of me herself, under Lily’s approving nodding.

I gave a chuckle as the both of them giggled at the all too true notion before Sapphira gave a little nuzzle to Lily.

“Besides, we were both fine with it, but be careful, Ray, that friendship of hers can cross a certain line with ease,” — Sapphira played with her brows. — “and I’m not sure how I'd feel about that yet.”

Sapphira fell in thought briefly and then continued. “There is more to it, Ray. You may not know it, but we… together with Lily… we watched you for the last two days. We’re not sure about the reason, but… being close to you makes our anxiety go away, and we’ve got a lot of it from all our close encounters in the jungle. No doubts about it. Can it be that — thing of yours?” Sapphira drew a circle with her hoof, pointing at me. “You know what I mean.”

“Huh?” Lily made a confused face, looking at Sapphira.

“You mean my aura?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. Sapphira nodded in return before I turned my sight to Lily. “My magic usually seeps out a little, lingering around me constantly. As you can guess, it’s similar to my raw magic and beneficial for everyone around, but much less powerful and obvious. I don’t know for sure if it has the influence Sapphira described. Only time can tell.” I shrugged, hoping for life, and that of my — herd, that magic addiction wasn’t a thing. Well, I’ll figure it out. This answer should not be too deep in my memory.

“Ray! You have such an awesome thing and you didn’t tell me?” Lily asked accusingly, pretending to be grumpy, crossing her hooves at her chest while sitting on a chair, her fake frown almost broken by blowing a stray bit of mane out of her eye. “And this traitor, too!” She turned to Sapphira, pointing her hoof at her as the changeling returned her accusation with a playful smile.

“Well, we hadn’t touched such subjects before, so…” I trailed off the end, scratching the back of my neck as I gave a sheepish smile to the sassy little bat.

“Alright, next time just tell me about such things, but let’s talk about what we’ll be doing today. I need to go to the Silver Wheel. Even if they don’t have a task for me, I need to restock on my supplies. Those damn manticores emptied everything I had on me. As for my special potions and powders, I’ll need to make those myself, like I always do. Not sure if they have the right ingredients available, but if they do, I’ll be busy for a long time. Find me there if anything happens. That’s my plan for the day. What are yours?”

I rubbed my chin, thinking. “The allowance we received from Luna,” — I carefully observed Lily’s face when I called her princess by name, but this time she didn’t seem to mind, — “will not last us for long, so I was going to visit an antique shop. Sugar told me where to find it here. The old weapons we brought from the ruins must cost at least something. After that, perhaps visiting a library might be a good idea. I have to at least skim over some books. Also, I think it’s worth a try finding the guys from the station, but I’m not sure how much their schedule got messed up with all that tunnel accident. They may not be there today.”

“That all sounds good, but Ray, you’ve already found trouble even in Nightowl and got the warning from the sheriff, and now you want to go to such a place as that — cheap saloon, if I understood correctly? I’m afraid you can easily get into yet another fight with some mercenary or drunkard. Well, I don’t really care about drunkards, but mercs are a dangerous bunch, and they rarely go alone. I’m not even mentioning you’ll get the attention of the sheriff again. No! No bars without me!” Lily glared at me.

“Hm-m-m…” I knew she was damn right about it, and she said it only out of care for me. I doubt I will easily start a fight with a pony. They rarely start serious conflicts, as I can see. It rarely goes beyond mutual insults, but… the griffons and minotaurs seem to be another matter altogether. Also, those dogs. I know little about them, but they don’t look friendly.

“Please?” Lily made those puppy eyes again, looking as if she would cry any moment.

I sighed. “Alright, at most I’ll just take a look inside to check if they are there. I’m not going to hang there. I can do it here in Nightowl, anyway.”

“Good, I trust your words. Please don’t make me worry.”

“Isn’t it too late to worry about me after two fights with manticores?” I chuckled.

“I… Yes, but…” — Lily shook her head as her eyes turned sad, — “I don’t have anypony else left… apart from my aunt and her family… and my job. If anything happens to you two…” Her ears drooped, along with her wings. “I don’t want to be alone… again.”

Now I wanted to slap myself. “It seems I’ve touched upon some bad memories unknowingly, but how would I know? Have to fix it somehow.” I got one knee before Lily, taking her in my arms.

“Sorry. I don’t know what happened in the past, but I didn’t want our talk to go this way. No matter what happens, we will stay with you and will never leave you behind. That I promise.”

“No, you don’t have to be sorry.” Lily rested her head on my chest. “I… I don’t know why I am like this today. Agent Night Lily that no one usually wants to mess with, even my colleagues from Shadow Guard, behaves like a little filly with a crush. What a joke… Must be because I’ve spent most of my life doing everything on my own, always alone ever since I left my village, but now everything changed so suddenly. When I think of going back to my old life I feel… empty.” She sighed, shaking her head — “I’ll tell you my story, but not now.” — then hugged Sapphira, who was standing by my side with a concerned face.

“Silly girl, you don’t have to be this anxious, we’ll be fine.” Sapphira said in a soft voice, lightly stroking Lily’s mane with her hoof. “Now go and don’t worry about anything.”

Lily got herself together, her face now adorned with a subtle smile, her ears perked up. They parted, and Lily made a final check of her saddlebag before saying goodbye and flying out of the window once again. Her habit of using windows in that manner amused me.

“Seems we’re not the only ones going through changes in our lives,” Sapphira said, finally turning away from the opened window. “So, are we going to the pawnshop?”

“Nope, the pawnshop would not know the value of those weapons and will just rob us, offering a laughable price. We’re going to meet an antiquarian. I hope we can get a better sum of bits there.”

There was a knock on the door, and without waiting for our reply, Sugar entered the room.

“Ta-da! All is done!” Sugar demonstrated my stitched and patched up jeans, smiling, now they even looked more or less decent. The rips weren’t many, but they were large and conspicuous.

“Oh, thank you, sweety. You did a nice job on them.”

“That’s nothing special, I learned a bit from my mother.”

I took the jeans and took a better look at the sewn rips. “Now I won’t look like I’ve been chewed by manticores, though it was what actually happened,” I said jokingly, chuckling.

“Don’t tell me those rips were made by manticores…” Sugar mouth opened in surprise, and she covered it with her hoof.

I nodded. “Also these holes are from shadow hounds’ teeth.”

“No way! And you are still alive…”

“I was lucky, so… Aw!” I felt a somewhat painful hit on my head. Sapphira was hovering in the air behind me with a quiet buzz of her wings, her hoof raised. She had indignation written on her face.

“Lucky my ass! You were fighting them for our lives, the hounds, and all those manticores too. Don’t tell me you were just lucky. You almost died! And we all would be dead if you didn’t fight them!”

I rubbed my head. “Hey! You know, it hurts, miss Iron Hoof. Did you have to hit me? I didn’t mean to make it sound insignificant.”

Sapphira sighed, ignoring my remark and landing on the floor. “He is always like that, Sugar, speaking like it was nothing, but it was horrible back then.” She walked closer to me, — “Four times.” She pressed her side to my leg. “He saved my life four times.” Then her tail embraced me from behind. My hand reached for her back, softly running along it.

“You exaggerate, Sapphi, I was not fighting manticores alone, and some luck was still involved.” I protested, but was met with Sapphira’s skeptical eyes.

“Yes, but I still don’t exaggerate anything. You are too humble.”

Sugar looked at us with bewildered eyes. “No way! You must tell me everything about it! But now I have work to do. Will you stay here or go out somewhere?”

“We will be outside until evening, I suppose,” I replied.

“Then leave the key to me when you go out, the carpenter will come later to fix the ceiling. I’ll keep an eye on him. You’ll find me in the kitchen downstairs.”

“Sure, thanks, sweety.”

“See you later then,” Sugar said, waving her hoof, and walked out.

“I’ll pack up the weapons,” said Sapphira, walking to the closet where we kept our stuff, while I got busy dressing up.

After finishing with it quickly, I noticed Sapphira’s hair was a little disheveled. “Let me brush your hair, I can’t let you go like that.” I grabbed the brush Lily used from the table and got to work. Using it did not pose any trouble as I easily fixed it on my palm.

“That feels nice. Uhm… I’m still not used to this… ‘hair’, as you call it. Ponies seem to prefer the word ‘mane’. Not sure which one I like more. All I had before was just a simple fin.”

“I assure you, Sapphi, even if it’s new for you, brushing it regularly is absolutely worth the hassle. This hair makes you gorgeous.”

“Ah, you are a hopeless flatterer, Ray.” I could see the darker tint on her cheeks.

“That’s a compliment, not a flattery. You should listen to the nobles talking between each other, then you’ll know what flatter is.” I chuckled, remembering how the nobles from the train conversed. “At least I don’t lie.”

“Oh, I know it very well, Ray.” One of her eyes not covered by her silky hair looked up at me as her lips curled into a smile, showing her white fangs. “M-m-m… I’m already fully charged since yesterday, and still you keep pouring your love onto me…”

“Is it bad?” I kept brushing her unhurriedly.

“No, not at all. This,” — she looked up at the hole — “should not happen again. It’s just so strange… I feel like I can move a mountain, the magic boiling inside me, almost begging to be released. This feeling of power is so — intoxicating.”

“Then you better get used to it. Maybe it’s a good idea to have some practice and just spend the excess.”

Sapphira nodded. “Then let’s do so after we return from the town. Lily also spoke about some training, but I guess she meant a physical one.”

“Physical training is also good. We’ll have to split our time, but I’m not sure we can find a suitable place for training around here.”

Sapphira’s hair and tail was eventually decently brushed and looked good. I slung the bag she prepared over my shoulder, closed and locked the shutters, quite an important thing in the world with so many flying folks, and walked to the door. Sapphira levitated the platter with dirty plates beside her as we were heading for the kitchen anyway.

The hall downstairs was rather deserted, as it was yesterday at this hour. Nobody paid us much attention as we walked straight through the staff-only kitchen door. Sugar was there, as she promised, busy cleaning the kitchen with a piece of cloth. She literally flew around, cleaning everything with a remarkable speed. Only now I noted she had a feather duster as her cutie mark.

“Hey, sweety.” She jerked and turned around, still in the air. “Here is the key, and we also brought the dishes back.”

“Oh, great!” Sugar’s momentary surprised look changed to a smile. She took the key, putting it into the pocket of her maid apron and took away the platter. “Don’t get lost, though I doubt you will.” Sugar giggled.

“We shouldn’t, will be back in the evening. Thanks again for everything.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Sugar, are you — really fine now?” I hesitated if I should ask, but I still did.

“Thanks, but don’t worry about me. I’m feeling great, actually!”

“That’s a relief. Well, see you soon. Bye– ah!” Sapphira exclaimed as the pegasus lightly bumped into her, hugging her neck.

“Nobody gets away from me without a hug!” And I became the next victim of the clingy pegasus, not that I minded.

“You really like hugs, aren’t you?” I said, holding her with one hand and petting the back of her head with another.

“Of course! Everypony likes hugs. Well, see you later!” She finally let go of me and saw us off.

We waved to her and walked out to the streets, squinting our eyes at the bright sunlight. The heat of the day in this deserted area felt even hotter than in the jungle, but the lack of ever-present humidity still made it somewhat tolerable. ‘Damn, now I see why there are so many ponies here wearing hats.’

“Let’s not waste time, Sapphi, lest you’ll get sunburns,” I said, walking forward, remembering the directions I was told. “It must be not too far from the main square.”

“Well,” — Sapphira tilted her head, — “I won’t get sunburns… if I don’t stay in the sun the whole day… maybe, but black skin tends to get really hot under such scorching sun.”

“Perhaps we can buy wide-brimmed hats for ourselves, those would make our lives a bit easier. It’s the first day of summer, by the way, and it will only get hotter by the day. Though we don’t know the local prices yet and how much we can earn. You also might need some light cape, or maybe a dress. I’ve seen some ponies dressed like that around.”

Sapphira giggled, looking at me sideways. “You wanna see me in a dress that badly?”

“Of course I do,” — I shrugged, — “But I’m more concerned about how hot your back might become under the sunrays.” I slid my hand along her upper plate, glittering with metallic sheen under the sun. “This shiny thing only covers only half of your back at best.”

“Uh… yeah, you may be right. I’m no pony who is protected by fur. You know, Ray, I think I’m taking my words about clothes back, but only half of it. The less dressed you are, the more I like you.” Sapphira made a toothy smile, lightly chuckling.

“I have no doubts about it.” I shook my head, smiling.

The rest of our walk we spent talking about this town and various small things, purposely ignoring the weird stares the folks around were giving us. Nobody tried to make a scene or even said anything this time, but now I was sure ponies had a stronger reaction to Sapphira than me. Finally, after crossing the main square, we soon reached our destination, a rather small shop, but it had its style standing out among the rustic-looking buildings, it was built in a style somewhat reminiscent of some old european style. ‘Whispers of the Past’, a large, intricately carved sign stated. The door was not as large as one at Night Owl, but it was still made with the diverse population and guests of Appleloosa in mind, high enough for me to avoid hitting my head, though the door handle was placed rather low.

A small bell above the door rang as we entered the shop. The interior was made of varnished stained wood, a stark contrast to the local unrefined style. Various items were placed on stands or inside the display cases. Ancient vases, intricate tableware, figurines, exquisite watches and compasses, adorned with shiny metals and gems, also some old books with rather peculiar covers and bindings, and other things, purpose of which I could not guess at all. My eyes could not catch anything which could be called ‘ordinary’.

“Welcome to ‘Whispers of the Past’, dear customers. Please take a good look around, I’ll come soon. I have quite a decent collection on display.” We heard a voice from somewhere inside the shop. “I apologize, but I’m a little busy right now.” We heard a rumble as something heavy hit the wooden floor. “Oh buck it!” he grumbled quietly. “Phew, nothing broke. Coming!”

The pony finally showed himself, a grayish-white unicorn, his short aquamarine hair combed back. He had quite a sharp gaze for a pony, though that sharpness faded down the moment he saw us, as did his smile. He coughed awkwardly, covering his mouth with a hoof.

“Ahem… How may I help you? Are you interested in any rare things?” His gaze briefly scanned my shabby clothes, causing him to frown a little. “Or perhaps you have something on your hooves you probably want to sell? But, please, keep this in mind — don’t mistake my antiques boutique for some cheap pawn or junkshop, I’m not interested in simple items.” I bet my spear he had a flair of contempt on his face right now. Such behavior is not a good trait when you’re trying to earn money by trade.

“Before you jump to any conclusions, I think you should see the goods first.” My impassive voice, along with an uncaring gaze looking right into his eyes, seemed to only irritate him further, but I also detected a trace of fear, as he made a nervous step back when I walked towards the counter, taking off my improvised rucksack.

“Then… L-let’s see what you have, but don’t waste my time, I have my hooves full of work.”

“All of these weapons were found in the Forbidden Jungle ruins.” I ignored his remark and pulled out all three weapons, placing them on the counter.

The gaze of the pony, who was warily eyeing Sapphira who stood by my side, shifted to the items before him. The presence of a changeling obviously made him uncomfortable. Then his eyes flashed with interest and squinted. His horn lit up and the sword was lifted before his eyes for thorough appraisal. He also hastily turned on several crystal lamps on the counter to see it better. After inspecting the weapons he sighed.

“Look, the goods are damaged and were even used in a barbaric manner recently. I can’t give you much for those. Let’s say, five hundred bits, what would you say?” He moved his gaze from the dagger to my face. A glimpse of excitement traced his eyes momentarily. I was frowning slightly, looking at him. The unicorn blinked several times, his eyes darting about nervously. “Er… five hundred and fifty is the highest I can go, I… I might even be taking a loss buying defective items.”

Sapphira snorted loudly and raised her body, propping herself on a counter with her forehooves. She stared intently in the stallion’s eyes. “Well, well, well… Somebody is being dishonest here,” Sapphira said derisively. “Why don’t you just offer us a fair deal nicely instead of this inept circus you are putting up before us? Don’t think we are unaware of the real value of these items.” She said slowly in an insinuating tone, her fangs showing themselves as a sly smile appeared on her face. She craned her neck and moved closer to the unicorn’s face. He flinched and stepped back from the counter, as his eyes grew wide with fear, but then he froze in place.

Sapphira’s horn and eyes glowed, and I saw undulating blue circles going outwards inside her eyes when I looked at her. After shifting my gaze to the unicorn, he was spacing out with a blank stare, his mouth agape, the same circles appeared in his eyes, but they were moving inwards, disappearing somewhere inside his pupils. This show lasted for a short time, then Sapphira stood back on her four hooves, having a look like nothing odd happened. The pony, however, was still zoning out. I looked at Sapphira quizzingly, but she gestured to me to keep quiet. I knew what she did, I just never saw her use this ability before, so I played along and hoped her attempt at hypnosis went well, otherwise I’d have to use less — civilized methods to keep everything under wraps.

The pony blinked and shook his head. “Yeah… where were we… Sorry, I got distracted by my thoughts.” He seemed like he was trying to remember something. “Ah, yes, yes, yes! We discussed the fair price, yes.” Pony talked in a patter. “Wait a minute, I’ll need my encyclopedia for this. There is no doubt those are relics of the Eclipse Empire, or at least we call it as such. Nobody yet knows for sure how it was really called.”

Then the pony literally galloped into the room behind the counter and we could hear rumbling from that room. He was moving something heavy there with impatience. Soon he rushed back to the counter, his hooves loudly pattering the wooden floor. He was holding a large old book in his magic grip. After putting it down on the counter, he started shuffling through the pages with his grayish-blue magic aura. He had meticulously read through quite a number of pages, then raised his head, his eyes wide.

“Holy Celestia! These things are from the golden age of the Eclipse Empire! Such a pity you have damaged them…” He made a genuine sigh. “ Such a pity… You have tried to clear the rust and sharpen them. You sheared far too much material and scratched the blades and engravings heavily. You have also used these weapons, there are so many notches and cracks now,” antiquarian lamented, while inspecting the axe blade through a magnifying glass.

“We had no choice but to do it,” I replied with a wry smile.

“I guess this was the case, given you knew what these weapons are, but they still have value, though I’ll have to cash in quite a fortune to find and hire an expert artisan, who is skilled in restoration.” The unicorn looked at us again. “Let’s get this straight. I’ll have to spend three thousand at the bare minimum on it. Also, finding an adequate expert to bring these beauties back to shine is a big hassle on its own. At least there are none in Appleloosa. Then I’ll have to go through finding the suitable buyer in the main cities. It can take half a year, sometimes even longer. I’ll give you five thousand for it, then I hope to sell them for no less than twelve. It will be a big luck if I manage to sell these through Canterlot Auction House, but otherwise I risk wasting a ton of my time for a meager profit. Does that sound fair enough to you?”

If the pony didn’t lie, then it was fairly good. We didn’t have any connections, nor the time for such things, but the fact that the sly bastard tried to scam us tenfold somewhat angered me. Well, Sapphira’s trick was much more cruel. She could just literally rob him, but still just made him offer a fair deal. That’s smart, as long as he doesn’t remember the actual fact of hypnosis, nobody will have any suspicions. I looked at Sapphira, seeing her lightly nodding to me.

“We have a deal, then.” I said in a confident tone, nodding to the pony.

“Good, good! Now I’ll have even more work to do.” He grabbed the weapons and disappeared into the back room in a rather elated mood. I heard something metal and heavy clung, perhaps a safe, then a clinking of coins followed. Stallion returned to us with a small pouch made of thick red cloth, tied with a yellow lace. He put it on top of the counter and waved to us. “Make a count. There must be fifty one-hundred-bit coins.”

I quickly counted the coins on the counter and put them back into the pouch, it was satisfyingly heavy. I held out my hand for the pony. He looked at it, seemingly puzzled, until he finally did the same with his hoof, then I shook it strongly. “It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

“Ah… Yes… It was good… making a deal with you, too,” the pony replied awkwardly.

“Goodbye, sir,” I said, turning around and putting the pouch into the bag to hide it from prying eyes. “Let’s go, Sapphi.” I patted her back lightly. She was too silent after she used hypnosis and I wanted to know if everything was alright.

We walked back to the square. In the far and less crowded corner of it, I noticed an unoccupied bench in the shade of a large tree. We silently walked there and sat down.

“Sapphi? Is anything wrong?”

“Ah? Well…” Sapphira sighed, looking at the stone tiles on the ground below us. “I snapped. But he was so… so… guh… I could not stand his smug lying face! Bastard…” Sapphira fumed. “Are you angry with me?” She raised her guilty, yet so beautiful eyes to me. “This is a real crime in Equestria.”

“Why would I? You know I’m not, my naughty changeling.” I embraced her with a smile, pulling her to my side. In fact, I was very pleased with her quick wits. “You did everything right. That scumbag tried to scam and rip us off, but you didn’t rob him. You merely suggested to him he offer us a fair deal, by his judgment and on his terms, no less.” I shrugged. “Are you sure we are safe? Will he remember anything?”

Sapphira fell in thought. “No, he shouldn’t. Everything turned out… too perfect.” She finally relaxed and kicked back on the bench, imitating my posture, supported by my arm. “That’s what puzzles me. It was too easy… but it worked as it should, even better. Much better. We are as clear as we can possibly be.” Sapphira produced a brief laugh.

“Very good, but what’s with the sharp change of his character? He seemed like he became another person altogether.”

Sapphira sighed, shaking her head. “This is hard to understand, you’re asking the wrong changeling. Maybe a few years later I could tell you. Perhaps it was his real, pure character, not muddled by his greed, his true passion for the things he likes. I don’t know, but it felt like it. Alas, he’ll soon be the same jerk again, but he will think of some good reason why he made that deal with us and justify it for himself. He will not doubt our deal, and, because of his greed, he will keep his mouth shut for sure.” Then Sapphira finally smiled. “We are rich now, aren’t we?”

I chuckled. “Maybe a little. This sum should last us for a decent time while we are busy settling down here, but we should not splurge, and we should not abuse that ability of yours, unless we really need it. Better play it safe and keep it as our trump card. There are methods to check the victim for mental magic influence, Luna told me, so be careful, alright?” Sapphira nodded in return. I raised my head to the sky and inhaled deeply. The air was quite pleasant here, away from all the dust of the busy part of the town. “I’m happy we won’t have to burden Lily or ask Luna for another allowance or a loan. It is us who should spoil our little batty, not the other way around,” I said jokingly.

“Oh, certainly!” Sapphira chuckled. “I’d love to do this.”

“We will think of something later.” I smiled back at her. My mood was rapidly improving as the first nervousness of our little trick was fading away. “Don’t you think she is a bit rude with other ponies?”

“Oh, Ray, I’d say she can be far beyond ‘a bit rude’, but she tries to keep herself in her hooves while around you, for whatever reason. I find it amusing and even cute.” Sapphira laughed lightly, seemingly remembering something funny. “Oh you should have seen the face of that lunar guard when she berated him for his conduct. That was simply marvelous. She is very straightforward, and she cares little for others’ feelings if they are in the wrong. You know, ponies react badly to rude critics, so you can guess how it usually goes for her with her colleagues. Others tend to avoid her, and being a thestral only worsens it for her, but I have yet to witness her being rude to somebody without a good reason.”

“Uh… Well, I can say it’s very Lily-like, though I thought it was not so severe.” I said with a chuckle. “Anyway, I like her as she is, and I can handle a few rude words if need be.”

“She also swears like a griffon.”

“For real? Our lily?” I asked through the laughter. “But, well, every soldier swears once in a while and ponies are no exception.”

“Ah-ah-ah!” Sapphira intoned, waving her hoof like I’d wave my finger. “Nope! lily swears more like a griffon mercenary than a pony soldier sometimes.” Sapphira chuckled again.

I suppressed another laugh. “That only makes her more funny and cute. And what about me then?”

“You…” — Sapphira smiled like a Cheshire cat, — “you, my dear Ray, can be a lo-o-ot worse, at times. You even swear in words I don’t understand, but they are so ‘charged’ I can only imagine the meaning; I’m sure it’s nothing nice.”

“Definitely nothing nice,” I said, stretching lightly.

“Though I can say you almost don’t swear unless there is some kind of trouble.”

“So, are we going to check the shops or you wanna relax for a bit longer?”

Sapphira hopped off the bench and shook her mane. “Let’s go then. I’m afraid most of the shops here close pretty early. We can laze around later.”

Following Silver Mist down the stairs, we stopped before a solid metal door. He fiddled with the keys and then the door to the alchemical lab opened smoothly, revealing a single spacious, well-lit room. The crystals on the ceiling were giving off bright yellowish light. Tables and shelves filled with all kinds of tools, burners, and retorts stood by the walls around the room, with large vent grates above each table. The lab lacked equipment for mass production and was suited for producing small batches of rare, expensive, and sometimes dangerous things.

“Oh! I wasn’t expecting something like this. This lab won’t bring shame to any large city HQ, sir Silver Mist, and to have it here, in Appleloosa… You must have a decent staff of alchemists.”

“If only…” Silver Mist sighed lightly. “If only, miss Night Lily. We have just two as of yet, but I’m looking forward to expanding our staff. Though I rarely let the bits entrusted to me go to waste, I took a slight gamble with this lab. It’s challenging to hire adequate staff from big cities, but one day this lab will be serving Equestria at full capacity.” He waved his hoof around the room.

“I have no doubts about that.”

Silver Mist nodded in approval. “Of course. We should have no doubts; can’t allow such things to impede our duties. Logic, careful consideration and persistence are our motto. Well, miss Lily, feel yourself at home. This lab is at your service with no restrictions. Nopony else will work here today.”

“I wonder, sir, why you didn’t assign me any tasks today?”

“Oh, that? Simply because this town is our turf. Who, if not us, will do this job better? I know you have worked in cities before, but your talents lie in other areas, as far as I know. We have an established network here; it’d take too much time to fit you in.”

“I see. Did you find anything?”

“We’ve got some results. Those scoundrels I caught here and there red-hooved,” — Silver Mist tapped his chin, — “red-pawed, or whatever appendages they might have, will be happy to tell me what I need to know, or maybe they won’t, but who cares… I left them no choice, so to speak.” Silver Mist had a devious smile while talking about his ‘unwilling agents’, making me smile at his peculiar phrasings. “Though, I want to request your assistance tomorrow. There is some suspicious activity in the mountains to the west, along with some cases of minor theft, not far from the native buffalo settlement. We need your expertise there.”

“Time and place?”

“Here, at eight in the morning, full field equipment.”

“Roger. Do we expect combat?”

“No, but it’s better to be ready than to lament the lack of preparedness later.”

I made a brief laugh. “Sorry, sir, you remind me of somepony.”

Silver Mist smiled. “No need to be sorry, we are not in the military, after all, to speak between us to the code.” A subtle smile appeared on his face. “That somepony of yours seems quite reliable.”

“Uh… Yes, he is reliable…” My face must have given away my feelings, to my slight embarrassment, but I tried to not show it.

“So, it’s a ‘he’. Youth, youth… Oh, please don’t mind this old stallion’s remarks.”

I felt my cheeks turning slightly hot. “Why does it happen every time I talk about him with somepony…” I sighed internally. “Ah, I know why all too well.”

Silver Mist just smiled amiably, without a hint of ridicule. “Well, young lady, I’ve said all I need to say, and I will no longer distract you. If you forgot some ingredients, just visit the warehouse again. I gave you full clearance to use it. Quite a convenience to be Princess’ direct subordinate, isn’t it?” He chuckled kindly. “I won’t be returning until late night. See you tomorrow morning.”

“Goodbye. I wish you luck, sir.”

“Thanks, miss Lily, though I hope I won’t need it. The key is on the table, so don’t forget to lock the lab when you leave. You know whom to give the key to.” Silver Mist walked out of the lab, closing the door behind him with a metallic clang.

Turning my sight to the tables, I found one with the most suitable equipment for my purpose and started arranging my working place. I pulled the ingredients from my saddlebag and put them on the side of the table. Among those were dried herbs, magic gems, little vials of toxic pollen for powders and raw fresh leaves and petals for liquid mixtures. I’ll start with the latter, so I can leave them boiling on the fire while I work on the powders.

This stage of my work was time-consuming, simple, and monotonous. My thoughts wandered while my hooves were working without stopping, grinding violet magic crystals into fine crystal sand inside the mortar.

“I wonder what they are doing now?” Thoughts of my newly found herd filled my mind, no matter how hard I avoided distracting myself; I just gave up eventually. “I hope they are staying out of trouble. Everypony was throwing those glances at them while we walked together... Being a thestral, I know well how crappy it feels, and it’s much worse for them.”

I never had the time to think about it all properly before today, being always on high alert. It couldn’t be otherwise. We were not on a hike in a peaceful equestrian forest, as we were always on the move to avoid attracting danger, always busy with something as problems cropped up, and we had no shortage of those. When we stopped to have some rest, I always just slept like a dead bat. Flying around and scouting tires the body, and being constantly vigilant strains the mind. But he… They… They were always there to guard my sleep. Ray even stayed up the whole night to guard us and let us rest more. How could he even keep moving after that at such a pace after that? But we’re talking about Ray, so no wonder.

I have this inexplicable trust in them. So, where did it all start? If I didn’t know for sure, I’d think I was under hypnosis, but that’s horseshit. Even if Sapphira knows such magic, she will never use it like that; moreover, Her Majesty personally put a protection spell from mental magic on me, so that’s out of the question. She also said they are our friends, so how could I doubt my Princess? There must be something more to it, but what exactly?

The moment I first met him — was awkward. Shouldn’t have sneaked up on him while he slept, but those are our thestral habits. What can I do about it? Oh, that moment he grabbed and hugged me… I was flustered, but it felt nice, so very nice… Even if he had mistaken me for Sapphira, I secretly liked it. His rather flat face and smaller eyes, looking into mine as he held me in his arms… Those vivid green eyes are so strange, yet so warm when he looks at us. But they can be so horrifyingly scary when he fights; I still have shivers every time I remember his gaze as he charged at the manticore.

Ray is also almost devoid of fur, but, thank Luna, his mane is growing back. I often catch myself thinking how he would look with different mane styles. Then I can get back at him and ruffle his mane as much as I want! I let out a slight giggle at such a thought.

I don’t have any complaints about his skin being devoid of fur. Sapphira doesn’t have it, either, and it does not make her less beautiful. Yes, I deem a changeling beautiful. Is it strange? Nah, I’d rather deem everypony else strange, and I’ll smash the face of anypony who dares to speak shit about her. Language, language… I seem to swear too much, even in my thoughts. Those damn habits of mine. Where did that shy and polite Lily I was some years ago disappear to? I sighed. I don’t want to sound like a boor before them.

Ray’s mimics deserve to be mentioned. There is something wrong with it. Or, rather, on the contrary — he is too pony-like. Not counting his body language and ears, every little move of his face is identical to ours to the minute details, maybe even more subtle, which is not the case for most other non-pony folks. This is so fascinating, considering his extraordinary origins. Conversing with him is so much easier than it could have been with other species. Well, I’m a strange one, because talking with Ray for me is going much more smoothly than talking with other ponies…

I noticed I had a wide smile on my face. “Oh… That still gives me no answers why I like them both so much; it was so fast… Damn! I don’t need no answers. Let’s say it just happened somehow and be done with it. If they are not worthy of my trust, then I don’t know who is.” I thought, pouring another batch of the powder into the bowl, switching to grinding the leaves and petals into a mush, while reminiscing about our time in the jungle.

After we got acquainted, Ray had put me to sleep with his weird magic. Now, I’m sure I’d have collapsed halfway if not for those few hours of rest. It was such a serene sleep in the middle of the deadly jungle. They waited and guarded me, and it felt almost surreal. That was the moment I understood they were definitely good ponies. Well, not ponies, but that doesn’t matter.

At first, I thought they were looking down on me, as they preferred to do most things by themselves, leaving only scouting and tracking for me, not expecting much more, like most ponies usually do when I accompany them. But I was wrong. They trusted my judgment and relied on me, putting me in the role I’m most suited for. We worked as a team, something often left much desired during my past assignments; I took much pleasure in it. Sapphira told me some knowledge about the jungle I was lacking. She is also very good at finding fruits in that forest, so our provisions never ran out until we left the jungle. Oh, those fruits! Every time I think of those fruits, I salivate. And Ray, he is a little clumsy in the forest, but he has the air of an elite soldier when things come to a fight, and he also doubles as a unicorn field medic. That’s quite a crazy combination. The only downside is that he can’t fly along with us, but I’m asking too much, right?

Together with them, it felt… so natural. Like I knew them for a long time already. I didn’t need to show off before them and push my status by being rough, like I often have to do. With them, I could just be myself, just do my job without trying to meet high expectations, just tell them what’s on my mind, and they will listen. And also, for the first time in years, I had that feeling of — just being a mare, appreciated, cared for, and protected. It was like a gasp of fresh air. Ray… I didn’t see such a stallion even among the Guard. Though I can’t say I looked for one either; I haven’t, ever since…

First was the sleazy bastard. He looked so handsome, a descendant of some damn noble family; he said beautiful words, even knew what I liked and made presents. Who would have thought that everything was… fake? Everything he said and done was just lies! A skilled play. A fucking stupid game for him! After doing a deed which didn’t last even two minutes, though that was expected, he just left, with a snide remark about how big of a turndown my fangs and eyes are, and that I should have been grateful he actually stooped to doing it with me. “Moron, you could have at least tried to do it properly. I didn’t even feel anything, you bastard!” I muttered through the gritted teeth, my fang painfully pricking my lower lip, and my hoof holding a pestle trembled. But really, it was such a disappointment even without his insults. Having made several deep breaths, I finally calmed down. “Fuck it! Even to this day, that prick vexes me to no end! If I could, I’d cut off his dong and shove it down his throat so he would choke on it!” I huffed and took a deep breath. I’m sure I was not the first one who he did it to. But, no matter how much I’d like to take my revenge, this will only make my life harder, and also create trouble for the Princess.

The bastard, as it appeared, won a huge bet which required him bedding a shy and taciturn batpony, in other words, me, as the loud cheerful shouts from the street showed. Those shitbags he called ‘friends’... Now the entire neighborhood knew what he did to me. I cried through the night till the sunrise until I finally fell asleep. Then I made a vow to never trust handsome stallions again, especially nobles! I should have understood something was amiss when he approached me first and not the other way around, like it usually happens with the likes of him. Their kind have no shortage of beautiful mares swarming around them. Fuck, it is not even limited by just mares, but how would I know all that? I was just a foolish country filly from a forest village who moved to Canterlot recently. Yeah… a country bumpkin and an idiot!

It was a long time before I tried getting close to any stallions again, but most just avoided me; other times I ran away from them myself, thinking I was not attractive enough. Sometimes I thought the auntie was right, and I should just return to Hollow Shades and find myself a decent thestral stallion instead of trying to find one among regular ponies. Thestrals are really few in the Canterlot.

Everything in my life had changed following my application for the Solar Guard. I, along with other recruits, was put under rigorous training for two years. Such things like love were thrown out of my mind, mostly. I was not too suited for the face-to-face combat the Solar Guard prefers, nor was I a good match for pegasi teams, being a thestral I am, thus I remained below mediocre among the recruits. But then our dear Princess returned from her banishment, restoring the Lunar Guard at long last. It was the event thestrals yearned for generations through the past millennium. Naturally, I applied for a transfer. It was fast; Solar Guard had little hopes for a recruit like me, anyway, so they easily let go of me.

Things went much smoother for me in the Lunar Guard. My talents and aptitude showed themselves, and then… Then Princess Luna herself noticed me, but the place I ended up at was not the Lunar Guard, but a newly founded Shadow guard. Oh, how happy I was that she chose me. At first, I had my doubts about it all, but later I never regretted joining the Shadow Guard.

Stallions were slowly moving even further down in my list of priorities until they had completely disappeared into obscurity. By that time, I already developed that abrasive attitude of mine. I didn’t notice how I turned into a pony that others prefer to avoid, except for some of my colleagues. Since that time weak stallions, be it in the body, mind or will… They piss me off; a lot. It’s even worse if they are nobles. Can’t stand them. I used to look down on of them all; well, it hasn’t changed to this day. “What is worth a stallion who runs away after one slightly rude word? Especially when he deserves it? Ah, who am I trying to deceive here? It was usually far beyond being slightly rude, and I never stopped at just one word… It is so easy to make me snap now, though I was holding up for the past week.” I sighed and chuckled mirthlessly. “Of course, they turned tail and avoided me like I’m cursed; should that be surprising with such an attitude?” Then a genuine smile appeared on my face.

Ray. With him, I don’t need to be like that, and I don’t want to. Though sometimes my habits flare up, he does not seem to even notice. I let out a quiet laugh, remembering all the profanities he spewed out to that damn griffon robber to provoke him and draw his attention away from us. I realized I’m just an amateur in comparison, and he doesn’t take the thoughtless words I sometimes say to heart.

That aside, I feel like a genuine mare around him. Not a soldier, but a filly to be spoiled. Oh, and those hands of his… Those are just divine, I swear! Be it magic or not, I don’t care. His touch is so pleasant, so affectionate… The moment I return, I’ll just jump into his arms and let his hands loose freely on me. No, I’ll demand it! I want to feel him, touch him. I want to hear his voice, want to smell his scent, want to kiss him… I even want to… make love with him, if things come to that. My cheeks turned warm again as I remembered my shameless peeping, but I regret nothing; it was a show to remember. Though I’m not sure if I’ll be able to keep up with Ray — both he and Sapphira are monsters in bed, even if judged only by time they lasted.

“Well, I’m sure Sapphira will second me if I collapse,” I muttered with a silly smile, the scenes from before flashing vividly before my eyes. An involuntary excited snort awoke me from my reverie. I finally noticed I was just spacing out in a daze, looking blankly at the mortar filled with a well-ground paste, with wings spread out and raised high behind my back, my tail twitching uncontrollably.

“Oh crap! What if somepony enters and sees me like this?” I grumbled, shaking my head, trying to switch my thoughts to something else. “Well, I still have work to do,” I mumbled quietly, mixing the ground herbs with water and crystal powder, then poured the mixture into a large retort. Following that, I attached a coil pipe to its top and placed a burner under it. The resulting liquid coming from the other side will be quite potent, so I turned on the ventilation, flipping a lever switch on the wall. I never thought I’d find my current task tedious, but today, I do. I’m too impatient. “So, next goes the dry stuff.” I tried to regain my concentration again, switching to another task at hand.

As I worked, my thoughts turned towards Sapphira. I never thought that one day I’ll have such a close relationship with a changeling, an ‘unreformed’ changeling at that. But she does not have to be ‘reformed’, not in the slightest. Sapphira is so much different from how changelings usually are, be they black or white. I worked along with the latter before, more than once actually, so changelings are not something uncommon for me. Like Sapphira, they are free of hive control, but they are still so much different. Changelings think differently than ponies, but Sapphira thinks differently than the changelings I know. Maybe because she is no longer a drone, but I have a hunch that’s not all to it. If anything, she is often thinking like — Ray. Yes, I’m sure of that. She was together with him a mere few days longer than me, so why do I see such similarity sometimes? Ponies can’t change overnight, or can they? Two beans in a pod — this is about them, and I’m slowly turning into a third one.

Anyway, she is the nicest mare I’ve met in the last few years for sure, even if a strange one. She can always find the right words when my mood is off to fix me up. She can ease my mind when I’m disturbed or confused by something. Of course, she also likes to piss me off with those jokes of hers, and Ray usually plays along. Hmph! But if not for her, I would have never opened up to Ray. I let out a quiet chuckle, thinking about it; calling it assault would be more appropriate than calling it opening up. Most stallions would just show me the door after that, but not Ray; he finds it cute.

Sapphira used every single chance to push me towards admitting my own feelings, though I think she was too over the board doing it, but it felt like a miracle when I actually did that. She was right, oh how she was right… about me, about Ray, and… about herself, too. I want to hug her as much as I want to hug Ray. Perhaps I… love her too, and I guess it’s mutual; it’s not the same as with Ray, but still… Among the herds, such a relationship is not as common as some might think; it’s precious. I don’t find that surprising, though — we’ve gone through so much shit together in just a few days, most ponies might never experience as much through their lifetimes.

Just thinking about how I could leave them here and go back to Canterlot alone makes my hooves tremble in horror. That would have happened if not for Sapphira. I became too insensitive over those years, stubbornly deceiving myself that I don’t need it, but she managed to stoke the fire inside my heart again, even if I felt irritated about it at first. She showed me that deep inside, I’m the same foolish filly yearning for love I was before, just encased in a crude stone shell. That shell can go to Tartarus for all I care! I’m all nice and fluffy, like Ray says. Though I won’t show it towards everypony else, no way, except for our friends, like Sugar.

After spending some time preparing everything, I noticed bright purple liquid was already dropping into the glass from the pipe. The process will still take some time, and I better not inhale the fumes while it lasts, so I walked to another table and climbed onto the chair there. I can use a little break.

Slumping my chest onto the table and holding my head in my hooves, I grumbled, rubbing my cheeks and looking at the clock above the exit, — “Damn it, why am I so impatient today? I’m bored. Time flows at a turtle speed.” I sighed. “U-u-uh! All I can think of is doing — things with Ray… Various things. Lewd things, too.” As time ticked away, my imagination kept painting a myriad of pictures and scenes. The arousal I was feeling, though partially cooled, still refused to go away completely, and such thoughts only kept it on a slow burn.

“Can’t do anything about it, anyway. Perhaps it’ll be better to wrap up everything earlier; don’t want to return late at night. Tomorrow I’ll be out the whole day, and I want to spend some time together with my herd this evening. That’s decided then. I’ll make some stuff for tomorrow and go back,” I said to myself. This decision instantly put me in a cheerful mood, and I felt butterflies flutter in my stomach. Now I can resume my work with renewed motivation.

The shop we were currently in could not be called simple. It was situated on one of the main streets leading from the town hall to the train station. Quite a crowded place, to be honest, designed for tourists and guests of this town, filled with various shops and even boutiques, and we were currently inside one. The couch was cozy, though I find most pony furniture to be rather comfortable. It’s generally larger than what humans are used to, though often a bit low, but you can always just sprawl there in a relaxed manner, and I’m slowly getting a taste for it. My posture may look too smug, but so what?

Currently, I was waiting for Sapphira, as she disappeared behind the screen to try on another dress. It was already the fourth, but I have my expectations for the next one. A light sky-blue with an airy design, as I’d call it. It must go well with her blue mane and eyes. It has a nice wide hat to go along with it, which can protect her from the merciless summer sun of this desert. Sapphira outright refused my help, telling me it would spoil the surprise effect. She refused the help of the shop assistant as well.

That mare was scared silly when we first entered the shop. We often have that effect on ponies, especially when we are together. They don’t have that reaction when it’s just me or Sapphira, but together a changeling and an almost two meter high bipedal creature create that effect. My rather shabby look does not help in this matter, either. Though, over time, she got used to us, especially when she understood we were real customers. This shop was comparatively expensive, though not luxury, and ponies don’t seem to practice overcharging for quality too much. The prices looked adequate for me. With the sum on our hands, it won’t be too much of an expense; besides, I want my girl to look good.

I also asked the shop assistant to find some suitable clothes for me. She said they may have something in store for me, most likely minotaur clothes, but she will have to find those first. Now I was just chilling on the couch, enjoying the cool air of the interior, while Sapphira was busy with the dress, making quiet rustles behind the screen. They must have something similar to an air conditioner here, and this alone raises my expectations for quality of life in this world. I thought it would be much worse.

The sound of trotting hooves caught my attention. The shop assistant, flashing me a smile, walked behind the screen with another batch of clothes on her back. She definitely wants to milk us dry, selling us as many items as she can. After a short while talking with Sapphira in a low voice, she finally appeared back and sat on the nearby chair, throwing me curious glances every so often, but averted her eyes every time I looked back.

“Miss… Do you want to ask something?” I said in a soft voice to avoid scaring her.

“Ah… Y-yes, I just wanted to say… Would you mind waiting for a little longer? Our employee is searching for the clothes for you right now, but that might take… a little more time than expected.

“Oh, that’s no problem at all. We have time.” I said, nonchalantly waving my hand, but the mare continued to look at me. “Anything else?”

“Oh, I’m sorry for staring at you like that, sir, but… what are you? I mean, I’ve never seen anypony like you! Oh, right, you’re not a pony, of course, but…” she trailed off.

I lightly laughed. It seems she is just curious, but she made it sound so awkward.

“I’m a human, and it’s unlikely you’ll see my kind in these parts.”

“I see… It’s just you speak like a native Canterlotian, a little old-fashioned one, but it has its charms.” The shop assistant showed a sheepish smile.

“Old-fashioned, huh? Well, that’s all thanks to my teacher. I’ve never been to Canterlot. Actually, we’ve just arrived in Equestria after a certain… mishap in a jungle expedition, as you can see,” — I gestured with my hands to my shabby clothes with a wry smile on my face, — “so I need to change my wardrobe urgently. My clothes have almost turned to rags. Well, some sure did, except for my lucky shirt.” I patted the only item which somehow survived through all our ordeals. My speech sparked the interest of this mare, and she no longer looked cautious.

“Goodness, but now you are in the right place! I’ll make sure to offer you the best clothes our shop can provide! The best of Manehattan fashion line. We may not be as fancy as Canterlot, but we certainly sell the best clothes for the best prices!”

“Good marketing, miss.” I chuckled, amused by her speech.

“Uh… thanks, I guess.” She smiled back awkwardly.

“You’re at it again, Ray, making ponies feeling awkward,” Sapphira said from behind the screen, playful sarcasm in her voice.

“Oh, come on Sapphi, we’re just having a small chat, right?” I threw a glance at the shop assistant, jerking my brows.

The mare opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated with a somewhat lost look on her face, then Sapphira’s voice beat her to it.

“Yes-yes, of course you are…” she said nonchalantly, trailing off. “I’m coming out. Behold!” Sapphira laughed lightly, walking out.

My gaze was instantly glued to Sapphira’s elegant form; a spark of interest finally flashed in my eyes after a long wait. In addition to a light sky-blue dress, mildly adorned with frilly ornaments, Sapphira had a rather wide-brimmed hat made in the same style and color. The brims of the hat were slightly curved, making the design more fancy. A neat hole with embroidery around it was made in the hat, so Sapphira’s horn was not an issue. Rather, this design accentuated it and only added to her charm.

“Ray? Why so silent? How is it? You like it?” Sapphira walked in a circle to show off her dress from all sides, stopping sideways, then raised and shook her head, smiling charmingly. She gave me a sidelong look as her mane followed her movements in mesmerizing flowing shades of blue. “Damn, that’s hot! Where did she learn that?”

“Oh…” I snapped back from my momentary daze. “You’re too charming, honey. It’s perfect! The color is spot on, the design is not too simple, nor is it obnoxiously fancy, like those in this canterlot magazine,” — I nodded to the coffee table with various fashion magazines piled on it.

“So, you like it?”

“Sure, we’re definitely buying this one. Is it fitting comfortably?”

“Yeah, it feels good on me, kind of. Um-m-m,” — she bit her lower lip, thinking, — “I’m not used to such things, but it fits me just fine, I think. What I like the most is your reaction, though.” Sapphira grinned in a predatory manner. “Well worth it.”

“Great choice.” The assistant mare remarked. “Ah, miss, you’re so lucky to have a stallion who understands fashion.” She put her hoof on her cheek, showing us a dreamy smile. What an actress… She is definitely happy about the opportunity to sell quite a good deal of merchandise today. Then she noticed my skeptical gaze.

“No, really, most stallions around here won’t even see a difference between cheap casual attire and an exquisite evening dress. They just don’t care!” The shop assistant stomped her hoof on the wooden floor, venting her irritation at this fact. “Country bumpkins…” she mumbled quietly.

Well, I can second that. Appleloosa is definitely not about fashion, though when tourists arrive she may have a busy day once in a while, otherwise I see no reason for this shop’s existence.

“I guarantee the other items I have brought are of no inferior quality.” The mare once again encouraged Sapphira to try out something else.

“Oh, then I must try those out!” Sapphira was giddy about it all and went back behind the screen with an almost dancing trot to try on other clothes.

“Women…” I muttered quietly with a smirk, sitting back down and reclining on the couch again. Stretching out my legs, I put one on top of the other and folded my hands behind my head. “Damn, this couch sure is comfy.” From the corner of my eye, I could see the salespony looking at me with genuine interest. Clothes shops are indeed much less popular among local folks compared to what I was used to, and she must be bored hanging in this sparsely visited shop day in and out. Well, I better get used to some extra attention; at least it’s much better this way than scaring everyone around with a mere presence.

I glanced at the salespony, making her avert her eyes awkwardly.

“Ah, right, I’ll go check if the clothes for you are ready.” Not giving me any time to answer, she had disappeared from my sight after saying that, but it looked like she just ran away from the awkward situation.

“Sapphira is getting better at dressing up faster, it seems,” I thought as she walked out dressed in different clothes. The attire was light brown and rather plain this time.

“Hm-m-m. Sapphi, I think more daring and bright clothes fit you better. This one just pales compared to the previous one.”

Sapphira turned to the growth mirror on the side and examined her look. Her brows rose and fell, and her tail moved from side to side slowly as she was thinking about something.

“Well, yes; fair enough. Then it’ll make things faster.” She returned behind the screen again, putting a few sets of clothes away.

Then the process repeated a few times. There was a dark emerald dress, which was okay, a rather classy dress with black and dark blue design. Its lines stressed Sapphira’s predatory nature, and also a light purple dress Sapphira was currently showcasing to me.

“Hey Ray, do you think it will look good on Lily?”

“Hm-m?” I tried to imagine Lily in this dress. “Yes, this is definitely her color, but are you sure it will fit her?”

“I’m sure. We have almost the same size. She is just more muscular. This dress fits a little loosely on me, so it must be fit for her. I’m sure we can change it anyway, if it won’t.”

“Then let’s take it; guess Lily will be happy with our present.”

Sapphira smiled and let out a giggle. “Getting bored, Ray? Just wait a bit more.” She whisked back behind the screen, her silky tail waved behind her in an arc.

“Ray, can you come for a moment?” asked Sapphira, after shuffling with some clothes for a while. There was something intriguing in her tone.

I stood up and walked behind the screen. My eyes widened the moment I stepped behind it; I cleared my throat reflexively. Sapphira’s attire… It was stockings, long, deep red stockings, made of silky material, along with a very revealing and frilly — suit? Or can it be called a pony bikini? Instead of covering anything, its purpose was to underline and highlight every possible sexy part and curve of her body.

Sapphira turned sideways and slowly stretched in a cat-like manner, looking at me from the corner of her eye. Her legs, which were longer than those of regular ponies, were so tantalizing, and her rear… She was perfectly arousing right now. My eyes could not stop trailing the contours of her body.

“Oh, my… So yummy.” Sapphira ended her brief show and cooed in a sensual tone, putting her hoof to her chest and looked at me seductively. “You don’t even have to say anything, Ray. We must buy this pretty little thing.” Her smile was very content and sly.

“You sure enjoy teasing me, but… It’s just… Wow! Perfect. Someone in this shop is an expert in sexy clothes. Of course we are buying it.”

“Come on, stop drooling and go back, unless you want to boast your stallionhood in front of that someone,” Sapphira said, then we heard the sounds of hoofsteps of the returning salespony.

I awkwardly scratched the back of my head as I noticed some tightness down my pants and walked out, only to meet the shop assistant mare before me. She had a slightly flushed look and shifted her hooves every so often.

“I brought you some models designed for… minotaurs. I hope those may fit you.” Her gaze jumped to my crotch and back occasionally when she thought I wasn’t looking, though the jeans made her efforts futile. “Yeah, she had definitely overheard us. Ponies have disturbingly good hearing.”

“There will be no harm in trying. Thank you.” I took the stack of clothes and walked behind another screen.

Surprisingly, the mare brought the clothes which were more or less fitting my size. Not all the minotaurs are buffed like hulks, apparently, but the overall design left much to be desired. That must be because they prefer things to be rather crude, as much as I understand their culture. Good thing these were made by ponies, so the cloth itself was decent and soft. Also, there were no bright colors, which reminded me of common human men’s clothing.

However, even if these shirts were designed for a rather thin minotaur, they will still look baggy on me. Well, over time, it’ll get somewhat better as I plan to work on my body. I looked at my arms — by no means I’m weak right now, but I used to have much bigger muscles before. The trousers, on the other hand, had a more serious problem, namely length. Minotaurs have comically short legs. Even the longest trousers were a little too short for me, even unhemmed.

“I guess this pair is the only one I can possibly wear and still not look like a clown. Though I’ll need a belt for it. Minotaurs’ legs must be their weakness. Damn, why does such a thought suddenly pop inside my mind out of the blue? I was not a battle maniac… or I was? Damn memory loss.” I shrugged and continued with what I was doing.

I was flipping a grayish-black pair of trousers in my hands, trying to discern its length by holding it along my legs. In the end I put it on, together with an off-white shirt and walked out to show the result to Sapphira, who was already waiting on the couch, clad in her new dress, with a hat on top of her head. Three packages lay on the table.

“So, Sapphi, how is it?” I asked, spreading and raising my arms to check how the shirt fits.

Sapphira attentively looked all over my figure. “Not too bad, as far as I can say. But that’s surely not something that was made with your figure in mind.” Sapphira frowned a little, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by the salespony.

“I-I… I’ll make a discount for those. Half a price! We… Ah, it’s a shame, but we really have nothing better for you now, sir.” Salespony drove on the floor with a hoof, looking down, and now I wasn’t sure if it was theatrics or not. Maybe she really cares.

I scratched my chin. “Half a price, you say? Alright, I’ll take it then, along with that black shirt. You can take away the rest. There is no way those would fit me, unfortunately.”

My words made the salespony brighten up again and smile. “Wonderful! You won’t regret choosing our shop, sir, miss!” She looked at us expectantly.

“Oh yes, I’ll also take this belt.” I fastened the belt I fancied on my new trousers. “And I think that’s all. Please pack it all up and count the sum we owe you.”

“Right away!”

The salespony took some colorful bags from behind the counter and quickly wrapped up everything we bought. Overall, we spent almost four hundred there — the things we bought, except for my clothes, were on the more expensive side, but that was okay. The difference in prices was not that big. The only regrettable thing is that the shop had only hats for females, but the salespony gave us the address of a local craftsman. She said he was proficient with working with leather, and his merchandise has the local rustic style and is a bit ‘coarse’, but I still want to take a look.

We said goodbye to the now joyful salespony and left the shop, only to be greeted by a relentless wave of heat outside. It wasn’t that bad but, in the absence of any wind, the contrast with the conditioned air of the shop left an unpleasant stuffy feeling.

“Well, damn. I might’ve been a bit bored sitting back there doing nothing, but at least it was rather cool inside. Let’s check that shop she mentioned.” I looked at Sapphira in her new sky-blue attire. “You’re looking amazing, dear.”

“Oh…” Sapphira looked slightly awkward receiving my praises yet again, but she seemed happy. “Thank you, Ray. It’s the first time I’m wearing something like that — no, wearing anything at all, and it feels a little weird. You know… nobody ever complimented me before we met.”

Sapphira’s wings buzzed, and she floated above ground until our heads were on the same level. Her forehooves slowly embraced my neck. With her eyes closed, her lips reached for mine. Our kiss was brief, but meaningful, garnering a few curious glances from the passersby.

“Whoops, Ray, it seems we’ve gathered a little audience again. Let’s go, I don’t enjoy being stared at like that.” She pulled me lightly by the shirt, leading me away. “It must be somewhere on the west side. We’ve never been there yet.”

“Yep, it must be mostly a living area, with vast gardens on the outskirts, as I was told back in the Nightowl.”

“That’s even better. Maybe there’ll be less dust from all those heavy carts rolling all around the east part, and fewer idiots like that minotaur.” I laughed internally — we’ve been together for just a week and she is already calling people around bastards, idiots and morons, though it is never undeserved. My bad influence… or Lily’s? No matter, I’m fine with that.

“By the way, have you noticed how they look at you now?” I asked after some time.

“How they look at me, you say? Isn’t it as usual, huh?”

“Well, I think they’re not as scared and wary of you with that dress on.”

“You think so?” Sapphira looked at me incredulously.

“Don’t you read their emotions?”

“Nope. It takes effort to discern that muddled jumble of their feelings. The only one I read with no difficulty is you, Ray. It’s actually disturbing me — you’ll be like a giant lighthouse for any changelings around. If anybody tries anything funny with you, I’ll show them!” The tip of her horn made a few clicks as tiny bolts of lightning discharged into the air from it.

“That must be fine unless there is a whole hive somewhere nearby. They will need a whole squad to catch me. It’s unlikely to happen in the town, but that reminds me, we should find a weapons store or a merchant here, but not today. I can’t saunter around the town with a spear, can I? A simple dagger must be enough, just in case.” I must admit, now I feel myself naked when carrying no cold weapons. This is not something I gained through the last week. This is something more fundamental. Was it that combat training ingrained into my head? That must be it.

“Then it’s a good reason to wander around this town tomorrow some more. I’m starting to like it here.”

Sapphira walked in rhythmic hoofsteps, making muffled clops on the road made of sand and dirt. I find this sound pleasant. Ponys’ regular walking speed was like that of a relaxed human walk, so I was walking slowly, trying not to force her into a trot by accident. That already happened a few times, but the girls said nothing about it, though I still noticed it and have tried to be mindful of it since.

“Yeah, even with the ever-present dust and sand, this town is kinda nice.”

“How was the town you lived… before? Was it similar to Appleloosa?”

I fell in thought for a moment. “No, it is not at all like this town. What do you think a city where millions live and work must look like?”

“M-millions? You’re not joking, Ray?”

“Not in the least. Appleloosa is just a tiny town for me. We can unhurriedly cross it in less than an hour, and even the local city hall is just a low-rise building by my standards.”

“I can’t even imagine what it must look like…”

“A jungle of concrete, stone, metal and glass, as some like to say, and everything is paved in asphalt.”

“It was… a metaphorical jungle, right? And I haven’t understood some of what you’ve mentioned.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, it’s because in some places there are too many houses, tens of floors high, standing close to each other that some call it a stone jungle. And no wonder you don’t understand some words. There are no such things here. Well, maybe Luna might help us with that one day. I find it not too hard showing landscapes from my memories when she enters my dreams.”

“Luna…” Sapphira lowered her voice. “By the way, what is between you two? You seem to have… mutual sympathy. Am I wrong?”

I sighed deeply before answering. “I’ll be lying if I say there is none. She is a lonely soul, a very lonely soul, tormented by loneliness and her nemesis for a thousand years on the moon. I don’t know why, but we click well with each other. Maybe because we both feel somewhat out of place in this world? But no, this is just my speculation. It’s just how it is, and I can’t explain it rationally.”

“Ho-o-o… And somebody was so afraid of her before.” Sapphira teased me.

“Well, yeah. But look, she is a — diarch. That also means that things you are curious about are very unlikely to progress beyond being friends, unofficial friends, to be specific, no matter what happens. So you don’t need to worry about that.” I raised my brows and spread my hands to emphasize that.

“I’m not worrying, but… why are you so sure about it?”

“It’s what my historical knowledge about the royalty of many countries from my world tells me. We had plenty throughout our history. Status goes before the person with close to none exceptions, and all this stuff.”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re right. It’s a difficult topic for a changeling.”

Meanwhile, as we talked, the townscape gradually turned more rural, with low wooden houses with sizable gardens lining the sides of the road and spreading further along with the net of smaller winding roads. There were fewer and fewer tourists, travelers and workers on the main road, and more local inhabitants, with quite a number of foals running around the streets. The soft breeze brought with it a light fragrance of greenery and flowers.

“The air around here smells nice.” I shifted from our awkward topic and inhaled deeply. “Look at those orchards ahead,” — I pointed with my hand forward, down the gentle hill we were walking right now, — “they stretch along all those slopes as far as the eye can see.”

“Oh, really?” Sapphira took flight to see better. “Oh, my… They are huge!”

“Yeah, what I itch to know is how the hell can they maintain those in the middle of this half-desert?” I scratched my already overheated head. “Are we really going in the right direction, Sapphi? We’re almost on the outskirts of the town.”

“I’ll have a look from above, then. It must have a green roof.” Sapphira chuckled and soared into the sky with a loud buzz, as if she was really weary of walking on the ground. Her dress fluttered in the air, but her hat was securely fixed with her horn, so no accidents happened.

“Whoa… did she get even faster yet again?” I muttered to myself with a smile. “That’s nice to see her health getting better.”

“Found it!” She shouted from above, pointing with her hoof to one of the smaller roads, then slowly landed back beside me.

“That workshop is rather hard to find. It seems the owner is making stuff for the locals, not caring much for travelers and tourists. By the way, it seems now you’ve got yourself a fan club.” I laughed, looking at the group of foals, trying to follow us silently with little success in being discreet. Her shout must have attracted their attention.

“What?” She looked around, flustered, finally noticing the little bandits who tried hiding behind a small fence which could hide nothing at all. “Oh, them… Cute little ones,” she said through a laugh. “They are just curious. How unusual. I thought foals would be the ones most scared of me. By the way, they are as much your fan club as they are mine, honey. We both stand out too much.”

“Maybe. Well, they aren’t bothering anyone, so let’s go. If they want to tail us, then let them.” I shrugged.

The uneven road was rather narrow, barely allowing two pony carts to part, and had a primitive fence along it. The road curved around sparsely scattered houses, with small fields and gardens by the sides. Some ponies were working in the distance, weeding, but we met nobody on the road itself. Around two minutes later, we finally saw the workshop standing by the road in the distance. Yeah, most likely it was just a workshop and not the actual shop. Even the sign was not very noticeable. The foals were running behind us with quite some noise, hiding in the roadside bushes every so often. Then we heard a thud, followed by the child’s cries.

“My leg! It hurts!”

We turned our heads to the noise and saw one foal plastered on the dirt road trying to get up, but failing. Other foals stood nearby, visibly discontent with the delay.

“Ash, you’re so clumsy!” The largest of the lot shouted.

“Hey, who jumps over a fence like that?” Another one said with derision.

“Ah, y’all are so noisy! Now they have noticed us.” The third one saw we were looking at them.

“Come on, get up already! We need to run!” The first one to speak urged the hurt foal to get back up and run.

“But guys, she is hurt…” a quieter girlish voice protested.

Then an unintelligible argument followed.

“I can’t get up…” whimpered the foal on the ground.

“No! Look, the monsters are coming!”

“Run!”

The foals shouted and galloped away in a panic into one of the nearby gardens, leaving the foal, most likely a filly, alone on the road.

“Wait! Don’t leave me…” the foal shouted, but seeing her friends run away, her voice faded away to a whisper as she said the last word. “Traitors,” she grumbled. The filly finally sat herself on the ground, holding her hurt hoof with another one, sobbing quietly and looking at our closing figures with what must be a mix of pain, apprehension and curiosity on her face. There were no other grownups around here to help her, so we couldn’t just walk away.

“Hello, little one, don’t be afraid. We saw you fell down, so maybe we can help.” I started talking from some distance away and waved my hand at her.

The filly, Ash, as she was called by her friends, looked me in the eye for a while in thought.

“You don’t eat foals, do you?”

I chuckled and crouched before the filly so I won’t tower over her menacingly. “Of course not. Who would eat foals, anyway? I’m Ray, and this is Sapphira. We are travelers, and we want to help you.” My soothing voice seemed to calm her down a little.

“You aren’t monsters, right? I… I’m Ash Rose.”

Ah, that’s it. Her name is obviously made after her colors — a light ash-pink coat, adorned by a rather long, pale maroon mane, curling at the ends. Ash’s eyes were large, soft magenta in color. She looks so adorable that I even have to fight the urge to pet her.

“The guys made up something silly again. They always do,” Ash muttered under her nose grumpily and sighed. “And now they ran away. I want to go home, but I can’t step on my hoof. It hurts when I do. My mother will take me to a doctor.”

“Can I have a look? I promise to be careful.” I held my palm out in front of her, waiting for her reaction.

“I…” — Ash hesitated for a moment, — “okay,” she almost whispered and slowly placed her slightly trembling hoof on top of my palm.

This is something I must be able to deal with easily. I’ve been neglecting proper training for the past two days, and now I have a certain itch to use my power once more, as if it just begs to be used. I closed my eyes and concentrated, remembering the proper feeling for a while, but before I do anything, I must check what’s wrong.

I opened my eyes again and looked around. Instead of the regular picture, all I could see were silhouettes and forms of the living organisms, painted in shades of green, yellow and white in some places. Yellow represents living beings, while green represents plant life; I was unsure what white meant, maybe it’s fungi, but that’s unimportant right now. I could even see the roots of the trees going deep under the earth. The spots without any life were visibly black. Also, everything beyond the area of my senses turned to a cosmic blackness, like the landscape itself was being consumed by it. Such a scenery was slightly disturbing, but I’m already used to it.

I lowered my sight to the Ash’s hoof. Focusing a little on it, I checked different tissues, layer by layer — skin, muscle, tendons, vessels, joints and finally, bones. Everything was not too bad. She had no fractures or tearings, just quite a painful sprain that would heal over a week, but I can’t let a cute little foal suffer for a week, now can I? I returned my vision to normal, the regular landscape smoothly emerged, replacing that strange one. Luckily, Ash was looking at her hoof, too, so she wasn’t frightened by my glowing eyes.

“What are you doing?” Ash looked at me quizzically.

“Just checked what needs to be healed. Now hold still, I’ll use a bit of magic.”

“Magic? Yay! Show me, show me!” Ash bobbed on her healthy hoof a little in excitement. It’s as if she had already forgotten about being afraid of us and her hurt hoof.

“Sh-h-h! Be quiet and stand still, please.”

“Oka-a-ay,” Ash drawled, but her excitement was still in her eyes.

My ‘life essence’ was running down my arm fluidly. I was a little surprised how little effort it took to let it out, as if it had a will of its own, happily following my orders without fail. First, numb the pain, second, start restoring the damaged tissues, third, remove inflammation and swelling, then saturate the damaged area with enough essence to let it heal to full on its own quickly. All in all, it took around five minutes. A scowl of pain had disappeared from Ash’s face almost as soon as I started the treatment. She was looking with interest over the dimly flashing yellow flow surrounding her hoof. This little filly is really tough to endure that pain and speak to us like she just did. Are all earth ponies like that? She is just a little foal.

“Wow! It feels good, and strange,” Ash commented. “We don’t have magic doctors here.”

“Ashy, how old are you?” I asked when I was already finishing with the treatment.

“Huh?” She got distracted from observing the magic flow. “Ah, I-I’m seven… but I’m smaller than the rest…” Ash said in dejection. “And they laugh at me when I can’t catch up with them when we play. And they also tease me and call me shorty.”

“Oh… They’re just jerks. You will grow up into a fine mare, I’m sure, Ashy. Don’t you worry about it.” I slowly released her hoof when I finished my treatment. “Does it still hurt?”

“No.” She moved her hoof around and then tried to stand up on it. “It’s fine. Fine! Yay!”

I held her with my hand as she tried to go into a jumping spree.

“No jumping and running for a few days. Promise me.”

“I pro-omise,” she drawled again playfully, smiling, but I don’t think she will misbehave and hurt her hoof again. “Thank you, doctor!”

“You’re a smart filly, Ashy. Your leg will be good as new soon.” I habitually ruffled her mane and scratched behind her ears. Her eyes closed in pleasure; she raised her head and cooed quietly. This little filly has thrown her apprehension to the wind and totally trusted me. That’s cute, but it’s a little disturbing. What if anyone with bad intentions approaches the foals? Will they be similarly trusting? Well, the others ran away, so I think the answer is no.

“U-u-u… what’s that? So nice. Can you scratch me there a little more?”

“Well… Come here then.” I took Ash into my arms; she looked happy about it. Then I stood up and sat on the roadside fence. It was made of simple, thin, and slightly crooked logs, nailed to short poles. I sat Ash down on my lap.

“Have you finished already?” Sapphira finally came closer. I guess she stayed away to avoid frightening Ash.

“Ah! Changeling lady! You’re a good changeling, right?”

Sapphira chuckled. “I guess I am. At least I’ve done nothing bad. Are you alright, little one?”

“I’m already good. The kind doctor helped me.” She raised her head to look up at me; I returned her gaze with some more ear scratches to her joy.

Sapphira giggled. “Oh yes, doctor Ray is really kind, isn’t it, doctor Ray?”

I sighed. “Sapphi, do you really want to force a new nickname upon me?”

“Maybe?” Sapphira chuckled. “At least it sounds good and is also true.”

“Nickname? What nickname?” Ash asked, opening her closed eyes, as she couldn’t get our conversation.

“Nothing, Ashy, we’re talking about silly things. By the way, don’t you need to go home now? You need to eat well if you want to heal your hoof faster and also grow taller.”

“Just one more minute… I promise I won’t skip my meals anymore.”

“Good.” I nodded in approval and swapped to belly rubs as Ash turned around on her back, giggling happily. Damn, this is better than petting a kitten! So cute, so fluffy.

“Ray, you seem to be great with foals,” Sapphira whispered in my ear.

“You think so? Didn’t notice this for myself before.”

“Just look at her cheerful face.”

I looked at Ash once more, who grabbed my hand with her hooves.

“Ashy, can you walk home by yourself?”

Ash blinked twice. “Yup! No running, right?”

“Right.”

“Where are you two going? It’s already far from the big town and there is nothing interesting around.”

“We were looking for a workshop which makes hats.”

“Ah, so you were looking for Mr. Bodkin. Here is his workshop.” She pointed her hoof at the building we were heading to. “I’d go with you, but he doesn’t like us loitering around his workshop.He scolded us for it a few times already.”

“Alright, Ashy, we really need to go now. It’s almost early evening and we still have other things to do.” I picked her up and wanted to put her down.

“Wait. Hugs!” She held out her hooves to me. “Ah, of course it’s hugs. I have almost forgotten where I am. Even in the bar, I witnessed ponies do a lot of hugging, regardless of age and gender.”

Deeming it was already a long enough hugging session, I carefully put her down on the ground. “Now go home to your parents. They may be worried if your friends told them you were hurt.”

“I… I have only mommy. I’ve never had a dad.” But she didn’t look sad about it. “Anyway, bye-bye doctor Ray, bye-bye changeling lady! Oh, wait! Doctor Ray, do you live here in Appleloosa?”

I scratched my head. “We are living at Nightowl House in the southern part of the town at the moment. Why do you ask?”

“I won’t tell!” She giggled and started trotting away, almost breaking into a gallop. “Bye!”

“Goodbye, little one,” said Sapphira.

“Bye, Ashy. And no running!” This forced her to slow down a little.

“Oka-ay!”

We resumed walking, and I was in thought about this unexpected interaction with a local child.

“Um… Ray, do you like foals?”

I scratched my head. “Well, yeah. This little filly was a cute one, but others, though, looked like troublemakers.”

Sapphira chuckled. “They sure did. What I wanted to ask… Perhaps… Do you, maybe, want your own — foals?”

This question of hers made me feel a little awkward.

“You mean adopting a foal?”

“Oh, by the First Queen… Of course I should’ve been more blunt about such things. Because it’s you, Ray.” Sapphira laughed. “I mean us, making foals together naturally.”

“Wait, what? But that should be impossible. We are of different species and our DNA is just not…”

Sapphira interrupted me. “I don’t know what DNA is, but listen carefully. Changeling mares can have foals with any known sapient species in existence. I see no reason for you to be an exception. It’s just I won’t be able to make a human foal for you, regrettably.” Sapphira said in a quiet voice, just enough for me to hear her. Her eyes darted around; she was obviously nervous, but my brain activity just crashed at this moment and I was standing still, as Sapphira’s words were playing inside my head on repeat.

My mind was thrown into disarray yet another time. So many thoughts came and gone all at once. I never thought there would be a possibility for me to leave any descendants of my own, even if they are not humans. I had long stopped entertaining such thoughts, and I’m not talking about this one crazy week I spent on Equis, but that strange place which separated my life into ‘before’ and ‘after’. There, I spent years, and I thought about it many, many times, as much as I can remember.

The more time passes, the more those memories become ingrained in my mind. At first, it was just like a library, existing somewhere inside my head, where I could look once in a while when I wanted to. Now, however, I feel I have lived through those events myself more and more. It was hard getting over the fact I’ll never have an actual family of my own, but I never really spoke to Falda’ar about it. Not even once, deeming it too shameful to speak about it before an honorable warrior he is. The years had ground away those worries and disappointments, and eventually, I had resigned myself to this sad fact. Now everything has turned upside down. Really? I never thought about the possibility like that. We did it with Sapphi yesterday… Is she—? And what about Lily, then?

“Ray? Ray! Are you alright?”

I forcibly yanked myself out of my pathetic condition, shaking my head vigorously. Then I looked at Sapphira.

“Are you serious, Sapphi?”

Sapphira’s eyes turned sad. “Yes, you don’t like the idea? Then… it’s alright…” I could hear her voice quivering slightly, her ears drooping.

“Wait, wait, wait, Sapphi. That’s not it. It was too sudden news. You know… I had long resigned myself to the fate of never becoming a father…” I dropped to my knees right on the road and hugged my girl. “If we really can have children… I don’t care if they will be changelings, but it’s a bit too early for it right now, are you…”

“Ah, no, my dear, I’m not.” Sapphira sighed, hugging me back. “We, changelings, can decide when we want to make foals, and now is not the right time yet.” We stood like that for a while. Then she turned her head down. “Oh, now you have your new pants stained with dust.”

“It’s okay, those are just pants.” I pulled away from Sapphira and saw tears in the corners of her eyes, but she didn’t look sad anymore. “Something wrong, Sapphi?”

“No, I… I don’t know, it’s fine, I’m just happy.” Sapphira shook her head, her long flowing mane waving in the air. Then she showed me a charming smile. “Let’s go? I want to hide from this heat already.” She dusted off my knees with a speck of her magic and we unhurriedly strolled forward in silence. No words were necessary.