Sitting up, Somnia sighed at the surrounding sight. The forest. It’s always the damn forest.

“Should I stay here or...?” she asked to nopony in particular. She often didn’t have repeating dreams, but this is one she was all too familiar with: her anchor vision. A few specters weaved between the white-barked trees ahead of her, eying her with curiosity and soothing affection. Wiping her hooves on the silver grass that was softer than the highest quality cloud beds, she stood up and walked toward the golden forest’s edge.

She braced herself for yet another rejection, a few of the closest wisps stopping to watch. Somnia took a deep breath at the edge of the forest and stepped forward...

Waiting in front of the library for Twilight was an unexpected guest. It had been two days since the attack, everypony having returned to Ponyville the following night. Celestia had spoken to Somnia before they left, taking Dawn with her back to where Twilight assumed was Canterlot, but now it became clear where Dawn went.

“Um, i-is it alright?” The colt asked, uncertain at Twilight’s hesitation.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, come on in.” Twilight stepped out of the way of Nightwind, letting him enter the library with Dawn following behind.

“Sorry about not telling you earlier. I thought Somnia would have mentioned it.” The stallion apologized.

“It’s no problem. I know Duskwing will be in the Crystal City while he recovers, and this will be a great opportunity to get to learn about my nephew.”

“Where am I sleeping?” Nightwind turned back, still nervous about the sudden change in arrangements.

“I would have you sleep in Somnia’s bed, but since she’s still recovering, I think that you sleeping in mine will be alright, if you’re comfortable with that.” Twilight leaned down to eye level, squinting. “I don’t hog the sheets or snore.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s fine.” He turned and began looking around the library. Twilight had locked the door to the basement after returning from the Crystal City so Somnia didn’t get any bright ideas. Somnia’s bed was also put onto the lower level of the bedroom while she moved Spike’s back up top, much to his relief.

“I need to turn in for the day. I’ll see you later tonight.” Dawn lazily saluted before leaving. Nightwind wasn’t what Twilight was expecting. She expected somepony with a strength of will rivaling Somnia, somepony she could see Somnia being intimate with, but he was by far her inferior in terms of confidence.

“Is the bedroom upstairs?” He finally asked after having inspected the main floor.

“I use the top floor as the bedroom.” Twilight led him up the stairs and into the room, eyed by her daughter off to the side. “Our bed is on the upper level.”

“I didn’t take you for that type.” Somnia commented from her bed.

“I would give him to you, but you need to recover.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I could have gotten another bed prepared if somepony had told me ahead of time.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“Um, is that a dragon?” Nightwind pointed to the purple and green baby dragon reading a comic book next to Somnia’s bed.

“Spike!” Twilight waved him over. “This is Nightwind, Somnia’s cousin. Nightwind, this is my number-one assistant and my adopted son, Spike.”

“Nice to meet you!” Spike held out a claw, which Nightwind shook after a moment of hesitation. “If you need anything, you can come to either me or Twilight. Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”

“Don’t dragons eat ponies, though?” Nightwind shirked back a bit at the flinch from the two creatures nearest to him.

“What? No, I don’t eat ponies. I’ve grown up with ponies my entire life!” Spike reassured him. “Maybe other dragons eat ponies, but I don’t.”

“You have nothing to worry about. Spike is a part of the family. You’ll get used to him.” Twilight patted Nightwind’s head. “Is there anything I can do for you while I’m here? I have to run some errands in town, so if you want anything picked up, then tell me now.”

“No, I’m good.” He looked around the room. “Where’s the fiction books?”

Twilight showed him around the different sections of the library before grabbing her saddlebags and leaving. The colt took a book from the fiction shelf, returning upstairs to read on the shared bed. A few minutes later, Spike left to go see somepony named ‘Rarity’, leaving him alone with Somnia.

The book was an adventure novel involving a pegasus renowned as ‘the bravest pony in Equestria’, swinging and fighting their way through the southern jungles to stop the ambitions of a greedy doctor and tyrannical beast. Both continued to read their separate books for a while longer, until movement downstairs caught the colt’s attention. Before he could even get to the stairs to the lower level, the door to the room opened, and he froze in place.

Stepping into the room was a timber wolf, its eyes bright, glowing a sickly green and its mouth shut with something glowing green within. It approached the wounded filly, speaking a language Nightwind didn’t understand. While Somnia spoke back in the same language, Nightwind watched on in terror and fascination.

Excalion paid me a visit saying that you wished to speed up the process? Isirilas asked from their timber wolf messenger.

“Yeah. What do you know about the catalysts?” Somnia sat up a bit more in bed.

Not much. They were the gemstones in the Excalicorn Amulet, removed by Princess Stellar Shimmer after the fall. She traveled the world to give some hope for the fractured creatures. If you want to know how they were made, I would suggest speaking to Grogar.

“So what do they do? I’ve seen the amulet before, but they seemed decorative other than the big one.”

These are no mere decorations, little one. Each provided energy for the wearer of the amulet to use, making them nearly unbeatable. The old queen kept peace through strength, much as you will. But that is merely the history. I’m uncertain what they will do for you without the amulet.

They are catalysts designed to give Somnia a jump-start to her powers. Grar answered. Merely bringing them close to her will cause them to be absorbed into her soul. Do you know of where the others are?

I do not. The princess was unwilling to share the locations for the others. She gave me this one, but the others are a mystery to me. I suspect the centaurs and griffons each received one; however, I do not know where they may be.

“One is better than none.” Somnia shrugged. “Is that’s what’s glowing in your mouth?”

The timber wolf opened its mouth to reveal the small, brilliant glowing green gemstone. Somnia couldn’t tear her eyes away from the stone, her mind receiving whispers she couldn’t even understand.

I’m glad to see the story was true. The timber wolf stepped forward, bring its jaws close enough for her to reach in and grab the stone. The moment her hoof made contact, she closed her eyes. All around her, the air sparked with magical energy, lifting the stone before her.

Within seconds, the stone disintegrated and flowed into her very being, sending shivers running through her body and soul as the power within her unlocked. In that instant, she returned to forever, catching glimpses of existence at its very core.

Then it was all over. She opened her eyes to see the timber wolf back away, its eye glow diminished to only a slight glow.

This is unexpected. I can’t read your thoughts anymore. Grar commented.

“A bolstering of the soul, from what Princess Stellar explained.” The timber wolf growled out, its voice needing physical transmission. “It served its purpose for me. Now I can only hope that you will make the most of it.”

“That’s why you lived so long...” Somnia whispered back. Her eyes adjusted to the surrounding environment. Beneath the physical sight was something else, blurred but not in the way of normal vision. She closed her eyes and beheld the world clearer than before.

Tendrils attached to the timber wolf from a distant source, wisps of energy flowing through the air in a majestic dance. It was- Is that Nightwind? She focused her new vision on the colt above and to her right. Without having to swivel her head, she could sense everything around her, or the magical impact at least. Nightwind’s soul laid before her, the emotions playing out as clearly as words upon a page.

This is going to take getting used to. She thought, directing it so that – she hoped – Grar could hear.

You’re telling me. I only assumed it would unlock your power, not change your very essence to something I can’t even recognize.

Isn’t this soul encryption? I remember you telling me something about that.

This is more advanced. You can detect and break soul encryption. This is indestructible and invisible.

“I’m sorry, but I must return this messenger to the forest. I cannot sustain its form much longer without the stone’s energy.” The timber wolf made one last bow before retreating through the doorway.

“W-What–“

“Happened?” Somnia’s smile grew, opening her eyes to look at the colt. “You don’t need to be scared. Isirilas is a good friend. He wouldn’t hurt you.”

Nightwind made his way down the stairs toward her at a cautious pace. “The stone just broke into pieces and flowed into you!”

Closing her eyes again, she examined the world around her. She could make out the faint traces of ponies in the neighboring buildings. Each one had a distinct imprint, but all sharing certain small characteristics. She could tell what type of pony they were only by the arrangement of their soul. It was a completely new sense.

“You’re still scared.” Somnia said with some amusement in her voice.

“What? N-No, I’m not!” Nightwind denied in a futile attempt.

“You are. And now you’re even more anxious. It’s so easy to read you now! Surprise, fear, embarrassment.” She reopened her eyes, lids half closed. “Come on~ I can see all of your emotions.”

“W-What do you mean you can see them?” He moved back a short distance.

“I see them. It’s like another form of sight or smell. It’s kinda difficult to describe.” She rubbed the back of her head before going back to the smirk. “Yes, I can tell when you’re feeling attraction. And from the looks of it, it’s toward the one filly that feels the same way.”

“HUH?!” He looked around nervous. “I, uh, g-gotta go–“

“Where? You arrived in Ponyville two hours ago.” She gave a short giggle, patting the bed next to her. “Please?”

The colt walked toward her and sat down at the edge of the bed, keeping his eyes from her to stare at the floor. Somnia was the first to speak. “Back in Excalicorn, we used to be very close. Since your parents weren’t around, my mom and dad took care of you. You were one of the few other ponies around my age they allowed me to talk to besides Fae. We liked the simplicity of our relationship. I would take charge. You would follow.”

He nodded, still not understanding. “Did we ever–“

“Kiss?” She grabbed his cheek and turned his head toward her. “Many times. We even fooled around more than once, sometimes getting in trouble because of it. You were older back then, but not by much.” He scooted closer to her since she couldn’t move from her position. “Why do you like me?”

“I, um...” Nightwind hadn’t actually thought about that. It just seemed to be a crush.

The filly next to him let out another giggle. “You didn’t know when I asked you back then, either. It’s okay, I understand. You’ll come to understand why, and I accept it...” She leaned close to his muzzle, closing her eyes and whispering: “With all my heart.”

With a single motion, she kissed him, his eyes going wide at the suddenness of the simple act, before he relaxed into it. The door then opened and in came trotting Twilight with a bag in her magic grasp. “I got you some more... Oh.”

Nightwind pushed away from Somnia. “S-She–“

Twilight silenced him with a raised hoof. “It’s okay, I know.” She walked over and sat down next to him, the colt looking away, embarrassed. “Somnia explained enough to me. Try not to get her pregnant before you’re married, alright?”

“P-Pregnant?!” He fell from the bed, getting a laugh out of the filly. “We haven’t done anything like that!”

“Yet.” Twilight winked at him. “Knowing colts, and who Somnia is, you’ll be spending a lot of time alone together.”

“Mooom.” Somnia whined. “Quit arousing him!”

“Isn’t that what you want?” Twilight rubbed her head, both having a short laugh. “How are you even able to tell?”

Somnia closed her eyes and focused on her mother. Playful, curious, happy, and underneath it all, anxious. “What are you anxious about?”

“What? I’m not anxious.” Twilight denied as she floated over the bag. Somnia watched the tendrils extend from her horn to the bag, surrounding it in her grasp. “What makes you think I’m anxious?”

“Is it dad?” She asked, getting a small spike of emotion from her mother. “Knew it.”

“He’ll be alright, I’m sure of it.” She patted Somnia’s hoof. “But how did you know?”

“I can see it. Your curiosity mixed with suspicion, now some surprise. Isirilas stopped by to give me something to speed up getting my powers. I can now see every soul within about twenty poni and what they are feeling. I don’t even need my eyes to see your emotions have become internal. Means you’re thinking, right?”

“Yeah.” Twilight admitted, providing a light smile back at her. “This is going to make it a lot harder to hide secrets from you.”

“I’ll try acting surprised.”

“D-Did you know she was coming back?!” Nightwind asked from the floor.

“Yup.” Somnia opened her eyes and looked down at him. “You’re pretty handsome when you’re embarrassed.”

He blushed and got up to go back to the bed upstairs. “Quit teasing him.” Twilight shook her head. “Colts can’t help themselves when fillies compliment them.”

“Neither can fillies.” Somnia added. “This is going to be fun to explore. I even got three test subjects!”

“Don’t go overboard now. Ponies don’t like it when others can see more about them than they want revealed.”

“Princess Twilight, your presence is requested in Canterlot.” The guard hoofed her a scroll with the royal seal of Celestia. She thought it was odd that they didn’t send it through Spike. Unfolding the letter, she skimmed over it, disappointed with how bare bones it was.

“Do you- Oh, who am I kidding?” Twilight let out a pent-up sigh, following the guard to the waiting chariot but not before calling back inside: “Nightwind, Somnia! I’m heading to Canterlot! Be back later today! Love you!”

Upstairs on her bed, Nightwind raised his head. “Did you hear that?”

“Kinda.” Somnia shrugged. “Something about Canterlot.” She closed her eyes involuntarily. There weren’t any dangers, especially not what she was seeing. “Nightwind, Somnia. I’m heading to Canterlot. Be back later today. Love you.” She repeated the words from the vision, reopening her eyes. “Huh.”

“Did you make that up?” He raised a brow.

“No, I just saw it... I just saw it!” She closed her eyes again and focused on the past few seconds. There wasn’t much she could gleam besides Nightwind putting down his comic book and asking her two questions, but there were some interesting quirks associated.

She looked even further back. As far as she could go was up to a minute prior. What about other places? She tried imagining one of the neighboring houses, using the pony inside as the focus. The indoors formed as if it were real; the pony sitting at their kitchen table filling in a crossword puzzle. She kept probing further, finding that only localized events within her soul-sight she could see.

“Is that something new?” Nightwind asked from above.

Didn’t almost thirty seconds pass? Why is his response only being processed now? She returned to the room they were in, examining the time from then until now. It had only been a second or two yet to her it felt like thirty. Her thoughts pushed past the present, and she predicted his next response with a smile on her face.

“Are–“

“Yes, I’m alright.” She opened her eyes and turned up to him. “I can see up to a minute in the past and even into the future!”

“Uh, are–“

“You sure that you can see the future? Yes, I’m absolutely certain.” She squealed. “This is awesome!”

“Oh, then what–“

“You were going to drop your comic onto the ground.” She answered, smirking. “Can’t hide from me anymore.”

“Oh.” He laid back down on the bed. “Can you see my future emotions?”

She closed her eyes again and focused, time going back and forth along in her mind’s eye. Only the physical world was available to her outside the present. Still, it was quite useful to have. Returning to the present, she tried speeding up her thoughts. Breathes became far longer, sounds became more of a stream of noises, compression waves that impacted her ears, picking up far easier.

The world itself seemed to slow down. Even the magical wisps were moving slower. Her sight moved to gaze upon Grar, or rather his soul. It was unlike anything she had seen before, almost like a tumor if it were suddenly removed from a body unchanged with tendrils that wrapped against something. Despite her own soul’s potency, she simply couldn’t see it. It appeared as though Grar was attached to something invisible.

“Sssssoooooommmmmnnnnnniiiiiiaaaaaa?” The drawn out sound of the word was understandable even in such a state. Moving her hoof, she could feel the lethargy of her body against the sudden command. Each muscle receiving their orders, the entire process delayed a fraction of a second after she thought of the motion. She opened her eyes at the speed of a blink, the simple act lasting far longer than it normally did. The world was slowed, even with regular vision.

Rather than live in slow motion, she sped her mind back up to a regular flow, or at least what she hoped was regular. “Have you ever felt individual muscles receiving orders?” She smiled up at him. “It’s so cool!”

“What?”

“I can speed up my mind! I wonder if there’s anything else this allows me to do...” She tried thinking of things to try at the speed of slow. Shaking her head, she turned back to her colt friend. “Nope, nothing yet.”

“That was only a second!”

“It was fifteen for me.” She tapped her head. “Gotta think outside of regular time.”

“Uhhhh... Okay?” He let out a sigh, shaking his head before returning to the comic book.

Unbeknownst to him, Somnia was reading the comic book with her remote sight and slowed time.

This is going to be so much fun!

Returning upstairs to the bedroom, Twilight took a deep breath. Passing through the doorway she spotted the CMC were chatting with Somnia at her bed, a bored Nightwind lounging on a cushion nearby.

“Welcome back!” Somnia waved to her. “Was it a good meeting or a bad meeting?”

“We’ll see.” Twilight walked over to them. “Seems you got visitors. Hello, crusaders.”

“Heya, Twilight!” Apple Bloom greeted. “We were just stoppin’ by to see how she’s doin’. Is he stayin’ with ya?” She motioned toward Nightwind.

“Until his uncle is healthy enough to move to Ponyville, he’ll be staying here.” She nodded. “He’s Somnia’s cousin from one of my other brothers.”

“I didn’t know you had other brothers.” Sweetie gave her a curious look. “Any more family we don’t know about?”

“The regal sisters are my nieces and granddaughters.” Twilight giggled. “It’s pretty weird, I know.”

“That’s awesome!” Scootaloo jumped up onto her hooves. “It’s like you’re an actual royal family, with inbreeding and everything!”

“Nightwind, eyes.” Somnia smirked at him, immediately averting his gaze from the orange area he had been looking at.

“Have you been staring at other fillies, nephew?” Twilight walked over, pushing his head up with her hoof. “That isn’t very gentlecoltly of you.”

Sweetie gave a groan. “He’s insatiable!”

“He’s horny.” Scootaloo corrected with a laugh, sitting back down. “You would notice the colts in our class looking at you if you actually paid attention.”

“Hey! I’m not that popular with them!” Sweetie fussed, blushing.

“Yeah, ya are.” Apple Bloom chuckled. “Why do you think they all sit at the back? Don’t want ya seein’ ‘em.”

“Colts were like that at Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns.” Twilight nodded, reminiscing about those days. “I never had time for a coltfriend with my studies. And I wouldn’t have one now if it wasn’t for the fact I technically had a foal with him.”

“Speaking of which,” Scootaloo continued while Twilight walked over to her desk to gather a few things, “Rumble and I have been getting pretty serious. After that gigantic explosion, he wants to keep hanging out with me!”

“I’m sure he’s just scared.” Apple Bloom dismissed. “We were all scared by it.”

“Well, yeah, but he was really hugging me yesterday. Like he didn’t want me leaving!” She argued for little success with her friends. “Hey! At least I have colts interested in me!”

“Didn’t you just say they were looking at me behind my back?” Sweetie countered.

“But you’re not interested in colts! Wouldn’t surprise me if you were like Rainbow... shine. Yeah, totally meant to say Rainbowshine.”

“We know Rainbow Dash is into mares.” Twilight called over. “She doesn’t want to admit it, but we all know. And so does the rest of the town, except Caramel.”

“Okay, yeah, Rainbow Dash. So... Any fillies catch your eye?” She wiggled her eyebrows. Somnia knew the answer to the question since they had walked in. It wafted from Sweetie like a perfume of affection.

“W-What?! No! I-I’m not into mares.” Sweetie crossed her forelegs.

“Right... And you lookin’ all antsy with Dinky?” Apple Bloom licked her lips. “Just friends?”

She straightened herself. “Just friends!”

“Sweetie...” Somnia grabbed her attention with the one word, the white unicorn swallowing. “I’m not into other fillies. Best look for somepony else.”

“I-I never- UGH!” She put her head in her hooves, failing to suppress her out-of-control blush.

“She can see emotions, remember?” Scootaloo elbowed her frustrated friend. “Probably knew since you came in here.”

Somnia nodded. “It’s okay if you like other fillies, just need to find somepony who will reciprocate.”

“Recipro-what?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Who feels the same way.”

“Hey, Apple Bloom, you looking for a special somepony?” Scootaloo turned to the last crusader.

“Nah. Nopony’s interested in me.”

“I know somepony interested in you.” Somnia stuck out the tips of her tongue, flicking her eyes toward Nightwind.

“Yeah, but he’s so–“

“Coltish?” Twilight walked back over. “Grown stallions aren’t much better. We’re all fillies and colts at the end of the day, so it’s best to find somepony you can spend your life with who will treat you right.” She turned to Somnia. “I’m headed to the Castle of the Two Sisters to do more research. Spike will be around to make you two dinner and help you. Is there anything you want me to get you on my way back?”

“Ice cream?”

“What flavor?”

“I, um... I don’t know.”

By the Ascended, not this again!

With a nuzzle into her fluffy cushion, Somnia breathed out a sigh of relief. No nightmares, no bed wetting, no worries. Her dreams and thoughts were a lot more manageable in the literal sense. She could predict specific things, although it only worked a quarter of the time. Whatever was in that stone had worked its magic.

Now just what was she doing before going to sleep for the night? CMC came over, Scootaloo challenged Apple Bloom to see who could get a kiss from a colt first, Nightwind abandoned ship after Apple Bloom began nuzzling up to him, he returned within an hour and he...

She opened her eyes. Yup. That is Nightwind. Quickly checking herself, she was relieved to find that nothing inappropriate had occurred last night. Just snuggles. Nice, warm, snuggles...

“You two are so cute together.” Twilight whispered from behind her, getting the filly to focus her soul-sight on her.

“How long have you been watching us?” Somnia asked.

“Only a few minutes.” She walked around to the other side where Somnia could see her with her own eyes. “Did you have fun yesterday?”

“Yeah. My new powers are pretty cool. I’ve already got some ideas for today. Are you doing anything?”

“I’m returning to research the chest.” Twilight sat on the side of the bed, petting Nightwind’s mane. “I think I’m getting somewhere with the keys.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Somnia raised a brow. The emotions of concern and fear set off alarm bells in her mind. Something was going to happen, and it would be soon.

“Yes, it’s very good.” Twilight nodded, biting her lip. “Have you seen anything about a centaur lately?” Somnia shook her head. With one last smile to her daughter: “Oh, okay. Well, thanks for letting me know.” She kissed Somnia’s forehead before heading off.

Turning away from Nightwind, Somnia spotted her breakfast on the nightstand along with Nightwind’s. “Snooze, you lose.” She grabbed her plate and began eating. A few minutes later, a groan came from next to her.

“Twilight, this bed is so hard.”

“Ground is too.” Somnia countered. “Get up.”

His eyes shot open and he fell from the bed along with the blanket. “WHAAA!”

Somnia nearly choked on her eggs as she suppressed the laugh in her throat. The colt jumped to his hooves and looked around as if he was looking for some excuse.

“We didn’t do anything.” Somnia answered the unspoken question. “Does it smell like we did?”

“N-No.” He let out a breath of relief. “How did we get into the same bed?”

Somnia shrugged. “I probably wanted to snuggle against somepony and you ‘volunteered’.” She did hoof quotes around the key word. “I’ve woken up in worse situations.”

“L-Like what?”

The filly bit her lip, suppressing that morning from rearing its ugly head again. In thirty seconds slowed time, she readjusted her thoughts to avoid freezing up. “Forget I said that. Here’s your breakfast.” She passed over the plate.

The two sat on her bed in silence while they ate until Nightwind asked his question: “What happened before Rainbow Falls?”

“Nothing.” Somnia finished her breakfast, taking an extra real second to suppress another memory from surfacing. It was going to be so much nicer to avoid reliving those moments. The curse of a near-perfect memory neutralized by tying it up in some other sections of her mind. Another feature of that gemstone she discovered was a thing. “Don’t you have a lunch date with Apple Bloom?”

“Huh?” He turned up from his breakfast. “Hey! You’re avoiding the question! And no, I don’t.”

“I’m pretty sure she wants to see you again.” Somnia leaned back in her bed. Apple Bloom may not have realized it, but the moment Somnia mentioned Nightwind was interested, her hormones spiked in response. Not the defensive ones, the affectionate ones. She wanted him.

“She only wants to win that bet! But I’m not that easy!” He declared.

“You couldn’t keep your eyes off their flanks yesterday. All of them. And you seemed to really like that kiss I gave.” Somnia smirked, knowing she had him.

“I, w-we’ve known each other for a while!” He defended his fragile honor. “I’m not just going to kiss somepony or... that with them without knowing them first.”

“Has your uncle had any marefriends over that you saw that?” Somnia leaned forward curious.

“No! I don’t spy on what my uncle does!” He crossed his forelegs. “I respect other pony’s privacy, unlike you!”

Somnia faked a hurt gasp. “How can you say that? I never wanted to see ponies bucking each other senseless or hearing conversations I shouldn’t have. It’s all on accident!”

“Doesn’t matter! You still do it!” He glared at her.

“If I wasn’t crippled, I’d chase you down until we got nice and alone, then give you a piece of my mind.” Somnia returned the glare, although she could tell that his spirit was breaking. This was going to be easy as pie. Just like old times.

“O-Oh yeah? And what would that be?”

“I’d corner you at a dead-end, making sure you had no way of escaping. Then I’d slowly approach, letting the tension build up. Closer, and closer, until I was a hoof away from you. I’d tilt my head, close my eyes...” Somnia closed her eyes, tilting her head. “And whisper what I really want from you.”

“A-And t-that is?” He asked with only her mouth a hoof away from his. Somnia could tell he was fighting the urge to kiss her or run. Both were equal possibilities.

“Please don’t go.” She asked with a distinct sadness in her voice, the colt’s stomach tightening. “It’s been so long since I’ve spent this much time with you. You’re the only pony I’ve been with that makes me feel like this. Please, stay with me for another hour, then I’ll let you go see Apple Bloom.”

His breathing became ragged as he considered her request. “S-Sure. One m-more hour.”

Nothing beats a mid-day nap, even with the nightmares back. Somnia fluttered her eyes open, feeling refreshed after spending time with her favorite cousin. They sat and chatted, getting used to how things were, even talking about Duskwing and how they each felt. It was nice. Pleasant, if you will. Lovely, if you must.

Getting up in bed, she wanted to try getting back on her hooves. Scooting over to the edge, she dropped her legs slowly to the floor below, taking care not to set them down too hard. Her muscles stung from the stretch, some shooting searing pain up her back.

“Your fault for being so weak.” She muttered while she applied small amounts of pressure on them. The worst part was her upper legs. Sitting properly was a literal pain in the flank, getting more than one wince from her as she slowed her breathing down to manage the pain. Time ground to a halt, or as close as she could get to a halt, anyway.

Sending individual signals was far more difficult to those damaged parts than she imagined. Slowly, she tested each muscle and group of muscles along her legs, looking for the worst offenders. The doctors had done an excellent job with their healing magic, but there was still some damage that needed to be accounted for. Her back-right leg suffered the worst damage, and so it was the one that was weaker.

She shifted her efforts onto her other leg, applying specific amounts of pressure and stretching it as best she could. If she can get to a limp, she can do her work in the lab downstairs. Still not fine enough to make another omni-heal, but enough to mitigate the pain through potions.

Once she felt comfortable enough, she took a few minutes to rest her left leg. This was it. After returning to the side of the bed, she placed the leg onto the ground, using it as a crutch while she dropped her front hooves. It stung, but it was manageable for short distances.

Taking care not to put her right leg down, Somnia took a cautious step forward, leaning on the bed for support. She repeated a few times until she felt satisfied with the effort, which came right after her legs shook bad. The filly crawled back up onto the bed and opened the drawer, taking out the vitamins her mother had gotten her.

She read a few books the rest of the day, occasionally being visited by Spike who brought her food, water, and assisted her with the bedpan tucked under her bed. It wasn’t until the evening that she got entertainment in the form of a very confused colt.

“Did the date go well?” Somnia put down her book and rested her head on her hooves.

“They’re nuts!” He exclaimed. “The orange one–“

“Scootaloo.”

“Right, Scootaloo, she was flirting with me the entire time! Apple Bloom then started chatting with Rumble and the entire thing spiraled out-of-control!” Nightwind walked over and sat down on the edge of Somnia’s bed. “You’ll never believe what happened next!”

“I’m sure I will.” Somnia giggled.

“Apple Bloom began flirting with Rumble! Right in front of Scootaloo! They got into a cat-fight about who was dating who, and Scootaloo being a hypocrite. She even said that she did it on purpose to increase her chances!”

“And?” Somnia was absolutely hooked, so much so she actually pushed Nightwind down onto the bed and snuggled against him.

“Well, Rumble didn’t know about the challenge, and so he confronted her about it. Turns out she just needed to ask, but that now he wasn’t going to accept because she didn’t tell him the truth!”

“What about you and Apple Bloom?”

“Oh...” He cringed. “She really came on strong after Rumble and Scootaloo left. I had to say no! We were in the middle of the town with ponies walking by!”

“A kiss isn’t that bad.” Somnia nuzzled his neck.

“It’s the principal of it!” He huffed.

“Sounds like you had a rough day.” She lowered her hoof to his sheath, biting her lip. “I think I know what we can do to make you feel better.”

“H-Hey!” He grabbed her hoof. “A-Aren’t we going a little fast?”

“I wasn’t going to let you inside, silly.” She kissed his cheek. “Just giving you something to think about. We can even get Apple Bloom if she’s down for it.”

“I-I’ll think about it.” He nervously gulped, his shaft slowly peaking out at the mere thought of her and him–

“Looks like your other head is also thinking about it.” Somnia began kissing down his neck. The simple act of getting him off raised her anxiety somewhat, but she promised herself to fight through it for both their sake. The mercs didn’t exactly make use of her mouth on account of the teeth, minus one day when the unicorn mare got in on it. Letting the memories surface and fade, she resolved herself to recovering this one service, at least for now.

He bit his lip. “No messes. I don’t want Aunt Twilight to know.”

“Sure.” Somnia began rubbing his shaft with her hooves. “Swallow it is.”

“What?!”

A yawn from the other side of the room got Somnia to pay attention to her surroundings, and by the Ascended was it bright. Opening her eyes, she saw that the room itself was fairly dark, but her mother radiated a gargantuan amount of magical energy.

She’s nearly at full raw magical saturation. Whatever could she have done to reach that?

Spike yawned, looking up from his basket as Twilight got to the top of the stairs. “You weren’t gone very long. Does this mean everything’s okay?”

“Yep!” Twilight turned to him with an anxious grin. “Everything’s fine.” A bolt of magical energy scattered along her body, peaking Somnia’s interest.

“In that case, I’m going back to bed. Sun’s not up... and neither am I.” He collapsed back down into his bed. Checking her new internal clock, Somnia deduced the sun should have risen two hours ago.

“That’s strange. The sun should be up by now...” Twilight muttered to herself before gasping. “The sun should be up by now!” She moved over to the window, unknowingly being watched closely by her daughter.

“You can do this.” She took a deep breath before igniting her horn, magical energy scattering along her body as she floated into the air. From Somnia’s soul sight, she witnessed a massive surge of energy come from the planet below to be channeled into Twilight before being sent off faster than light toward her targets. The sun and moon. Somnia smiled triumphantly. So the other princesses transferred their powers to her. This was... likely, but uncertain after the events at the Equestria Games.

Somnia considered why they would do that. She knew they would transfer their powers, but still didn’t understand why. Perhaps it had to do with the centaur mom mentioned yesterday? She shook off the thought off as light from the sun appeared briefly before going back to darkness, then the light again.

Stepping back down the stairs carefully, Twilight sighed a breath of relief before putting a hoof to her ear. “Dawn, Scuttle, I need you to wake up the others. Stay inside the library and out of sight until I deal with the threat.”

“What?!” Somnia sat up. “What threat?”

Twilight jumped at her daughter’s voice. “Somnia! You’re...” She wiped the side of her mouth with a hoof, getting Somnia to lick the same side of her own. Guess I missed some.

“I don’t want to know what happened.” Twilight sighed. “Stay here until this all blows over. I promise I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Aww...” The filly pouted. “What about him?” She motioned a hoof to the colt that contentedly slept next to her.

“He should stay here, too. It’s too dangerous to go outside right now.” Twilight walked over, picking up a tissue with her hoof to wipe Somnia’s face. “Keep him busy, but not too busy.” She winked.

“You need to get laid.”

“When I’m ready.” Twilight kissed her on the forehead, hoping that wasn’t one of the trajectory locations. “I love you. See you later!”

“Bye! Love you too!” Somnia waved off her mother from the room. Once she had left, Somnia dropped back into her sheets, sighing. You had to blow him...

“Ehhh...” A moan came from the colt in front of her. “S-Somnia?”

“Morning, Nightwind.” she said, keeping her voice low. “Sleep well?”

“D-Did we...” He stopped after Somnia nodded. “So it wasn’t a dream?”

“I hope not.” Somnia had a quiet chuckle with him. “I got some bad news. We’re supposed to stay inside until mom comes back.”

“But I’m supposed to meet up with the crusaders at the farm! Apple Bloom wanted to hang out today!”

Somnia blinked. “Well, I can’t stop you.” Her grin grew along with his. “I can strongly discourage you, but I can’t physically stop you from leaving.”

“You’re such a bad filly.” He teased.

“And you’re such a horny colt.” He kissed him on the lips. “Now get going before she thinks we’re sleeping together.”

“But–“

“Go!”

Nightwind jumped from the bed and quickly rubbed himself down with a sponge from the bathroom before trotting off in pursuit of his ‘marefriend’. Laying back, Somnia settled into the warmth he left behind from the night.

She honestly didn’t mind him pursuing Apple Bloom, or any of the crusaders, really. If things are like back in Excalicorn, many mares would get together with a single stallion. The crusaders were nice, kind, and best of all, harmonious. Somnia would have no difficulties having them as ‘sisters’ should Nightwind decide to pursue them in addition to her. To think, a herd that she was at the head of.

First kiss, first blowjob, and probably first rutting in due time. Part of her really didn’t enjoy thinking about it after what happened. Actually, it nearly brought a panic attack if she didn’t grind time to a halt to redirect the emotions into secluded sections of her mind. Despite her anxiety, she still desired release, and speaking of release, Somnia quickly sat up and opened the drawer to take out her medication. ‘Beat The Heat’, same brand that her mother had given her so long ago.

She used the rest of her water from the previous night to swallow a pill before laying back in bed. Another nap would suffice, then more practice on the leg.

It must have been at least two hours, yes, two hours and seven minutes. After sitting up in bed, Somnia did her stretches before positioning herself for the practice. Back-left, front-two, bed on side. Bed. On...

“SHIELD!” Somnia called out, the stallion coming charging up the stairs. “Get Owlicious and me out of here! This entire tree is going to explode!”

He didn’t hesitate to grab them both in his magic; the filly grabbing one last book before they headed out. Shield signaled the others to follow outside, where they spotted some smoke in the distance. “We need to get clear of the library!” Somnia stated firmly as she saw her mother teleport to the telescope on top. “MOVE!”

The seven went behind a building right before an explosion rocked the ground around them and burning books came raining down. Teleporting next to them, Twilight quickly hugged her daughter. “Somnia! I was so worried you had been in another room!”

“No time! Beat whoever blew up our home!” Somnia stared her in the eyes, her own anger slightly elevated. “Make them pay for threatening us ponies!”

“Where’s Nightwind?” Twilight looked around at the assembled group.

“He’s safe at Sweet Apple Acres.” The filly reassured her. “Now go!”

With a nod, Twilight teleported off and began a battle that could be felt even from the town.

“Let’s get to Nightwind to make sure he’s alright.” Somnia commanded her guards, who carried her without question, moving toward the farm. The explosions continued to rock the town for several minutes until they halted. Occasional clouds drifted from the fight grounds, tinted red with the magically disturbed soil. She could only hope her mother had won.

The group approached the farm gate, passing straight through toward the farmhouse. Dusty knocked loudly on the door and waited. She tried a second time a minute later to no response. “On the orders of the Queen’s Guard, open up!”

The occupant undid a ton of locks on the other side before Applejack’s older brother opened the door and let them inside. Nightwind and all three CMCs were sitting in the living area, all looking relieved at the visitors while Shield set Somnia down on the love seat next to Big Mac. Each of the guards took up positions around the house, with Shield standing near the living room window to peek through the blinds.

“What’s that there?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at the book Somnia was carrying in curiosity.

“This? It’s something special to me and my mom.” She hoofed it over. “It’s a romance novel.”

“Really?” Scootaloo turned her head up from the floor. “You came across town to read here?”

“It’s the last book from the library.” Somnia shrugged. “Kinda got blown up.”

Everypony present was stunned, minus Somnia and her guards. They asked a few questions about what happened, much of which she wasn’t entirely sure of. The group was interrupted from their Q&A when a magical burst signaled an end to the conflict. Carrying Somnia on his back, Shield led the group out back toward town.

They took a brief stop by the burning remains of the Golden Oaks Library, each paying their respects to the historical structure older than most of them.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding.” Scootaloo kept her eyes focused on the flames. “It really is gone.”

“That there library was one of the first buildin’s in Ponyville.” Granny Smith said. “After folks started movin’ to here from all over, they hollowed out that tree and made it into what it was. Gonna miss visitin’ it for things to read.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac agreed with a solemn nod of his head.

“Hey, what’s that?” Sweetie pointed to a rainbow that spread across the sky toward some point at the edge of town. The group walked toward the other end. A massive crystal tree had risen from the ground, a star on its upper half which resembled Twilight’s cutie mark.

They went down the hill toward the new structure, a road which used to lead to the lake now headed directly to the front door of the castle. In front of the grand entrance doors were the regal sisters and Elements of Harmony, chatting about something. Many other townsfolk also came out of hiding to check what the new enormous structure was.

They all gathered near the front door after the regal sisters closed it behind them. Until suddenly, the doors burst open.

~ Each one of us has something special ~

~ That makes us different, that makes us rare ~

Shield trotted around the new castle with Somnia on his back, seeing the true splendor of it while the song played out for everypony else. A strange creature that kinda resembled the lamp she traded for was speaking to Celestia. Correction, handing flowers to Celestia. It kinda reminded her of the creature Captain Entropis had emblazoned on his chest-plate back in Excalicorn now that she got a good look at it in its entirety. Somnia closed her eyes and–

Buck...

Bucking bastard!

“Bring me to him!” She pointed for Shield to trot up to the creature who she knew as Captain Entropis, now known as Discord, fully intent on giving him a piece of her–

For crying out loud! Somnia pouted as the creature glanced over their shoulder and snapped their fingers, disappearing in a flash of light. Celestia walked over to her with the flowers in her magical grasp, taking in the pleasant aroma.

“Lovely castle, isn’t it?”

“Where did he go?”

“Discord? He probably went back home to spread chaos to his heart’s content.” Celestia frowned at the scowl on the filly’s face. “You know him?”

“Unfortunately.” Somnia shook her head and made another order to move toward the ‘throne room’ she had spotted earlier. Her mother finished getting her picture taken when she finally found them.

“Somnia!” Twilight galloped over to her, bringing her into a hug. “I’m so sorry about what happened to the Golden Oaks Library.”

“Guess we’re homeless now.” She tried a small joke to get herself back into a good mood. It didn’t really work.

“No, this is where we’re going to be living.” Twilight motioned to the crystal castle around them. “There’s going to be plenty of room for the Queen’s Guard, you, me, and Spike.”

“Dad and Nightwind?” She fluttered her eyes up at her mom, providing her with a sweet smile.

Her mother blinked a few times, taking it in. “I... guess it’s large enough for them. I’ll need to check the rest of the castle and take stock of the number of rooms we have.”

“If we have enough, can they move in with us?” The filly asked again, this time a little less certain.

Twilight sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

“Oh, okay.” Somnia grabbed the book she had tucked underneath her. “I saved one from the library before we left. Thought you might want to keep it.”

“What is...” She looked it over, opening it to check the inside before smiling at her. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Come on, Shield! Let’s find a bedroom so I can lie down!” The captain trotted off without another word, leaving Twilight to muse on the book. She opened it and sighed at the author’s notes. It was the only book from the author, and he dedicated it in his parent’s memory. At the end, he left a note to say that he loves them with all his heart and wanted their story to be known far and wide. She sniffled as she closed it and read the title again, remembering that night she spoke to Duskwing.

‘A Path Less Trotted: Unions of Heart and Soul’

Author's Note

The power-creep begins

The second-ish draft of the story had a Somnia x Sweetie ship. Abandoned it for this go around, but I thought the idea was still neat to include a reference to.

Also: Eying vs Eyeing? Which do you prefer? Apparently they can both be correct.