Dreamwalker's Tale

It were those late morning hours when Twilight stirred again. She did not quite wake up but shuffled a little more against me as she fled from the cruel sunlight. I did not mind at first. But her movement not only interrupted my serious thinking time which, to be honest, was not all that productive and probably never had been, but it apparently also interrupted my blood flow. It was just once again the smell of her mane, her familiar warmth, how familiar she felt in so many ways… and the way she moved. I was unintentionally prodding her rear with a little twitch of my member and I was certain that she had to be awake by this point. How could she not have been? Surely she must have noticed? “I-I’m sorry,” I mumbled a little short of breath, but there was less of a reaction than I anticipated.

“’S ‘kay…” she mumbled so quietly that I almost did not hear it. Then she proceeded to wiggle a little in search of a comfortable position and sweet Luna, please send help, she was grinding against me with her rump.

It’s unintentional, I berated myself. Yet despite the conflict raging to a new height, I just wanted to take her and make her my own right here, right now.

But I could not.

It would have been selfish. Worse, it would have felt wrong. Maybe not at that moment. Spurs of passion left little room for doubt or coherent thought after all. But this nagging feeling that kept creeping up on me was not just going away because I slept with her. I had yet to figure out what it was, what its source was.

It was only a short while until she fell still again, even though it felt a lot longer due to my inner struggle. And I released a breath I had not noticed I was holding in. I stopped chewing my lower lip. It was always nice when the pain started to subside, was it not? But it would not do if I had just passionately, desperately moaned into her ear.

A couple more minutes might have passed by while I was fighting myself, then I made the only reasonable decision. I could not stay here. I could not keep myself from doing something rash and stupid forever. So, with a heavy heart, I lifted the blanket, snuck out and tucked her in. She gave a disappointed little noise, which made my heart flutter yet again. But I remained steadfast in my resolve.

I at least tried to tell that to myself.

I exited the room with my tail tucked low and took a nice, long, ice cold shower. A necessity at this point.

I was searching for Spike when I wandered the hallways. His bed in Twilight's room had been empty, so I presumed him to be up and about already. And sure enough, I found him in the kitchen as he prepared breakfast. “Hey buddy. You’re already up?” I greeted him.

“Well, someone has to be, right?” he jokingly retorted. “Did that whole dreamwalking-thing work out?”

I sat down at the table. I did not feel up to the task of helping him out today. He was doing fine anyway, from the looks of it. “Eh. Half good, half bad.”

He cracked some eggs over a pan and nodded. “Tell me.”

I considered the offer and shrugged. What harm could that do, right? “Bad: I met Luna. Or maybe that’s a good thing, I’m… I’m still not sure. Good: We had an epic fight! With some wolves made out of light, not… not between Luna and me. Although that might’ve followed if I had not… eh, nevermind. Good: I think I convinced Twilight to help me reach Rainbow. I think. I hope so. I really, really hope so. Ah… I have no idea where to sort Twilight seeing her foals…”

An egg landed on the ground. “Her what now?”

“Different time. Or live. Thought I'd share a memory. And I have no idea if that was a good decision. You know, this whole good-or-bad-game is more difficult than I thought.” I absentmindedly levitated a cloth over and cleaned the smashed egg up. “Alright, listen,” I started again, having made my decision. “I think I’m going to take White Tip and Owl—… nah, he should probably sleep. I’m going to take White Tip and go for a walk. I really need to clear my head somehow. I'm skipping breakfast. Just in case Twilight asks where I’m off to.”

Spike chuckled, turned around and presented me with a plate of scrambled eggs. “No can do.”

I grinned and nodded appreciatively. “Very good AJ-impression.” We both chuckled at his little bow. I looked at my impromptu breakfast and smiled. “Thanks buddy.” I nevertheless dug in fast as I wanted to get out of the castle even faster. I really did not want to face Twilight right now. Even thinking about this morning, about what she might remember once she would eventually wake up…

Yupp, nice little walk with White Tip. Sounded perfect.

I obviously was reasonable enough to know that I could not run from my problems forever. That being said, though — I could run a little bit, right?

I put the plate in the sink once I was done, ruffled Spike's little head and trotted into the living room. White Tip was perched next to Owlicious, just as I had expected. The crow looked startled but did not protest vocally as I levitated him over. “Sorry, I was trying to let him sleep,” I whispered. With him on my back, I made a beeline for the door.

I opened it carefully. I did not want to make too much noise, which really was a silly notion. Twilight’s bedroom was a good distance away. However, it meant that Sunny did not immediately hear my approach. I had stopped with a small gap opened and just looked at her in confusion. Not only was she up early again, she was here of all places. Then again, why would she not? I had told her where to find me. If she was here for me in the first place.

She stood with her back to me and muttered something inaudible under her breath. Once she gave a final nod to herself, she turned around and was immediately startled by me just standing there. “Hi,” I greeted. Her wings shot open, she reared back and ungracefully sat down on her haunches.

It took her a moment to carefully fold her wings again and she put a hoof to her chest to check if her heart was still beating at an acceptable pace. “You should be ashamed,” she tried to reprimand me. “You could have killed me!”

I raised an eyebrow, smiled and shook my head. “Nah. You’re made of tougher stuff than that.” I offered her a hoof and pulled her up again, all the while carefully closing the door behind me with my telekinesis. “If you’re here for Twilight, you’re a little early. She’s still asleep and after a rather turbulent night, I think she’ll continue to do so for a few hours more.” She furrowed her brow. “Don’t worry,” I added, “Spike is in and he’s looking after her. If you’re here for me though… first off, I’m flattered. Secondly, I was about to take a walk. You could just accompany me, if you’d like.”

Her expression made it clear that she had questions. Several of them. But instead of speaking up about any of those, she tilted her head a little to the side and watched… my ear? My mane? My back? Oh, right. “White Tip, this is Sunny Skies. Sunny, this is White Tip. Fluttershy… uh… gave him to me?” He cawed and even I, without Flutter's knowledge of animal language, understood his dissatisfaction with my description. The slight claw grip in my back might have clued me in on that as well. “Alright, so maybe I just showed up and it was more like he adopted me?” He seemed pretty happy with that.

Sunny giggled quietly. It was a welcome sound. “Pleased to meet you, White Tail,” she said and to my utmost delight bowed. All hail my feathered friend! Who in turn crowed again. Then she turned her attention to me. “So how has your day been?”

I let out a long and deep sigh and with a flick of my head gestured for her to either walk beside me or… well, stay at the castle. Luckily she chose the first option. “Could have gone better? Then again, the day was fine, I suppose. Twilight denied me her immediate help, so things between my other friends haven’t been resolved yet. As far as I know anyway. But she at least gave me a chance to prove myself, so that I could earn her help.”

She looked doubtful. “That does not sound like Twilight at all, from what I have heard.”

“Well I mean…“ I sighed again and swallowed my pride. “It’s not like she did it willy-nilly? These bands measure stress levels or something. And looking at her raw data alone, she got worried. So she gave me a chance. If I could show to her that I wasn’t reckless and could handle myself while dreamwalking, she would help me out with that darn spell. I was honestly tempted, for juuust a moment, to go find somepony else. But cloud walking is a tricky spell for unicorns. One few have even any use for. Knowing half of Ponyville, she was the only one that came up in my memory even possessing that spell.”

“She tries to look out for you,” Sunny interjected in an attempt to defend Twilight. Which was not necessary and quite frankly rubbed me the wrong way. As if I would ever attack her...

“I know. I know! It’s just… egh. Nevermind. I had a long and exhausting discussion with her about this. She’s not going off to clip Rainbows wings because she could crash, or to shoo Applejack away from farm life because it hurts her body in the long-term. Dreamwalking is what I do. It’s what I want to do and what my cutie mark tells me to do. It’s even what my name implies!” I was getting riled up again. I mumbled a quiet excuse. And a little "Thank you" in White Tips direction as his claws were the reason I had noticed it in the first place. I switched the topic to get away from the tension. “Anyway. Because of that, we went to the dreamscape last night and—“ Again, his claws strengthened their grip. He was a lot softer this time around though. “Right. Thanks for the reminder, buddy. We had Derpy over for dinner and played some board games. There’s this guessing game we played all evening, Fortune Stories. Ever heard of it? It’s all kinds of fun. And her daughter Dinky is just the cutest.” She shook her head about the game, but smiled as I spoke so fondly of what I hoped was a couple of new friends. “Guess AJs ‘wisdom beyond her years’ did somehow get to me after all. Probably not what she expected or wanted, but hey. Progress is progress, right?”

While Sunny agreed and wore her practiced smile with ease again, I could not help but feel like she worried about something. There was clearly something on her mind, I could tell. “So you went dreamwalking with her and could not secure her help?” she finally spoke up.

“Ehhh…” How to put that…? “That’s a really good question actually. See, the thing is… things didn’t quite go according to plan. We went in, I showed her some stuff, it was all very beautiful and very impressive and then we ran into an ambush.”

Her expression immediately turned to an even deeper seeded worry. “An ambush? By who? Is she alright?”

Even I was inspected closely once more. “Don’t worry,” I tried to ease her concerns, “she’s fine. I wouldn’t have left her alone if she weren’t. And it’s less about ‘who’ and more about ‘what’. There are creatures living there. Those were, by a misfortunate chance, hostile predators. I managed to fend some of them off, but they kept coming and called for backup, so we fled. We found a place where we were safe for a moment and could get our bearings, but time was clearly running out. And then Luna showed up. With all the theatrics I love her for. She just smashed into the ground like the wild and untamable force of nature that she is. And gosh, did she look gorgeous in her armor. We put Twilight between us and fought these creatures off. After that, she… I dunno… for a short moment, I was pretty sure she was about to punch me. Hard. Or worse yet, give me that ‘not angry, just disappointed’-look. So I did what every reasonable pony would have done. I panicked, grabbed Twilight and exited the dreamscape without letting her get another word in. And I know how she hates that. And because I’m such a brave stallion, I fled Twilight's bedroom before she could wake up. Okay, no, that’s not entirely true. She did wake up for a short spell to write Luna that she was okay, and then fell asleep again.”

Sunny wore the weirdest expression I had yet seen on her usually meticulously controlled face. It shifted and merged in subtle ways — like a changeling that could not quite decide yet what it wanted to look like. “Well,” she started after quite some time as she settled on bemusement for the time being, “I had heard rumors of half the palace being on high alert because a very disgruntled Princess Luna was stalking the hallways, barking at everyone who so much as looked at her wrong. Or at all.”

I laughed. I honestly laughed and was happy and relieved and even stopped our little walk around the edge of town just to hug her for a moment. “Sweet Celestia, thank you. Oh that's such a relief! That’s great news. Thanks.”

She looked at me rather perplexed. Like I had grown a fitting pair of wings. “It is?”

I nodded vigorously. “Yupp. First off, it won’t be long until Celestia hears of this. And seeing as she is utterly devoted to doting over her little baby sister and cares deeply for her happiness, she won’t allow her to run around scaring her little ponies.” Sunny gave an awkward laugh. Probably because of the rather familiar way I was talking about the Princesses. Yeah, probably. “Secondly, what you described is just Luna being cranky. She's not really angry Luna. Because believe me, I have seen her angry. If she were angry, ponies wouldn’t be on ‘high alert’, they would be fleeing the castle with silent screams on their faces.”

“That… doesn’t sound right,” Sunny weakly disagreed and furrowed her brow as if my statement refuted whatever she had heard or knew.

“Luna can be kind. Innocent like a filly, with awe and wonder in her eyes.” Sunny agreed with a nod as I explained. “But she is the Mistress of the Night. It’s in her domain, really. Above all else, Luna is passionate. She does everything, and I mean literally everything, with passion. If she sulks, it’s the end of the world. If she loves, it can almost be suffocating. If she is truly angry, the fiercest of beasts quiver and tremble before her. Stomping around the castle yelling at ponies is her lovely way of subtly telling others: ‘Look, I am angry, now do something about it!’ Basically just a call for someone to cheer her up.”

Processing this new information she had given me, I perked up a little. My chances of not getting smashed into a pulp had risen significantly. Sunny meanwhile regarded me with a strange, fixated stare for a moment, until she shook her head and put that practiced smile back on her face.

“Sooo,” I started again after we had settled on a nice little bench and White Tip was flying overhead, stretching his wings a little. “How has your day been?”

She gave a derogative snort. “Same old,” she replied. “The same supplicants with the same requests, the same documents on my desk each day and no regard for the well-being of others.”

I looked around, gave a little wave to Lyra and watched other ponies walk by. “Hard to believe, actually,” I finally answered. “Equestria is a wonderful nation. Sure, it’s not perfect. Nothing ever is. There’s always going to be a dozen Bluebloods, much to Rarity’s chagrin. But we also have our Fancy Pants and Fleurs. I think you may be exaggerating. Might not even be intentional. As you said, the same stuff over and over again. If you’re the kind of person to fixate on issues, imperfections and flaws, you’ll eventually only see those and start ignoring or disregarding the rest. You know what helps when that happens?”

I stood up again. I had made up my mind where this little walk would take us. I wanted to treat Sunny. She seemed overworked and I knew that a little relaxation could do wonders for her. Given that I still had no bits to spare, I thought of something simple that would not cost any.

I would drag her uptight flank to Fluttershy.

So as she looked at me with some doubt in her eyes, I let my smile grow a little wider. I stepped close to her and took her hoof in an attempt to help her up. But before I did so, I brought my lips close to her ear. “Vacation,” I whispered the magic word and pulled back. She hid that goofy little grin well, but not quite well enough.

Of course she had her reservations about my earlier musings. Nopony liked to hear that they might be running around with blinders. But it was an issue I knew from first-hoof experience. I was prone to focus so intensely on mistakes and problems that I lost sight of the greater picture.

You seem very hung up about this whole romance-thing.

Right. Thank you for reminding me, Applejack. Preaching water, drinking wine. Got it.

Still. The attempt at helping was made, baby step by baby step. Just because I had a hard time following my own solid advice did not mean that it was less solid, right?

We started walking in a comfortable silence. Sunny stayed close by my side and I enjoyed that quite a lot. We were a good distance out of town already and closer to Fluttershy’s cottage than to Ponyville proper when I heard a familiar voice. And she sounded distraught.

I looked up ahead. I saw Derpy sitting on the ground, clutching her saddlebags with her wings to keep its contents safe while a downpour drenched her further and further. It appeared as if she was pleading with that single cloud above her at first, a thick and dark gray one responsible for the heavy rain. It was of course not impossible for a rogue cloud with a mind of its own to break free and torment ponies nearby with us being this close to the Everfree.

But I heard laughter and it sounded cruel. On further inspection, I saw three pegasi. Two of them flanked the cloud to keep it in place above Derpy while one lazily laid down on it and occasionally stomped a single hoof down to keep it pouring.

I froze for about a second as my mind was racing. Oh how I now understood that story Rainbow had told me once. When she was still in Junior Flight School and these bullies had tormented a younger Fluttershy. Even as a rambunctious little filly, Rainbow had been capable of genuine anger. Not just the tantrum that one might expect from a foal, but true anger.

“Wait here,” I snapped. I did not wait for any answer Sunny might have. I walked towards them, but in a matter of seconds, I was running at top speed. White Tip had taken to the air as he was not feeling comfortable with me moving this fast. “What do you idiots think you’re doing?!” I yelled at the top of my lungs as I drew closer.

I was close enough now to see how utterly miserable Derpy looked. That warm and nice smile I remembered from our evening — and so many more memories — was gone. Replaced by a defeated, sad stare that only doubled my rage.

The one on the cloud presented himself as the leader as he stood up to address me. “None of your business,” he drawled in a dialect I could not place at first. “And if you don’t want trouble, you’d be better off walking along. Go on… shoo!”

His patronizing tone only made me wish I could just rip his nasty tongue out and stuff it back down his throat. Maybe I could, a beastly voice mused, but I tried to remain civil. I was about to answer when Sunny cantered past me. She stepped under the cloud without a second thought and raised her magnificent white wings as a roof on top of Derpy while she became drenched immediately. While it was a nice gesture, it only elicited laughter from those three and did nothing to solve the situation.

Make. Them. Pay.

Where was all this anger coming from…?

I only hesitated for a couple of seconds until I charged my horn. A light blue aura weaved along its length. “Last warning,” I told them and clenched my teeth.

His two buddies, or henchponies or whatever they were, were taken aback. Not enough to actually say or do anything, but I could see doubt creeping into their minds. They looked to their leader for reassurance. The main idiot just smiled though. An unspoken challenge was uttered and I would. Not. Back. Down.

Three magic bolts fired in short succession. One hit, two, three. All three pegasi had a look of shock on their faces that I would actually go through with an outright attack, but after a couple of seconds and a moment to look themselves over, they started laughing again. Uproarious laughter. My bolts had done absolutely nothing. Nothing they could see or feel, anyway.

“What, you think you’re the shining knight, rescuing the fair cripple?” their leader taunted once more.

I wanted to punch his teeth in so badly. Maybe it was for the best that he was up there and I was not. I tried to keep control and fought to keep my voice at least somewhat steady as I answered him. “No. I’m a friend defending another friend against some measly bullies. And that spell you’re carrying now? Oh I’d love to see you enjoy it for the rest of your lives. You will wake up each and every night from now on, drenched in sweat, maybe even screaming and wetting your bed sheets, trembling, with vivid memories of your latest nightmare, because every single night, you will see through their eyes! You will feel like those you bullied, you will hear that cruelty for yourself and you will know that pain you so thoughtlessly sowed. And it won’t. End. Ever. At least not until the day you make up for your failings as decent ponies!” Of course I had talked myself into a fit of rage again. It had been inevitable given the circumstances. I screamed the last sentence at the top of my lungs.

His two fellows looked worried. Scared even. Their leader however shook his head in disbelief. I noticed how serious even his expression had become though. “There’s no such spell!” he proclaimed and tried to sound steadfast.

“Right,” I answered half-laughing in a cruel tone just like theirs had been. “And a pegasus like you would obviously know, because you’ve been all over Equestria and know every inhabitant of Ponyville. How silly of me to forget that for my obvious bluff. Given that, I am sure you have absolutely nothing to worry about.” I could see them grow more and more nervous. Uncertain. His buddies looked ready to flee at the drop of a hat. Time for the final push then. I recalled all those lessons Rarity had given me about acting. I let a smile, a cold, heartless smile, spread across my muzzle. “Since there is no such magic,” I started in a giddy voice, “it obviously would not be possible for me to demonstrate the effect of that spell by shooting you with a simple sleep spell, right? To send you into your first nightmare right now. It would be careless too, would it not? I mean, if you just slumped right there, you could fall, maybe even break a wing or something. I’m not sure if your two buddies would be fast enough to catch you… but you know… there’s no such magic.”

My horn was once again threateningly shrouded with a light blue light.

He was hesitant for mere seconds. Fixated on me but unsure if I was bluffing or not. So I fired. Pegasi had the impressive agility and flexibility one otherwise only found in cats. He very much saw it coming and he dodged the bolt. “Oh, we got a nimble one. Let’s see how many you can dodge before I’ll get you mid-flight.” I was about to shoot again when one of his buddies spoke up.

“Let’s just leave,” he pleaded with his leader. And after just another second, they did exactly that. Without another word. They even spared me the cliché ‘this isn’t over’-monolog. They just opened up their wings and left.

I watched them go as I held the charge in my horn until it became unbearable. I could see Sunny out of the corner of my eye spreading her wings and giving a mighty flap in the meantime. She reached up and used her pegasus magic to disperse the cloud with a single, strong kick to its center.

I took a deep inhale, counted to three, and let it out.

I had to repeat that process four times until I felt stable enough and walked over to Derpy. “Are you okay?”

She fought hard for that shaky little smile, but she used it to greet me. “Thank you.”

She was drenched. Her mane hung limply over her shoulder. Water constantly dripped to the ground. Her coat wasn’t better off. I could not have cared less. I stepped up and hugged her tightly. “Don’t mention it,” I whispered. I pulled back after a moment to look her over once more. “How’s the mail?”

She carefully fiddled with her bag and checked up on its contents. “A few letters are a little damp, but they should be fine.” I nodded and was dumbstruck when she suddenly leaned forward and tried to give me a brief kiss on the cheek. Seeing as her eye had wandered off to the upper left corner, she missed the mark and instead kissed my nose, but really… that was fine. I involuntarily chuckled as my nose wrinkled.

“Don’t ever listen to those kinds of ponies,” I said and tried to be stern in my request.

She smiled again. That warm, welcoming smile that knew no evil. I loved seeing it back on her face. “I know. Those aren’t the first bullies I had to deal with. It… it doesn’t really get any easier, but Ponyville is great! Nopony here bullies me!” I looked in the direction they had flown off to once more. I searched my memories and tried to find an answer. It appeared as if she knew these three. And more so, they apparently were not from around here. Cloudsdale is in that direction. Right.

I wondered what had brought them here.

“He was right though, was he not?” I heard Sunny say behind me. “There is no such spell. Right?”

As it turned out, ‘stable’ was not quite the same as ‘better’. My anger surprised me as it flared up again. I did not raise my voice, nor did I say anything I would have to regret later. However, I replied with a sickly sweet tone. “Well as I had said: Then there’s nothing they have to worry about, right?”

I turned to face Sunny. She was worried. She had asked in a quiet, subdued tone. As if she was searching for reassurance. So my rather snippy answer was utterly uncalled for, but any apology I had got stuck in my throat when I saw her. Her mane a mess. Water still ran down her coat. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “You look gorgeous…”

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m wet.” I nodded and continued to stare at her like a fool, completely ignoring Derpy’s giggling. “Very much so,” she added. I nodded once more and she shook her head. A small smile creeped up on her lips anyway as her worries were sidelined for the moment.

I could not explain why. It obviously had to do with the water. A short memory flashed before my eyes: Twilight getting out of her shower and I just gawked at her. I clenched my eyes shut for a moment and opened them again. The memory was dispelled. I looked over to Derpy, just to confirm my theory. Compared to that lovely mare I had said my goodbyes to that evening, she now looked more appealing than before.

Maybe I was just weird.

“You should be careful,” Sunny warned me. I blinked and realized what she meant and… tucked my tail in and crossed my hind legs. Right. Derpy giggled like a madmare.

“Aaanyway. Uhm, Derpy, this is Sunny, she’s on visit or vacation or something. And Sunny, this is Derpy, she’s one of our local mail mares.” After the proper, if somewhat late introduction, they turned to each other and exchanged smiles. And I was grateful that I had successfully deflected any attention.

“Nice to meet you,” Derpy said. “And thank you too for your help! My bag would be worse off if it weren’t for you.”

“No problem at all,” Sunny replied. “I was just happy to help.” She turned to me. “Now if I am not mistaken, we might want to move towards Fluttershy’s cottage. She is waiting for us with some towels we dearly need.”

“Wait, she is?” I looked up ahead and indeed saw her standing in her opened door with a bunch of neatly folded towels on her back. White Tip was perching right above the door on the lintel. “Well let’s not keep her waiting then,” I remarked and we walked over. “Apart from minor mishaps, how is your day treating you, Derpy?”

“Oh it’s fine. The sun is up, it’s all nice and warm, all the ponies have been very nice so far and I only crashed once. It wasn’t that bad.” I chuckled a little as she giggled. She usually stuck to walking. With her hooves on the ground, the worst thing that could happen because of her bad eyesight was tripping. Ponyville was a small town mostly populated by earth ponies, so walking around was easy. But the occasional pegasus house floating above made flight necessary at times. And if she wanted to get off the hook early to spend more time with Dinky or follow up on other plans, she simply had to be quicker in doing her job — something flight helped with. Lady Luck seemed to favor her though. Something I was grateful for. In all her years — or at least all the years I remembered — she only had a few really bad crashes, and even from those she recovered quickly.

Once we reached Fluttershy, I tipped my non-existent hat to White Tip. “Thanks buddy.” I had a feeling that he had somehow made Fluttershy aware of your presence. And maybe even our need for some towels. Towels that were immediately distributed to both mares in need upon arrival. I briefly toyed with the idea of using my telekinesis to grab those towels and help them dry up, but discarded it just as quickly. As soon as I would even try to dry their manes, backs or tails — or wings, for that matter — it would turn awkward.

A part of me still wanted to try though. Maybe something for later.

“Thank you too, Fluttershy,” I chimed in with the gratitude Sunny and Derpy had already expressed.

“It’s nothing really,” she quietly replied with that little, satisfied smile of hers.

Derpy nosed through her bag and hoofed Fluttershy the single letter she had come out here to deliver in the first place. “I should continue my tour now,” she said. “But it was lovely meeting you!”

“Spike is still clamoring for that Monopony game!” I sent after her and raised my volume a little as she flew away. I thought I heard a ‘soon’ in response, followed by an endearing giggle.

I turned around and saw Sunny winging her towel over to Fluttershy who trotted back inside to get rid of the damp towels after a curt nod. “My mane is a mess,” Sunny quietly whined.

“Can’t agree,” I chirped. “Still looks gorgeous.” While it did little to restore what she deemed the ‘proper state’ to her mane, the compliment did make her genuinely smile again. And that was worth more anyway.

“Fluttershy? Can we come in?” I yelled into the open doorway. I did not want to just barge in uninvited.

“It’s alright,” I heard her muffled voice and just as I was about to step into the cottage, that pesky little bunny zipped up to the door. I was not sure what his intentions were. Maybe he was willing — and capable? — of slamming the door shut in front of us. Maybe he wanted to physically block us from entering. Maybe he just wanted to glare at us some more. Whatever it was… White Tip was delighted to see him again. He immediately cawed and swooped down towards the white rabbit. Angel’s eyes grew wide in horror and like Pinkie on coffee, he zipped out of the house — because with his speed, his chances of escape were better in the open than in a confined space. “Have fun, you two!” I called over my shoulder and chuckled darkly. I looked over to Sunny. “Isn’t it great when they enjoy themselves?”

She giggled but shook her head at the same time and tried to keep a reprimanding tone as she answered. “You, Dreamwalker, are one wicked pony.”

I bowed in mock gratitude. “Always trying my best.”

She lightly jabbed me against my shoulder before we finally entered Fluttershy’s homely abode. We both sat down on her sofa in the living room and it took just about the time we walked over there for all the animals to either hide or come out to stare at us. Most of them kept their distance, since we were strangers. But I couldn't help but feel like they were more worried about me than Sunny. I tried to pay it no mind and leaned over to whisper to her, even though we were sitting pretty close to each other anyway. “As you will find out shortly, Fluttershy makes the second best tea in all of Equestria, beaten only by Celestia herself. But that comparison isn’t exactly fair. Her tea even beats most of those fancy tea houses in Canterlot.” These things did pop up like mushrooms in a forest after rain, didn’t they?

“I-It’s really not that good,” a very polite and quiet voice floated over from one of the other rooms. It made me pause for a moment. How had she even heard that?

Looking around, I found my answer easily enough. There were eyes and ears all around us. And I realized with a quiet chuckle how hilarious it would be to tell Rainbow about Fluttershy’s totally awesome spy network. However, the thought of telling Rainbow anything currently made my stomach drop a bit. Right. Still work to do. But that was not why we were here.

Fluttershy returned to us a moment later, only to immediately get up from the chair standing opposite the sofa again to walk over into the kitchen. “What kind of tea would you like?” she asked.

I looked over to Sunny, grinned and replied with a simple, “Chamomile, if you have?”

“Okay.” We heard the kettle whistle a few minutes later and shortly after that she came back, carefully balancing a tray with the pot and three mugs. Fluttershy gracefully set it down, poured us tea and we each received our mug with a grateful ‘thank you’.

Silence reigned for the next couple of minutes as both Sunny and Fluttershy deeply enjoyed their tea while I… well, I meant what I had said. It was the second best tea in all of Equestria. But to me, it was ‘just tea’. I had no strong feelings about it, certainly not in the same vein as Celestia. Or even Fluttershy, or Rarity. I found coffee to be utterly revolting and most sodas were just too bubbly for me. I liked water. It was plain, it was simple, and it did its job perfectly. And if I wanted to be fancy, I would usually go for some juice. Grape, cherry, orange, apple… but I rarely indulged like that. The only reason that I knew so much about tea and its different qualities to begin with was that I had drank more of it than water, mostly due to Celestia being part of my life, if my memory served me right.

So instead of reveling in the quality, I took a sip from time to time, enjoyed its aroma and warmth, but otherwise observed the animals slowly return to their daily routines, skittering and scuffling about.

“You should have talked them down,” Fluttershy finally broke the silence.

It took me a moment to make the connection. I thought about it for a moment, but ultimately shook my head. “It wouldn’t have worked,” I concluded. “They had strong builds for pegasi. Cloud factory workers, I presume. A meek little unicorn like me wouldn’t be able to intimidate them. And from how they behaved themselves… they weren’t open to listen to reason, either.”

“But you didn’t even try,” she protested.

I nodded and tried to smile. And failed. “Fluttershy, I appreciate your way of handling things. You’ve come a long way. But I am not Twilight. She is perfectly capable of that. She could have stomped up to them and lectured them into the ground, until they saw reason, apologized and became better ponies in the end. Because that’s just the force of nature she is. And you too. You are kind and your kindness knows few bounds. That’s why the Element chose you. I… I’m not proud of admitting it, but I was angry. I was furious. They were bullying my friend. And just like Rainbow back in the day, I could not idly stand by. I have to work with what I have and sadly, that doesn’t include a silver tongue, I believe. You know it yourself though. Sometimes reason and diplomacy fails. It’s always sad when it happens, but it does happen. You had to fight changelings. You stared down beasts that would not listen to you. You’re not proud of these moments, because it means that other options, more civil options, have failed. But that wasn’t your failure, it was theirs. And in the same vein, I am not proud of how I handled this — but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Because standing up for your friends is the right thing to do.” It was hard to object to that one.

Fluttershy was not happy, that much was plain to see. But at least she was satisfied with my reasoning. I was not just another bully, bullying the other bullies.

Feeling the silence turning into something less pleasant, Sunny chose this moment to speak up. “I’m Sunny Skies, by the way.”

“Oh crap, I totally forgot!” I blurted out.

“Language,” Sunny chided me leniently.

“Sorry, sorry. Right, so. Sunny Skies, this is Fluttershy, our local veterinarian, hobby alchemist, pet shelter…er… and probably a couple of other things too. She’s not a model though. We don’t talk about that.” I chuckled a little bit as I saw how Fluttershy hid behind her mane, as usual, and turned beet red… as usual. “Fluttershy, this is Sunny Skies, our overworked bureaucrat with a penchant for tea and pretty sunrises. She also looks great when wet and yes, that is most definitely a vital detail.” This time, both blushed and as a sign of gratitude for my effort, I received another light jab to the shoulder. “You know, at some point there’s going to be this squishy, mushy mess of what was supposed to be bone and muscle there. Who’s going to pay the doc to fix that, huh?”

“With bits? Certainly not you then,” she shot right back and grinned.

“Ouch. Right where it hurts — in the purse.” I quietly laughed. It took a little bit of effort, but it was worth it to not startle Fluttershy. I turned to our host. “Right, so. Tea. What else do you actually have? A wide range of herbs, I presume? Something more fruity, maybe?”

I was just jump-starting a conversation. Sunny recognized this and gave me a brief, grateful smile as she started to get into a little discussion with Fluttershy. It was lovely seeing them both interact so casually. Fluttershy relaxed as time went on and Sunny's soothing voice seeped into her mind. She apparently even forgot that she was sitting across at least one, if not two strangers and was talking to them. Sunny had some recommendations for interesting mixtures and promised to bring something with her to test next time they would meet. This already implied that there would be a next meeting. Another success. Fluttershy in turn offered her insight into several herbs, flowers and plants that she made into tea. Some of that stuff she collected herself from the Everfree Forest or traded for with Zecora, others she got from the market or the surrounding area. It was clear that Sunny knew her stuff when it came to tea, but even she was surprised when Fluttershy told her about bark tea. Due to my waning interest in the conversation, I only listened with half an ear and apparently, certain kinds of tree barks could be made into tea. It sounded weird, but hey, what did I know? Sunny’s interest was piqued, and that was enough.

I just enjoyed myself in the meantime. I enjoyed the sound of their voices as they talked animatedly about tea. I enjoyed looking around and making myself familiar with Fluttershy’s cottage once more. I enjoyed seeing her critters run around as they paid us less and less attention. That actually made me wonder about White Tip for a moment, but I was sure he was fine. I enjoyed looking at Fluttershy and seeing how relaxed she was. How she wore that precious, tiny smile that told me that she was comfortable. Her wings rustled at her sides from time to time, but I supposed that was due to excitement about their topic. And of course I also enjoyed looking at Sunny. That pesky practiced smile was still present, but it seemed like there was a real one right beneath it. Her coat had dried fully by now, but it still looked a little ruffled in places, not quite as immaculate as it usually did. It looked good, to be honest. And I noticed her wings stir a little every now and again as well. Excitement about tea, I presumed once more. But her right wing — the one I sat next to — looked a little more agitated than the other one. I wondered why that was.

Little by little drifting off into my own world, their words blurred and became one with the background noises. I studied Sunny's wing, its movement and its subtle twitches. I tried to find a recurring pattern. I carefully lifted my hoof. I obviously did not want to disturb their conversation, so with the faintest touch, I stroked down her wing, along her primaries. The twitching subsided for a little bit it seemed… only to resume more agitated than before. Why, though? Relax, gosh darn it! I noticed Fluttershy having a strange expression out of the corner of my eyes. She tried to hide a subtle blush behind her mane and looked like she tried very hard not to notice something. Weird.

I paid her odd behavior little mind, it was something to get to the bottom of later. I was utterly entranced by the mystery of the twitching right wing for now. I carefully applied a little bit more pressure at its joint and hoped that I could release some pent up tension, maybe…

And all of a sudden, I had a face full of feathers. I heard Sunny’s startled yelp, then lost my footing and tumbled off the sofa. Somehow.

While falling, I had clenched my eyes shut. I cautiously opened them back up once I apparently had come to a full stop. Sunny’s face peeked into my field of vision from above just a few seconds later. She was upside down. “Are you alright?” she quietly asked. Her voice ranged somewhere between amused and worried.

“Eh. I’m fine, I think. You, on the other hoof, are upside down, lady.” She giggled briefly and I was pleased with myself. After no part of my body seemed to report any pain, I finally got back up and sat down before the sofa. I looked around for potential damage and realized that I had gotten lucky as I had only shifted the table around when I fell instead of falling on it and probably smashing it to pieces. Then again, it was a sturdy thing and I was just a unicorn.

Anyway. I climbed back up onto the sofa, back to Sunny’s side and refrained from my wing study for now and instead focused my attention on a beet red Fluttershy. Maybe I had exposed myself with my ungraceful tumble, maybe it was still about that other thing, I did not know. But I was determined to make her squirm some more if she had started already. Because she looked so freaking adorable when she blushed like that. “Sooo,” I began and my smile grew into a predatory grin. “How are things coming along with Pinkie?” That lovely shade of red grew a nuance in intensity. That good, huh? Seeing as she was not answering and probably — because Fluttershy was Fluttershy — simply could not answer, I had another idea. “If it’s too awkward to say anything, we can just stick to yes- and no-questions?” I offered. She nodded and I felt like a predator on the prowl. I also suddenly felt a certain kinship to Rarity. Because I was hunting for all the juicy details. “Have you had your first date yet?” Nod. “Second date?” Nod. “Third?” Head shake. But only after she had looked out the window. To see the sun in the sky and gauge the time of day, I presumed. It should have been hilarious really, but with Pinkie involved, it was less of a surprise. There had probably been a ‘date’ every couple of hours.

Well. As long as they were both happy and comfortable with that, everything was fine. Then again… it was better to make sure. Just in case. “Are you happy?” Well, that was one vigorous nod if I ever saw one. And she beamed at me with such excitement. I smiled to myself and felt my heart make a little happy jump in turn. “Have you gals kissed?” I heard a little gasp from Sunny, but was too focused on Fluttershy. She blushed even more and nodded. I starting to worry that she might actually faint at this point. Okay, okay… one more. Just one. “With tongue?”

Before Fluttershy could answer — or faint —, I was once more jabbed into my shoulder. With a little more force this time. “Dreamwalker! Have a little decency!” Sunny chided me.

“I am! I mean… I’m just happy and enjoying the fruit of my labor, so to speak. I admit though, my curiosity might’ve run away a little.” I felt it was a generous admittance. And I was glad to see Fluttershy's blush recede at least a little bit. Still comparable to a tomato, however.

“A little,” Sunny echoed and jabbed me again. Ouch. Sometime soon that might actually leave a bruise.

“W-Well… h-he did help… a l-lot,” Fluttershy squeaked from her chair and caught the attention of both of us.

“Aw,” I replied, “that just makes my heart melt. Apparently I’m quite good with those. Hearts, I mean. Those fleshy little pumps that keep her blushing whenever—“ Another jab. “Ouch.” But I got the memo. There had been juuust that tiny bit more force behind it to understand. Enough was enough. I held up my hooves to show my submission and she seemed somewhat mollified.

Fluttershy meanwhile had looked on with her own curiosity piqued, but was still occupied with her blood flooding every patch of skin that could make her look more like a robin than a pony.

The three of us had more or less recomposed ourselves a few moments later. “The tea, while great, wasn’t the only reason I came here for though,” I admitted as a moment of silence allowed for it. Both mares looked at me curiously. “See, while the nice chat and tea obviously helped and I'm so, so glad that you two hit it off like that, there’s still one thing I’d like to do. Fluttershy, have you had lessons with Lotus and Aloe? Because I remember you surprising Rarity with a birthday gift, some sort of voucher or something. For an entire day of utmost pampering without the need to even leave the house. Is that a thing?”

Fluttershy smiled serenely at the fond memory. “Oh yes,” she replied happily, “she had been very stressed after that big order from Haute Couture and redeemed it once she was done. She said she would not dare show herself on the streets after what she had been through.”

Funny. In my memories, it had been a big order from Hoity Toity, but the rest seemed to be the same. Knowing what a full day spa treatment involved, I knew that she would be up to the task. Now I only needed to find out if she was willing to help. “Great! Now, I’d like to give Sunny treatment number… twelve? It was number twelve. Plus number seven. Maybe with a side dish of special treatment number three, but we’ll see about that. You’d be up for that? I would do seven and three.”

Sunny looked confused as heck. She had no idea what we were even talking about and that was the point. I wanted to keep it a secret as long as possible and Fluttershy, on the other hoof, seemed to understand perfectly. She looked Sunny over with the same critical eye an artist might employ judging his raw material. The same eye that made her such a valuable assistant seamstress to Rarity whenever she was biting off more than she could chew… again.

“I would be willing to help with that, yes,” she finally agreed.

“Yes!” I hoof-pumped into the air in excitement. “Alright, we need some incense, a bowl of warm water and proper tools. I can get the bowl?” She nodded and we stood up to fetch what we needed. Sunny’s eyes were following us around the entire time. I guessed that she did not want to spoil the surprise by asking or maybe was just willing to let herself be surprised, but she couldn’t just not look and think about possibilities at the same time.

We were ready and in the starting position only a few minutes later. A nice floral scent hung in the air and Sunny found herself on her haunches as she complied with Fluttershy’s request. Her back hooves were dipped into the water to soak. I placed myself behind her in the meantime. “Please don’t send me flying again,” I whispered into her ear and stifled a chuckle as I carefully started to press my hooves into her back. I was just feeling out where exactly she was tense at first, where knots had formed, where muscles ached. Progress was slow since her body was unfamiliar and it was not helped by the fact that she moved ever so slightly every once in a while. It honestly surprised me that she seemed so unfamiliar with a massage. It surprised me even more then, that despite this she was not that tense to begin with.

Fluttershy cared for Sunny’s hooves over the course of the next hour or so. She cleaned and filed and polished and whatnot. I had undertaken some lessons myself to care for Twilight at some point and I remembered only half of those, but it was clear to me that my focus had been a lot narrower. Probably because of her constantly aching shoulders from her research binges.

Once Sunny’s back hooves were cared for, she was allowed to sit down on her belly again, while her front hooves soaked. We were working in comfortable silence and only shared the occasional glance and smile. It was nice, really. Working with Fluttershy side by side felt good. Familiar. And seeing Sunny relax more and more was a nice sight as well.

I leaned back for a moment and looked down on her. I had kneaded most knots away at this point and Fluttershy was still going. “I think I’m going in for number three,” I said softly. Fluttershy blushed a little and just nodded.

“What is—“ Sunny started as she saw that look on Fluttershy’s face, but she stopped abruptly as I oh so carefully unfolded her wing.

Preening was something reserved for spas and lovers or family. My own words came back to haunt me, but I dismissed them. We were being friendly here. We were using spa techniques. It was fine. This was fine. Everything was fine. "Your wings are so pretty," I mumbled and slowly traced a hoof along her pristine white primaries. I garnered an appreciative sigh as a reward.

Now. As far as I remembered, there were several options to go about this. And although Sunny seemed a little flustered, she did not object per se. She could have easily pulled her wing back and refolded it again. But she did not. So the question arose: How did I wanted to do this? I knew that there was a way a unicorn could do it with magic. I was even somewhat sure that I could do it. It was cleaner, faster and more efficient. Ooor I could use my mouth. This was slower, messier and a lot more intimate. Yeah. I would totally give her a magic once-over as soon as I was done with the other way.

She must have expected me to use said magic. Because as soon as I started and did not, she tensed up for just a moment. I gave her a moment and she relaxed again. Fluttershy was, very busy and kept herself very busy. She only glanced up occasionally and tried to hide her continuous faint blush behind her mane. And she only looked up to make sure I was doing it right, surely.

Nosing around in her plumage was actually kind of fun. Especially with her reactions being this unbridled and genuine. She usually wore her pristine smile with unmatched elegance. But she probably did not have practice with this, and it showed. Barely anything to draw from to collect herself and restore her vigilant mask. I was so delighted to witness her control fail. She sighed and hummed and smiled and I occasionally even heard a little gasp as my lips traced along her wings, as I realigned feathers with my tongue or plucked out a broken one.

Once I was done with her now considerably less twitchy right wing, I moved over and repeated the process on her left side. As I moved closer to her joint, I saw Fluttershy bite down on her lower lip to keep her smile from morphing into something else while she watched Sunny's expression. I withdrew my muzzle because I wanted to see for myself, only to be met with a high-pitched, quiet whine. I smiled brightly and as I got back to it, she rewarded me with another content sigh. I had to suppress a chuckle as I smoothed out another feather.

I had reached her joint once more and carefully licked a few stray hairs of her coat back in place when a quiet, soft moan escaped her lips. Fluttershy immediately looked startled and turned red again. “C-Careful,” Sunny tried to joke, but half of it got lost.

I had a rather devious grin as I nodded. “Don’t worry, I am…” I lowered my head again, nosed back in and did that again, because I was mature and responsible. To be fair, it had been such an alluring sound. I wanted to hear it again. I needed to hear that again. Sunny clearly expected something like that and was more successful in stifling her second moan, much to my dismay. But she was not quite fully successful.

“I-I’ll make some m-more tea,” Fluttershy squeaked and was gone in an instant. “I’m done already a-anyway…”

I felt bad as I watched her almost flee the living room. But at the same time, I wanted to laugh. Just a little bit. She was adorable. And I was being very uncouth, as Rarity would put it. Maybe I was going a bit too far. “I’m not going to sleep with her on your sofa,” I sent my half-promise after Fluttershy. My voice was filled with amusement.

“Oh, you’re not?” came from down below me. She playfully winked at me.

“I-I don’t m-mind,” came from the kitchen.

If it had been physically possible, my jaw would have hit the floor. I instead just slowly looked down to Sunny. She smiled, her eyes half-lidded and they sported a mischievous twinkle. She’s toying with you, I realized, That little minx!

I stared at her and my gaze lazily trailed from her very delectable looking ears to her neck, along her barrel and—

It hit me once I slowly came back to my senses. I started to realize that Fluttershy had basically exiled herself to her own kitchen. She would most definitely not come back out. Well, that wouldn’t do!

But I really wanted—

Shut up.

I lowered my head once more and aimed for Sunny’s ear this time. I agonizingly slowly licked along its edge and nipped its tip a little. I knew she had sensitive ears. And it was delightful to see her eyes flutter shut while a shudder ran through her body and a quiet moan escaped her throat once more. “One of these days,” I whispered and then pulled back with a mighty effort. Her bedroom eyes promised me much. Much that I wanted right now, they drew me in, lured me…

But I resisted. For now. I instead finished what little of my work was not done by this point and in yet another great show of self-restraint did exactly as I had planned and went over my entire work once more with magic. It was a fine-tuned use of telekinesis, one that had to be applied very carefully — but lucky me, that spell had remained in my repertoire.

While I was finishing up my work, Sunny had given up on her teasing, closed her eyes again and just enjoyed herself. She realized the end of this little session when she felt the shift of weight on the sofa as I stood up and climbed down. I carefully stretched my legs and looked back at her. And my heart picked up its pace a little. “Still gorgeous,” I whispered and received a bright smile as a reward. I made attempts to clean up for Fluttershy. Given that I did not know where she had procured the tools from, I instead took the water bowl in my magic and made my way to the kitchen.

Fluttershy was politely sitting at her kitchen table when I entered and stared at the wood, avoiding eye contact at all costs. She gave a startled little noise when I emptied the bowl into her kitchen sink and set it down. “T-That was quick…?” she started and then immediately looked up in horror. “N-Not that anything’s w-wrong with that,” she shot right after.

I walked over and cautiously pulled her into a hug. “As I said. We won’t do anything in your cottage, Fluttershy. That would be weird.” A part of me had wanted to add an ‘even for me’ at the end there.

“Oh,” she replied at first. She furrowed her brow in thought and then cautiously and quietly added, “But you looked so well-paired,” once I pulled away from our embrace.

I chuckled a little and felt heat rise to my face. “Well, thanks, I guess. But that’s for another day, I suppose. Stuff to fix, friends to find.”

It surprised me, because it was so unlike Fluttershy: I wanted to move back to the living room, but before I had even taken the first step, she carefully placed a hoof on my cheek and turned my face back, as to make me look her in the eyes. “You should be kind to yourself as well,” she quietly said. Yet there was so much force in her words that I dared not to disagree.

“I… I’ll try,” was the best I could offer as I averted my eyes. Maybe she saw that too. She sighed and gave me free. Her smile returned though, and she stood up to follow me. I could not help but notice that there was no new tea to be found.

Sunny was back up on her hooves as well. She had already put the table back in its original position.

“I think we shouldn’t keep you to ourselves any longer,” I started and turned to Fluttershy when I stood near the door. “I’m very grateful for your help. And the tea. ‘Tis a most wondrous tea, as a dear friend would put it. Before smashing a mug on the floor, probably.”

“Oh… oh my…” Fluttershy looked at her floor with concern, then at her mugs.

“Don’t worry. Twilight can fix mugs. Wait, that was… hm… let me rephrase that: Don’t worry, Twilight can learn to fix mugs. Maybe she can even do it already, I mean… Spike seems prone to break stuff sometimes.” Quills, mostly. The spine of a book, once. Just once. I had been lucky enough to not be present, because that had happened long before Twilight was even sent to Ponyville. But judging by her retelling and his additions, it had been quite the drama.

“Well that is good. Pinkie will probably be over soon too,” Fluttershy said and looked out the window once more.

I had the luxury of just opening the door and seeing a lot more sky out there. from what I could tell, it was late afternoon. And I still did not want to return to the castle just yet. But I had another idea that would probably keep me busy for another one, maybe two hours. ‘Return home for dinner’ sounded better anyway.

“Then I hope you two have a great time. It’s a little sad to miss her, but maybe that’s for the best. Give her my regards and we shall see each other soon enough!” I hugged Fluttershy as she came to the door to see us off. Sunny had once again been relatively silent and observed our farewell. When it was time, she stepped up as well. She was not quite as familiar with Fluttershy and therefore did not go for a hug. Our host probably preferred it that way, even though it had been a lovely day so far.

I was just being pushy.

“White Tip?” I yelled into the open sky once Fluttershy had retreated inside. My feathery friend landed on my back again barely a minute later. “Had fun?” He cawed once and rustled his wings some more. “Great to hear that. You’ll be sleeping like a log today.”

Sunny walked beside me again and watched the exchange with curiosity. “Can you actually understand him? Like Fluttershy?”

I snorted in amusement. “Nah. While for some reason — probably because he’s a very smart cookie — he seems to be perfectly capable of understanding us. But I don’t get a single thing he says. I just assume a lot and if I’m annoyingly wrong with that, he’s digging his claws into my back. I mean… as far as teaching goes, it’s rough, but it works.” White Tip cawed thrice with what I assumed to be a happy inclination.

She nodded and thought about… probably not how White Tip was training me instead of the other way around, but something else. “It has been a lovely day so far,” she said with a serene smile.

“Ah, ah, ah,” I quickly interrupted. “Not so fast. You're not going anywhere, we're not done yet! You’re free to go after our next stop.”

There it was again. Her bright, clear laugh. Quiet and short, but it had been there and was appreciated. “And how, pray tell, do you intend to stop me?” she asked and fluttered her wings a little for emphasis.

“I’ll have you know that I have a very decent telekinesis!” I countered with my best attempt at a posh accent.

“… which immediately breaks as soon as the one you are holding so much as moves a hoof,” she retorted.

Well. Fair point. “I know some of your weak spots now!” I threatened.

She slowly raised an eyebrow but could not stop herself from grinning at the same time. She was apparently enjoying herself too much to care about her mask. “You would not dare…!”

I just shrugged. “Try me. Your moan might even sound more beautiful than your laughter and I’d like to hear a lot more of both, to be honest, so… yeah, try me. Please.” I laughed. A little harder still as I saw her blushing slightly. How, I wondered. How had she been this unflappable tease just a couple of minutes ago, but was now this prim and proper mare, ashamed of an embarrassing moment? It amazed me.

We once more walked in comfortable silence back to Ponyville through its winding dirt paths and past market stalls and ponies alike. I once more had my fun greeting ponies by name and watching their confusion, yet they still reciprocated the friendliness all the same. Berry, Lilly, Roseluck, Time Turner…

I loved this town so much.

We finally stood before Sugarcube Corner. Again. And I still had zero bits. Let’s see if we cannot work something out, I told myself as we entered.

Quite a few customers were still around, though I spotted an empty table. I pointed towards it. “Just wait a second, okay?”

“This is really not necessary, I—“ she started, but I shushed her.

“Please.” I knew that my puppy dog eyes were not all that great, so I did not even try. But I hoped once more that honesty would be enough. She sighed with a smile and walked over to the empty table. Yes! One point for Applejack!

The line in front of the counter was not exactly long. I got curious though as I saw Scootaloo telling Mister Cake what she wanted. And it apparently was quite an extensive list. After he had packaged everything up, Scoots was carrying half a dozen boxes on her back and head. “Don’t aim for the market this time,” I quietly whispered as she passed me by. She froze in place for a second, slowly craned her neck to look at me and I was nice enough to use a little magic to keep those boxes on her head.

She did not recognize me. Again — how could she? I had not met Rainbows semi-surrogate daughter yet. The little scamp seemed alarmed by my comment. That only told me that they had gotten away scot-free so far. Nopony knew they had been the culprits of the market bombing. Good for them. “Don’t worry, I won’t snitch,” I added with a little wink. “Say ‘hi’ to Spike for me, will you?”

She nodded despite her bafflement which only served to make the boxes shake some more. “Uh… sure, mister. And… thank you?”

I grinned. “Head straight or your boxes will fall. Have fun.” Once she remembered that she was indeed carrying boxes on her head, she straightened out and I could let go of them. She hastily scurried out the door, probably back to her friends. And maybe Spike, who could explain who the heck I was. Slowly but surely, I would integrate myself again.

It was my turn to step up to the counter and Mister Cake immediately recognized me. “Ah,” he started and searched for my name.

With how many customers Sugarcube Corner got every day, I was not surprised that he struggled remembering mine. It had only been my second visit after all. “Dreamwalker,” I supplied with a warm smile.

“Right, right,” he nodded. “Pinkie left not long ago.”

“I know. I’m actually surprised that we didn’t run into her, to be honest. But I’m not here for Pinkie. I was actually wondering if I—“ But that was about as far as I got.

His eyes lit up and he nodded. “The cake! Right! Pinkie told me about it.” What? After a moment, Mister Cake presented me with two very delectable looking slices of chocolate fudge cake. One of their many specialties, with a molten core. It oozed a little because it was still warm. He divided them into two plates and pushed them to my side of the counter.

“Alright, nice, yes, that is… what I was going to ask for. What about… uhm…” I looked around a little more nervously. Nopony cared. Nopony was looking. Even the pony behind me, one I did not know the name of but vaguely recognized, did not care. Yet I felt like a sitting duck, as if all eyes were on me. I leaned over the counter and, understanding my intent, he did the same. “What about the payment?” I whispered.

With a sigh of relief — why was he relieved?! — he straightened up again. “All done.”

It took a second and then it clicked. Pinkie Sense. Right. That was a thing. I decided I should make something nice for her, I decided. As a ‘thank you’. I smiled and levitated both plates up. “Thank you, Mister Cake!” I turned and apologized to that leaf green pony for taking so long and then trotted over to Sunny to present her with her plate. “Just to be clear,” I started addressing White Tip on my back. “You’re allowed to peck at mine if you want, but if you so much as touch hers, I’m gonna feed you to the first manticore I see!” Once I sat down, he hopped onto the table, gave my slice an inspecting glance and quickly decided that he was not interested to begin with.

Sunny however very much was. “Oh my goodness, this is incredible,” she raved in elation. I looked over to her in surprise to see that she had already dug in. I chuckled a little as I had not expected her to be the impatient type. Having a bit of foresight and knowing the Cake’s… well, cake, I halved my slice and nibbled away at the first piece.

“How am I supposed to say ‘no’ so something this good…?” Sunny whined a little to herself.

“You’re just not supposed to say that,” I countered. Seeing how fast her slice just vanished, I grinned and levitated my other half over onto her plate.

“Are you sure?” she asked but I could tell that it was more out of politeness. Once I gave my all-clear, she cherished the rest of the cake. With both plates emptied, I felt pretty stuffed. That should have been weird, considering I had some scrambled eggs for breakfast thanks to Spike and it was late afternoon or early evening or something. Thinking about dinner did give me a little appetite though. Maybe I just was not after sweets right now.

“See something you like?” Sunny mused with a quiet giggle.

I blinked. And stopped staring at her flank. No sweets. “Delectable,” I blurted out and felt heat creep up my face again.

Silence fell over our table once more, if only for a couple of seconds. “While I did enjoy this day greatly, I cannot help but feel a little bit guilty,” Sunny admitted.

“Guilty?”

She nodded. “After what you had told me about the events of the previous night, I was… I wanted to tell you that you should not run from your problems. Especially your friends. But I could see reason in your decision to clear your head, so I stayed quiet and hoped for a better moment to bring it up again.” She sighed. “I may have enjoyed myself a little bit too much.”

I laid one of my hooves over hers to get her attention. “You didn’t. No, seriously, it’s fine. I needed that and so did you, I think. And I’m not running, not really anyway. I’ll be returning to the castle after this.”

She allowed herself a small little smile. It seemed almost fragile. “Thank you.”

I returned it in kind, scooched over a little and lifted her hoof with mine to place a little kiss on it. “No, thank you.”

I was probably being weird again. Or worse yet, I was demonstrating behavior that would make Rarity giggle in excitement. I almost shuddered at the thought.

We got up a moment later. I levitated our plates back to the counter where Misses Cake would collect them for cleaning in the kitchen at some point. “It was great! Absolutely delicious,” I let Mister Cake know. He grinned gratefully and proudly and wished us a nice evening. “Same!”

Sunny looked up at the sky once we were outside. “I should probably return to my sister now,” she thought aloud.

“Ah-hah!” I half-yelled and startled her a bit. “She has a sister now! Ladies and gentlecolts, she has a sister! Slowly but surely the mystery that is Sunny Skies is unraveled…”

“There is a lot more to unravel,” she sighed with a smile.

“Oh I’d love to unravel you some more…” We were silent for almost three entire seconds before I started laughing and she giggled heartily. “Okay, I admit, that was a bit much.”

“It was very… how do they say? ‘Corny’,” she agreed.

I stepped up to her and nuzzled her neck up to the crook without a second thought spared. “I know we’ve been over this already,” I whispered as I hugged her. “But I had a lot of fun today. Thank you.”

She reciprocated the embrace once she had overcome her initial surprise. “It was my pleasure.”

Literally, a voice in my head chuckled. I then let go of her and stepped back. “Say ‘hi’ to your sister. Maybe I’ll get to know her as well someday.”

“Would you like that?” she asked and raised an eyebrow.

My smile grew into a grin again. “Well I mean, it wouldn’t do if I first got to see her face at the wedding, I mean—“ Seeing it come from a mile away, I quickly ducked out of the way of another jab. Once I was reasonably sure that no further attacks were incoming, I nodded with a grin. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I’d like that very much. You’re very secretive about yourself. Like someone who got hurt pretty bad in the past. And I try not to pry too much. But everything I’ve seen and learned so far only makes me want to see and learn more.”

Her expression quickly morphed through several emotions she tried to keep hidden. Pain, grief, relief, gratitude, joy. In the end, her practiced smile successfully covered it all up again. “We’ll see about that,” she ominously remarked with a little twinkle in her eye. “Have a nice evening, Dreamwalker.”

“You too, Sunny.” And with a mighty flap of her wings, she lifted herself off the ground and flew away. The direction mattered little, I reminded myself. With her being how she was, it would not tell me anything she could not have fabricated. “You too.”

I stood there for a moment. Rational thought dictated that it was time to go back and face whatever was going on. But emotionally, I suddenly felt alone. Because… “Oh crap.”

I ducked my head into Sugarcube Corner again and saw White Tip sitting on our old table, fast asleep despite the noise the other customers produced. I carefully lifted him in my telekinesis and managed to not wake him up this time. I even allowed myself a proud little smile at that. And then, with my floating bird in tow, I started to trot back to the castle. I vowed to myself that he would never know that I had simply forgotten him…

As soon as I opened the castle doors, the enticing smell of a warm meal started to lure me in. Bell peppers, garlic and a hint of peanut sauce. “Fancy,” I mumbled and briskly trotted towards the kitchen. With the smell already reaching the entrance door, I should have expected them to already be eating, thus it came as little surprise when I found the kitchen deserted. So I walked over to the living room and entered.

I initially wanted to do it with a certain flair. Bellowing ‘behold, for I have returned!’, or something of that ilk. I instead found myself once again strangely nervous. These were my friends, I told myself. And I had no reason to shy away from them!

Well except maybe everything about last night. And this morning. But really. Nothing at all.

I swallowed and meekly opened the door and almost cautiously stuck my head in. Both sat at the table and were obviously immediately looking at me. Awkward. I tried to gauge their reactions or general mood, but there was little to go by except welcoming smiles. My attempts to take those as a good sign were somewhat successful in that I actually managed to enter the room, close the door behind me and notice that they had put out a third plate.

I'm home.

I totally blamed my hunger and I would never apologize to my stomach for any false accusations. A low grumble and an awkward chuckle later, I made my way over to the table and sat down while carefully placing White Tip on his perch again. “I… uh… hope this is mine? Were you expecting somepony? Oh no… do you have somepony over? Am I sitting on a guest’s chair?”

As quickly as my mood had swung one direction it now barreled down the other. I was panicking. Sure, I had managed to make it back to the table, but now I really wished that teleportation would have been a possibility for me.

“Wow, what’s gotten you riled up?” Spike started with a chuckle. “It’s almost like—“

“Don’t say it,” Twilight warned him and groaned as he did anyway.

“… like you’re twilighting.”

“That is not even a real word!” she grumbled.

“Well… it wasn’t, until you made it one, and now it is. Describes perfectly what’s happening,” he deadpanned and pointed at me with a fork.

Twilight on the other hoof, just reached over and laid her hoof on mine. “Yes, it is your plate. Spike told me that you were going for a walk and we expected you to be back for dinner.”

I took a deep, very deep, it-almost-hurt-deep breath and released it slowly. And I felt my nerves calm down at least a little bit. “I’m sorry, I was just… that was weird…” I leaned back and immediately panicked again. “White Tip!” I tried to swivel around, but did not see a single feather of him.

“Over there? Like… since you entered the room? You even put him on his perch yourself?” Spike pointed out and nodded towards the window perch, where both White Tip and Owlicious slept side by side. Spike shook his head. “Totally twilighting.”

I sighed. I was being unreasonable, wasn’t I? Once again, I tried to calm myself down. Knowing what worked best, I closed my eyes and mumbled. “Celestia, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” I had to repeat it, just to be safe. I dared another attempt at normalcy after. I opened my eyes and they were still there. White Tip was still sleeping, Spike was still eating and treating this as the most normal thing ever and Twilight still had this forgiving, understanding smile on her face.

It was okay. I was okay.

My own smile was a little shaky, but it was there. Small victories. “Smells delicious,” I said and a low grumble from down below agreed with me. I thought that my stomach was exaggerating things a little, painting me like an almost starving unicorn, but I found that I was actually, legitimately hungry. So I filled my plate with a colorful something out of the oven and started to dig in. “What, uh, have you been up to?” I asked between mouthfuls.

“Once breakfast was done, I had to run to Twilight every couple of minutes,” Spike grumbled. “Then every couple of hours. I’m just glad that’s over.”

I probably looked just as confused as I felt. Had I missed something? I obviously had missed something. I turned to Twilight for an explanation. “Well, after our trip last night, Luna was… insistent on me sharing more information. She threatened to come over and ‘deal with things herself’ and I thought that that might not actually be helpful at all. So I implored her to stay her hoof. She complied, but only if I shared my knowledge. I have had a very… busy day. And not just because of all the exchanges between the two of us. Last night also yielded the largest set of data points since we had started recording!” While she had looked somewhat uncomfortable with discussing her exchange with Luna… she was immediately hyped to talk about her new analysis. As was to be expected of her. “It’s the first time I can compare your results to those of a pony without your special inclination towards dream magic and let me tell you, those results were fascinating!”

I chuckled despite feeling like an insect being studied by a dangerously enthusiastic scientist. “Alright — shoot. What did you get?”

She clearly had hoped for me to ask, so it was no surprise that she immediately started one of her little lectures, appropriate voice and all. There was a certain tone she reserved for these. “While there is yet a lot to be proven by irrefutable evidence, the data so far strongly implies that these nights, when you dreamwalk, count as actual sleep and a regenerative phase for you — but they do not count as such for me. See, while your body was actually regaining energy, my body reacted to it like I had run a marathon.”

“She looked like it too,” Spike interjected with a chuckle and decidedly ignored Twilight's warning glare.

“You are okay, right?” I asked in a sudden bout of worry. I had told Sunny that she was alright… and I had believed that myself.

“Oh, yes, I’m fine now. I was just worn out. I had a little nap in the afternoon, once Luna slowed down. I also tried to compare the times you ‘cast magic’ or used similar abilities to the data, but it is quite hard to stick certain spikes to points in time. My suspicion is that, each time you enter the dreamscape, you take a little bubble of time with you that continuously runs out and gets distorted around locations, creatures or events that I have not been able to categorize yet. But! Having been there myself, I could follow the chronological chain of events, as I do not think that will be distorted and I have once more managed to compare that to what I did. The examples I provided were admittedly few, I just summoned a sword for a few seconds and a shield for a little while longer, but even that gave me so much more to work with! The energy levels lead me to believe that I might actually have expended massive amounts of magic, comparable to, let’s say, when I try to teleport from Ponyville to Canterlot. Something I can usually only do once per day, although Princess Celestia told me that my reserves will only deepen with time. The important point is that I took a massive hit to my energy levels at those points and you… you did a lot more than that. I mean, there were so many swords flying all around and you were just… but your energy levels were relatively steady. The spikes I noticed were not part of that chain of events. It’s like… like doing these things barely costs you anything at all. So that obviously begged the question then: If your ‘magic’ is not the source of these spikes, what is, right? And I do not have an answer for that one yet. But! I have the hypothesis that it might have something to do with your buried memories and emotional instability.”

I blinked. Once, twice. “Uh-huh.” As soon as I saw her disappointed look, I backpedaled. “No no no, don’t, it’s… it’s just a lot to take in at once. See, the thing is, I was sure that there would be a correlation between my dreamscape-internal ‘casting’ and these energy levels, but you’re basically telling me there isn’t, which just sounds so weird. It would imply that I could keep doing this forever, or summon as many swords or whatever as my mind could comprehend and that just doesn’t feel right. But I can’t say with certainty that it’s not true, so… just a lot to take in. Aaand I’m a little worried that I have worn you out so much without even realizing.”

“Oh it’s fine,” she deflected before straightening her posture and reciting one of her favorite quotes: “In the pursuit of knowledge and truth, sacrifices must be made.” Yes, Twi. I know. And your willingness to sacrifice yourself continues to disturb and worry me.

I cringed a little as I suddenly remembered Celestia telling me about who exactly had said that and how, for some strange reason, history had all but forgotten about what a decidedly not nice pony he had been. “I… would be cautious with that,” I just replied.

Her gaze softened once more and she gave me my friend back where my teacher had sat. She tried to disperse my worry. “I am,” she said with conviction. And I believed her.

“Okay, so… what about the strain I put on myself that had you so worried?” I asked after a minute or so.

“Yes, that. I… I’m not sure. Right now, I find it hard to come up with a safe way to test my hypothesis. If we assume for a moment that I am right about this—“

“Which you probably are, because you’re Twilight,” I interrupted and earned an incredulous look from her.

“If we assume that,” she started over, “then that might be something out of our control. For now, at least. From everything you have told me so far, nothing indicates any common triggers to bring forth your buried memories. And even if we found something that would work in a reliable way, I do not think it would be safe, since we would not be able to control the intensity of these ‘flashes of insight’. Oh and… I thought you might like to hear that I have decided to use this name in my notes and reports.”

That actually, genuinely made me smile. “Yes. Yes I like that.” After mulling this over a bit longer, I furrowed my brow. Twilight was observing me expectantly. She wanted me to reach a certain conclusion like she had as well. And I was about to give her just that. “So we have strain we cannot explain properly, a hypothesis we cannot test and no control over these flashes. We cannot tell when they will be coming, or how strong they will be.” As she nodded, signs of concern bled into her expression despite her best efforts. And then it dawned on me. “Oh. Oh, great. So… I’m a ticking bomb, and we can’t even see the timer.”

“It is… it is not that bad,” she tried to soften the blow. “So far, your flashes have not hurt you in any significant way. It is more like… migraine?” she offered.

I was about to object, but ultimately decided against it. I did not want to trouble her mind any further than it already was. True enough, the flashes had not ‘damaged’ me in any way, aside from the occasional case of headache. It was their often inconvenient timing that worried me more. Having a head-splitting flash while some creature was about to eat your face could probably quite easily result in actual damage. But she was the smart cookie. She had had a full day to analyze the crap out of those numbers. She had already shone a light at this from all possible directions.

She knew.

“Sooooo…” Spike started at the other side of the table and thereby startled both of us. We had kind of forgotten that he was still there and judging by the look on his face — he knew. He was worried as well. “There was a lot of science-y mumbo-jumbo. Are you going to explode? Please don’t explode.”

I chuckled quietly and shook my head. “Don’t worry, Spike. You’re not gonna get rid of me this easily. It’s just a…” I looked over to Twilight. “… a minor inconvenience.”

She looked grateful. And Spike was relieved. “Oh! That’s good then. Because it’s actually fun having you around.”

“Aw. Thanks Spike.” I ruffled his headfin a little.

It took a good old while for me to realize something else. Spike had already started taking our emptied plates to the kitchen by that point and was cleaning up when I turned to Twilight once more. “When you said you had to share your knowledge with Luna so she wouldn’t come over…”

Ah. There it was again. That slightly uncomfortable look. It already told me everything I needed to know. Luna knew who I was and how I was and where I lived and when exactly I had gotten here and my resting heart rate and that I was a somewhat decent smith and whatever else Twilight knew about me.

She knew everything.

Twilight simply nodded to confirm my suspicions. “Well,” I started and felt slightly strange now, “you know, it’s only fair, I suppose. As far as I know, it's the first time that somepony else knows me before I know them. I never really thought about how that might feel. Feels…”

“… weird, sometimes,” Twilight supplied with a small smile.

I grinned and nodded. I could not have explained why I was grinning like an idiot. But I was.

“Luna also asked me to formally request of you ‘that you do not dreamwalk again for the time being’,” she cited the exact quote from one of her letters. Her tone was clear to read. I still had to get to Rainbow though. I had promised to help her friend. Twilight was not okay with Luna asking this of me and she obviously hoped I would do exactly what I had decided to do as soon as I heard those words.

“Well,” I hemmed and hawed, “the good thing about requests is that they can be denied. But please don’t ever tell Rarity, she will hack me to pieces if she ever hears that I refused a royal request.”

Twilight giggled quietly. “I cannot in good conscience make such a promise,” she teased.

I sighed deeply and dramatically. “Hacked to pieces it is then. Fine.”

Spike returned from the kitchen. Had he looked this tired before? “Kitchen’s all done and if you guys don’t mind, I’m off to bed.”

We both shook our heads. “It’s quite alright. Thank you for your help and have a good night!” Twilight said.

“What she said. Also: That was some fantastic cooking, buddy,” I added.

He proudly puffed his chest and left us to our own devices. I noticed a faint blush on Twilight's face that I could not quite explain. Did she remember this morning’s events after all? I was about to ask when she spoke up. “You have only been able to sleep when in company so far. I was thinking… since we want to find and sort out Rainbow tomorrow and you will probably need a clear head, maybe it would be best if you slept with me?”

That’s not intentional innuendo. Can’t be. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Right.

Riiight.

She had a point though, to be fair. Dealing with Applejack had been exhausting and I could only guess that it would have been a lot easier had I gotten a lot more sleep. Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash were notoriously stubborn. But Applejack was probably still the easier of the two. As an earth pony, she could not just fly away, which was — speaking from experience — one of Rainbow's first instincts whenever she really wanted to get away from something. In addition, Rainbow's stubbornness usually meant she would try to squirm her way out of things, where Applejack — just like a boulder — would try to ‘sit things out’. It was like dealing with a turtle or a hare: Each exhausting in their own way.

I agreed and Twilight seemed both overjoyed and… nervous? There's something else at play then.

She dimmed the fireplace down with a bolt of magic. Can’t have an open fire hazard around, of course. I followed her out of the room and for some reason, I felt like my hooves were weighed down by lead. We walked over to the bathroom and Twilight got in first. It gave me a couple of minutes to sort myself out.

So what had me all nervous all of a sudden? Was it that mixture of emotions I had briefly glimpsed on her face? Was it really just that odd choice of words that unbalanced me this much? Was there a lingering fear I was not aware of that she might recall the morning’s events? Was it the morning's events themselves?

I basically just ran in circles. Potentially screaming, without knowing why. However, while I was busy doing that, I did also notice that the bathroom door was slightly ajar. Under any other circumstances, I would have easily dismissed it. Things being how they were though… was it an oversight? A test? An invitation? I could barely see anything at all, if I was being honest. Just the mirror and… the shower, via the mirror… in which Twilight—

Stop staring.

I figuratively collected my jaw from the floor and looked away while heat shot up my neck and flushed my entire head. Had… had she really…

I glimpsed back… and immediately tore my eyes off again.

Yupp. Definitely touching herself.

Why. There was a whole catalog with very good, very important, very urgent questions. And most of them started with ‘why’. Why was I still standing here? Why was I like this? Why did she do this? Why was I feeling this confused. Just… why, in general.

I could not recite the prayer to calm myself, as the words would just not come to my mind. I tried Cadance’ breathing technique with middling results. It was enough to keep my blood from rushing downstairs any further than it already had. The more I thought about my situation, the more frustrated I grew with myself.

A couple of minutes later — earlier than I had expected, given her preoccupation —, Twilight opened the door. Her smile radiated warmth and familiarity, like it always did. Like nothing had happened. Like everything was fine, everything was normal. It was almost calming.

Almost. Because when she had declared the bathroom to be free and that she would wait for me, she turned and flicked her tail across my muzzle. By accident, I tried to tell myself. I insisted on it. It sounded desperate, even in my head. I could not even convince myself. Something definitely was up.

Why the sudden change?

What was it that I had missed?

I gave a dumb nod and almost staggered into the room. I closed the door. Yes. Closed it. Like she should have done. And for a moment, I just stood there. I listened for her soft hoof steps to retreat further down the hallway to her room. Was I seriously considering if she would spy on me?

It was only fair, was it not? Had I not done the same to her?

I almost stomped through the room, placed myself under the showerhead and started the cold water. It somehow actually was not even that cold. Had she manipulated the spell regulating the water temperature? Was she sabotaging me? Sabotaging what, to begin with, though?

Every time I closed my eyes or so much as blinked, a flood of images pressed to the surface of my mind. Images, scenes, smell, taste, touch, the whole program, and on top of it all the newest addition — Twilight showering, unsuspecting and—

But had she really been? Unsuspecting?

Twilight was meticulous in every aspect of her life. There was a certain way bedsheets had to be folded. Because a book had told her once. There was a certain way cutlery had to be arranged, because her classes in etiquette had taught her so. There were rules and regulations and expectations governing almost every waking minute of her life. It was impossible to think that there was none telling her to close the door.

An oversight then. She had become a lot more relaxed in the last few years after all. She was less Twilighting these days.

With a groan, I leaned forward and put my forehead to the somewhat cold crystal of the wall. I took a deep breath… and cursed some more. It smelled like her in here and it was driving me wild on an instinctual level. Of course it did. Her shampoos, her lotions, her care products… it was the best I could do. Telling myself that those were the only things I noticed.

Why?

The shower would not help, clearly. I was clean without feeling clean. I dried myself up, brushed my teeth and left the bathroom behind me. A dimly lit hallway. The only light emanating from some enchanted crystals that hung from the ceiling every so often. Just enough that one would not trip on a carpet that had not even been here for most of the time.

I could just walk past her door. I entertained the idea for a moment while I slowly walked towards it. It would be easy, right? Just… step past.

Easy. Sure. And then what?

I would have eagerly flung myself towards her in every other lifetime. Why? Why was she trying to seduce me in this one? Maybe it was a cosmic joke? Maybe Moira had a giggle at my expense? And what about Luna?

I stopped when I reached the point of no return. Not that I tried to solve any of this any longer, no. Quite the opposite. I tried to clear my head. Not by solving mysteries or answering impossible questions, but by taking all the junk that was cluttering my headspace up and shoving it away. It would obviously come back. Eventually. Maybe some of it would have cleared itself out once that point came.

Whatever happened, happened. Whatever was going on, I would find out. It was of no use freaking out over it before I actually had anything to go by.

Her bedroom door was once more slightly ajar. I opened it, stepped inside and closed it. I could muster no surprise to find Spike’s bed deserted. I walked over to Twilight's bed. She was lying down, but used her wing to lift up the blanket as I stepped closer. I looked over to Spike's bed once more, then back to her. She was beautiful. She always was. But right now, her eyes had an almost pleading expression. “Twilight… what’s going on?” My own voice was quieter than I had expected. Barely above a whisper. And it seemed fitting how thick with apprehension it was.

“Please,” she answered in a whisper. “It’s getting cold.”

Right. I sighed. I would get answers. One way or another. I climbed into bed and automatically scooched closer to her. The blanket lowered itself and its enticing warmth tried to make me relax. It would not be that easy this time.

“Are you alright?” she asked. Her tone was carefully measured.

“I—“ I started and immediately stopped. Was I? What if all of this had a perfectly reasonable explanation? It was possible, was it not? Applejack had always been a strong influence on me. While I sometimes wished she would be less blunt and self-destructive with her coping mechanisms, I saw her as a good role model. Honest to a fault, with others and herself. Something to strive for. “I’m worried,” I answered honestly.

I felt it more than I saw it as my gaze drifted to the window. She scooched over, closer to me. A lot closer. Enough that there was practically no room left between the two of us. She shifted just that little bit more, as if to reduce nothing to less than nothing. And she buried her face on my chest. And I felt that vast longing that always seemed to connect me to her, across all lifetimes.

It was not quite involuntarily that I laid a hoof over her withers and held her tight. I remembered this well enough. It was something she usually did when she was searching for a safe space. When she made herself vulnerable. She could have easily opened her wings and embraced me as well. She could have formed an entire feathery cocoon around me as Fluttershy had done. But that would make her the strong one. The protector. And right now, for whatever reason, she wanted to be small and fragile and she wanted to be protected. So I did what I could to give her that. I nuzzled her cheek and placed a kiss on her forehead. I intertwined my legs with hers and held her close. And I felt her heartbeat and listened for her breathing.

She was silent in a way that was everything but. It told me that she was mustering up the courage to talk. Something was bothering her. And the longer she took, the more it worried me.

I resigned myself to waiting as best as I could. Wait it out. Applejack would understand.

She finally drew breath. More than just what was needed to keep on thinking and avoid falling asleep in a very warm, very welcoming embrace that did its best to steer her exactly in that direction. Enough breath to speak for a while. “I want you to sleep with me.” It took only a couple of seconds before she added more. “… and I want to sleep with you.”

I felt like my thoughts were running away from me. But once I stopped and actually listened, there was just this oppressive, deafening silence in my head.

So I was not crazy. What a relief.

It took me a moment to notice that she started to tense up. She was waiting for my reaction. Any reaction. And my continued silence had her on the edge. As weird as it sounded, I considered giving it some thought. I thought about thinking about it. And what was even weirder — I decided against it. Of the two of us, she was the smart one. Or the smarter one. Her analytical mind was unmatched. I had always been better off following my gut. It led me to weird and awkward places, because it seemed to enjoy putting me into these slightly uncomfortable positions, but more often than not, it worked out in my favor.

“Why?” I finally gave my answer. It was honest. And it wasn’t overcooked like the rest of that jumbled mess in my head.

She sighed in relief and relaxed again. So that was all it took? I just had to give her a chance to explain herself? Silly Twilight. I leaned down a little and kissed her forehead right beneath her horn. A soft shudder ran down her body, but she did give me a little appreciative noise in return. Don't, don't, don-

The tip of my tongue slowly crawled up her horn. She trembled slightly and only at the midway point did I manage to tear myself away. I felt guilty to have caused that longing, quiet whine she made.

Silence fell once more as she sorted what I expected to be an over-prepared speech. She had a soft spot for those.

Whatever she was about to tell me, I was relatively certain that it would contain the answers I sought. More than that, I expected it to be reasonable. Because Twilight was Twilight. She really could not do ‘not reasonable’. Not without others noticing it. Especially Spike and he had seemed fine at dinner.

“I am in love,” she started cautiously. I know, I answered in my head, but not with me. “Or… or maybe I just have a crush. I find it difficult to differentiate between the two.” That alone. We could have talked about that alone for the rest of the night. But I let her go on. “And no, it is not you. But… you already knew that, didn’t you?” I did not answer. It was neither necessary, nor did she truly expect me to. “I want to share this with somepony special. Because I want it to be special. And I thought about sharing it with her, but…” A shaky breath hit my chest and she buried her face in it once more. She needed time, and I gave it to her. “I cannot tell you how scared I am. How terrified. I think about her, and I think about doing this with her and… and then my mind just blanks and I think about everything that could go wrong, will go wrong, and I will mess it up, because I always do on first tries and I just can’t, I can’t this time, not with this and—“

“Shhhh…” I stroked her mane, her shoulders. I carefully let my hoof glide over her agitated wings while she trembled a little. Her speech had almost derailed itself, picking up way too much speed.

“I know it’s irrational,” she started again after she had calmed down a little. I was proud of her. I half-expected her to call it ‘stupid’, which would have been just another example on a long, long list of her being to harsh with herself. “I need safety,” she quietly resumed. “I need safety to… to make the next step. I have not even told her yet.” As I expected — it made sense, in a way. Twilight was in control. She had absorbed every little piece of knowledge for all her life. Every spell. Every euphemism. Every dialect. Every tidbit about historical events. Whenever she was confronted with a challenge, no matter what shape this challenge took, she could rely on an ocean of knowledge. And magic. Spells were helpful too.

This of course had resulted in her trusting in that solid foundation. Rare indeed was the occasion that she was confronted with something that defied classification, that was so alien and new that none of her prior experiences and none of her many pieces of lore and nothing from her vast collection of spells could help her.

Feeling like she had no control, especially when it was something this close to home? I could perfectly understand being terrified by that.

This was where I came in, then. In her chain of thoughts at least. “I am different?” I asked just for clarification’s sake.

She nodded almost immediately. “I feel safe with you… but there is no… pressure.”

Because success mattered little. There was nothing to gain. And since she felt safe with me, there was nothing to lose either. It would be an experience. It would be knowledge. Something to cling to when her nerves threatened to get the better of her once again. She would know what to expect, because she had been there before. She could indulge in the illusion of being in control again.

I understood.

And I was about to reject her. There were other ways, myriads of other ways to deal with nerves and insecurity and lack of experience. Heck, a single honest and open talk to her sister in law and former foalsitter and, oh, yes, Princess of Love, could probably shift her perspective entirely. Making her realize that this starting phase, this time without experience where everything was half a failure and more funny than sexy was something precious, something to be treasured, something that she would never have again once it was gone.

Even putting Cadance aside for a moment, she simply should have this conversation with her beloved.

“I know that there are other ways,” she started. Reading my mind? I thought that was Pinkie’s dubious privilege. “But I thought about this. A lot. It is my decision to make and… I made it.” Which obviously would not help much if I were to refuse her. Then again, she would know as much so there had to be more to this.

I nodded. Just to let her know that I at least accepted her making her own decision.

She buried her face on my coat again and took a deep, steadying breath. “Thank you,” she said. I was not sure if she misunderstood my affirmation for a moment. But after recollecting herself, she continued her argument. “I think it would help you as well.”

Huh. “How so?” I quietly asked. And I was really curious about that answer. I had been battling my conflicting feelings for her since the very start and this… this teasing and… promising… had certainly not helped so far. Even right now, her proximity was an issue. If I were to lift the blanket right now, I would pick up on her excitement. If I angled my knee a little bit differently, I could oh so carefully brush against her teats. My tongue wanted to finish what it had started on her horn. A dozen different voices, all mine, screamed at me to just pin her down and have my way with her. She had asked. And I knew what to do. So many memories, an entire flood of them, yelled at me and showed me what to do.

“I have seen you look,” she quietly started again. “How you look. At me. When Spike is with us… and when he is not. You have been pretty upfront with how you feel about me from day one, even if these feelings are a convoluted mess. All those memories fighting this resistance, fighting each other… it is like an itch under your skin that you try to rub out, but you have been doing it for so long that you do not realize that there is barely any skin left. You are hurting. I can see it sometimes. You waste a lot of energy fighting yourself, only wearing yourself out more and more the longer you go on. And I do not think this can go on for much longer. It should not, at any rate. And for better or worse, I think this could at least settle it.”

She was right. It hurt. It hurt hearing it too. Feeling a grain of truth in it. Maybe more. But at the same time, I was the one terrified now. For better or worse. It was clear which was which. She was in love. If even that was true — because being in love meant that one was still willing to play down or completely overlook the flaws a partner had, among other things. She was perfectly aware of those, however. And she accepted them with all her heart. She was not just ‘in love’. She loved. She loved her dearly. Enough that Nightmare Night had been the single day each year that she almost feverishly awaited. Enough that this supposed single night had become the starting point of little, a few days long ‘vacations’ for Luna.

It was clear indeed. I would be better off finding out that, after all was said and done, I could let her go be happy with Luna.

What terrified me was the alternative. The very real and very possible alternative. What if I found out that I could not let her go? That I wanted her for myself? That I could not look at her the same way as I had before after this night was over?

Several flashes rolled over me like the lazy waves on a sandy beach. Her bedroom eyes, inviting me. The memory mixed with that friendly look she had given me after leaving the bathroom. Her enticing scent. I heard her cry my name in ecstasy in my left ear, just a faint echo, and a ‘thank you’ pregnant with warmth in my right one. I heard, felt, and experienced.

“Please say something,” she spoke up again. Her voice wavered. She sounded... afraid. “Anything.”

Be honest now, sugarcube, I heard Applejack say. I tried. Had I not always at least tried? “I love you with all my heart,” I quietly whispered to her. Love was a funny thing. It did not care about the laws of nature. Something was given away and thus should be reduced in quantity. Changelings certainly worked that way, but they usually took instead of giving. But for the rest of us? I was not lying. I loved her with all my heart. And I loved so many other ponies as well, with nothing less than that. Because they deserved it. And sometimes, as irrational as it sounded and surely was, it almost hurt to love so much.

My words were obviously little in the way of an explanation. Or answer. There were many types of love. A mother loved her child. A ruler loved her nation. A pet loved its caretaker.

My answer was enough to make her relax for now. But a decision would need to be made soon. Surely she had been facing the same doubts that I entertained now? How awkward the next morning could be. How it might impact our friendship. We were living together, after all.

In all this swirling chaos, a single thought persisted: It wasn’t fair.

Be honest now, sugarcube.

You should be kind to yourself as well.

I’ll always come through for my friends!

Darling, there’s nothing wrong with a little drama once in a while.

I'm moral support! Whhheeeeee…! Go, team, go!

Thanks, Pinkie.

The point still stood, I reasoned. It was not fair that there was so much pulling me towards her, so many memories trying to make me take that step, so much lived life to tell me all about preferences and quirks and whatnot, but it was all stomped into the ground and stopped by a single ‘oh I don’t like this, something is wrong’.

I wondered: Had it felt ‘right’ when we decided to start reform our relationship into something resembling a triangle? Or had I struggled like this before, back then? I had bits and pieces. Rarely did anything fit together. Rarer still was a coherent narrative formed by more than two pieces. But I had been married to both of them. We had lived with each other. And we had been happy.

Could my ‘gut’ lead me right and astray at the same time?

It was more than just a flip of a coin. I made a decision who to trust. And since my faith in my own instincts wavered, I decided to trust Twilight.

“I want you.” Uttering those words was enough to make her look up in surprise. It was the perfect opening. I dove down and sealed her lips with mine. The chaos in my head and heart only intensified. I grew hungry for more and wanted her more than ever before. “I want you so badly,” I managed to string together as I slowly gave in. I remembered the passion we had shared. I called for it and it rose up. No effort required at all.

She was overwhelmed at first. But Twilight had always been a fast learner. And she tried to catch up with the pace I set. I needed her. I craved her. And I was willing to see where this would leave us by the end of it.

It did not take long until my greed made her almost forcefully push me away. “Need air,” she gasped. My hoof trailed along her side. As I reached her flank, I applied just enough pressure to her cutie mark to make her breath hitch a little. And I smiled. I smiled as I saw the same passion in her eyes, the same desire.

“I’ll try to slow down a little,” I whispered accompanied by a quiet chuckle.

“Don’t,” she immediately objected, “I don’t want you to.”

A little snort escaped me as I shook my head. “Twilight, I want to flip you over and mount you and rut you so badly that you’ll end up a sore mess by the end of it right now.” Maybe there was such a thing as ‘too much honesty’.

Due to our rather intense kissing and exploring hooves, she was already blushing furiously. Yet her cheeks somehow managed to darken even further. “Then do it,” she offered.

I was tempted to just follow through. But I had heard that little tinge of uncertainty in her voice. And it was just enough to keep me at bay. “No,” I replied and shook my head. “A little restraint is in order. I want you to feel good. I want you to enjoy this as much as I will. We have all the time we could ask for and I know that being even a little bit patient and making you squirm and beg will be so much better in the end…” I brought my lips to her horn and licked along its length once more in an attempt to tease a little. “I just know it,” I insisted and her breath hitched just as I had hoped.

We started slow. Exploration was a good part of the fun and it did not fail to deliver. But at some point, I whispered “Let me show you something.” And I trailed down her neck with little kisses, nipping at her skin occasionally, until I ventured below her belly and enjoyed myself greatly, hearing her unbridled moans.

Her first climax came hard and fast. I held her in place, continued my ministrations, egged her on just that little bit more until I finally let go of her. I sat up and looked proudly over my work so far. Her wings splayed out on the bed, the blanket had been kicked off at some point. Her coat was ruffled, her expression still marked by delirious ecstasy. I decided at that point that by the end of this night, I wanted her to be a sticky, sweaty, messy, quivering pile of exhaustion incapable of coherent speech. And she would be even more beautiful than before we had started.

My musings gave her enough of an opening to calm down her breathing at least a little bit. Enough to move again and surprise me as she pushed me onto my back. She wanted to reciprocate, that much became apparent as her tongue was trailing along my member. I wasn’t about to deny her. I did quite enjoy her learning experience. It had a unique charm to it. With Luna, I had always known what I was getting myself into. She knew exactly what she wanted and she just went for it. And she was experienced. Twilight… Twilight’s actions were defined by curiosity, first and foremost. And a great deal of care and caution.

I felt the pressure build up. My own voice tinged with an underlying impatience. “I’m close,” I tried to warn, but she apparently cared little. I grunted and tried to resist a little longer, only for the pressure to keep mounting until I just could not hold back any longer.

It took me a good moment to clear my head. She was standing over me and grinned so proudly that it made me laugh a little. “You did great,” I confirmed what she was already suspecting.

Her eyes drifted down my body and I felt my smile grow into a grin. “Refractory period — my turn!” She yelped a little as I grabbed her in my magic, turned her around and put her down again. I certainly was not about to let that just be the end of it. If I really were to only get this one night, I would make sure that it was one heck of a night!

I tended to her for a second time and I was less driven by insatiable hunger this time around. I instead tried to become somewhat of a teacher myself. A curious filly certainly had explored her own body at some point, no question about that. But I wanted to show her so much more. Things she might like. Things my memories told me she most definitely liked. And I always kept her away from the edge. It took a while for her to notice. But once she did, she looked down at me, her eyes hazy, and still managed a ‘don’t you dare!’-stare. I grinned and kissed my way up to her ear once more. “This should be fun,” I promised as I stood and lined up. I gave her a moment to realize and brace for it before I carefully, agonizingly slowly, proceeded. Our breath mingled. I stopped only when I could press no further. I held her. Listened to her heartbeat. Her breathing. Any indication of discomfort, as I had done all the while throughout. She instead dared to move. Just a little. It sent a tingle up my spine. She withdrew just a little, only to push back immediately. Testing it out, I assumed. It was enough for me to understand. She grew impatient. Needy. I could not in good conscience claim to be any better off.

It was a fun ride. The words were swirling in my head as I lay next to her. It sounded funny in my head, but maybe they were a little in poor taste? I did not want to utter anything anyway. I instead gazed at her. We were both busy collecting our breaths. She giggled quietly a moment later. “That was fun,” she said. Her voice sounded strained. Tired. I looked her over once more. She was a good distance closer to that mess I wanted to make her into. But she was not quite there yet. I wasn’t quite finished with her.

Then again. Given the choice — would I ever be?

Standing up, I grinned as I noted with a good deal of satisfaction that my legs were following orders properly. “Again?” I asked.

She blushed again as after only the shortest of moments, she nodded with quite some vigor. She looked a little tired, sure — but that would not stop her. Not for now anyway.

And we had all the time in the world.

It was still night. I had lost any semblance of sense of time. The sun was not even close to rising and that was the best I could do. I was lying on the bed. I held Twilight close. She nestled against me and occasionally nuzzled my chest. Everything was a mess. She was. I was. The bed we were lying on was. The air in the room was thick with the smell of sex. Our bodies radiated heat into the surrounding area. I had already gripped the blanket and sorted it to the end of the bed, ready to be deployed in a couple of minutes. But right now, it would have been too much.

“That was great,” she mumbled.

I enjoyed her breath tickling my chest and just nodded in return. It had been all I had dreamed of. All I had wanted. We really could have used a shower right now, both of us. We were sticky in places, sweaty… but neither of us wanted to stand up. Or move at all, really. Not to speak of breaking up our very comfortable embrace first.

“How do you feel?” I asked her. My voice was as warm and caring as I remembered hers to be.

“Tired,” she admitted. “Very tired.” After a moment, she quietly giggled. “And sore.” I chuckled a little and was quite pleased with myself. “You?”

I searched for an answer. She was patiently waiting while I prodded and tested my inner workings, but so far… I could not find any viable answer besides: “Tired. And very, very happy.” I stretched my neck a little to reach her horn and gave it an appreciative lick. She giggled and without wanting to move much gave me a little kiss on my chest. I felt it. And I appreciated it.

I finally broke the silence with a deep sigh once more. “Blanket?”

She barely nodded. Twilight was already about to drift off to sleep. I levitated the blanket over us. It took maybe a minute to get comfortably warm. And I felt myself drift off as well.

I had had this hypothesis about me only being able to sleep when I was dreamwalking. That would obviously need some revision…