Paradigm Shift

Backing off the scale, waiting for it to zero out, then stepping onto it for the fourth time in short order, Snowy peered down and scrunched her snout. She’d been a mare for a relatively short period of time, only a few months, yet she’d somehow managed to pack on a few pounds of weight. As she cursed her incredible senses, her thoughts fixated on the root of the problem.

She’d always liked eating, even when she’d been a man, though everything tasted much, much better now that she was a kirin. Flavors were more vivid, the scent of spices were titillating, and even the texture of some food was more stimulating than ever! Hearing her traitorous stomach grumble, awoken by the thought of savory dishes or rich desserts, she reached back and pinched her belly.

There was only one thing she could do - would do, though she loathed the thought of it. The castle had a gym - two in fact, and it was high time she started using them to keep herself in shape. Being a mare was frustrating in and of itself, but even the thought of being an especially pudgy mare was enough to spur her to action. Seeing as how she was going to be stuck as a kirin for some time, until Rain stopped dragging her hooves and concocted an elixir to change her back into a man, she may as well try to stay in a decently alluring shape.

“Stupid - Nnnf - good donuts,” she grumbled to herself, rearing onto her hind legs to snatch a towel from the rack.

Doing a bit of exercise certainly couldn’t hurt her with her weight, but there was another reason she was willing to suffer through some. It was hard for her to put her hoof on exactly when it had started, but the last two weeks, shortly after her impromptu trip to the boutique with Silver, had been particularly grueling. She didn’t think she was getting sick, feeling more or less fine, but something was definitely going on with her.

There were days when she felt like she was bouncing off the walls, loaded with energy for no discernible reason, and it was hard for her to concentrate on doing any one thing for a protracted period of time. She should have gone to the clinic to get herself checked out, if only for peace of mind, although getting poked and prodded by somepony she barely knew wasn’t on her to-do list. Maybe her mind and body were becoming more intrinsically linked, or perhaps her metabolism had evened out after her transformation - whatever the case may be, a bit of physical exertion sure as heck couldn’t hurt anything.

Seeing herself out and locking up after herself, she turned and trotted down the corridor. The larger of the two gyms, the one which was available to the public during business hours, was on the first floor, but that wasn’t the direction she headed in. If she was going to be miserable and essentially torture herself, she was going to do around as few ponies as physically possible.

The employee fitness center, while relatively small, was closer to her room and was never as packed as the one downstairs. She kept her hooves crossed as she navigated the labyrinthine hallways, up a flight of stairs, and to her destination. If she was lucky - like really lucky, she might just have the place to herself. Stopping at a small intersection, she looked to her left and right.

While she’d visited the gym once or twice before, her prior trips there had been purely out of curiosity. Considering humans weren’t really a thing in Equestria, and that the castle rarely if ever hosted bipeds of any kind, all the exercise equipment was made expressly for quadrupeds. Veering in one direction, remembering she was going the wrong way, then executing a u-turn, she frustratedly muttered under her breath.

It didn’t take her long to reach her destination, only a hoofful of minutes and a single wrong turn, though she was immediately dismayed by the sight which awaited her. Not only were there three ponies already occupying the gym, but she quickly spotted a very familiar face. Cantering on a treadmill to one side of the spacious chamber was none other than Aegis.

The sight of her former friend turned drunken fling gave her a moment for pause and was almost enough to make her turn around and retreat back to her room - almost. She was going to have to get used to being around other ponies when she wasn’t on the clock, so she took a breath, slowly exhaled, and stepped inside. She was just an ordinary kirin there to do a bit of exercise, merely wanting to try and stay in shape; nopony was going to bother her if she was trying to better herself ~ right?

As she trotted along on the rubberized floor, keeping her eyes down, she wandered to the locker room. Though there were places in the castle that hosted stallions’ and mares’ restrooms, the shower area of the little gym was unisex. It was stupid to be even slightly anxious because of naked ponies, given that nearly all of Equestria’s denizens trotted about wearing nothing at all, yet the prospect of being around her naked coworkers set her nerves on edge.

She rushed past the shower area, breathed a sigh of relief, and made a beeline to the lockers. The only things she’d brought with her were her towel, her keys, and a bottle of water she’d grabbed before leaving her room, though she couldn’t keep them with her while she was trying to work out - not practically in any case. Stashing her things, she drew a breath through her nose, paused, and lifted her snout.

Other than the smell of water and soap, a scent lingered in the air. Sweat - the subtle aroma of fresh sweat and musk filled her sinuses. Her contemptible marish brain wandered into lecherous waters, picturing big, beefy stallions washing themselves and lathering their muscular, well-toned bodies after a long, hard bout of pumping iron. Reflexively taking a second and third sniff, driven purely on instinct, she turned her head toward a nearby locker.

She couldn’t see it - heck, she couldn’t fully understand it, but she knew a stallion had thrown a dirty towel into the compartment next to where she’d stored her effects. She could practically imagine him, whoever he was, wiping himself down and chugging a sports drink to cool himself off. With a shuddering sigh, feeling a tingle creep into her loins, she growled and shook herself from her stupor. Darn it - she wasn’t supposed to be fantasizing about hunky studs, because she was, or at least had been, a perfectly straight human guy!

Using her annoyance to fuel her determination, she marched back into the gym and over to the closest vacant machine she could see. She wasn’t about to go over and use one of the treadmills, hoping to avoid Aegis for as long as she could, and there was no way she was going to risk hurting herself by lifting heavy weights, leaving her with few options to choose from. Cocking her head down at the unfamiliar contraption, she knit her brow.

The piece of equipment had no moving parts that she could see, save for an angled pad that could be adjusted by height, and there weren’t any instructions on it to speak of. Her eyes wandered over the device while she tried to figure out its intended use. Carefully stepping over what she presumed was a rest, she hooked her fetlocks under a cushioned bar and eased herself down.

With her hind legs held by the firm piece of metal, and her hips situated over the angled pad, she carefully eased her weight down. Though she’d never been a gym rat or jock, she had seen people using similar machines on Earth - the problem was, the anatomy of a horse was a far departure from that of a human. She said a small prayer as she lifted her forelegs and placed her hooves behind her head.

“One…two…three…” she quietly counted aloud, rhythmically lifting and lowering her upper torso by contracting and relaxing the muscles of her back.

If she was doing something wrong, the small number of ponies in the room were either too polite or embarrassed to correct her. Finishing a set of ten, already feeling a tingling sensation in her back, she lowered her chest and slowed her breathing. The position she was in was a bit awkward, having her tush raise while her face hovered inches from the floor, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as she’d initially thought it would be.

After a few seconds passed, having prepared herself for her second set, she happened to look back and noticed somepony standing directly behind her. In the blink of an eye, realizing she may be getting eyed up by some pervert, she attempted to wheel around and made a spectacle of herself. One of her hind legs was snatched free, though the other remained trapped under the cushioned bar, causing her to tumble ass over teakettle.

She yelped as she rolled to one side and landed on her back with her hind legs splayed. The pegasus stallion who was lifting weights, distracted by the inappropriate and comedic sight of her, nearly dropped his barbell, overcorrected, and went crashing into a wall, while another gymgoer tripped on his jump rope and face planted on the floor. The only creature who hadn’t busted their behind was the stud who stepped over, offered a forehoof, and peered down at her with a concerned look in his golden eyes.

“You ok?” Aegis asked.

Only reluctantly taking his proffered hoof, she shook her hind leg free, rolled slightly, and allowed him to help her stand. “Aside from my pride, yeah, I’m totally fine.”

He shifted from one side to the other, looking her over. “You sure?”

“I mean, I don’t feel like I broke or hurt anything,” she grumbled, experimentally kicking out and shaking her legs one by one.

Unable to face him, feeling herself flush, she peered over at the pair of stallions struggling to get their hooves under themselves. She’d been working out for a whopping five minutes, if that long, before she’d almost hurt herself, flashed her goods, nearly caused two ponies to injure themselves, and been approached by the stallion she was hoping to avoid. Leaving Aegis where he stood, she trotted to one of the groaning stallions while waving at the other.

“I’ll check on this one,” she began, “you check on the other one.”

Trotting over and helping the stallion who’d fallen into the wall up, she watched as Aegis ignited his horn and unraveled the rope from around the second pony’s legs. She wasn’t sure how the centurion felt about their one-night stand, but she had very conflicting feelings on the matter. It wasn’t like she’d hated the tryst - if anything, she’d actually enjoyed herself more than she cared to admit, but she didn’t want him to think she was some floozy.

After he’d finished and handed the jump rope back to the blushing stallion, Aegis trotted over to her. “He ok?”

“Just a little banged up,” the pegasus groused, dusting himself off. “Thanks…”

“Don’t sweat it,” Snowy and Aegis answered in unison.

She locked eyes with him for a fleeting instant before quickly averting her gaze. “You owe me a coke…”

“I…what?” Aegis asked, peaking a brow. “What’s a coke?”

“It’s - um - a kirin expression,” she murmured, pinching the bridge of her snout. “It’s a drink that -”

“Princess on deck!” the pegasus loudly and quite formally blared, snapping to attention.

Snowy, Aegis, and the third unnamed stallion all looked to the door as Twilight Sparkle stopped and dismissively waved a hoof. “I’m just here to - uh - stretch my hooves!” she bleated, dismissively waving a wing and a forehoof at the quartet. “Don’t mind me! Nope! Just pretend I’m not here!”

Half expecting to hear ominous cackling from the ether, Snowy scanned the room for any trace of a lurking Draconequus. She could understand running into Aegis, and it wasn’t that unbelievable for her to flounder while using a piece of pony exercise equipment, but showing off her naughty bits and having Twilight spontaneously appear was basically unbelievable. If Discord wasn’t pulling some strings to amuse himself, she must have had the worst luck in all of Equestria.

Taking his eyes off the Princess, Aegis turned to face her. “So what brings you here?”

“Oh, you know, I thought this would be the perfect spot to make an ass of myself while trying to get on the castle’s disability payroll,” she forcibly laughed while reaching out and gently punching his shoulder. “What’s it look like I’m doing, you goober?”

He looked down at where she’d playfully struck him, smiled, then lifted his gaze to her. “Looks like you could use some pointers before you actually hurt yourself,” he chuckled. His mirth was gone as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a pained expression. “T…that was a joke…”

Rolling her eyes, she couldn’t help but smirk. “I know, but you’re not wrong. Honestly, I don’t know the first thing about using any of this stuff - well, aside from the treadmills and the jump ropes.”

“If…” he trailed off and shifted in place. “If you wanted me to, I could show you how to use some of this stuff.”

She lifted a hoof and opened her mouth, moments from politely declining the offer, but remained silent. Hubris would be her undoing, leading to a battered ego and quite possibly an actual injury, so it would behoove her to take him up on the offer. As she gazed up at his face and wondered if he was blushing because of the impromptu show she’d just put on or for some other, mysterious reason, she shook her head and noticed a purple figure lingering only a few feet behind him.

“Can we help you, Twilight?” she flatly asked, glowering over at the alicorn.

“I was - er - excuse me!” the Princess stammered, trotting over and levitating a pair of kettlebells from off the floor beside Aegis. “Oh yeah, I can feel the burn! That’s - Ugh - a super good pump for the augurium cortex!”

Leaving Twilight to do whatever it was she was doing, completely convinced that she was going to be eavesdropped upon, Snowy strolled past the alicorn and over to the row of treadmills. Her instincts told her that the Princess was there to spy on her, using her trip to the gym as a convenient means to surveil her, but she wasn’t going to let that drive her out - on the contrary, having the nosy mare around made her want to stay purely out of spite. Stepping up and onto one of the machines, she squinted at what appeared to be a control panel of some sort.

As Aegis walked onto the treadmill beside her, she pointed a forehoof down at the little array of crystals. “What’s that?”

“I thought you knew how to use these?” he countered, calling upon his magic and setting his machine in motion.

“I meant I know how to use some treadmills,” she huffed. “The ones we have back home weren’t powered - we just get on them and start trotting or cantering.”

Nodding down at the panel, he brought his machine to a stop. “The crystal matrix just needs a jump-start to go. The more magic you pump in, the faster it will move!”

She tapped one of the inset gemstones and snorted. “What about pegasi and earth ponies?”

Stepping onto the wheeled track beside her, he reached down and turned one of the crystals. “They do work for non-magic users, but the stones have to be replaced periodically. The emerald controls the power - turn it clockwise to increase the speed or counterclockwise to slow it down.”

“Huh…” she grunted. “You know, that’s actually pretty clever - like really clever.”

“Mmmhmm,” he hummed, sidling over and leaving a small gap between them. “I’m kind of surprised you don’t have this sort of tech in your homeland.”

Feeling a cold chill course through her, she stiffened. It had been no easy task, but she’d managed to avoid any protracted or in-depth conversations about kirins since she’d returned to Canterlot. She shook her head and risked a glance over at Twilight, saw the Princess intently watching her, and scowled.

“Can I help you?” she muttered, turning to face the alicorn.

Setting the pair of weights down, Twilight stepped closer to her. “As a matter of fact, yes. I’m extremely curious to hear about you and your kind.”

Her plan to cow the Princess down had done more than backfire, it had blown up in her face spectacularly. Suddenly at a loss, she pursed her lips and grimaced. While she was curious to find out why Twilight had been tailing and spying on her, confronting the alicorn in a public area would be less than ideal. As she trotted off the treadmill and past her stalker, she did the only thing she could think to do - she gave up.

“Maybe later,” she growled.

There was only so much bull crap she could handle, and she’d passed her limit somewhere between nearly breaking her leg and fumbling to explain why she couldn’t do something so simple as use a piece of exercise equipment. Giving the Princess a wide berth, she rushed into the locker room to gather her things. Maybe she’d been wrong, maybe she would have been better off staying in her room or just taking a trot through town.

As she reached her locker, ignoring the alluring bouquet of the changing room, the sound of cantering hooves behind her caused her to turn. “What?”

“Can we talk?” Aegis breathed.

She turned and looked over at the stallion. While she would have excused him for being upset, the wounded look on his face spoke of a larger issue at play. Realizing she was between a rock and one of several hard places, she hung her head and closed her eyes. She figured it would only be a matter of time before Aegis wanted to chat with her, especially since she’d been doing what she could to dodge him, though this wasn’t the place to have what would more than likely be a heavy chat.

“Is there somewhere we can talk in private?” she inquired, peeking up at him.

Thinking for a moment, he slowly nodded. “There’s a yoga room across the hall; if it’s empty, we could probably use it without anypony bothering us.”

Snatching her towel, keys, and bottle of water out of her locker, she waved to the exit and gave a small bow. “Lead the way…”

As he nodded, turned away, and trotted out, she followed along behind him. The way she saw it, things were about to go one of two ways: either he was going to corner her and press her on something she’d rather not discuss, or he’d picked up on her anxiety and just wanted to check on her. Glancing to the side and seeing the Princess watching her, she forced a smile and waved a hoof.

One of the most frustrating mysteries that continued dogging her was why in the heck Twilight was snooping around in her business. She could see why the Princess was curious about Anon’s disappearance and her sudden presence in the castle, but that wasn’t enough reason to have the alicorn acting like some would-be sleuth! Frowning as she stepped out of the gym and into the corridor just outside, she noticed Aegis turn and open a door on the other side of the hallway.

“We’re good,” he noted, waving for her to follow him in.

She slowed as she entered the small chamber. Aside from a neat stack of rolled mats and what looked to be pillows in the corner, there was nothing that gave any clues about fitness. With polished, hardwood floors, a wall consisting of mirrors, and two large windows overlooking Canterlot, the room was actually quite comfy and didn’t reek of sweat nearly as much as the gym itself.

Kicking the door closed behind her, she quirked a brow over at him.

“You wanted to talk?” she began, bracing herself for the worst.

“Listen, I don’t want to be rude, but you can’t speak to Twilight like that,” he quietly but firmly stated. “While she may be the youngest Princess around, excluding Flurry Heart, she’s still a Princess.”

Biting back a smile and a sigh of relief, she looked to the floor. “Sorry. It’s just that she’s been acting…” she paused, choosing her words carefully. “She’s been acting odd. I don’t know what’s going on, but a few of the maids have told me they’ve seen her following me. You don’t think I’m in trouble or anything ~ do you?”

“I…I don’t think so,” he uneasily responded. “Neither Celestia or Luna have mentioned anything about you to the royal guards - if they had, I would definitely have heard about it. Have either of the Princesses changed your schedule or duties recently?”

She shook her head and quickly thought back to her last few weeks’ of work. “No. Since I started, I’ve been doing the same things on a set schedule.”

“In that case, I wouldn’t worry about it,” he remarked. “This stays between us, but I’ve heard that Twilight can be a bit eccentric. There are stories about how reclusive and neurotic she was when she was Celestia’s pupil. I’m sure she’s a good pony, and she’d saved all our bacon on a number of occasions, though I wouldn’t be surprised if she just has some weird fascination with kirins.”

“Heh ~” she chuckled. “Come to think of it, that does make sense.”

It was a well known fact that Applejack and Fluttershy, the Elements of Honesty and Kindness respectively, had been the ones to rediscover the kirin subspecies, but that was only part of the story. According to Rain Shine, shortly after the pair of ponies had left, Twilight had appeared and attempted to study the isolated tribe. She could understand the prestige which came from being the first to learn about a long-lost variety of equine, but that was hardly an excuse to be overly pushy or, in her case, clumsily clandestine with research!

Turning her attention back to Aegis, she grinned. “Thanks for that…”

With his eyes widening, he started. “Thanks for…?”

“For offering to help with the treadmill and for warning me about Twilight,” she explained. “I’ll try to be a little more mindful about how I speak to her.”

“Listen, I just don’t want you to get in any trouble,” he mused as the corners of his lips turned up. “And don’t mention it. Like I mentioned back in the diner, I’d be more than happy to help you develop a little routine.”

Feeling much better than she had minutes prior, she cocked her hips and turned a forehoof through the air. “And what sort of routine would you suggest?”

“If you’re just trying to maintain or lose a bit of weight, calisthenics and some cardio would be more than enough,” he replied. “Actually, I had a question for you about that - well, two questions actually.”

She shrugged as she wandered over to the nearest window to peek outside. “Shoot.”

Trotting up to her side, he gazed out onto the cityscape. “Purely out of curiosity, is there something you’re trying to accomplish at the gym? The reason I ask is because I used to lead PT back at the guard academy.”

“Don’t laugh,” she grouched, turning and prodding him in the chest, “but I just don’t want to get fat. I get some exercise on the clock, what with all the trotting around I do, but I don’t think that’s enough to balance out all those tasty snacks the cafeteria has.”

Chuckling then quickly falling silent when he noticed her squinting at him, he held a forehoof to his chest. “I can totally respect that, really. If I were in your position, the first thing I’d do is to start a diet journal - you know, jot down what you eat, when you eat it, and how much you have. After about a month or so of keeping that up, you should have a good idea of your nutritional intake. As far as exercising, about thirty minutes of cardio a day would be a good starting point. Power trotting, a light canter, jump rope, going up and down stairs - anything to elevate your heart rate, make you breathe hard, and get you sweaty.”

His mention of sweat drew her eye to the lustrous sheen of perspiration covering him from hoof to head. She hadn’t noticed it before, probably because she’d been too distracted to pay it any mind, but the sweat on him somehow amplified his adonic build. The contours of his muscular chest, shoulders, and flanks were like something you’d see in a naughty magazine, momentarily derailing her thought and causing her mind to wander.

“You get me?” he pressed.

Sensing her mouth beginning to water, she willed herself not to step closer to him. “I think so. Any suggestions on good calisthenics?”

“There are a few that would be good for beginners - actually, if you’re interested, I could walk you through some of them,” he chirped. “I usually do some after I’m finished with a workout to loosen up. Care to join me?”

“Buck it,” she snickered. “But you gotta promise not to make fun of me if I do something wrong, because I’ve never been the athletic type.”

Standing tall, he held his head high and pressed a forehoof to his chest. “Colt Scout’s honor. Go grab two yoga mats from the corner while I open the windows and get us a bit of a breeze since it’s a little stuffy in here.”

She deeply inhaled as she trotted away from him, thankful that he was going to get the room some fresh air. While she’d only detected the slightest hint of it, uncertain of what she’d been smelling at first, his natural fragrance had tickled her sinuses and reminded her of just how incredibly good he smelled. Snatching up two of the elongated mats, she told herself to focus on the task at hoof.

“Alright,” she harrumphed, returning to the center of the room with two of the pads draped over her back, “now what?”

Levitating the pads off of her and to the floor, he stepped onto one of the slim cushions and squared his stance. “Full squats would be a good starting exercise. Just put your hooves shoulder width apart, slowly lower yourself to the floor, then push yourself back up - see, just like this.”

Seeing him demonstrate the procedure, she blew a raspberry. “I wanted beginner exercises - not foal exercises!”

He smiled over at her while he continued to move. “Say that after you do three sets of twenty.”

Rolling her eyes and following his movements, she quickly regretted her words. The first five squats were relatively easy, the second and third five were more challenging, and the final few were a struggle to complete. Gritting her teeth and pushing herself up, feeling her blood pumping, she tried to control her breathing.

“Easy,” she grunted.

“That’s the first set,” he hummed. “We’ll take a minute’s break before we do the second one.”

Though she’d been nearly salivating over him not but a few minutes ago, her mouth went dry. She’d barely completed the first set cleanly ~ how the hay was she going to do another two without her legs giving out? Shaking her legs out her legs one at a time, wiped a bang of mane from her face.

As he got back into position, he nodded over at her. “Ready?”

“Bring it on,” she growled, putting on as brave of a face as she could muster.

She followed along with him while he counted aloud, rhythmically lowering her body and rising back into a standing position. For something so simple, the activity was far harder than she would have assumed - probably because of the slow, smooth way in which she was moving. Setting her jaw and clamping her eyes shut, she snorted and gave a silent thanks to the heavens as she finished her twentieth rep.

“Not too bad!” he chirped, hovering her water over to her. “Give yourself a drink and trot around a bit; you’ve only got one more set to go!”

Uncapping the bottle with her teeth, she took a long draught of water while she watched him canter in place. She wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that he was putting her to absolute shame after he’d already been working out, or that he was still exercising while she was taking her breather! Growing increasingly annoyed, she sat her drink down and prepared herself for her third and final set.

“You got this,” he told her, slowing his pace and allowing her to keep up with him. “If you keep this up, I might talk to the Captain about recruiting you for the guard.”

“Shut - Nnnnph - up,” she wheezed, straining as her legs quaked and threatened to buckle.

“Eighteen…nineteen…” he continued. “Come on, Snowy! You can do it!”

The twentieth rep took everything she had and more, but she hadn’t been alone. Hearing the telltale sign of magic and feeling her weight lighten by a slight degree, she fought through the discomfort and locked her legs. She would have - should have been proud of herself, although her victory felt hollow.

“Do me a favor,” she croaked, mopping sweat from her brow, “next time, don’t help me cheat.”

“It’s called spotting,” he clarified. “If somepony is lifting or pushing themselves to the brink, you help them to finish their set.”

Marching over to him with wisps of smoke rolling off her back and her lips curling over her fangs, she poked his chest and peered up at his face. “Well don’t do that to me unless I ask for it.”

He gave her a small salute and shied back. “Yes, ma’am. For the record, I didn’t mean to tick you off.”

Her chest heaved and she breathed heavily while she studied him. He didn’t seem to be deceiving her, and she had heard about spotters in gyms before, so there was an all too real chance she was making a mountain out of a molehill - still, nearly failing had fueled her determination. She may have felt like a newborn fawn, her legs quivering and trembling under her, but she wasn’t finished yet.

“What’s another exercise I could do,” she panted.

He paused, studied her for a moment, and eventually relented as her expression hardened. “Crunches are a good one.”

“I know I can do those,” she asserted, flopping to the floor and rolling onto her back. “Hold my hind legs for me.”

Seating himself, he placed his forehooves on her fetlocks. “You’re not a quitter, are you?”

Placing her forehooves to either side of her temples, she shook her head and did a sit-up. “Nope - Nnnf - my mama didn’t raise a quitter.”

Keeping her eyes closed, she did one crunch after another - sadly, her enthusiasm far outclassed her neglected muscles. Somewhere around the twentieth sit-up, feeling her abs beginning to tingle and burn, she realized she was about to hit a failure point. Though she was upset with herself and her pitiable performance, especially while in the company of somepony in tip-top shape, she tamped down her irritation and made a solemn vow that she’d use her failure as motivation to improve.

“S…sweet Celestia…” she gasped, easing herself back and staring up at the ceiling.

Propping herself up on one elbow, having expected him to make a comment, be it an encouraging one or not, she looked down and froze. He remained where he sat and dutifully held her fetlocks, yet his attention was on anything but her fitness. Following his gaze, peeking down at her nethers, she rolled her eyes.

“Really?” she flatly grunted.

He snapped from his trance in an instant, shot to his hooves, and waved a foreleg back and forth. “It’s not w…what it looks like!”

His blush, his stammer, and the stallionhood slowly emerging to hang beneath him ran contrary to what he was saying. Casually getting up and turning to face him, she had snickered. Many mares would have been angry, and justifiably so - then again, she wasn’t an ordinary mare. If she’d been in his position, given a picturesque view of a plump marehood and pair of teats, she would have done the same thing as him.

“So what did it look like?” she countered, unable to keep herself from taking advantage of the situation.

“Well - um - you see, I was - uh - checking your technique,” he warily responded.

Seconds from calling him out, she was hit with divine inspiration. “If that’s what you’re worried about, maybe you should demonstrate for me…”

Her assertion took him completely off guard and nearly sent him reeling. “I don’t know if -”

“Ah ah -” she tutted, advancing on him, “you’re the fitness expert, mister hot stuff, so why don’t you show me how it’s done. Go on, lay down and let me hold your fetlocks for you.”

He eyed the door, possibly considering making a break for it, before he groaned. “Alright…”

Sitting down as he rolled onto his back, she extended her forelegs and grabbed him just above his hind hooves. The sight of him laying before her, slick with sweat and with his stallionhood getting harder by the second, was a thing of beauty. As he started doing crunch after crunch, making a concerted effort to avoid looking up at her, her depths hungrily seized.

Though she was loath to admit it, her passionate night with him had been nothing short of mind blowing - so much so that she’d shamefully gotten off to the memory on several occasions. Subconsciously drifting closer to him, bringing her snout nearer to his nethers, she deeply inhaled and shivered when his scent filled her nose. He looked good, he smelled good, she had no doubt that he tasted good, and he sure as heck felt good - in short, he was a feast for the senses.

The sound of a clearing throat rocked her back to the present and brought her attention up to his face. At some point, though she knew not when, he’d stopped exercising and simply laid there to watch her. The air hung silent, they held each other’s gaze, and the awkward moment stretched on for what felt like a small eternity.

“I’m…” she muttered, staring him down, “I was looking at your goods - you know, since that’s what you were doing to me a hoofful of seconds ago.”

Smiling up at her, he chuckled and shook his legs free. “Gotta give you points for being honest,” he noted, getting his hooves under him and rising to his full height. Turning to and looming over her, he smirked. “So what’s the plan now?”

Her marish instincts rattled at the cage her sensibilities had put in place, compelling her to do any number of things that would be anything but appropriate. It was as clear as day that he found her attractive, some part of her certainly found him easy on the eyes, and she’d wager that a few carefully chosen words or a bit of teasing would be all it would take to have them getting very frisky. Tilting her head up at him, she inched closer.

“You tell me,” she purred.

He shuffled forward, lifted a foreleg, and drew his hoof across her cheek and down her neck. “Maybe we could…” Cutting himself off, he backed away. “Sorry. Listen, I…I gotta go…”

“But…” she breathed, remaining motionless as he headed to the exit. “Wait!” she shouted, bringing him to a stop. Seeing him look back at her, she gave ground to her impulses. “I was serious about wanting to get in shape,” she continued, “and…”

Looking into her eyes, he lingered with a forehoof on the doorknob. “And…?”

“And…and I want you to help me with my magic,” she sighed. “Please don’t tell anypony, but I’m not very good with my horn. I promise I’ll behave myself next time ~ ok?”

It was a gamble, spilling the beans about her fumbling grasp of the arcane, but what choice did she have? Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, she was somehow angry, horny, and sad all at the same time, and he was the only pony in the castle she could trust - well, besides Silver. At the end of the day she wanted to get in better shape and she needed to hone her nonexistent magical skills - two things he could legitimately help her with.

With the faintest hint of a smile on his muzzle, he gave an almost imperceptible nod. “Only if you promise not to make it weird.”

She proudly held up a foreleg and gave a small bow at him. “Promise.”

He gave her one final nod before departing and leaving her by her lonesome. There were several things she needed in that moment, including a cold shower to wash off and dislodge the persistent, perverse thoughts from her mind, but she was thankful things hadn’t been worse. She hadn’t done anything naughty with him, she’d held her tongue around Twilight, and she’d only managed to make herself look foolish in front of three ponies - a pyrrhic victory but a victory nonetheless. Grabbing her towel, bottle, and keys, she took a sip of water and looked back to the mat Aegis had been laying on. As long as she could get a rein on her libido, she knew everything was going to work out alright…