Diarchal Advisor Arnon, Tubular Sprite | The Castle Study, Canterlot Castle

"The 'biting' thing..?" Twilight's ears flick, curiously glancing up from her book as she repeats part of Arnon's question. She seems perplexed, trying to ruminate.

Twilight was back, visiting for a few days. She'd come to ask in-pony for some advice; apparently a small group of Griffons had settled near Ponyville, and were being oddly territorial, despite claiming they were independent. 'Not Backed By Griffonia', an independent venture or something. Only problem being, you know, the Nation of Equestria wasn't up for grabs. A bit of a dicey political situation, but also just odd, Twilight had arrived by train yesterday hoping to speak with Celestia.

Unfortunately, Celestia is also completely booked up for the week. Some of the Nobles had organized an Airship to go on a cross-Equestrian-Tour. Not a terrible idea in of itself, and often a lucrative expenditure for the non-pegasi... until they decided that floating directly over the Dragonlands was a great idea. And one can guess how well the Nobles handled that whole 'getting burnt out of the sky' situation. Nopony was badly hurt, thankfully, but it was definitely an unpleasant political situation that left The Princess up to her chest-fluff in problems.

But, with his arm still healing, Arnon was relented to 'keep Twilight busy' duty as usual, while Celestia managed to brute-force some time for her student... tomorrow. In the meantime, they've holed up in the study, committing one of their usual activities. Yapping, and reading -- a common theme ever since Twilight first started hosting Arnon, back in Ponyville.

Twilight's comfortably sprawled on her stomach across the study floor, enjoying one of the numerous books that pepper the shelves for light reading. A stack of books that wait their turn sit beside her, a variety of topics that no sane pony would leap between so vehemently for fear of whiplash -- half of them were about Griffons and Griffon history, or other similar topics. The rest, anything she found interesting. The moment she's done with one, it floats right back up to the bookshelf, and another takes it's place on the pile.

"Yeah, remember when I lived in Ponyville? Before we figured out my diet? Did I ever... get a certain way? Do... anything odd?" Arnon trails off, scratching his cheek. He's got his legs kicked up on stool, relaxxmaxxing to the umpteenth degree on one of the comfy recliners. Most of the study was built for the Princesses use, which meant Alicorn sized furniture. Which meant comfy.

Twilight lowers her book, the magic surrounding it dissipating at she taps her chin with a hoof.
"...I think so. I do remember you getting... in a mood, before we figured out how to supplement what you needed food-wise. It'd been a couple months, and you were holding together pretty good, but you were getting... lethargic, and a little agitated. Fluttershy was quick to recommend a diet like her bear-friend, and that helped, if I'm recalling everything correctly. It was a while ago..."
Twilight trails off, like it's on the tip of her tongue.

"I, uh... may have taken a bite or two out of the Princesses recently." Arnon admits, glancing away as he cuts into the open moment. Things had been proving themselves... interesting, lately. His flirting seems to have doubled with Celestia, who also seems obsessed with doting on him while he's injured... and standing very close while she does. His interactions with Luna, ever since the 'Tantabus' thing, haven't really changed her outward demeanor much -- still fairly cold and formal -- but she's much more partial to keeping him close and demanding his time, often seeking his direct assistance.

And then he tried to... eat them, apparently. The last thing Arnon remembers was passing out on his bed, hungry. And then waking up to being dragged to the Kitchens by Luna, and fed something meat-based that Celestia refused to describe the contents of. Apparently he'd been found in Luna's quarters, pinned to the wall, with both boasting Teeth-Marks on their flank. That, yes, matched his teeth. (They matched it to Tia's bite-marks, of course.) So, he felt bad. But... something about it was confusing him.

Obviously, Humans don't just enter fugue-haze-hunger states when they don't get meat for a month, otherwise Vegans and shit would be worldwide terrors. And they're both Alicorn Princesses. One bite while their guard is lowered, sure, MAYBE, but they could've obliterated him through physical strength alone if he was a problem.

And yet, Celestia's rear was bearing numerous teeth-marks, and didn't seem at all bothered about it in the least, blushing and laughing it off despite having to excuse a day of court to let them 'heal'. Public perception and all that. And Luna... well, he'd been terrified to bring it up to her, but after she 'flashed' how many actual bite marks she was hiding last night with a coy look, he wasn't so sure. Dropping her magic for but a moment before hiding them again, as she kept going down the hall... Arnon was starting to feel like something was brewing behind the scenes. Honestly, he was just glad no-pony was pissed at him.

Considering he'd gotten extremely flirtatious with Celestia lately, following his injury, and stumbling his way through admitting he 'cares for her' after Luna confronted him regarding his 'intentions'... Something a little more than biting definitely happened between each of them, if the half-lidded stares they kept throwing him meant anything. Honestly, Arnon was just irked he didn't remember any of it.

"You tried to eat the Princesses?" Twilight leans forward in shock, face scrunching. Her words pull him back from his thoughts, looking to purple again. The surprised expression on Twilight's face falls away surprisingly quick, as her hoof taps her chin with renewed vigor. Then, it's like a lightbulb goes off in her purple brain. "Oh! I remember what you're asking now. Yep! You did." She nods firmly.

"Wait, I did?" Arnon's head snaps back, confused.

"Yeah! I remember it! You did the same to me, actually. Well, for the sake of being entirely correct in my recollection, you never bit me, but I think I recall you entering this odd, hungered state, and getting all.. teethy." Twilight giggles, pulling the book up again. There's a soft flush to her cheeks, now.

Arnon leans forward, looking incredulous. "...Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah. I'd come back from the market, but couldn't find you anywhere... Spike said he saw you 'creeping around', and that you gave him a weird look before you went downstairs... apparently just outright ignoring him, Rarity, and Fluttershy -- they were visiting at the time, and I ran out for snacks -- but then when I went downstairs after you and found you in the dark, you --" Twilight continues explaining, before Arnon holds up a hand.

"I... think I get the idea. And, uh... sorry." He gripes -- didn't remember that, either. Good to know he had a record of this, apparently.

"Oh, you don't need to be! You apologized enough, back then. And it's kind of funny, actually; I could tell you weren't just acting, and that you were in some kind of state, but you didn't do anything wrong towards me or hurt me in any way, if that's what you're worried about."

"...Really? Alright, I know I just said I get it... but I don't think I actually do." Arnon relents.

"I thought you were just being playful, or doing some weird... 'Human' thing. Is that kind of thing something that normally happens to your people?" Twilight asks, deciding on simply bookmarking her own tome and setting it aside for the moment.

"Not that I'm aware of. Think it's something about being here?"

"It could be... just because you don't have Magic, doesn't mean your own world doesn't have some form of substitute. Perhaps without a proper diet, your body can't maintain itself?" Twilight offers, a quill and parchment floating over in a purple glow from the desk. They settle against the back of one of the books, and Twilight starts scribbling down theories.

"...Huh. That could actually be something." Arnon nods, though it still sounds... odd. "Not to just grasp the first idea for an excuse."

"No, I get it. If you don't mind me saying, though, I can see why you rely so heavily on your opposable thumbs. Your species seem to be very... ineffective hunters." Twilight chuckles to herself, tail swishing around.

Arnon shifts around to better watch her write, looking at her with confusion. She hasn't even seen the secret human technique of 'Dig a Hole' or 'Throw a sharp stick'. What does she know?
"What do you mean?" Arnon prods, leaning from his chair and poking at her side.

She scrunches her face, body twisting in recoil to the poke.
"Told you -- no tickling." She gripes, getting comfortable again.
"Well, normally predator-species don't... well..." She trails off, lowering her head to rest on her hooves, mumbling through her fur.
"...You really don't remember?"

"Nope. Enlighten me, Sparkplug." Arnon goads, driven by raw curiosity.

"...Kiss their prey." She finally mutters, hiding behind her forehooves, looking back to her freshly inked page. Anon catches a soft flush creeping onto her cheeks, which she seems intent on trying to hide.

"I... what? We've kissed?" Anon exclaims in surprise, leaning back.

"...You really don't remember?" Twilight asks softly, glancing up from behind her bangs. She seems... saddened, by that fact?

Arnon blinks several times, processing.
"...I really can't tell if you're fucking with me or not, Sparkle. Is this some A-Grade baiting?"

"...I'm not." She mutters, frowning.

"Did... wait, really? Seriously? Why didn't you say anything before?"

"It... felt like our little secret. Like I knew how you felt, even if we weren't... there yet. I figured that once you became the Royal Advisor, we wouldn't get to see each-other as much, but still." Twilight sighs, staring forward.

Arnon is trying to conclude if the purple pony is aware of what she's admitting to or not, but she keeps going.

"I never expected that you and the Princess would... 'get along' so well, but I can hardly be surprised. I don't even mind really 'losing' you to her, I mean, it's Princess Celestia, even I kind of like her like that, but... I don't know, I guess I'm a little jealous, but..." She blows a raspberry, sinking further into the books. "It's my fault for setting myself up to think we could have... well, it doesn't really matter when you don't even remember being my first."

"...Huh." Arnon finally grunts, rolling onto his back, arm on his stomach. Twilight watches him from the corner of her eyes. Her face is still pretty damn flushed, but... she's not stammering or backpedaling. Well, this turn a sudden turn.
"I was your first kiss?"

"Mmhm." She hums, the quill idly sprawling, with much less enthusiasm. Her penstrokes are slow and heavy, clearly riding her feelings.

Well, they'd been close, but... really now. They kissed? So when he gets funky for fresh meat, he bites a Princess... but kisses the nerd. Huh.

This was just weird. But, there was one thing he did know. If she had a crush on him, it wasn't looking one sided.

"You don't need to worry, Arnon. I'm just..." Twilight's eyes widen as Arnon leans up beside her, slipping off the chair and leveling his face to hers.

And ever so gently, places his lips, to hers. She's stock-still, eyes practically glazed over as he leaves the smallest, gentlest peck, before he slowly pulls away. Well, more like falls back over, because balancing with one arm is a pain, but the collection of books makes for a... reasonably comfortable catch, minus the sharp corners of the hardbacks.

"There, I'll actually remember that one." Arnon gripes, plucking a book out from under his ass and tossing it elsewhere on the pile.

Twilight's head slowly turns, locking her gaze to his.
"...You didn't kiss me like that." Is all she says, quietly.

"Huh?" Arnon questions, looking at her with confusion.

Then, down to his shirt collar with confusion, as a magical purple glow firmly grasps it.
"It was like this."

"Huh?" Arnon repeats, as he's dragged back across the books, his lips meeting soft, purple ones again -- this time, much more firmly.

Twilight is easily lacking in experience -- but more than makes up for it in excitement and desire, messily meeting his lips over and over. It's like a mixture of her trying to follow a How To Kiss guide she definitely read one time, but just getting completely mixed up in the moment.

She suddenly pulls away, realizing it's a little difficult to breathe while you're mashing faces with someone.

She's panting, staring at him with wide eyes.

Arnon blinks several times, noticing the purple glow is still firmly grasping his collar.
"Think we got the Hunter mixed up." Arnon jokes -- he doesn't even get the chance to chuckle, Twilight taking that as the go-ahead to pull him back in, her fuzzy snout meeting his cheek as their lips press together again.

"So? Rate it." She pushes, prodding at his chest.

They're both sprawled across the books, Arnon laid on his back, Twilight nestled against his side, leaning on his torso, staring at his face. She's got a perpetual blush, but something seems to continually drive her through any potential embarrassment.

"Rate it? The kiss?" Arnon asks, lifting his head. Seriously?

"Mmhm! Now that you're actually going to remember this one, it's important to gather metrics of our continued cross-species relations. I made sure of that, if you couldn't tell." Twilight boasts, blushing a little harder.

"Oh, I noticed. Which one, though? You didn't exactly stop at one."

"A summary should suffice. Average them out."

"What, you got the categories you want me to rate them for, too?" Arnon snorts.

"I do, actually!" Twilight proclaims, hovering a freshly scribbled-on parchment in front of his face.

Passion, Wetness, Sultriness, Taste, Impact (Physical), Impact (Emotional)... it just keeps going.

"...I asked that like it was a joke, but honestly, I should've seen this coming." Arnon rolls his eyes, pushing the parchment away.

"You know I take this kind of thing seriously, Arnon." Twilight tsks, tapping the paper with the quill.

"Yeah, yeah. Uh..." Arnon taps his chin dramatically, feigning deep thought.

"Well?" She presses, giving him zero time to consider. There's the nerves she buried earlier, all bubbling back up in sight of a self-imposed review. She wants to hear how good she kisses, and quick.

"Look, I've got no idea how to break down a kiss into that kind of information." Arnon shrugs.

"Oh." Twilight visibly deflates.

"So instead..." Arnon slowly paces out, leaning closer.

"Oh?" She perks up, ears flicking, as Arnon softly kisses her cheek.

"How about we say it's left me wanting more?" Arnon says into her fur.

"Oh!" Somehow, the purple finds another hue to shift to, face even brighter. She recovers surprisingly quick, scribing on the page as Arnon leans back.
"Well, this doesn't bode well for my data sheets... but I suppose I can file it nonetheless." She mock-sighs, throwing him a playful glance -- which almost instantly lights up as a new question bubbles forth.
"Another question, Arnon. It's... a bit of an odd one. Considering what we just did. But I was going to ask it before, but... you know."

"Go for it, but no more categories." Arnon chuffs, getting a frown out of the purple.

"Is it... weird, if I'm attracted to the Princess?" She asks quietly. A bit of a tangent, but... wait.

"No? Hang on... when you said you were jealous earlier. Was that of me taking the Princess away from you?" Arnon clarifies, pointing to himself.

"...Okay." Twilight starts, holding up a hoof. "I mean, she's my Mentor... I've looked up to her for so long, but she's... so pretty. And amazing. And powerful... and perfect. And, just..." Twilight sighs wistfully.

This is probably the part where Arnon is supposed to feel snided, having the pony he just kissed rambling about someone else... but honestly, he just gets it. Tia is quite the package. So when she was getting nervous during shit like the massage, it was for doing that kind of thing with the Princess? Huh, good to know.
"You two are quite similar, you know." Arnon adds idly.

"Really?! Wait, how?" Twilight scoots closer, eyes wide.

"Well, pretty for starters." He grins. Doesn't quite land as well as he'd hoped.

"What? Arnon, the Princess is the epitome of everything it means to be any kind of pony. Her stature, her fur; she's a combination of the three tribes, and... she..."
Twilight starts to realize. Took her long enough.
"Oh. You were calling me pretty?"

"Mmhm."

"O-oh! Uh... thanks?" She awkwardly smiles, brushing her hair with a hoof.

This was adorable, in one of the more hilarious ways. It was kind of nice, how... casually weird this was.
"She clearly cares for you too, TonkySpronk. Can't think of a single other pony she gets so excited to see, to the point she invites you in on massage night." Arnon explains, Twilight's ears flattening at the mention of that particular event.

"When... did you two start doing that kind of a thing, anyway?" She asks quietly.

"Uh...I dunno, one night she was complaining of pain below her shoulder blades, where the wings connect, I offered, and... yeah, it's just been something we do every few days. Helps her loosen up." Arnon shrugs.

"Are you two a thing?" Twilight suddenly asks. "Together? Dating? Not publicly, obviously, that'd be a lot of work, but you know what I mean."

"We do flirt pretty heavily, but we haven't actually..." Arnon's face scrunches. No, something happened with the whole biting thing. Princesses don't react like that to just biting their ass. But were they dating? There was definitely a deep mutual interest... but then what about Luna?
"There's an interest for sure, but we haven't really clarified that to each other." Arnon finally offers, still not entirely sure himself.

Twilight nods; he half expected her to show some sign of jealousy, but it seems like she was in the same boat as him. They both liked the Princess in some capacity, as they both liked each other.
"I... want massages too." She states suddenly.

"Well, I can't go down to Ponyville to give you them..."

"When I'm here? Can we? I... I want to match what you do with the Princess, Arnon." Twilight urges.

"What?" Arnon raises a brow. "Sure, but what do you mean?"

"What you do with the Princess... do it with me, too. How far you go with her -- do that with me, too, okay? I know she likes to try and include me, so... I don't want to seem inexperienced. I want to be ready. I don't want to just be her little student she let's tag along." She says firmly, meeting his gaze.

"You want to stand on equal ground kind of a thing?" Arnon asks.

"Exactly. Oh -- It's an odd topic, but if you're not dating, technically... and if what you've told me about the 'Biting' thing is anything like what you did with me, I believe you might hold Princess Luna's interest as well..." Twilight starts quickly rambling, digging through the book-pile with her magic. |
"I've researched it, and I might have an idea you could talk to them about. Since, you know... I don't want to get in the Princesses way, but... I don't really want to give you up. So, I looked into... Herds. They're a little outdated culturally, but not entirely uncommon. Not as often now, but some couples still partake."

"A... herd? You're getting a little ahead of me here, Twi."

"Hold on..." She mumbles, before finally yanking a smallish, red-cover book from the depth of the bookbed, hoviner it over to him.
"Read it, for me? I..."
She leans close, pressing her nose to his, watching his eyes.
"I'm not going to back down on this, now that I know you actually like me, too. Okay, Arnon?"

"...Alright, Twi. Still a little lost, but I think I get it." Arnon agrees, unaware of the true extent to purple's machinations. She got pretty motivated once they actually kissed though... huh.

"Okay, good. Good." She exhales, like a big weight just got let off her chest.

"...Alright, well, if you're trying to match the Princesses, then fork your flank over -- you're behind on your getting bit quota." He comments, reaching for it.

"Hu--EEP!"

Arnon flips through the book Twilight sent him, sprawled back on his bed. A little awkward with one arm, but doable. It's a reprint of an old book, apparently.

How to Herd; Multiple Mares and You.

Oh. Polyamory? Horses did that?

...She wants to share with the Princess? Share him, or share her? This is... an odd development. Definitely not common, but if there was ever some pony to push the limits, it'd be Twi. No idea how Tia... or Luna feels about this.

He sets the book in his dresser drawer, tucking it away before Bulwark sees. Not the kind of thing he needs to wave around, and something to... slowly work through.

Author's Note