Magic Mirror

~~~~~~~~~~ One Month Later ~~~~~~~~~~

Quibble stepped off the train, jostling his way through a small crowd of ponies who were trying to board. A rose-colored mare yelped when he accidentally stepped on her hoof. Quibble excused himself and laughed awkwardly. The mare and her friend gave him a dirty look. He backed away, still apologizing, until his hindquarters bumped against the flank of a pegasus stallion, who gave him an irritated shove in the opposite direction.

The train whistle bellowed. A couple of straggling ponies scrambled quickly through the door of the passenger car, and finally Quibble was alone on the platform. As the train chugged away, he squinted through the afternoon sunlight at a wooden sign that was hanging from a post over the track. "Ponyville," it read. Good; at least he'd gotten off at the right stop this time.

He made his way from the small depot to the hayburger stand on Ponyville's main drag. Inside, he scanned the booths until he spotted a light blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane, sitting alone.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" he said, sitting down in the empty seat across from her.

"Oh, uh, hey Quibble," replied Dash, not meeting his gaze. There was a basket of half-eaten apple fries sitting in front of her, and she promptly shoved several of them into her mouth and took a long, noisy sip from her drink.

He had met Rainbow Dash at a convention a few years ago. The two of them met here every so often, usually about once a month, to grab a couple of hayburgers and catch up. Dash was one of the few ponies who could hold her own against him in a discussion about Daring Do, and he enjoyed their conversations enough that he didn't mind the long train ride from Appleoosa to Ponyville.

Today, though, Dash seemed a little distracted. Every time he began to speak she would stuff her face with apple fries, and she was pointedly avoiding eye contact. Quibble sat across from her, tapping a nervous rhythm on the table with his hooves, and glancing around impatiently. She clearly had something on her mind, and it seemed to be something she was reluctant to tell him about. However, he had been waiting almost a month to hear her thoughts on the new serial, and his excitement was getting the best of him.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"So?" he blurted out finally.

Dash, who had just stuffed the last couple of fries in her mouth and was now busy trying to get the waiter's attention, glanced at him as if noticing him for the first time.

"Sho whuh?" she said, her words muffled by a giant mouthful of fried apple.

"So, what did you think of it?"

Dash's eyes widened, and she nearly choked on her fries. She chewed quickly, swallowed, and dumped the remainder of her soda down her throat to still her coughing.

Quibble grunted.

"Oh, come on!" he said. "I know it has a few flaws here and there, but there's no way you really think it's that bad. And compared to the last one they made? I think it's a damn good adaptation, and I'm not ashamed to say so!"

Dash shifted her weight slightly in her chair. She glanced towards their waiter again. She still didn't speak.

Quibble drummed the table with his hooves, exasperated. How bad did she think it was, that she was unwilling to even rant about it? Usually his friend had no problem expressing her opinions.

"Come on! I really want to hear what you thought of it!"

Realizing that he was not going to let this go, Dash sighed heavily. She dove headfirst into a saddlebag that sat on the bench next to her, proudly emblazoned with the Wonderbolts insignia. She emerged a moment later with a bright blue gem clamped between her teeth.

She dropped the gem, and it clattered to the table.

"Uh, well," she began. "Let's just say... the plot took some interesting twists."

Quibble stared at the gem. It was clearly the gem he'd given her the last time they'd met: blue, cut into an octagonal shape, just like all the other gems in the first volume of the new Daring Do serial. He was positive that this one contained the first three episodes, it was the one he'd been certain would hook Dash and have her begging for the next gem in the series by the time they met up again. However, now that he looked more closely....

He reached out with his foreleg, flipped the gem over and examined the label. Instead of the words "Daring Do and the Jungle Of Terror" printed in neat calligraphy as he'd been expecting, there was simply... a date.

Quibble's stomach dropped out of his body and crashed through the floor beneath them. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His jaw flapped uselessly on its hinges, until finally, with considerable effort, he managed to pull it closed again.

Which gem is this?!? a panicked voice in his mind cried out.

There weren't that many blue ones in Thundercloud's "collection." How in the world could he have mixed them up like this? Now that he thought about it, though, there were a couple that were of a similar size and cut to the Daring Do ones, and his mirror-room had been kind of a mess lately...

"Hey there guys, sorry about the wait," a chipper voice suddenly intoned. Quibble glanced to his left and noticed that a unicorn waiter was now standing at their table, a notepad floating in a glowing cloud of magic over his head. "I'll go ahead and grab you some more apple fries and a refill. Can I get you anything, sir?"

Quibble's mouth opened and closed itself three more times before he realized that the waiter had asked him a question.

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure," he babbled. He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "Uh...regular haybasket please."

"Anything to drink with that, sir?"

Quibble must have mumbled something, and it must have made sense, because the waiter was now jotting something down and thanking him. He then trotted off, still smiling pleasantly. Quibble could hear him beginning the same routine again at a nearby table.

He turned back to Dash, who was once more fidgeting and glancing nervously around the room. She didn't look like she wanted to be there any more than he did.

"H-hey, what is this?" Quibble demanded unconvincingly, fiddling with the gem and reading the label as if it were his first time seeing it. "Because I swear, if that damn Buckbuster Video gave me the wrong gem again, I'm really going to tear them a new one this time--"

Dash rolled her eyes.

"Oh, good grief," she said. "Just stop. I'm not going to turn you in or anything, okay?"

Quibble, still babbling pathetically about the idiots at Buckbuster, snapped his mouth closed in mid sentence. He looked up. Dash's cheeks had reddened slightly, but she was at least willing to look at him now.

"Really?"

The burn in Dash's cheeks deepened, and she looked away again.

"Well, uh... it's not the worst thing in the world, I guess," she stammered. "Whatever you're into is your business, okay? I don't care, so... just be more careful next time."

Quibble's cheeks were now burning as well, but he quickly nodded.

"Yeah, sure. No problem."

He laughed nervously. Dash cleared her throat.

"Seriously though," she began, "You really need to be more careful with stuff like this. I mean, don't you live with your marefriend and her kid now?"

"Yeah. Well, kinda, anyway." Quibble cleared his throat. "We, uh--"

"Here you go guys, fresh basket of apple fries, piping hot!"

The waiter rematerialized, depositing a basket of apple fries on the table in front of them and then trotting away. Quibble stuffed several of them into his mouth, grateful for the momentary distraction. He wondered how many baskets of these Dash had gone through while waiting for him to arrive.

"Kinda?" Dash raised her eyebrow. She clearly had no intention of letting it go. Quibble chewed quickly and swallowed.

"Well, yeah. It's complicated, I guess. I moved some stuff over there, and I stay over a few nights a week. I still have my house though. Clear Sky says we need to take it slow, because of..."

He clammed up when he realized he was about to bring up Wind Sprint. His eyes darted nervously around, searching for the waiter.

"Wonder how my hayburger is coming along," he muttered. "Usually this place is pretty quick..."

However, Dash was still watching him with her eyebrow raised.

"Uh... huh," she said. "So... are you and Clear Sky moving in together, or... not?"

Quibble sighed.

"Like I said, it's complicated," he said miserably.

"So... not, then?"

Quibble exhaled, and dove headfirst into the basket of apple fries. When he came up, Dash was snickering at him.

"Well, whatever's going on, if you've got stuff like this lying around the house then you really need to be careful," she observed. "I mean, if your marefriend's filly hates your guts now, I'd hate to see what she'd think of you if she saw... this."

She was nodding towards the gem, which Quibble suddenly realized was still lying exposed on the table. He quickly snatched it up and stuffed it into his own saddlebag, which earned him another amused snerk from Dash.

"Where did you get that thing, anyway?" she asked.

Now it was Quibble's turn to raise an eyebrow. The color returned to Dash's cheeks.

"I mean," she continued, "I guess it's not that surprising that it exists, but... the magic mirror thing hasn't really caught on yet, has it? I mean, you're the only other pony I know who even has one. Twilight doesn't even have one, and she loves nerdy magic junk. I wouldn't even have bought one, if you hadn't told me about the Daring Do serials they were making."

Before Quibble could reply, the waiter once more appeared, and set a hayburger basket in front of him. His stomach growled. He realized that he hadn't eaten all day and was starving.

Dash, who had clamped her mouth shut the second the waiter came back, waited until she was sure he'd moved out of hearing range. Then, she continued in a slightly softer voice:

"So how exactly did you, Quibble Pants, the pony who took three whole months of waffling and me bugging you to even work up the courage to talk to Clear Sky, how exactly did you manage to find a store that sells..."

She trailed off momentarily, looking around her again.

"...a store that sells... you know. This kind of stuff."

She gestured towards his saddlebag.

"I mean, aren't just the regular gems with regular stuff on them pretty hard to come by?"

Quibble continued to stare at her, not comprehending what she was asking. A store? What was she talking about?

It suddenly dawned on him that, even though he'd been talking to her about his relationship almost non-stop for the better part of a year, Rainbow Dash had never actually met Clear Sky before, let alone her daughter, and had no idea what either of them looked like.

Whichever gem he'd accidentally given her, they were all pretty much the same. If she'd watched it, there could be no mistaking what was on it. However, it was clear now that she had completely misunderstood what it meant.

Unfortunately, though, he had come to this realization far too late. One quick look at Dash's face made it clear that she had figured it out too. Her eyes had gone wide.

"So... wait a minute," she said. "You mean the filly in that movie was..."

A thousand possible lies ran through Quibble's head in rapid succession, each more preposterous than the last, but even he had enough sense to realize that Dash wouldn't buy any of them.

"Yes," he said miserably, his head drooping towards the table. It was like his neck could no longer even support its weight. As hungry as he was, he had momentarily forgotten about his hayburger.

Since finding Thundercloud's collection he had, of course, spent nearly every waking minute of his life not at work or with Clear Sky furiously beating off to every gem it contained. He was constantly pulling his favorites in and out of the hiding place he'd created for them, and while he was mostly diligent about putting them back, he realized now that something like this had been bound to happen sooner or later.

Still though, having to acknowledge the whole thing out loud like this just drove home how completely messed-up the situation really was. He had no idea how a decent, upstanding pony was supposed to handle something like this, let alone a degenerate like him, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it didn't involve beating his meat to an abused filly while continuing to bang her mother. He was on his way to Tartarus for sure.

Meanwhile, Dash was still putting the pieces together.

"So if the filly was Wind Sprint," she continued, "That means the stallion was..."

"It wasn't me!" Quibble blurted out frantically.

To his complete surprise, Rainbow Dash burst into hysterical laughter. Quibble frowned. In spite of everything that was going on just then, he understood well enough that he was being made fun of.

Dash composed herself and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Sorry," she said, still snickering a little. "But there's no way anypony could make that mistake. I mean, come on! That guy was in amazing shape!"

Quibble stared sullenly down at his flabby barrel, protruding out from underneath his shirt.

I really need to start hitting the gym, he thought.

"I mean, not even my dad was that--"

Dash cut herself off in mid-sentence. She reddened and took an enormous gulp of soda.

"Anyway," she changed the subject quickly. "That's just... wow. Does her mom know?"

"Of course not!" Quibble snapped.

"So, if you didn't buy this thing, then where....?"

Quibble tried to think up a lie, something plausible that would allow him to at least slink away from this converation with some shred of his dignity intact. However, once he started talking, he couldn't stop, and soon the complete story was pouring out of him. He told her everything: the mailbag full of gems, how he'd found it hidden in Clear Sky's garage, the unimaginable range of smut it contained, everything. By the time he'd finished, Dash was just staring at him, her wings protruding slightly further from her body than they had before.

"Wow," she said finally. "Just wow."

Quibble suddenly remembered his hayburger, and tore into it savagely. Dash watched him for a minute, and then she spoke again:

"Break up with her."

Quibble looked up, his muzzle smeared with ketchup.

"Whuht?"

"Break up with Clear Sky," Dash repeated flatly. "As soon as you can. Don't even think about it, just do it."

Quibble swallowed the mouthful of hayburger he was chewing and wiped his mouth with his napkin. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out, Dash cut him off.

"No," she said. "Don't think it over, don't argue. Trust me, Quibble, you are in way over your head."

Quibble hesitated.

"Really? I mean--"

"Yeah, really. Whatever happened with that filly and her dad, just trust me: you don't want to get anywhere near this thing. Break up with her, walk away."

"I don't know, I mean, things are actually going really well between me and Sky right now--"

"You mean, aside from the whole 'we can't move in together yet because my daughter who used to get stuffed every night by my dead husband completely hates your guts still, but by all means please keep paying my bills for me' thing?"

Quibble snorted indignantly.

"I don't pay her bills."

"Yet."

"I mean, I help out a little sometimes--"

"Uh huh. Her idea or yours?"

"Well, hers, but--"

Now it was Dash's turn to snort.

"Oh, come on!" protested Quibble. "You don't even know her!"

"I know enough to see that this whole family is beyond screwed up. Just trust me on this one, Quibble. Get out of it while you still can."

Quibble belched, coughed, and took a petulant gulp of his soda.

"What are the odds I'm going to find another mare like Clear Sky?"

"There are other mares out there."

"Other mares that would date me?"

Dash appraised her friend, sitting across the table, half of a dripping hayburger clenched between his hooves. His paunchy barrel stuck out from underneath his white t-shirt, and despite his best efforts at using his napkin there was still ketchup smeared all over his muzzle. She hesitated.

"Well, uh, I mean... other mares exist..."

Quibble glowered, snorted again, and continued to eat noisily. Dash sighed.

"Look," she began. "Has anypony else seen these gems?"

"Naht thah I know uhf."

"And nopony knows that you've seen them?"

"Uh-uh."

"Good. Get rid of them then. Dump them in the river or something. Better yet, put them back exactly where you found them and forget they ever existed."

Quibble paused, holding the last few bites of his hayburger in front of his mouth. He had to admit that what she was saying made sense, but at the same time--

"Hey Rainbow Dash!"

The voice of a young filly suddenly piped up out of nowhere, and Rainbow Dash went completely rigid, a look of panic on her face. They both turned, and Quibble saw that a small orange pegasus filly was standing by their table. She had a short, scruffy purple mane, and her wings looked a little stunted. She was definitely cute, in a tomboyish kind of way, but that didn't account for how nervous Dash looked all of a sudden.

"Oh, uh... hi Squirt..." said Dash, flashing her a rather pained smile.

The filly looked back and forth between the two of them and frowned.

"Who's he?" she demanded rudely.

"Oh, uh, this is my friend Quibble Pants. Quibble, this is Scootaloo. My... uh... flying student."

Quibble smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but Scootaloo barely even acknowledged him.

"We're still practicing today, right?"

"Oh, ye-yeah. Sure."

"Good. Because you promised, remember?"

"Yeah, I didn't forget."

"Good. Because I've been practicing that thing you've been teaching me, and I think I can do it even longer this time if I hold my breath--"

"HAHAH~!"

Dash cut her off with a short burst of nervous laughter, rubbing the back of her neck like Quibble always did.

"Okay, Squirt, that's fine, just, uh... usual place, usual time, okay? I'll be there as soon as I'm done with lunch."

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes.

"Promise?"

"Yeah, haha, I promise, don't worry..."

"Okay!"

The filly's suspicious glare abruptly transformed into a bright smile.

"Scootaloo! Come on, hurry up!"

Scootaloo turned her head and looked back at the restaurant entrance, where two other young foals were calling to her.

"All right, well, I gotta go too, I guess," she said. "Bye, Rainbow Dash."

Quibble started, almost choking on his food. She'd added an unmistakably sultry lilt to that last line. As the filly walked away, she flipped her tail to the side, for a brief second completely exposing herself. Her pussy winked open, the tiny pink clit darting out for the blink of an eye, glistening with moisture.

Quibble turned slowly back towards Dash, who was now blushing furiously and trying to get her wings to retract. He smirked, feeling a lot better now that the horseshoe was on the other hoof.

"So," he said. "That's your... flying student?"

Rainbow Dash slunk a little further down into her seat.

".......yeah."

Neither of them said anything more, but Quibble continued to watch her with a smirk. Her blush deepened.

"Well, it's uh... it's kinda like I told you," she continued. "I don't think it's the worst thing in the world. And also we're done talking about this. Forever."

She promptly stuffed her mouth full of apple fries.

Quibble shrugged and ate the last bite of his hayburger. They both sat chewing in silence.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" he said suddenly. "When you wanted to know if there was a store that sells these kinds of gems, were you asking because--"

Dash reddened again, and growled.

"I was asking for a friend, and we're done talking about this. FOREVER."

By the time the train dropped him off at the depot in Appleoosa, it was dusk and Quibble had had a lot of time to think. Maybe Dash was right, and he should break up with Clear Sky. On the other hoof, though...

He shut his eyes for a moment, just to rest them. Immediately he saw a series of images play out in rapid succession, one after the other.

Wind Sprint, diving after a pass on the buckball field, her young flanks gleaming with sweat. Completely focused on the game, probably not even realizing that she'd just flashed her little teats to an entire crowd of spectators.

Wind Sprint sitting at the dinner table, poking sullenly at the food on her plate. Giving grouchy one-word responses to her mother's questions about school that day and practice that afternoon. Scowling at Quibble and saying nothing whenever he tried to butt in with dumb little pleasantries and comments.

Wind Sprint, sprawled out on her bed at night, snoring loudly. Her bedroom was always a mess and always smelled like damp socks. Her mother was tugging the blanket over her and kissing her goodnight, while Quibble was floating somewhere near the doorway, trying to watch and trying not to watch at the same time.

Wind Sprint, lying on that same bed, in that same messy room with the same dirty sock smell. Groaning like a slut while her father's enormous cock drilled in and out of her tiny asshole.

Quibble's eyes snapped open. He looked guiltily around him, but the street was empty except for an old stallion who wasn't paying him any mind. He shook his head and tried to clear his brain.

Maybe Dash is right, he thought again. If this is all I can think about...

He felt another twang of guilt as he realized that he rarely thought about Clear Sky anymore without it eventually turning into a lewd daydream about her filly. A filly that hated him and wouldn't let him get anywhere near her, let alone get near enough to--

He shook his head again, and kept walking.

Sky's house was at the top of a tall hill, located at almost the exact opposite side of town from the train station. It had been a long day, and Quibble was hardly in the best shape of his life, or anypony's life for that matter. By the time he had made it halfway up the slope, his mane was damp with sweat, and he had an idea of what he ought to do.

I'll break up with her, he thought. Tonight. I'll just bite the bullet and dive right into it.

She'd be waiting up for him, he knew, but she wouldn't have anything special planned. Maybe a light meal set out for the two of them, nothing fancy. She already knew that today was his day to visit Rainbow Dash in Ponyville, so she wouldn't be expecting him to be up for anything too demanding.

He'd never thought about it before, but it was actually a little insulting how much she trusted him. Sky knew that he and Dash were just friends, but still. Would it kill her to get a little bit jealous? It was like she wasn't even remotely worried that another mare might steal him away.

He plodded up the hill, getting sweatier and grumpier with every step.

It sure is a pain, having to climb this hill all the time...

By then he had made up his mind completely. This would be his last time hiking up here. Well, second to last. He'd probably have to come back for his stuff at some point. But yeah, this would be almost his last time hiking up here.

"I'm sorry, * HUFF * Sky," he rehearsed to himself out loud. "It's... * WHEEZE * it's your daughter. She just... * GASP * clearly doesn't like the... * COUGH * idea of my moving in here..."

Finally, he stood at the top of the hill, panting. He had the whole speech worked out in his head. A twinge of anxiety ran through him as he stared at Sky's house for the last time. Well, second to last time. Maybe third, if he had to make two trips. But basically the last time.

"Just gotta do it quick," he muttered. "It's the right thing to do..."

He went up to the front door and rapped on it with a hoof, realizing with some annoyance that she still hadn't given him a key yet. He heard hoofsteps on the other side, and the latch being fumbled with. He quickly gave his rehearsed speech another run-through in his head, just as the door began to open. He opened his mouth to speak, but--

But Daring Do was standing in the entryway of Clear Sky's house. The words froze in his mouth, and were promptly forgotten.

Daring Do lowered her eyelids seductively, and grazed a hoof gently against Quibble's chest. There was something off about her. Her mane style was wrong, and he was pretty sure that even in whatever alternate universe he'd somehow wandered into, Daring Do was a pegasus and not a unicorn--

"I have found the sapphire statue," Daring Do purred in a strange voice. "Did you come here to take it from me?"

Quibble blinked.

"Uh, well, actually, it's the sapphire stone, not the sapphire statue," he said. "Also, that accent is all wrong."

Clear Sky huffed and stepped back, a pouty expression on her face.

"Don't I at least get credit for the costume?" she demanded.

Quibble blinked again.

"Well, y-yeah, it's... well, it's amazing actually..."

The coy, sultry smile returned to Clear Sky's lips as she saw that her outfit was having the desired effect. She leaned in close and gave him a light boop on the nose.

"Thanks," she said.

"How did you..."

She giggled.

"Well, you've been talking so much about magic technology lately," she explained. "Like that mirror you said you bought? The one that plays the moving pictures?"

Wind Sprint lying on her back, throat stuffed with cock, gagging, Daddy's balls slapping against her nose...

"Y-yeah," stammered Quibble. "What about it?"

"Well, you were in Ponyville, and Wind had her Buckball day-camp today, so I decided to check out that magic shop downtown you told me about. The unicorn there was very helpful. I couldn't follow a word of what he was saying about the mirrors, but he did sell me this."

Her horn lit up, and she tugged out a small crystal amulet from underneath her shirt.

"It was kind of hard to figure out at first, but once you get the hang of these things, they're a lot of fun. You can change your coat and mane color, your eyes, even your cutie mark! And I don't even need to learn any complicated spells, it just works on its own. He says you don't even have to be a unicorn to use one of these."

She tucked it back into her shirt when she noticed him staring intently at the set of dials that had been gracefully worked into the crystal surface. She smiled.

"Uh-uh," she whispered coyly. "I went through many trials to capture this ancient medallion from the temple. If you want it... you're going to have to interrogate me."

She was still doing the accent wrong, Quibble noticed, but... it was getting harder to worry about that.

Sky leaned in close and kissed him, deeply, with her tongue. Her breath tasted like she'd been chewing mint leaves. Her mane had the soft lilac scent it usually had after washing.

"So how about it, Doctor Caballo?" she cooed softly. "I'm your prisoner now. What are you going to do with me?"

Quibble, barely recovered from his arduous walk up the hill, was beginning to sweat again.

"Uh........ well, actually it's Doctor Caballeron," he stammered.

"Hmmm?"

Clear Sky... or Daring Do... had turned toward the stairs. She brushed her tail slowly across his face. He inhaled that lilac scent again, along with... something else. He looked down and saw that her pussy was spread open invitingly, her bulbous clit protruding outward. There was a thin ribbon of viscous liquid running from her labia to her dock.

--Scootaloo winking at Rainbow Dash, her tiny clit glistening wet, ready for flying lessons, Wind Sprint's little pussy squirting crystal-clear filly cum all over her bedsheets, whimpering while Daddy pounds her--

Quibble swallowed.

"Uh, what about..."

She followed his gaze up the stairs, then smiled and shook her head.

"Wind had practice all day, she's exhausted. She'll sleep like a log tonight. A ten-ton megaspell going off probably wouldn't wake her up."

She flicked her tail again, tickling his nose. The slick wetness oozing from her pussy caught the light and sparkled.

"Coming?"

She turned and headed up the stairs, swaying her hips as she walked.

Quibble swallowed again. He vaguely remembered that there was something he'd wanted to tell Clear Sky, but he no longer had the faintest inkling what it was.

Quibble's heart was pounding so hard he thought he might pass out. His hips bucked wildly up and down, the bedframe creaking, the headboard slapping against the wall. Even with her face pressed into the pillow, Clear Sky's moaning was so intense he half expected an irritated neighbor to come pounding on their door.

The tingling in his balls finally reached a boiling point, and with one final thrust he exploded, firing a torrent of cum deep into Clear Sky's womb. It felt like he had about a week's worth stored up; it continued to gush, filling her up until eventually it overflowed, oozing down over his balls and mingling with the fluids of Sky's own orgasm. The musky scent of their lovemaking filled the room.

He groaned and collapsed on top of her, his rubbery front legs no longer capable of holding him up.

"Oof!" said Clear Sky underneath him, her voice still muffled by the pillow. With an effort, Quibble rolled to the side, his deflating cock sliding out of her. Her pussy burbled out one last glob of fluid, which melted into a mattress already damp with perspiration and mare-juice.

Clear Sky was breathing hard. She leaned over and kissed him.

"Wow," she said. "I didn't even know you had that in you."

"Uh... thanks?"

She giggled. Her eyes had a dreamy cast to them.

"Guess I know what motivates you now," she said, booping him lightly with her nose. "Should I be worried? If I didn't know better I'd think you like Daring Do better than you like me."

Quibble snorted and coughed. Truth be told, he'd completely forgotten she was still wearing the costume, but the accusation wasn't unfounded. But it wasn't like he could explain to her that "Daring Do" had transformed into her daughter almost the moment he'd put it inside...

Fortunately, Sky completely misinterpreted his reaction. She booped her nose against his one more time.

"You're so cute when you're flustered," she murmured.

She wrapped a forehoof over his neck and kissed him. She still tasted like mint leaves. The kiss broke off with a loud pop, and Sky mumbled something Quibble couldn't understand. A moment later, she was snoring.

The clock on the nightstand ticked out the seconds one by one. For awhile Quibble tried to count them, but his mind kept wandering and he eventually gave up. He lay on his back, Sky's front hoof still draped across him, staring up at the ceiling. It was a warm night, and even with the window cracked open the inside of the room was humid and stuffy. He flipped the edge of the blanket up and down, trying to waft in some cool air, but he couldn't stop sweating. His cock was still smeared with semen and viscous mare cum.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. Moving slowly and cautiously so as not to wake Sky, he slid out from under her leg and clambered laboriously to his hooves. He stood by the side of the bed, watching her sleep.

The amulet was still around her neck, and she still had the appearance of Daring Do, but... the mare on the bed was unmistakably Clear Sky. The way she was splayed out across the mattress, snoring softly, a tiny bubble beginning to form in her nose... It wasn't what anypony would call sexy, but somehow... she looked cute like this.

It really was sweet of her to do this for me.

Outside, the moon had nearly reached its peak. A bright shaft of pale light was shining through the window, and it draped across Sky's sleeping form like a funeral shroud. Without warning a sonic rainboom of absolute misery crashed into Quibble, with such a force that his knees almost buckled. When it passed, he felt numb. Drained. There was a dull ache coming from somewhere deep inside him, and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to be out of this room. He turned and walked out into the hall, treading softly so as not to wake Clear Sky.

It was the witching hour and the house was still. Downstairs in the kitchen, Quibble nudged open the cabinet where he knew Sky kept a bottle of spirits. He had to stand on his hind legs to reach it, his forelegs perched awkwardly on the edge of the sink. The cabinet was just slightly too high, the sink protruding just slightly too far into the room. He had to strain the muscles in his neck to open the cabinet and get the bottle down. A unicorn would have no trouble here, and a pegasus could always fly, but for an earth pony this was a damned awkward place to put a cabinet. One of those strange little quirks that homebuilders didn't always think about.

The mug he'd used at dinner was resting in the sink. He fetched it and went to the table. He poured out a generous amount of the potent liquid and set the bottle to the side, then threaded his front hoof through the mug handle and took a big gulp.

He immediately regretted this decision. The liquor roared through his chest like napalm, and he came up hacking and coughing, nearly dropping the mug. When he'd managed to get control of himself, he sat quietly for a moment, listening for anything stirring on the second floor. The house was quiet.

He found that his head was now swimming in a rather pleasant way. He decided to try another, smaller sip. He didn't know enough about alcohol to identify what he was drinking or whether or not it was any good, but whatever it was it was much stronger than cider. As far as he could tell it was some kind of fortified apple wine. The napalm-burn in his chest had subsided into a pleasant warming sensation, and the intense gloom that had overpowered him just a few minutes ago now felt like something far-off and unrelated to him. Whatever this stuff was, he decided he liked it. He had another sip. Then another.

By the time he'd finished about half of what he'd poured, the moonbeams shining through the window had made considerable progress across the kitchen floor, and Quibble was beginning to feel mildly nauseous. He'd been drunk just a few times in his life, but he had enough experience to realize he'd poured out far more than he could finish. It seemed a tremendous shame to waste such a wonderful life-giving elixir, but the thought of drinking any more of this stuff made him want to puke. He got up and dumped the rest of his mug down the drain.

As he clambered up onto the sink in order to put the bottle away, he realized with alarm that his coordination was seriously impaired. Twice he almost tripped over his own hooves, and once his front hoof slipped into the sink with a loud bang, and he cursed as his chin smacked the cabinet. He winced, hoping once more that he hadn't woken anypony up, but the house remained still.

Somehow he managed to get the bottle back inside the cabinet without breaking his neck or destroying Clear Sky's kitchen.

Thank Celestia for small miracles, he thought drunkenly to himself, as he stumbled back towards the stairs.

He felt like he was wading through a swimming pool filled with cotton. His brain was in a fog, and his body barely obeyed his commands, but paradoxically he felt a total clarity of mind, a complete unburdening from all his cares. Every action required intense concentration, and as such he was able to focus his mind completely on each simple task, one at a time, without the annoying buzz of any distracting thoughts.

One hoof in front of the other, he thought. Go slow, don't fall down. Here we go now, up the stairs. Avoid the third step; it creaks. Don't stumble. Left, right, left, right, front hoof, back hoof, up the steps, there we go. And now here's the hallway.

He wobbled unevenly down the hall, back towards the room where he and Clear Sky slept. He hadn't bothered to close the door, and now it stood gaping like an open maw at the end of the hallway. Sky's gentle snoring drifted softly through the opening. A pale shroud of moonlight spilled out across the floor. Something unpleasant gnawed at the pit of Quibble's stomach. He didn't want to go back in there.

He stopped in the middle of the hallway, swaying on unsteady hooves. Without fully understanding what he was doing or why, he turned to the side and nudged open another door.

Wind Sprint's room was completely dark, the shutters drawn tight. The air inside was hot and stuffy, and smelled like sweat and unwashed socks. Quibble stood for a moment, letting his eyes adjust. It was always an absolute mess in here; shadows of toys and clothing and other assorted junk floated in and out of his drunken vision like dim apparitions.

Ever so slowly, he made his way forward through the labyrinth. More than once he stepped on something or tripped on something, and he would freeze in his tracks, cursing under his breath and waiting for something to happen. Waiting for one of the specters around him to spring to life, and perhaps drag him off through that gaping maw to his final judgement, like Don Gioponi. But no judgement came.

Quibble shook his head. What the hell was he even thinking about? What was he even doing in here? He should turn around and go back to bed. If Wind Sprint or Sky woke up and discovered him in here, there was no way it would end well.

As his mind tried to reason with him, his hooves continued their slow march forward. Eventually he stood by the side of the bed, looking down at a sleeping filly.

Wind was breathing softly and evenly, her small barrel inflating and deflating like a balloon. The room was hot, and at some point in the night she had kicked off her blanket, and was now lying on her stomach, completely exposed. Her hind legs were spread wide open in an immodest pose, though her private parts were obscured by her tail.

Quibble swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. He stood motionless, staring down at the sleeping filly, tracing the outline of her body. Her rump was well-toned from exercise, and had an attractive curve to it. He could feel himself starting to get hard.

He reached out with his front hoof and gently nudged the sleeping filly. She stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. He nudged her again, a little harder this time. She continued to slumber.

What am I doing? his mind wondered helplessly, as he craned his neck slowly forward and gently brushed her tail aside with his nose.

Her dock flipped up on instinct, brushing her tail lightly against Quibble's face. Her genitals were now completely exposed, and close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating from them on his muzzle. Wind used the same mane and tail shampoo as her mother, and underneath the familiar lilac scent was a faint, sour aroma that had Quibble immediately erect.

He swallowed again, swaying unsteadily on his hooves. A light breeze blew in from the hallway. The cool wind felt good against his bare chest. His heart was pounding, making his dick throb even as the apple wine coursed through his thick powerful veins, washing away his (merited) fear of being caught in a filly's room after dark.

Slowly, his hyper-focused drunk mind agonizingly aware of every single movement, he put out his tongue and ran it slowly up the crack of Wind's pussy. Her labia parted, her little clit winked at him. He licked it gently, and the filly moaned and stirred in her sleep.

"Not tonight Dad," she mumbled softly into her pillow.

Quibble froze in place, his tongue still pressed against Wind Sprint's clit, but the filly continued to breathe slowly and rhythmically.

There, you did it!! his mind screamed at him. Now get back to bed before you end up in jail!

But once again, lust defeated reason. Quibble rolled his tongue slowly around the little ball of the filly's clit, savoring the acrid taste and smell of the fluid that was beginning to trickle out of her. He ran his tongue up the inside of her labia, all the way up to her ponut. He made a slow circle around the rim, then began to push it slowly into the hole at the center.

"Uuurgh..."

He froze again as Wind once more groaned and stirred in her sleep. Her tail flicked rapidly, brushing against the side of his neck and tickling his ear. He yanked his head back quickly as her legs began to move.

For one or two seconds of sheer panic, he thought she was actually waking up. But instead she just rolled over onto her back and started snoring.

Wind Sprint was now spread eagle on her back, her underside exposed to him in a way that somehow managed to be simultaneously innocent and obscene. The tiny bumps of her teats were poking up attractively, and he felt a strange metallic taste in his mouth as he stared at them.

He leaned forward again, taking one of her nipples in between his lips and sucking gently. The filly's hind leg bucked a little, and Quibble quickly pulled back, but she stayed asleep. His heart was now pounding so fast he worried he might actually pass out, but he had reached a point where he could no longer stop himself.

Ever so slowly, he raised a front hoof and placed it onto the mattress. He pressed down as lightly as he could, until he had enough of his weight on the bed that he could place his other hoof on the bed. Gradually, he managed to clamber up onto the mattress, positioning himself so that his aching cock now rested between the filly's teats.

He moved his hips slowly back and forth,. The soft fuzz on her belly tickled him in a tantalizing way as he lightly grazed himself against her barrel, the tip of his dick leaking a small trail of precum wherever it went. The filly underneath him continued to snore, completely unaware of everything that was happening.

Straining his hips backward, he teased his cock downward, across the light bumps of her teats and slowly down to her vagina. He was now positioned just outside the filly's love tunnel. He didn't dare try to penetrate her, but he pressed the tip of his dick firmly against the crack between her pussy lips, reveling in the little spasms of warmth it sent coursing through his body as his cock throbbed.

All this attention was causing Wind's pussy to leak a small amount of viscous fluid, and small shivers were running through her unconscious body every time he touched her. She winked again, her clit brushing across the tip of his dick, causing an intense sensation to run all the way down the length of Quibble's shaft and into his balls.

That sent him over the edge. His cock erupted, spraying the little filly's pussy and anus with rope after rope of thick, white cum. A loud cry rose up from the bottom of his diaphragm; he had to bite down on his lip hard enough to draw blood in order to suppress it. His legs turned to rubber, threatening to drop away beneath him and cause him to collapse on top of the sleeping foal.

Through sheer force of will he managed to hold himself upright until his orgasm subsided. His pulse was pounding in his ears like a war drum. Adrenaline combined with the alcohol in his blood once again caused him to lurch dangerously against the brink of unconsciousness. Little specks of light danced at the edges of his vision like fireflies.

Finally, the thrill subsided to the point where he had control over his movements again. He stepped carefully down off the bed, panting. There was a musky scent in the air, and with a start he realized that most of the space between Wind's legs, as well as her teats and belly and a fair portion of her mattress, were now splattered with cum.

"SHIT!" he hissed under his breath. Panic welling up inside him, his eyes darted rapidly around the darkened room. In the dim glow coming in from the hall, he was able to spot a pink and white striped sock draped across a nearby chair, and he seized it in his mouth.

He mopped up the cum as best he could. By some miracle, he managed to get Wind mostly cleaned up without waking her. There was little he could do about the wet spot that had formed on the mattress, other than hope that most of it would evaporate by morning, but he did his best to soak that up as well.

Wind was now as clean as she was going to get, but Quibble then realized that he had a cum-soaked filly-sized sock in his mouth that he had no idea what to do with. He decided there wasn't much else he could do besides take it with him and hide it, and hope that Wind would just think she'd misplaced it. It wasn't as though it would be difficult to lose something in this pigsty of a room.

Once again threading his way through the maze of junk, Quibble backed slowly out of the room and into the hall and nudged the door closed. The door at the end of the hall was still open, the soft growl of Clear Sky's snoring uninterrupted by the night's events. The effects of the wine were beginning to ebb, and Quibble's head began to clear.

Treading softly, he once more descended the staircase and went into the small foyer where his saddlebag rested against the wall. He nudged up the flap, and stuffed the sock as far down to the bottom as he could, right next to the octagonal blue gem that Rainbow Dash had returned to him.

Once a bell has been rung, there is no way to unring it. He couldn't remember where he'd first heard that, but it felt appropriate. A small knot began to form in the pit of Quibble's stomach, tightening with every step as he marched back up the stairs. There was a pale sheet of moonlight spread out across the hallway floor at the entrance to Clear Sky's room. He stepped over it and climbed back into bed as quietly as he could. Clear Sky rolled over in her sleep, mumbling something unintelligible and once more draping her foreleg across his chest.

Quibble lay on his back for what felt like hours, staring at a faint webbing of cracks in the ceiling plaster. He was faintly aware of the sound of birds chirping in the distance when he finally drifted off into a tortured sleep.