Lilian Ketamina, First Bloom, hummed a soft melody, deep from her core. The sophont wrapped up riding her back was just so precious. She had barely needed any prompting to sink into her vines and just ride out a moment of quiet tranquility as they passed by the outskirts of town, towards the lush apple orchards of the Apple family. She was clearly in dire need of exactly this kind of rest, and part of Lilian wanted to just fill her up with a veritable alphabet of xenodrugs, but there was no need to rush. Twilight needed help, Lilian was all too eager to provide it, and if the earlier interaction with Wheatly was any indication, it wouldn’t take long at all for Twilight to fall into her vines.

And what a catch she was! Twilight Sparkle was, by all accounts, a prodigy of equestrian magic, despite her young age. The subject fascinated Lilian, and she only imagined what kinds of understanding she could forge with such a talented young creature under her hooves.

And yet, in spite of that talent and willpower, she was so… easy. Lilian had been worried that her first domestication might prove challenging, but so far, Twilight had been a near-perfect seed. There was just a hint of feralism, but breaking her of that would be an amusing challenge. She couldn’t help but imagine how pretty Twilight’s cutie mark might look with nice blue flowers outlining the gems once she was implanted. Or perhaps it would be replaced entirely with the likeness of Lilian’s base flowers, how the cutie marks of florets changed was always unique and unpredictable.

Lilian gently flexed the complex set of vines that twisted into a makeshift horn, and pulsed, feeling a tangible field of electromagnetic energy flow through her vines, coiling through the horn, and producing a small, green telepathic hand. She then used this hand to stroke Twilight’s mane, from the tip of her head to the base of her neck. She mused to herself about how interesting and multifaceted unicorn magic could be, and while it was quite difficult to control now, with Twilight’s help, she could understand all the sophonts of this beautiful world that much better.

With a gentle thrum from her core, she sent a mental nudge to Twilight to wake up. The little pony yawned, sitting up in her vines, a warm smile on her face. Lilian gazed longingly at that face. She knew full well that before long, Twilight would likely realize where she was, and that serene smile would fade. She would love to lengthen her time with that smile by shoving her injectors into Twilight’s soft fur, but she suppressed the instinct. Twilight needed to think clearly if she wanted to understand how independents lived. Lilian chuckled to herself. Not that that information would be of much use to her for long.

Ah. There it is. The flash of realization in the sophont’s eyes. The smile faded, and then so did Twilight, vanishing with a puff of pink glitter and reappearing across the road.

She took a deep breath, shook out her mane, seemed to want to wind up to shout something at Lilian, and then very visibly deflated upon seeing Lilian’s warm smile. Finally, upon a soft prompting, she murmured, “Thank you for carrying me this far, but I can take it from here.”

“Of course, Twilyflower,” Lilian giggled, sparking her horn once again and forming a hand to scratch behind Twilight’s ears again.

Once Twilight had recovered from the impromptu headpats, she gawked at Lilian. “Was that…”

“Unicorn magic? Why, yes, it is!” Her core buzzed for a moment with effort, and she teleported herself behind Twilight. She reached out a vine to scratch Twilight behind the ears. “It’s quite an impressive adaptation; I’ve been studying it since I got here and I still only know the basics! I know a little bit of several different types of magic developed on other worlds, but the kind you use is quite fascinating! It’s part of why I volunteered to check in on you. I read about some of your works from before you moved to Ponyville, and was eager to ask you about… I believe you called it the Pfudor coefficient?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, smiling in spite of herself, and continued walking down the road. “You read my writing?”

“It’s intriguing stuff!” Lilian followed, again ruffling the pony’s mane. This time, she barely bothered to try to shrug the vine off. She was resisting less and less as time went on, and Lilian was simply enchanted. “It helped me understand enough of the basics of your magic to build this phytograft.”

Anyone but an affini would have missed it, but Twilight’s eyes kept quickly flickering up to her horn, as a small blush spread across her face. Lilian took in every minute signal the pony gave off, focusing carefully as she seemed to become more and more aroused, stealing guilty glimpses at Lilian’s horn. A perfect time to tease the adorable little sophont.

“It’s quite impressive, isn’t it?” she mused, smirking. “I’ve heard that a unicorn’s horn can be quite… sensitive.” Her core briefly pulsed, and a bright-green phantom hand ran its index finger from the base of Twilight’s horn to the tip. Little shivers of pleasure rippled from Twilight’s neck through her barrel to her flank, and she couldn’t hold back a soft gasp. Lilian laughed, and pressed further. “Especially the smaller ones…”

Lilian already knew Twilight’s interests in that area, of course. The erotica novels about unorthodox uses of unicorn magic in her bedstand had been found and documented by her former rival Trixie's owner.

Twilight took a step back, blushing furiously, stammering. Eventually, after a solid thirty seconds of her floret-to-be being absolutely adorable, Lilian prompted an answer, and the pony eventually found something to say. “Size isn’t everything, you know.”

She slammed a hoof over her mouth and blushed an even brighter shade of red, turning away from Lilian. This was going wonderfully! She gasped in mock surprise, and her form reshaped itself in a deeply uncanny way to slither rapidly in front of Twilight. She smiled down at her, razor-sharp teeth shining in the noon sun. “Of course not, darling! In fact, part of why I made mine so large is because I don’t have nearly the fine control that you seem to, and I need a larger channeling vessel to make up for that. There’s certainly nothing to be ashamed about if your horn is a little smaller than the average for your age and gender.”

She saw Twilight’s blush deepen again as she spoke the word ‘ashamed’. The pony mumbled something. “I, um. I suppose you're right…”

“I think it’s absolutely adorable! And you really are so talented, dear.” She gave Twilight space to answer, and her core’s rhythm took on that particular form it did when she expected one specific response.

This time, the blush was slightly less indignant, and Twilight meekly gave the answer she had prompted. “...Thanks, I guess?” She slowly recomposed herself, and pouted up at Lilian. “So, we’re seeing Applejack next?”

Lilian’s massive stride led slowly onwards. She briefly scanned the sky before spotting what she was looking for. “And Rainbow Dash”, she responded, and pointed up to the sky. “They’ve become quite close, you know.” She smirked slightly at Twilight’s confused look, but if the pony didn’t ask her to clarify, she was fine letting her find out on her own. And, as expected, Twilight didn’t.

“All right, Everypony stay back!”

Rainbow Dash’s voice shot through the still midday, before the pegasus took off, taking to the sky with breathtaking speed. Lilian couldn’t help but watch in silence. She knew what was coming, but to see it in action… Rainbow Dash dove towards the ground, on a rapid collision course with the barn, rainbows pulsing out as she broke the speed of sound. Twilight had apparently not been similarly briefed, and her eyes shone with shock as the pegasus hit the massive, red barn, exploding into a rainbow mushroom cloud. Truly, an impressive display of pegasi magic. Her vines hummed with glee.

“Why would Rainbow Dash destroy the barn?!” Twilight muttered to herself. Then, a wicked smile spread across her face. “Rainbow Dash must be angry with Applejack! She must hate her guts! How wonderful, I’m going to be able to learn and write so much about friendship!”

“Petal… that’s a deeply concerning thing to say…” But before she could say more, Twilight had already vanished in a puff of smoke and glitter. Lilian sighed, picking up the trail of the spell, and following briskly on foot. She was eager to see how Twilight handled herself in a slightly lower-stakes social environment.

Twilight materialized in front of the ruined remains of the barn, and immediately rushed to help pick Rainbow Dash up. The pegasus appeared dizzy; stunned, but unharmed. She looked up at Twilight, and a big grin spread across her face. “Well look who finally left her tree. It’s good to see you, Twi!” She reached forward and gave her a big hug.

“Rainbow Dash! It’s good to see you too.” Twilight sunk into the embrace, before shaking her head and reminding herself of what was really important. The friendship lesson! “So why are you fighting with Applejack?”

“Fightin’? We ain’t fightin’. This barn needed tearin’ down, and Rainbow felt like showing off a bit. The ‘finni on the planning committee thought it was real cute.” Applejack clapped a hoof on Rainbow’s flank before joining in hugging Twilight. “Glad to see you out and about, sugarcube.”

Twilight pulled back. “So… you two aren’t fighting?”

“Of course not!” Applejack backed up, smacking her flank against Rainbow’s in a gesture Twilight couldn’t help but interpret as more than friendly. “In fact, since the Affini arrived, we spent a little time reevaluating. We got a bit in our cups with cider, and then Dashie…” She bumped her flank against her again. “....suggested we try this new xenodrug the Affini were handin’ out. apocyneigh, I think it’s called? S’pposed to make everything feel real tingly and sensitive and nice. Dashie had picked up some from Pinkie, and… apparently that trickster snuck some truth serum xenodrug into the mix too. Right matchmaker, she was.”

“Yeah! And it turns out, our Element of Honesty here had some feelings she wasn’t ready to admit.” Rainbow nuzzled up to Applejack as she teased her.

Applejack rolled her eyes, and muttered, “Not like you were any more forthcoming with your feelings, sweetheart.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, certain things were said, and then certain things were done, and done again, extremely well, and… well, we’re together now!”

They nuzzled up to each other, and Twilight couldn’t help but frown. No problem here. Nothing to solve. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were an adorable couple. She shook herself. Why was she upset about that? “That’s… great news! Any… other friendship problems that need solving?”

Applejack blinked at her, then put a consolatory arm around her shoulders. “Well, we can talk about this one friend of mine right here who went and disappeared all week long. What’s been goin’ on with you, Twi?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Twilight groaned. “I have been having a surreal day. And I still have to find a lesson on friendship to send to Celestia!”

Rainbow Dash gave her partner a knowing look, then cocked an eyeball at Twilight as they started walking back towards the Apple family townhouse. “Twi… Why are you so focused on your responsibilities to Celestia? It’s the end of the world, babe! Everything is changing, massive plant aliens are giving us boxes that can make whatever we want, the new world is way cooler. Why are you so stressed about it?”

Twilight pouted. She didn’t really want to think about it. She didn’t really want to think about a lot of things. It was all so much. At least she didn’t have to worry about Miss Ketamina’s beautiful face for a little while. At that thought, Twilight stopped short, and Rainbow Dash bumped directly into her flank.

“Twi… Talk to us? Please?”

She tisked. She couldn’t imagine talking about what had happened earlier with Wheatley and his… vine. Instead, she opted for a half-truth. “It’s this affini… Miss Ketamina.” Why had she said it like that? Why had she thought like that?! She coughed. “Miss Lilian Ketamina has taken an interest in my wellbeing, and has been following me around this morning to help me with my research.”

Another knowing look between Rainbow Dash and Applejack, and the orange pony laughed. “Oh, Lilian! We met her just the other day. Seemed real interested in you. We told her we ain't seen you in a while, and were worried… I’m glad she got you out of the house, at least.”

Rainbow smirked at Twilight. “They’re quite something, aren’t they? And here you are, already calling her ‘Miss?’ I wouldn’t have taken you for a seed, Twi.”

“A what?!”

Applejack hit Rainbow Dash on the shoulder, a bit harder this time. “C’mon, Dashie, can’t you tell Twi here’s already having a hard time? No sense teasing her about it.”

Twilight sulked in silence for a moment, running through the day in her head. She wasn’t quite sure why she kept calling Miss Ketamina that. Lilian! Her name was Lilian.

Twilight looked for anything she could find to distract her. She couldn’t help glancing at the affini who was helping Applejack’s brother with the orchard, or at the new hab building that dominated the landscape. The affini in question was using long flexible limbs to pick apples directly from the tree, rather than kicking it as was traditional. It seemed effective, if unnatural.

“You’re letting them run the farm, too?”

“I don’ see why not. Granny was gettin’ up in years anyway, and we ain’t exactly gonna stop growing apples just because the folks making the rules in Canterlot changed. Now come on, let’s go take a seat.”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack began walking back towards the main building, and Twilight trotted after them. The two of them living together was… not terribly surprising, all things considered. Compared to everything else happening, this was a change that made sense to Twilight. The two of them had always been close, and if society being shaken up around them had brought them closer romantically, that wasn’t a bad thing.

As they approached the old Apple home, red paint overgrown with green phytotech meshes, Rainbow Dash stopped short. “Say, AJ, isn’t that mailpony still in your bed?”

“I dunno, why do you ask?”

“...Because she’s waving at us.”

Twilight peered around her friends, and saw a gray-coated pegasi with blond hair waving from the window of Applejack’s bedroom. She eyed the pair suspiciously. “Why is she in your bedroom, Applejack?”

“B’cause she’s a pillow princess who didn’t want to get out of bed before noon,” the orange pony replied with a chuckle.

“Why was she in your bed? Isn’t that where Rainbow Dash would be?”

The two of them looked at each other, then back at Twilight, then burst out laughing.

“Oh, I was, Twilight. I sure was. For quite a while, actually!”

Twilight’s eyes popped open in shock.

“You sleep with other ponies too?”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Well, duh. We’re both tops, you can only switch so much.”

Applejack nodded and winked at Twilight. “Plus, you would not be-lieve the kinda stuff we got from the Affini to help make any mare into a real colt, if you catch my meanin’. Maybe we'll have to saddle up and show you sometime, sugar.”

Twilight was suddenly struck by the sheer intensity of the looks the two of them were giving her, which she had once heard described as ‘hey, we saw you from across the barn’ energy.

Twilight stammered at her friends’ flirtatious looks. She didn't know what half the things they had said even meant, but she knew she was tempted to find out. And also terrified.

Rainbow Dash spotted her reaction, and grinned at her in a way that reminded her, uncomfortably, of Miss Ketamina. Lilian. Argh! “Bottom behavior. You called it, AJ.”

Twilight’s heart was beating faster in her chest. She had too much to think about. She stammered to herself, trying to find something to say. “Um… I… Never really thought of either of you that way?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Really? Well, hey, no pressure. If you’re not into it…”

Her brain was in a state of complete higgledy-piggledy, and she reached for something, anything, to make the situation less terrifying. “I’m not into it,” Twilight blurted out, letting far more anger and disgust into her voice than she intended.

Twilight immediately regretted her tone as her friends’ faces sank slightly. Why did she say it like that? Now she had disappointed her friends. She winced, feeling that disappointment tangibly reflect onto her.

“Petal, why did you say that? Is that really true?”

Twilight turned to gaze up at Miss Ketamina, who had apparently been there the whole time, and met her massive, stunning eyes. The pattern of pink-and-blue flecks that swirled across the warm, glowing background was as captivating as ever. She just looked so beautiful. “Twilight, it’s okay if you don’t want to be intimate with your friends, now, or ever! But I could tell how much you disliked what you just said. Why don’t we take a mulligan on that, petal? Why did you say that? And this time, I’d really like it if you told us the truth.”

Oh no… now she was disappointed in Twilight, too! Twilight didn’t like the thought that she’d disappointed Miss Ketamina. Answering felt easy and natural.

“I was confused, and scared, and I couldn’t answer, and I just wanted everything to stop. I’ve never even kissed anypony before, and my friends are so pretty… I was terrified of what would happen if I said yes, terrified of what would happen if I said no, and I guess… I just said the first thing I could that would protect me.”

The affini leaned down, her waving mane of vines casting a shadow over Twilight. “Protect you from your friends?”

Twilight slouched. “...Buck me.”

“Language, darling.”

Twilight felt the smile before she looked up and saw it, and some of the worry inside her melted away. Part of her couldn’t help but muse, what is this plant doing to me? She looked back over at her friends, who were looking at her apologetically. It felt like a weight had been lifted. Maybe it’s not so bad to do as she tells me? Twilight smiled softly up at her, and felt a sense of approval. You’re doing the right thing.

Applejack broke the silence. “Twi, I had no idea this would be so scary for you. I’m genuinely sorry; we were just pokin’ fun, and would never want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

Rainbow Dash lay a comforting wing over Twilight’s back. “Yeah, sorry, Twi, I guess we just got used to how things have been shaken up, and forgot you've been hiding away and didn't know.”

Twilight blushed, and looked up at them sheepishly. “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. One big shift at a time, okay?” She felt pride blossom inside her.

“Very good, petal. I’m proud of you for setting healthy boundaries without overreacting.” Vines reached down to pat her head, and Twilight couldn’t quite bring herself to protest. It felt really nice.

Rainbow dash snickered, “I’m not going to apologize for calling you a seed, though. I see how you look at her.” Seeing Twilight’s blush, she pushed further. “Miss Mina, once Twilight is a little more… situated, feel free to remind her of our offer!”

Twilight’s left eye twitched in sync with her left ear. She was sure she had had the measure of the situation for a moment, but now she was once again out of her depth. Instinctively, she turned her gaze up to Miss Ketamina, who pinned Rainbow Dash with a glare, stepping between them. Again, the sheer imposing size of the mare ran through Twilight’s mind. She was breathtaking. Or maybe that was the beginning of another panic attack.

…No, definitely the former. The inaudible thrumming pressure in the air seemed to guide her breathing, a powerful rhythm keeping her in time. It felt surprisingly nice. Once she stabilized, she felt a warm feeling of approval surge through her. She was safe. Her friends weren’t going to hurt her. Even still, it felt like so much…

“I think this has all been a bit much for this little dear. Thank you for your kind offer, but for now, I think we need to canter on. We have to pick up snacks from Sugarcube Corner for the picnic! Shall we say our goodbyes, Twilight?”

Twilight looked at both of her friends, each offering an apologetic smile.

“It’s good to see you both again,” Twilight murmured. “I’m glad you’re doing well. See you at the picnic?”

“Of course, sugarcube,” Applejack responded. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Miss Ketamina smiled wide as they walked away. As soon as Rainbow Dash and Applejack were out of eyeshot, Twilight felt the last of her fear leave her, and with it, the last of her energy.

Before she could even grumble, she felt strong vines wrapping around her barrel and lifting her far above the ground, into a nest of vines on her affini’s back. She wanted to protest, but Miss was comfy, and she was pretty tired of walking. Instead, she simply leaned into the mare’s back and murmured, “Thank you, Miss”. A warm throb of energy from her affini’s core told her that this was the right thing to say.

Author's Note

"I guess you could call them... Unicorn Hunters." - Yorw

Art as always by Sheepwave. <3