The Herd

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 1
Chapter 5

Chapter 2

“What do you think Gummy, will that work for Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked, holding out the sheet of paper towards the toothless little gator. Wide, blankly staring eyes blinked out of synch with each other, and Gummy snapped docilely at the corner of the page. “Yeah, I think so too,” Pinkie said, and dropped the sheet on the growing pile on her bed. Chaotic, brightly colored lines crisscrossed the sheet, connecting various words and names in a pattern only she was likely to be able to sort out.

“Now then…” Pinkie murmured, picking up a colored pencil and settling the sketch pad in her lap. “Rarity, she’s going to be tricky Gummy.”

Just as she was putting the pencil to the paper, there was a small clinking sound, and Pinkie looked up. “What was that?”

The sound repeated, and she glanced over at her window. Setting the pad and pencil down, she got up from her bed and took a few steps that way. Something small and dark bounced off the glass with another clink. Reaching the window, Pinkie glanced out through it, and her face lit with a smile.

Down in the street, Applejack was looking up at her, one arm half-cocked back to toss another pebble. Standing a bit behind her was Big Macintosh, who was glancing around in a nervous fashion. Pinkie waved down at them, and then unlocked and opened the window.

“AJ, Macky!” she called out, and both of them made shushing gestures.

“Dang it girl, we’re tryin’ not to wake people up,” Applejack hissed.

“Oh, sorry,” Pinkie giggled, lowering her voice. “What’s up?”

“Think ya could come on down for a bit? Ah got somethin’ ah need to talk to ya ‘bout.”

“Of course!” Pinkie replied brightly. She glanced over her shoulder. “Stay here Gummy, and see if you can come up with any ideas for Rarity.” Gummy took a few waddling steps, and flopped over the edge of the bed, landing with a solid thud upon the floor.

Swinging her legs up, Pinkie slipped out the window and dropped down the two stories down to the ground, landing in a tumble that popped her right back to her feet.

"Whadda wanna talk about?” Pinkie asked as she skipped over to Applejack, coming to a stop but continuing to bounce on her heels in barely contained excitement.

“Uh, do ya think we could maybe find some place we’d be less likely to be overheard?” Applejack suggested.

“Oooooo,” Pinkie cooed softly. “Are we gunna talk about super-secret things?”

“Uh, ah suppose ya could think of it as sum’thin’ like that,” Applejack allowed.

“Awesome!” Pinkie exclaimed in a load whisper, and promptly linked arms with both Applejack and Macintosh and began dragging them along with her. “So, what’s this big secret we need to talk about?” she asked as they passed out of town.

“Well…” Applejack stalled. Now that the moment had actually arrived, she was finding the situation somehow less simple to deal with. “…uh well…ya see…the thing is…”

“Yeeeeeeeees?” Pinkie prompted cheerfully, batting her eyelashes rapidly.

“…oh donkey spit,” Applejack swore. “Look suga’cube, Big Mac done told me…well, everythin’…’bout you two.”

“Yeah, and?” Pinkie replied without missing a beat or letting her smile falter in the slightest.

“And well…um…” Applejack closed her eyes for a moment. Looking into Pinkie’s cheerful face was sapping her willpower. She really did not want to see that bubbly enthusiasm get burst, let alone be the one holding the needle. “Do ya…really think askin’ all our friends to join the same herd is a good idea?” she finished in a rush, and tried not to flinch in anticipation.

“Are you kidding?” Pinkie laughed. “Why I couldn’t imagine being in a herd without them all.”

“Yea, well…” Applejack swallowed drily. The conversation was like trying to stack barrels of apples on an uneven floor. Destined to topple over, and obviously about to happen soon, but without knowing which addition would be the one to start things off. “Have ya thought ‘bout what ya gunna do if maybe…just maybe now…one of our friends might not feel the same?”

“Yeah, I have,” Pinkie admitted, and finally her expression changed. To Applejack’s surprise though, she didn’t look sad or disappointed. More…resigned, though her smile didn’t completely vanish. It was an odd, wistful expression that Applejack had never imagined seeing on Pinkie’s face. “I know getting everyone together might not be possible. But I have to try! Even though it’ll be really really really sad if someone says no. But at least…at least I’ll know who I won’t have to worry about leaving.”

“Leavin’? Whatcha talking ‘bout?”

“Come on AJ, do you really think everyone is going to be living in Ponyville forever? What’s going to happen when Twilight’s studies are done? When Rarity makes a big name for herself? When Dashy joins the Wonderbolts?”

“Ah…ah guess ah ain’t never thought ‘bout that,” Applejack admitted.

“Fluttershy at least should stick around, I can’t think of anything that would drag her away.” Pinkie bit her lip. “And you…”

“Don’t you go worryin’ ‘bout me, ah sure ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

“I know,” Pinkie said brightly. “So...how do you feel about…”

“Shoot girl, ah ain’t got against this,” Applejack stated, and Pinkie’s face lit like the sun coming out. Neither mare noticed the look of horrific comprehension that came across Big Macintosh’s features.

“Reeeeeeeeeeally?”

“Really, why not?” Applejack shrugged. “Ah mean, got to be honest with ya, the whole idea was a bit o’ a shocker at first. Ya ain’t never talked much ‘bout romancin’ and such, so ah guess ah just never gave much thought ‘bout such things with ya’ll. But ah think you and Mac could be good for each other. Kinda balance the other out, ya know?”

Pinkie was practically vibrating from bouncing in excitement. “Ooooo, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that!” she squealed, flinging herself on Applejack in a sudden hug.

“Oof! Careful thar suga’cube, ah need those ribs whole,” she gasped.

“Sorry,” Pinkie giggled, letting go. “I was just sooooo nervous about asking you.”

“Now why would ya be nervous ‘bout a thing like that?”

“Um,” Mac said hesitantly. Neither mare heard him.

“Well you know,” Pinkie said. “I mean, he is your brother…”

“Shoot girl, ya think ah never noticed he was a grow stallion before? Ah ain’t no prude, and ah ain’t got no problem with such ideas.”

“Uh…” Mac tried again, with identical results.

“Oh awesome!” Pinkie exclaimed. “This makes things so much easier! I was honestly going to wait and ask you last, just cause then maybe it wouldn’t seem as weird for you if everyone else had already joined up too. ”

“Right,” Applejack agreed. There was a pause. “Wait, what now?”

“Well you know, if you knew you had everyone in the herd, it might not be so weird joining because…”

“Whoa nelly girl, whatcha talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Uh…” Pinkie blinked, looking confused. “I was talking about you joining me and Macky’s herd.”

“Do what now!” Applejack exclaimed.

“I…but you said…I thought you were…you said Macky told you everything…”

“Ah thought he had!” Applejack growled, turning blazing eyes on her brother.

“Oh Macky,” Pinkie sighed in comprehension, shaking her head in disappointment.

“Ah don’t believe this!” Applejack fumed. “And ya just stood there an’ let me run mah mouth like a darned fool, thinkin’ ah knew what the conversation was ‘bout.”

“Sorry AJ,” Mac offered. “I just couldn’t get the words out.” Applejack made a disgusted sound and threw her hands up, stalking off and muttering to herself several unfavorable things about her brother.

“We are going to talk about this later, mister,” Pinkie warned Mac, and went after Applejack.

“Well boy howdy,” Mac said dully to himself. “Looking forward to that.”

Pinkie caught up with Applejack easily enough, as the cowgirl was putting more energy into stomping her feet with each step than with trying to cover ground.

“AJ?”

“Ah’m listenin’,” Applejack replied tersely.

“I’m sorry about that. That really really wasn’t how I wanted to handle things.”

“Naw girl, that ain’t ya’ll apology to make. Ya didn’t know any more than ah did.”

“So…where does that leave us?” Pinkie ventured.

“Oh suga’cube…” Applejack groaned. “Ya know what ya’ll asking o’ me?”

“I know it’s not exactly normal, but it’s not…”

“No, no it ain’t,” Applejack cut in. “Ah mean shoot, ah know the town ain’t exactly packed with free fellas, but it does have some. What’ll people say ‘bout me, joinin’ my brother’s herd by choice, not by lack o’ options? And what if ah want foals some day?”

“Maybe Twilight knows some magic that could…” Pinkie offered half-heartily.

“Pinkie, ah know ya really want this to work, but…” Applejack winced. There was the expression she had been dreading.

“But…but I really like you AJ,” Pinkie said softly. She seized both of Applejack’s hands in hers. “You’re one of my bestest friends, and I’d always hoped someday we…we could be even closer…”

“Ah really like ya too Pinkie. And ah’ll admit, ah have thought about ya like that, a few times. But…ah don’t think ah could do this. If it had been anyone other than Macintosh…”

“We…we could find someone else…get another guy…”

“Two stallions in a herd?” Applejack asked incredulously. “Are ya tryin’ to get people talkin’?”

“Nooo, I’m trying to…to…”

“To hold ya dream together,” Applejack said painfully.

“Mmmhmm,” Pinkie nodded.

“Yea,” Applejack said softly. “Ah’m sorry Pinkie, but ah just can’t. Ah’ll always be there fer ya, but as a friend. Ah can’t be any more, not like this.”

Pinkie took in a deep breath, and let it out shakily. Then she nodded, and wrapped Applejack up in a fierce hug.

“I understand,” she whispered. “I’m sorry AJ, this isn’t how I wanted things.”

“Ah know,” Applejack replied, returning the hug. “Ah know.”

“I…I’m not giving up on the others,” Pinkie said softly. “I swear, I won’t let it change anything between us AJ, but…”

"This is sum’thin’ ya got to do?” Applejack finished in a resigned voice.

“Yeah, it is,” Pinkie said seriously.

“Ah just…” Applejack started, but her voice faltered. She couldn’t bring herself to say anymore. It had seemed so obvious, back at home, that she needed to put a stop to this crazy plan of Pinkie’s. Now though, having talked with her, seen what it meant to her, heard the conviction in her words, Applejack realized how pointless it’d be to keep trying to talk her out of it. Whatever was going to happen, it was out of her hands. “…good luck.” She finished instead, holding onto the bubbly pink mare tightly.

The two stood there for the moment, just holding onto each other for the reassuring comfort. Then Applejack slipped her arms free, and Pinkie reluctantly let her own grip slacken. Neither could bring themselves to look at the other as Applejack walked on by Pinkie, back up towards the path they had taken out of town, and over by Big Macintosh. Who she promptly slugged in the arm, hard. The big man let out a strangled sound of barely contained pain.

“Jerk,” Applejack said hotly. “Ya big stupit jerk.” She raised her fist again, and Mac quickly back out range. Applejack made a sound somewhere between disgust and satisfaction, and stalked off, heading back towards the farm.

“Ow,” Mac complained to himself, already feeling the bruise forming.

“You should have told her everything,” Pinkie said, her tone muted. “Well actually, you shouldn’t have told her anything and just let me handle it, like we planned, remember?”

“We?” Mac said, though not loud enough for Pinkie to hear.

“Oh well, what’s done is done!” Pinkie spoke as if announcing to a crowd. “We are not going to let a bad start ruin everything, right!” She spun towards Mac, a fearsome smile on her face.

“Uh…right?” Mac said uncertainty.

“No no no!” Pinkie said hotly. “You have to mean it! Right!”

“R-right!” Mac said a bit louder.

“Right!” Pinkie screamed.

“Right!” Mac bellowed.

“Shhh!” Pinkie admonished. “Do you want someone to hear you?”

“But…but you just…” Mac spluttered.

“Now go on,” she told him, waving both hands at him a shooing gesture. “Get back to the farm where it’s safe. I’ve got everything under control here.

Mac stared at the little pink mare for a moment, his brain struggling to come up with an appropriate retort. Finally he just threw up his hands in surrender, winced at the discomfort from his bruised arm, and just nodded in agreement. It was just easier that way.

“No worries Macky,” Pinkie assured him. “Everything else will go much better. I’ve got a plan!”

Early the following morning, Pinkie’s alarm went off, and was promptly smacked right off the nightstand. There was a muffled sort of sleepy noise from under the covers, and then the soft, regular rhythm of sleeping breaths.

Early the following afternoon, the beam of sunlight streaming in through the window finished its gradual trip across the floor, up the side of Pinkie’s bed, and along the length of her pillow to land on the mare’s face. Her features twisted in sleepy annoyance, one eye cracking open a bare degree.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Pinkie managed to both sit bolt upright and spring to her feet in the same motion, an action that sent her somersaulting right off her bed and onto the floor with a loud “oof” of impact. There was a stunned moment while she tried to recover, and then Pinkie was on her feet…and then hit the floor again as the bed sheet twisted around her ankles tripped her attempt to dash for the door. Gummy poked his head out of the closet, and waddled jerkily over to stare at his hyperactive owner.

“I overslept Gummy!” Pinkie said in a panic, thrashing to get free of the bedding. “I was supposed to get started hours ago!” She kicked the sheets off and scrambled to her feet. “Got to hurry! Rumors could be spreading even now!” With that she blurred out through the door…and returned a second later. “Notes! Where are my notes!”

Gummy blinked in his little out of sync manner as Pinkie tossed half the room upside down looking for the plans she’d drawn up the previous night before she finally spotted them laying right where she’d left them, on top of her nightstand. Snatching the pile up, she once again hurtled out the door…and was back a second later.

“Clothes! Need clothes!”

Twilight Sparkle was just about halfway through the trickily complex equations for the Multi-Spectral-Atmospheric-Parabola spell when there was a sudden and frantic knocking at her front door. She gave the door a hesitant look, and wished Spike had gotten back from his errands. She really wanted to get this spell worked out so she could discuss it with Princess Celestia at the Grand Galloping Gala. She’d heard the princess mention it once with obvious appreciation, and Twilight really thought that…

The knocking repeated, more insistently this time. With a sigh, Twilight set down her quill and stood up somewhat stiffly, stretching out a few kinks she’d developed from being hunched over her desk for so long. She walked across the wide open main room of the library, and swung the door open just as another set of knocking started up.

“Alright, alright…” she said as she pulled the door open. “What is so…”

“Twilight!” Pinkie exclaimed as she blurred in through the doorway, half knocking into the purple mare and sending her spinning. “You’re here! Great!”

“Pinkie? What in Equestria…?”

“Have you been outside today?” Pinkie asked in a rush, bounding over to the window and dragging the curtains mostly closed, leaving just enough of a gap to peer out through with one eye.

“I…early yes…why do you…” Twilight started to ask in bewilderment, but her hyperactive friend’s dialog rode over her.

“Was anyone saying anything about…uh, some people?”

“Um…” Twilight paused, eying Pinkie with equal parts confusion and rising annoyance. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“Rumors! Were there any new rumors going around?” Pinkie exclaimed, then let out a gasp. She leaned in closer to the widow, practically hanging on the curtains now. She made a displeased noise, and Twilight peered over the top of her fluffy poof of a mane, but all she could see was Cheerilee striding by.

“Not that I heard,” Twilight answered. “But you’re always far more on top of the gossip than I am.”

“Oh, you would have heard this one if anyone knew about it,” Pinkie said gravely.

“Really?” Twilight asked, curiosity piqued despite her annoyance at the interruption. “Why, what happened?”

“I joined Macky’s herd last night,” Pinkie whispered conspiratorially, still glaring out the window. There was a brief beat in the conversation, and then she seemed to realize what she’d just said. “Uh, I mean, no wait, I wasn’t supposed to say that yet!”

“…you did what!” Twilight exclaimed in open shock.

“Nonononono!” Pinkie said, frantically waving her hands back and forth. “Forget that part!”

“Pinkie, I can’t just forget something like that!” Twilight said. “Macky? Big Macintosh?...I didn’t even know he had a herd.”

“I...you…we…ahhhhh!” Pinkie promptly plopped down on the floor, crossing her arms sternly. “Poo. Screwed that right up.”

“Pinkie, what is going on?” Twilight demanded. Then added after a second, “And what are you wearing?”

“Huh?” Pinkie asked, then looked down at herself. She had on a blouse with a tank top over it, jeans and a skirt, and a flip-flop on one foot and a sockless shoe on the other. “Oh, uh…I might have gotten dressed in a bit of hurry.”

“So that you could rush over here and ask me about any potential rumors about you and Mac without telling me about said rumors?”

“No, I was going to tell you, just…not like that.”

“Like what then?”

“Well…I…you see…” Pinkie groaned and hopped back to her feet. She mentally tossed her plan and decided to just play things straight. She took a deep breath. “Yesterday when I went a little crazy because I thought you all hated my parties and didn’t want to be my friends anymore I ran into Macky and he was really nice to me because I was crying and upset and he tried to comfort me and I ended up sleeping with him before running off the throw a party with a bunch of inanimate items and then Dashy came and drug me to the surprise party you guys had set up and everything was awesome again and then I met Macky again after the party and we talked and decided that the only right thing to do would be to form a herd and I told him I wouldn’t want to be in a herd without my friends and that I was going to try and get everyone to join and then went home to plan it all out but then he and AJ showed up and she didn’t realize I wanted her join…” She paused for just a second to take another deep breath. “…and we had a total misunderstanding and she got mad at Macky for not telling her and she told me she couldn’t join and it was very sad but I knew getting her into the herd would be tricky and I was planning on getting started asking everyone early today because if anyone finds out Macky is forming a herd there will be a stampede of mares trying to join up but I stayed up too late planning how best to ask everyone and over slept and then I rushed on over here to ask you but got too excited and accidentally blurted out what was going on before I could ask you the way I really wanted to!” Pinkie took another deep breath, and wobbled a bit on her feet. “Woo, that made me dizzy…”

There was a momentary silence as Twilight’s brain worked to process the verbal avalanche it had just been buried under. Then a few choice pieces clicked into her conscious mind.

“You slept with Big Mac!” Twilight exclaimed. “You want…me to join your herd!”

“Yepperini!”

“I…whoa whoa, Pinkie…I…” Twilight spluttered, trying to organize her thoughts.

“You don’t have to answer right away!” Pinkie said hurriedly. “Hear me out, there’s lot of good reasons to join up. In fact, I even wrote a song about it!”

“You what?” Twilight asked with a sense of foreboding.

“Friends make the bestest herd-sisters, it’s true, they do!” Pinkie started up.

“Pinkie…”

“Joining a herd with my friends would be a dream, it would, so good!”

“Pinkie…”

“We’d have tons and tons of fun, all night, alright!”

“Pinkie!”

“We’d all take turns and totally share, we’d rock, Mac’s…”

“PINKIE!”

“…yes Twilgiht?”

“Would. You. Please. Just give me a moment here?”

“Sorry…”

“It’s okay, I just really need to think about this,” Twilight told her, walking on over to take a seat in one of the chairs by the fireplace. Pinkie followed after her, taking a seat opposite. She was perched on the edge of the chair, twitching with poorly restrained energy as she watched Twilight intently.

“Okay…” the purple mare said. “Okay…okay…okay…” She took a deep breath. “Just got to think about this logically. What would be the pros and cons of joining a herd with…well who all is part of this herd anyway?”

"Just me and Macky right now,” Pinkie answered. “But I totally intend to ask everyone else!”

“And ‘everyone’ would be?”

“Our friends! Rainbow Dash and Rarity and Fluttershy and…well I already asked Applejack and she said no, but maybe I could try…”

“Why me?” Twilight asked over her.

“…why wouldn’t I?” Pinkie asked back with obvious confusion.

“Well you know…I’m just…” Twilight fidgeted. “ What exactly would I bring to this herd?

Pinkie stared at Twilight as if she’d just grown a second horn. “What are you talking about?”

“What each mare brings to the herd,” Twilight explained. “There’s an entire chapter dedicated to it in my copy of ‘I Heard You Want a Herd: A Mare’s Model for Meeting Mates’. It stresses the importance of making sure a herd is well rounded, and gives tips for how to determine what skills and talents one should…” She trailed off at the increasingly skeptical expression spreading over Pinkie’s features. “…what? It’s a top rated book for planning a herd.”

“Oh Twilight…” Pinkie sighed. “You’re thinking too hard about this.”

“Uh, yeah!” Twilight replied. “Because it’s a big freaking deal. It’s not something you can just jump into without consideration.”

"Yes, but you’re thinking too hard,” Pinkie said with emphasis. “What does your heart tell you?”

“Thump-thump?” Twilight ventured, and Pinkie rolled her eyes. She slid off her chair, and plopped right down in Twilight’s lap, wrapping her arms around the shocked mare’s neck.

“Twilight,” Pinkie said softly, leaning down until her mouth was hover just alongside one purple ear. “I want to know how you feel.”

“I…I…I…” Twilight stuttered as Pinkie’s warm breath washed over her, sending a shiver down her spine.

“Yeeeeees?” Pinkie purred.

“I…feel kind of warm actually…” Twilight said weakly.

“Twilight?” Pinkie asked, leaning back to look at her friend’s flushed face. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, I’m okay,” Twilight replied in a breathy voice.

Pinkie blinked at her for a moment, and then a light seemed to click on behind her eyes. She leaned into close, until the two were literally nose to nose. “Twilight…you’ve got the firsties”

“I…what?” Twilight exclaimed, momentarily distracted from the butterflies that had been gathering in her stomach.

“The firsties,” Pinkie said seriously. “That nervous-shaky-jittery-make-your-mouth-go-dry feeling you get the first time you experience a new level of intimacy.”

“W-what?” Twilight laughed nervously. “D-don’t be silly Pinkie, I-I’m not nervous or…any of that other stuff…”

“Uh huh…” Pinkie said with a complete lack of belief. “Then why are you holding onto the chair so hard?”

Twilight glanced down, and found her hands fastened onto the armrests so tightly her fingers had gone numb. It took three separate attempts to finally release her hold.

“Sooooo,” Pinkie drawled, her lips curling up into a wicked little smile. “Does that mean you like me?”

“Wha…I…huh?”

“I mean, I know you like me,” Pinkie said playfully, leaning against Twilight until their bodies were pressing completely together. “But do you like me like me?” She ran her fingers lightly through Twilight’s mane.

“Pinkie…I…,” Twilight forced out through deep breaths. “Y-yeah…I like you…like you…I’ve just never really known…how to express…”

Twilight was brought up short as Pinkie kissed her. It wasn’t anything elaborate, just a simple pressing of lips together, held for a handful of slow seconds. It was something tender, gentle, and calmly affectionate.

It would have floored Twilight if she hadn’t been sandwiched between Pinkie and the chair. Her lips felt tingly and somewhere under the general dazed feeling her mind filed away the fact that the expression “jelly legs” was a very apt description.

As Pinkie pulled back, she let out a little giggle at the stunned and amazed expression she’d left on her friend’s face. She giggled even harder as Twilight let out an involuntary sound of protest at the cessation of kissing, and promptly leaned back in for a second round.

The next kiss was something deeper and more passionate. It sent a jolt of pleasure right down Twilight’s body and made her toes curl in her shoes. Pinkie shifted around in Twilight’s lap, displaying an unusual amount of coordination as she managed to end up straddling her friend and place Twilight’s hands on her jean-skirted hips without ever disturbing the kiss.

Twilight shuddered slightly as she felt Pinkie’s tongue press gently against her lips, seeking permission, and she slowly opened her mouth to accept…when the front door burst open.

“Sorry I’m late Twilight,” a familiar, youthful voice cut through the enjoyable haze. “You wouldn’t believe the run around I got at Quills and Sofas, you’d think that…” The tirade cut off with the sound of an armload of items hitting the ground.

Pinkie released Twilight’s lips, and the pair glanced over to find Spike standing behind a small pile of quills, ink jars, and scrolls, his arms still held out in front of him as if grasping an invisible load. What small bit of his face wasn’t taken up by his impossibly wide eyes was obscured by his open hanging mouth, which was emitting a steady stream of disbelieving sounds.

Then the purple and green dragon seemed to pull himself together, and looked like he desperately wished to be somewhere, anywhere else.

“Uh…I…um…” Spike glanced down at the pile, and then smacked himself on the forehead. “Silly Spike, why this isn’t nearly enough quills. What was I thinking? I’m going to go get some more…right now…” With that, he spun on one heel, and darted out the door.

“Wait! Spike!” Twilight called, and tried to get up.

“Whoa! Wait-a-minute!” Pinkie exclaimed, clinging to Twilight in an effort to avoid getting dumped on the floor.

"Spike!” Twilight called again, and in a sudden flash of light, she was vanished, reappearing at the door and running outside.

“Aw poo…” Pinkie pouted, before landing butt first on the ground. “Owie.” With a sigh she tilted over onto her back, arms and legs out stretched, and glared at the ceiling. “Just when it was getting good too. What is with today?” She bit her lip in thought. Then she blinked, and slowly ran the tip of her tongue over her lips. “Mmmm…raspberry chapstick…” she crooned appreciatively, before bursting out in a fit of giggles. Well, whatever else happened, she had at least gotten to get Twilight through her kiss firsties, and had certainly gotten the mare’s attention.

Spike was going to be a complication though, one Pinkie had completely forgotten about. The little guy doted on Twilight, and had gotten jealous of her attention before. Trying to work around him without upsetting him promised to be tricky.

Pinkie reached into one of her pockets…and then another…and then yet another before she managed to locate her notes. She glanced over her plans for Twilight, but couldn’t see any spot to fit in a clingy little dragon. Promising herself she’d give it some thought later, she shuffled the pages until she found what she was looking for.

“Hmmm, I wonder what Dashy tastes like?” Pinkie mused. Then she frowned. “Oh, I hope it’s not rainbows, that’d take a lot of water…”

Chapter 3

Rainbow Dash was woken from her afternoon nap by an odd, rhythmic squeaking sound. Her sleep addled brain first tried to reject the intrusion and return to slumber, but the noise was gradually getting louder and louder, and her efforts to ignore it were rapidly losing ground. She rolled over, pulling a large fluffy section of cloud over her head in a last, desperate attempt to deny the waking world, but the sound refused to be defeated by such an insubstantial barrier.

Sitting up with a groan of frustration, Dash blinked her blurry eyes and looked around for the source of the noise. To her right was nothing but a broad expanse of clear, bright blue sky. Which was as it should be, as she had spent half the morning clearing out all the clouds except for the small bit she had pressed into service as a flying hammock. She glanced to her left…and promptly fell out of her cloud in shock at finding Pinkie Pie’s grinning face only some few inches from hers.

She didn’t fall far before instinct took over and her wings snapped out to catch the rushing air. The drop turned into a sloping glide, and a few powerful wing beats added the extra speed needed to propel her back up to her cloud, and the bizarre helibiketer contraption that her weirdest friend was peddling.

“Hi Dashy!” Pinkie called out.

“Pinkie Pie!” Dash yelled in annoyance as she swooped around. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry!” Pinkie said, though the unwavering grin on her face suggested she wasn’t.

“What do you want?” Dash asked as she dropped back onto her cloud, plopping down on her back.

“Wanted to see what you were up to,” Pinkie replied brightly.

“Nothing,” Dash told her, wiggling a bit to try and settle back into the sky fluff.

“Excellent,” Pinkie exclaimed. “Cause I got a new batch of joke goods I’ve been wanting to try out and…”

“Nonono,” Dash interrupted. “Nothing is what I’m up to. And I’d like to get back to it.” With that she rolled over, facing away from Pinkie.

“Awww, come on,” Pinkie wheedled. “I got some great stuff, mail ordered enchanted things.”

Despite herself, Dash couldn’t help glancing back over her shoulder. “I don’t know Pinkie, I think I’d really rather…”

“I have chalk that makes fun of the person trying to write with it,” Pinkie interrupted in a cajoling singsong, holding out the seemingly innocent white stick.

“No way, that’s hilar…I mean, that’s neat, but…”

The chalk vanished into a bag that Pinkie pulled from…somewhere. Dash wasn’t really sure where the bag had been before it was in Pinkie’s hand, and she wasn’t about to try and figure it out. When it came to Pinkie, Dash had learned long ago it was better to just accept and not question.

“I have an unfillable glass,” Pinkie continued, pulling a wine goblet from the bag.

“Unfillable?” Dashed asked, sitting up to look.

“It teleports whatever liquid is poured in it back into the container it came from.”

“Hahaha! Oh that is…uh, pretty good I guess,” Dash finished with a forced nonchalant manner, which earned her a knowing grin from Pinkie. The glass went back in the bag, and out came a small, black orb with what looked like dragonfly wings.

“What’s that?” Dash asked, unable to keep her interest from coloring her words.

“Exactly!” Pinkie said with a wicked smile.

“Huh?”

“It’s a ‘What’s That?’. It hovers behind the target’s head and keeps darting into their peripheral vision for a split second.”

Even biting her lip couldn’t keep Dash from chortling at the thought.

“Soooooo…” Pinkie cajoled.

“Well…oh fine, let’s do it!”

“Woo!”

Rainbow Dash quickly decided that missing out on prime napping time was more than worth it for the fun that followed. The insulting chalk was a big hit for Cheerilee’s class, who had returned from recess expecting a boring afternoon of math. Instead they were treated to several moments of completely hilarious chaos as their teacher fought an ever increasingly desperate battle, first to try and write the correct answers, then to avoid adding in snarky comments about how boring math was, and then finally just to keep her chalkboard clear of things little foals shouldn’t see as the chalk pried itself entirely from her grasp and began writing all on its own.

Between badly stifled laughs that would have still been perfectly audible if not for the raucous chortling and giggling of the class room, Dash found herself giving Cheerilee a fair bit of credit. For a simple earth mare of a teacher, she could move pretty quickly when motivated. Not quite quick enough to snatch hold of the chalk before it wrote itself down to a nub, but she wielded the blackboard eraser as if in a fencing match, parrying each dirty word or rude commentary with deft if frantic grace.

She then collapsed into her chair as if she’d actually been in a sparring match, the final bit of chalk having been smashed under foot when the magic petered out. Somewhat disheveled and flushed in the face, Cheerilee barely had the energy left to look pleasantly surprised when her class room shifted from roaring laughter to enthusiastic applause, the young foals apparently as impressed with their teacher’s prowess as they had been amused by the prank.

The unfillable glass however didn’t quite live up to expectations. While it certainly worked just as advertised, it only took a second attempt at filling the glass before Berrypunch just tossed the troublesome object aside and took her drink straight from the container. Sadly, the enchantment upon the joke good did not make it any more durable than the average glass, and it did not survive its disposal. It did however shatter with a detonation more akin to a firework than a breaking glass, and thus got its vengeance as Berrypunch snorted half her swig right out her noise as she tried to shriek in surprise. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie agreed that the unexpected but hilarious results meant the glass broke even.

The What’s That quickly and effortlessly picked up the slack though, and was all the better for being easy to use and endlessly reusable. By the time the sun was edging towards the horizon, turning the sky a deep red, both Dash and Pinkie were nearly exhausted from laughing. Half the fun was in trying to guess just how each victim was likely to react, from calmly and nonchalantly trying to figure out what was going on to spinning and flailing wildly in attempts to locate the tiny tormenter. The only dud attempt was on Granny Smith, who never even noticed the What’s That and yet still somehow managed to swat it out of the air with her purse while gesturing wildly at Junebug.

The bewinged little orb went slightly wild after that, buzzing its way through town in a fury as it proceeded to start dive bombing people. The results were a bit more chaotic than either Pinkie or Dash had intended, but none the less it was amusing to watch an entire street grind to a halt as people ducked, dodged, and weaved to try and avoid the angry little orb. The incident only ended when Scootaloo came rocketing down the road on her scooter, and promptly swallowed the What’s That when she failed to duck in time.

“Whoopies,” Pinkie half chortled, half groaned.

“Uh oh,” Dash echoed. “Hope the little squirt’s okay.”

“I’m sure she’s fine…magic’s nontoxic right?” Pinkie asked.

“You see a horn on my head?” Dash asked back. “Heck if I know.”

“…Twilight?” Pinkie inquired.

“Twilight.” Dash agreed.

“She swallowed a what?”

“No, a What’s That,” Pinkie corrected, earning a mild glare. “It’s little magical orb with wings that…” Pinkie started to add, but Twilight forestalled the explanation with a raised hand.

“I know what it is, it was just surprising to…never mind.”

“Am I going to be alright?” Scootaloo interjected.

“You’ll be fine,” Twilight assured the filly. “It’s a solid magical device, nothing in your system can break down the outer shell, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Um…” Pinkie hedged.

“Oh boy…” Dash echoed.

“…of course,” Twilight sighed. “What happened?”

“Well…Granny Smith might of whacked the thing, just a little bit, with her purse,” Pinkie said through a nervous grin.

“Did she crack the shell?”

“No idea,” Dash answered. “It took off wild after that, started buzzing people like an angry hornet.”

“I guess we’d better get it out of her, just to be safe then,” Twilight said, walking over to one of the many shelves of books in the library and searching the spines.

“I’m going to die, aren’t I?” Scootaloo asked.

“Maybe,” Dash replied.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight admonished, turning to glare at the sky colored woman.

“What!” Dash exclaimed defensively.

“She’s going to be fine,” Twilight grated out. “Right Dash?”

“Right, of course,” Dash agreed nervously.

“Really?” Scootaloo asked.

“Uh yeah, certainly,” Dash told the filly. “And hey, you might end up with a wicked scar.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight repeated with rising exasperation.

“What!” Dash exclaimed again. “Scars are cool.”

“Heck yeah!” Scootaloo agreed happily.

“Ugh!” Twilight groaned. She yanked a book from the shelf and started flipping through it. “I’m not going to cut her open like a chicken,” she told them.

"But then how are you going to…?” Dash began.

“Duh!” Twilight interrupted, waving the book at her. “Magic!”

“Wait, so I swallowed that dumb thing and I won’t even get a cool scar to show for it?” Scootaloo protested.

“Maybe we could get you a magic scar,” Dash suggested.

“No scars!” Twilight insisted, earning a disappointed groan from both pegasi.

Pinkie meanwhile did her best to just stay out of the way and avoid distracting Twilight while she worked her magic on Scootaloo. Sitting still and quiet was not exactly her greatest skill however, and Pinkie thus found herself pacing along the walls and trying not to stare too intently at Twilight’s back. Or backside.

The unicorn had given a moment’s hesitation and what might have been a slight blush when Pinkie had shown back up on her doorstep, but that instant had passed quickly enough when Dash had held Scootaloo out towards Twilight like the poor filly had some kind of horribly contagious disease that she was afraid of catching.

Since then Twilight had been behaving as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred between them, and Pinkie wasn’t going to push the issue, not until Scootaloo was seen to anyway. Once the filly was better and on her way though…that thought however just made it all the more difficult to remain quietly in the background, until she was practically vibrating with all the impatient squirming she was going through.

“And there!” Twilight said with modest pride, as the What’s That suddenly materialized in a white and pink flash right in her outstretched hand. “Ewww…” she added, dropping the wet and sticky object onto the table.

“Woohoo!” Pinkie exploded in celebration and general relief at not having to hold herself in check anymore. “Knew you could do it Twilight!” She bounced about the room, tossing handfuls of confetti into the air.

“Uh, thanks?” Twilight replied, somewhat bemused. “It wasn’t that difficult really.”

“So…” Scootaloo began. “That was it? No…”

“No,” Twilight interrupted. “No scar. You’ll have to earn one falling off your scooter doing some crazy trick or something.”

“Oooo, good idea. Thanks Twilight!” Scootaloo said cheerfully, making a dash for the door.

“Whoa! Hey! That was not a suggestion!” Twilight called after, her horn lighting up. Her attempt to yank the young pegasus back was thwarted as Pinkie bounced between her and her target, and she ended up snagging the hyperactive mare instead.

“Whoahohoho!” Pinkie exclaimed as she floated in midair, her momentum sending her into an off center spin. “This makes…the room…look all…” she remarked as each rotation brought her around to face Twilight. “…lopsided…and I can…”

“Pinkie!” Twilight admonished, turning her around right side up and dropping her to the floor. “We need to go stop her before she does something dangerous!”

“Chillax Twi,” Dash spoke up. “I’m sure the little squirt isn’t going to really fall off her scooter on purpose.”

“What makes you so certain?”

“Cause I’ve been where she is. Trust me, crashing on purpose is lot harder than doing it by accident. Your body fights you when you try it.”

“I’m kind of worried that you say that like you have firsthand experience.”

“Is Spike around?” Pinkie broke in before Dash to reply, earning a momentarily baffled look from Twilight as her brain took a second to process the sudden change in topic.

“Uh, no. He’s helping Rarity. Something about custom cutting some gems or…” she trailed off as her addled mind came back up to speed, and took note of both the smile on Pinkie’s face, and her proximity. “Um…why do you ask?”

“Silly,” Pinkie cooed as she bounded to her feet, landing decidedly well inside Twilight’s personal bubble. “Wanted to make sure we don’t get interrupted again.”

“Again?” Twilight managed to squeak out as Pinkie’s arms found their way around her hips, pulling the two of them firmly together.

“Again!” Rainbow Dash echoed with startled disbelief.

“Oh, right…Dashy…” Pinkie commented as if she’d forgotten all about the other mare.

“Wait a minute!” Dash exclaimed. “You two are…you and Pinkie are…how long has this been going on!”

“Uh…about five hours now I think,” Twilight replied.

“Five…hours?” Dash repeated at a more moderate tone. “So you just hooked up…”

“Today!” Pinkie finished brightly. “I’m starting a herd.”

“You’re…you…whoa…” Dash managed.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Twilight said drily.

“So uh…who all is in this herd?” Dash pressed.

“Well so far it’s me and Twilight,” Pinkie supplied. “And Big Mac”

“What!”

“Well after we slept together, it just seemed like the right thing to do,” Pinkie continued calmly.

“No way, you got some of…you…YOU bagged Mac!” Dash exclaimed in disbelief, just staring wide eyed at the beaming pink mare. Then she gave a sudden laugh. “Whoa girl, you are awesome!” She walked over to the pair and stuck out her fist, which Pinkie promptly rapped with her own knuckles.

“Awww, thanks Dashy.”

“So…you, Twilight, and Mac…”

“And you,” Pinkie quickly interjected.

“…me?” Dash asked, taken aback.

“If you want to,” Pinkie said with uncustomary softness.

“Uh, duh, yes!” Dash exclaimed.

“Woohoo!” Pinkie burst out, making Twilight flinch and clap a hand over one ear. The bubbly mare practically launched herself from one friend to the other, catching Dash up in a sudden rib bruising hug. “Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!”

“Hold on now,” Twilight complained, still rubbing at her abused ear. “Just like that?”

“Just like what now?” Dash half gasped as she tried to loosen Pinkie’s death lock.

“Just like that! Without even a moment’s thought?”

“Uh…” Dash said, managing to slide her wings down inside Pinkie’s arms and lever them slightly apart. “What is there to think about?”

“…ugh! You two are made for each other,” Twilight grumbled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dash asked defensively.

“Girls girls,” Pinkie broke in. “No fighting, this is time for a celebration!”

“But…but she…” Twilight protested.

“Do you not want Dashy in our herd?” Pinkie asked sweetly.

“No, I mean yes, I mean…of course I do!”

“Well now she’s in, so why fuss?”

“I…she…because…agh!” Twilight sputtered, throwing her hands up.

“Geez, how long did you have to discuss things before she agreed to join?” Dash asked Pinkie.

“Oh, I gave up talking with her and tried some alternative methods,” Pinkie answered.

“Like what?”

“Uh…like this!” Pinkie stated, and promptly kissed Dash. In turn, Pinkie was nearly knocked on her butt as Dash’s wings snapped open in surprise, flinging her arms up and back and leaving her windmilling for balance.

“Whoops!” Dash quipped, grabbing hold of Pinkie’s shirt and pulling her back to firm footing. “Heh, sorry about that, you just surprised me.”

“I swear,” Pinkie complained playfully. “I cannot get a good kiss today without something interrupting it.”

Dash’s response was to pull Pinkie in close and lay her own kiss on the bubble mare. Which she broke off after just a few seconds.

“Awww…” Pinkie whined.

“Hold up,” Dash said, running a tongue over her own lips. “Okay, please tell me you have on flavored chapstick or something, because if you actually taste like cupcakes…well that’d just be a little weird, even for you.”

“Hehehe,” Pinkie giggled. “Why don’t you get another taste and find out?”

“Well…” Dash said, leaning back in…and then paused to glance over at Twilight, who was watching the pair with a certain degree of wide eyed, rosy cheeked interest. “You just going to watch, or are you going to join in?”

“Well I…uh, isn’t this going a little fast?” Twilight muttered.

“Fast is my middle name,” Dash replied.

“I thought it was Danger,” Twilight retorted.

“Rainbow ‘Fast Danger’ Dash!” Dash agreed, earning an eye roll. “And why wait? I mean come on, you telling me you’ve never thought about doing something like this with one of us?”

Twilight’s response was to glance down at the floor as her face heated.

“Thought so,” Dash smirked.

“Yeah well, there’s a lot of a difference between a bit of day dreaming and the real thing,” Twilight mumbled.

“Yeah, the real thing is way better,” Dash said.

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight sighed. “Have you even given any consideration to just what joining a herd, a herd formed of friends no less, really involves?”

“No Twilight,” Dash replied with a roll of her eyes. “I’m jumping into this with my eyes shut and my fingers in my ears. Of course I have.”

“Yeah, and?” Twilight demanded.

“And the idea scares the feathers off me alright,” Dash said stiffly. “You think I don’t know what could happen if this falls through? Why do you think I haven’t jumped any of you before now?”

“Uh…” Twilight said, taken aback. “Well I don’t know. I mean, I guess I figured I wasn’t really your type, and as for the others…”

“Not my type?” Dash interrupted. “Twilight, first off I don’t have a type. Second off, why would I have been checking you out all this time if you didn’t…”

“Doing what now!” Twilight broke in.

“…wait, seriously?” Dash asked, looking stunned. “You really never caught me sneaking a peek at you?”

“No!” Twilight said abashed. “When…when have you…”

“All the time,” Pinkie jumped in. “She really likes your butt,” she added in a loud whisper, to which Dash nodded unashamedly.

“How did I keep missing that?” Twilight asked, stunned.

“Probably because your butt is behind you,” Pinkie provided helpfully, earning a sigh from Twilight and chuckle from Dash.

“So you…really think I’m…”Twilight struggled for the words.

“Twilight, you are the hottest nerd I know,” Dash proclaimed.

“Uh, thanks?” Twilight replied uncertainly.

“No prob,” Dash said, oblivious.

“…I’m sorry,” Twilight sighed, rubbing at her forehead. “This is just…kind of a lot for me.”

“Really?” Dash asked. “Huh, I would have figured Celestia would have gotten you more…”

“Whoa!” Twilight broke in. “What does the princess have to do with any of this?”

“…well I mean…” Dash said, her mind working to catch up with the unexpected words. “You and her were…you know…”

“No, I don’t ‘know’,” Twilight retorted.

“I always thought you two were lovers,” Dash told her.

“What!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Hey, I was impressed,” Dash said defensively. “I mean come on, Celestia? Perfect ten. No, scratch that, beyond perfect twelve.”

“No Dash,” Twilight groaned. “Just…no…”

“Oh…well then who was your first?”

“…nobody.”

“What!” Dash exclaimed. “You’re still a virgin?”

“Why is that so surprising?” Twilight demanded.

“Uh, cause you’re like, hot,” Dash supplied.

“Yeah, sure…” Twilight scoffed.

“Hey, I’m being serious!” Dash said hotly. “I mean yeah, you’re a bookworm egghead and all that, but you are a fine looking mare, and you got serious chops girl.”

“Serious what?”

“Chops. Talent, skill, mojo,” Dash elaborated. “Celestia’s number one student? Even if you and her never hooked up, that’s a major endorsement. I mean really, what was wrong with everyone in Canterlot that no one made a move on you?”

“I…I think they thought the same thing you did,” Twilight said softly. “That Celestia had claim on my love life, and no one wanted to risk messing with the princess’s property.”

“Oh…”Dash said simply. “Okay yeah, fair point…but you could have set them straight.”

“Yeah well…” Twilight hedged. “Maybe…maybe I didn’t want to. Maybe I liked having everyone think I was special to the princess like that. Maybe…maybe I wished it might really happen…” she finished somewhat bitterly.

“Twilight…” Dash faltered.

“But that was just a dream,” Twilight plowed on. “A silly filly dream. I’m not good enough for her.”

“Hey, you’re good enough for anyone,” Dash insisted.

“Oh come on Dash, you’re just saying that.”

“Am not!” Dash shot back, stepping up to Twilight and jabbing her in the sternum with a finger. “If I say you’re hot, I mean it! And if I say you’re good enough for a princess, I mean that too!”

Twilight’s expression cycled through shock, annoyance, and consideration before slowly returning to bitter acceptance.

“Yeah, then how come all she ever saw of me was my horn?”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Dash said sarcastically. “I didn’t realize.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Hey Pinkie, you got any balloons and streamers for a pity party? Cause Twilight’s hosting a big one here.”

“Dashy,” Pinkie said in shock.

“Excuse me!” Twilight protested.

“You heard me,” Dash told Twilight, jabbing her in the chest again.

“Stop that!” Twilight yelled, swatting at Dash’s hand, but missing.

“Then you stop being all pathetic and ‘poor me’. You are incredible Twilight, and I will not have anyone saying otherwise, not even you.” Dash poked Twilight again. “So there!”

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight grated, her horn lighting up.

“Try me bookworm,” Dash taunted, a sudden grin on her face.

“Girls!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Duck and cover Pinkie,” Dash warned, and poked at Twilight again.

The jab never reached its target. Halfway there, Dash’s hand was seized by a gentle but powerful force that quickly immobilized her entire arm.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing,” Twilight said crossly.

“I’m trying to get through that thick head of yours,” Dash said, blowing a raspberry. Then she kicked out, catching the side of one of Twilight’s feet and sweeping it right into the other. The surprised unicorn dropped on her butt, and she lost her hold on Dash’s arm.

“Dash!” Twilight snarled, rubbing her behind as she struggled back to her feet.

“Pokey pokey pokey,” Dash said cheerfully, tapping Twilight on the head with each word, and then darting off to the side as the glow of magic erupted around the purple mare’s horn again. Dash hopped, her wings beating in a trio of rapid strokes, and she alighted upon a bookcase on the far wall. “Too slow!”

“Arrrgh!” Twilight growled, and half the books on the shelves behind her floated into the air.

“Come on, right here!” Dash taunted, turning sideways and slapping herself on the rump. “Take your bestwhoa!” She barely managed to dodge the first barrage as Twilight hurled a good dozen heavy tomes her way. Dash sprang off the shelf, hugging the high ceiling as another blast of books shot her way in a rapid fire stream.

Rainbow Dash folded herself near in half as she streaked at the wall, flipping at the last second to plant her feet firmly on the surface, and paused just long enough to let gravity start pulling at her. Then she kicked off, now oriented partway downward. Books slammed into the spot she vacated just an instant later, but the stream failed to follow her immediately, and Dash smirked. Twilight had been expecting her to keep up high, and had thrown the next few books anticipating where she thought Dash would be, not expecting the sudden change.

Dash twisted to reorient herself upright and landed in a shoulder roll, popping up to her feet right next to Pinkie Pie…who gave a shriek of alarm and dove under a chair as Twilight manage to readjust her aim. Dash held her ground, slapping aside the first book projectile with a wing, ducking the second, and catching the third in hand.

“That all you got?” Dash taunted, tossing the book over one shoulder with negligent disdain. The glow around Twilight’s horn intensified. The books on the shelves on either side of Dash, all of them, were suddenly surrounded by the telltale hue of Twilight’s magical grip.

“Whoa!” Dash gasped as well over two hundred books launched at her at the same instant, forming twin walls that sought to catch her between them. Legs and wings snapped into sudden, frantic motion, propelling her forward…right into the burst of fresh bookfire from the stash already hovering around Twilight. Dash brought her arms up to shield her face and plowed on through the leather bound ammo, streaking out from between the crushing walls just as they slammed together in a thundering crash.

Twilight gasped as Dash came right at her through the stream of books. She tried to backpedal, but there just wasn’t time. The pegasus closed the distance before she could take a full step, landing right before her, hands darting out. She tried to grab Dash with her magic, but she was carrying too much weight with it to react with any speed or grace.

Dash seized her, yanking her off balance…and slamming home a kiss right on her open mouth. There was a sudden rumbling as the entire load of books she’d been levitating crashed, her spell broken by complete shock. Twilight was only vaguely aware of the background noise though, as a flood of sensation and emotion slammed their way into her awareness and made a good show of kicking everything else out the door.

Dash didn’t kiss like Pinkie did. Pinkie had been soft, gentle, and inviting. Both kisses she’d gotten from Pinkie had been things of comforting warmth. Rainbow Dash’s kiss was a thing of scorching heat, fierce and nearly overwhelming, a sudden blast of pleasure that shot right through her. The intensity of it literally knocked her on her backside as Dash let her go, and she failed to find her balance again before she found herself sitting in a daze on the floor.

“Whoooo,” Dash sighed, plopping down on the ground right beside Twilight, and looking far too smugly satisfied with herself. “Good show Twi,” she said earnestly, examining her forearms, which were already starting to darken with bruising. “Lucky for me those were just books.”

“I…wha…you…huh…” Twilight replied.

“Feeling better?” Dash asked brightly.

“A little?” Twilight answered uncertainly. “More confused though.”

Dash shrugged. “You seemed to have had some frustrations you needed to work out, given how quickly you got heated up over the princess issue.”

“I do not have any…” Twilight started to protest, but Dash just snorted and turned her gaze upon the room.

Twilight glanced around at the war zone that had replaced her library. “…okay, maybe a little…” She reluctantly admitted.

“Heh,” Dash smirked, laying an arm across Twilight’s shoulder. “Look, I get that whatever happened, or didn’t happen, between you and Celestia isn’t what you wanted. But being all mopey and whiny about it isn’t going to do you any good. Especially when it makes you start doubting your own worth.”

“I know…” Twilight sighed. “But I mean, I just don’t feel all that…”

“Don’t make me poke you again,” Dash warned, cutting her off. Twilight blinked at her, and then gave a small twitch. Another twitch followed, then a sharp exhale, and finally Twilight dissolved into a series of rocking laughter.

“I think you broke her,” Pinkie commented as she cautiously crawled out from under cover, keeping to all fours as she approached the pair. She eyed Twilight uncertainly.

“I-I’m f-f-fine,” Twilight giggled, stuffing her fist against her lips as she tried to bring herself under control.

“You sure?” Pinkie demanded.

“Y-yeah,” Twilight choked out. “I’m okay. And I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Dash asked, perplexed.

“For being down on myself, and for letting myself get provoked so easily.”

“Oh please,” Dash said dismissively. “No harm, no foul.”

“No harm,” Twilight repeated, a bit of distress coming into her words. She took Dash’s hand and used it to turn her arm, showing off the discoloration where the books had impacted.

“Eh,” Dash said lightly. “Done far worse to myself. It’ll heal.”

“But…”

“No buts,” Dash overrode. “I pushed you on purpose, I earned these.”

“Still wasn’t right of me to throw books at you.”

“Could have been worse,” Dash said easily. “Could have been the furniture, or heck, whole sections of the building given how strong your magic is. Or…” Dash fake trembled. “ You could have thrown Pinkie Pie.”

“She wouldn’t have,” Pinkie gasped, eying Twilight suspiciously. “…right?”

“Of course not,” Twilight assured her as Dash chuckled to herself.

“So, now what?” Dash asked.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked back.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Dash prompted.

“…no,” Twilight said after a heavy pause. “Not just yet anyway.”

“S’cool,” Dash said. “Whenever you feel like it though…”

“Yeah. Thanks Dash.”

“What are friends…” Dash paused. “What are herd-wives for?” She amended.

“Getting a little ahead of yourself there,” Twilight said, though with a smile. “We still need to be Bonded first.”

“Bah, details,” Dash said dismissively.

“You can’t ‘bah’ a detail like that,” Twilight insisted.

“B…ah,” Dash repeated, enunciating extra heavily.

“Holy Sun and Moon!” Pinkie suddenly exclaimed, so loudly that both other girls jumped. “The Bonding Ceremony! I completely forgot about that!” She beamed at them in that way only Pinkie Pie can. “Do you have any idea how awesome of a party that’ll be!”

“Uh, totally amazariffic?” Dash ventured.

“With you involved Pinkie, I’m sure it will be a celebration no one will soon forget,” Twilight said brightly.

“Oh oh oh oh oh!” Pinkie said excitedly. “Ideas! So many ideas, I should start planning! No! Wait, I need to finish gathering our friends! But, ideas! What if I forget! Mustn’t forget! Must! Give! All!”

“Ahem,” Twilight coughed. “There’s a quill and some parchment on my desk…”

“Good thinking!” Pinkie exclaimed, bounding over to the indicated furnishing and seizing the writing implements.

“Well, that’ll keep her busy a while I guess,” Twilight said.

“Probably,” Dash agreed. “Soooo…guess we’ll have to find some way to pass the time.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said with complete obliviousness to Dash’s tone. “I think I’d better get started picking this mess up. Spike will have a complete fit if he comes back and finds…”

Twilight cut off as Dash leaned in and planted another kiss on her. It wasn’t the blazing inferno of the first kiss, but it carried plenty of heat. Her heart, which had just managed to calm down after the book battle, nearly thumped its way out of her chest as Dash pulled her in tight, the pegasus’s arms snaking around her body, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other resting firmly against the small of her back.

“Rain…” Twilight managed to pant out when Dash released her lips some indeterminate time later, only to break off in a sharp gasp as the mare’s lips came down on the side of her neck. Her body tried to jerk away from the sudden intensity of the sensation, but Dash held her in place with surprising strength.

“…bow…” The word came out in a quiver as Dash left a heated trail of kisses, nips, and licks down the length of her neck.

“Dash!” Twilight shuddered as the Pegasus bit down upon the slope of her neck. One of Dash’s hands came around and hooked a finger into the collar of her shirt, tugging it slowly down. Those delightful lips followed the line of descending cloth, kissing the freshly exposed skin. Buttons popped open with precise twists of Dash’s fingers, parting the obstructing fabric.

“Wait…” Twilight gasped, writhing gently under the sensation. “D-dash…wait…I’m…” The line of kisses reached her sternum, and started to drift to one side. “Wait!”

“Whoa!” Dash cried indignantly as she was suddenly hauled up several feet into the air. She struggled for a second before reason caught up with her shock. She glanced down at Twilight, whose face was glowing nearly as brightly as her horn, one hand pressed against her heaving chest as she tried to slow her breathing. “…so, too fast?”

“Sorry,” Twilight panted. “Yeah, a little fast for me.”

“My bad,” Dash said. “It’s just...really been wanting to do something like that with you for ages now.”

“That’s okay,” Twilight replied levelly, though her blush didn’t lighten at all. “Do you think, maybe we could try that again? From the beginning?” She gently lowered Dash back to the floor.

“Sure thing,” Dash answered with a wicked grin. “I’ll let you lead this time, k?”

“Okay,” Twilight whispered, scooting over to Dash and tentatively placing her hands on the mare’s shoulders. She leaned in slowly, hesitantly, her eyes locked on Dash’s, utterly focused on the other woman.

Which is why it was a complete surprise when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, and warm breath spill across her ear.

“Hey now,” Pinkie said in a soft, cheerful voice. “Don’t forget about me.”

“Wait your turn,” Dash admonished playfully. “This kiss is mine.”

“Alright, but I get the next one,” Pinkie allowed.

“…well?” Dash prompted, and Twilight took a deep breath. Then, with Pinkie still pressed to her back, she leaned in, and her lips found Dash’s…

Chapter 4

The final departing glow of the sun faded from the horizon, and the brightest of the stars were beginning to appear in the clear night sky. A lone wind stirred through the otherwise still air, plucking a few leaves from the orchard of Sweet Apple Acres before gusting across the simple path leading up to the Apple family homestead. The breeze kicked up a puff of dust as it cut over the trail, ghosted across the short cropped grass, and slipped in through the half open door of the barn. Inside it danced by the short, bright flame of the single lantern that hung from a post, causing flickering shadows to play across the walls.

Big Macintosh glanced up at the disturbance for an absent second, then back down at his work. He was kneeling beside one of the many twin wheeled carts they used for hauling stuff around with, usually apples, or barrels containing apples, or various baked goods…containing apples. One of the wooden wheels was cracked, the split running nearly to the hub.

Mac paused for a moment, giving some consideration to dealing with the repair tomorrow. It was late, he was tired and hungry, and it wasn’t exactly vital to get this one cart fixed tonight. He could put it off, go get changed, clean up, and see what Granny Smith had worked up for dinner. He could…

With a resigned sigh, Mac took hold of the offending wheel in both hands and began to twist and pull, working it bit by bit off the axle. Leaving a job unfinished just didn’t sit right with him, even if it did mean putting off clean clothes and good food.

He did wish another breeze would find its way on by. It had been a warm day, and the night was heavy and muggy. Even with the door half open, it was just a bit too warm in the barn. Enough so to make him pause in his labor to strip off his shirt.

“Oooooo…” a voice cooed, and Mac nearly fell over in shock. He spun around to find Pinkie Pie sitting atop a stack of hay bales, elbows on knees, chin in hand. She gave giggle at his reaction, rocking back and forth slightly as her eyes made a visible journey down and up his body.

“Pinkie,” Mac breathed in exasperation. He was about to ask her how long she’d been watching him when he noticed she wasn’t alone. Rainbow Dash leaned against the side of the bale stack, eying him just as blatantly, and displaying her interest even more overtly. There was almost a predatory intensity in the way she seemed to be evaluating him.

Further back, halfway between the barn doors and the bales, Twilight Sparkle stood, only partially illuminated by the lantern light. She seemed to be busy looking everywhere but at him. Her eyes flicked up, scanning over him for a brief instant, and then back at the floor. Her shoulders hunched just a bit, and she shifted from one foot to the other nervously.

“Uh, howdy ladies…” Mac said, more out of reflex than anything else. The simple labor of the repair had let his mind wander freely, and it was taking a moment to hurry back to its post. “Can I help you?”

The question brought a rather inappropriate sounding giggle out Pinkie, and Dash was suddenly busy stifling her own laughter with a hand.

Mac sighed and folded his arms to wait for them to compose themselves. He wanted to put his shirt back on, but that would probably ruin the patiently stoic effect he was trying to hide his nervousness behind. He glanced over at Twilight, who hadn’t joined in the laughter, but rather seemed even more intently focused on the floor.

He turned his gaze back, and found Pinkie about three inches away from him. He started in surprise, but at least managed not to give into the sudden instinct to step back. She grinned up at him brightly.

“We’re coming along nicely,” she informed him. “Dashy and Twilight are on-board.”

Mac blinked at her for a second, then comprehension sunk in. He glanced over Pinkie at Dash, and then over at Twilight. Comprehension brought a whole host of thoughts along with it. This was really happening. Somehow it had seemed just a bit too surreal, a bit too unbelievable when it had just been Pinkie talking about forming a herd with him and her friends. It had been easy to dismiss it all as just Pinkie being Pinkie, and to hope she’d just forget about it all in a few days.

Only now he had Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle standing before him, apparently ready and willing to actually take part in this plan, to help make Pinkie’s should-be-crazy idea a reality. And given the looks they were giving him, they weren’t just signing up for the sake of their friendship with Pinkie.

“They…want to join?” Mac asked, some part of him just unwilling to accept things.

“How about you ask us?” Dash spoke up before Pinkie could answer. “If we’re going to be part of the same herd, you should talk to us directly, not through Pinkie.”

“She’s got a point,” Pinkie said thoughtfully, and slipped off to one side as Dash strode forward, planting herself before Mac. She crossed her arms in a belligerent fashion, her wings spread wide behind her, and glared up at him. Everything about her stance was a challenge directed right at him.

“Rainbow Dash…” Mac started, but his words faltered. It was silly really, looking down at her trying, and somewhat succeeding, in intimidating him. She was so short, barely reaching his sternum. And that didn’t faze her in the slightest. Tiny, but fierce.

And a woman. As much as he knew that intellectually, Mac realized he had never really seen Dash as a woman emotionally, or aesthetically. She pulled off the boisterous tomboy routine so well that he had just simply failed to really notice her feminine traits. But they stood up and slapped him in the face right then and there.

For a panicked second, Mac felt himself being paralyzed by the realization. Dash was a very attractive young mare; that she did nothing to highlight or draw attention to her looks only made the sudden awareness of her appeal hit harder. Her beauty was a subtle one, partly hidden by her athletic build, at least until he truly noticed it. Once his mind applied the feminine traits he had been overlooking to the whole image, he realized just how well the smooth, firm tone of her arms and legs added to her appearance.

The realization didn’t do his nerves any favors, and he felt his mouth going dry, and an unpleasant tingling dancing down his arms until his fingers twitched. Anxiety about what he was about to do, about to say, threatened to choke his words off entirely.

He welcomed the feeling.

Mac’s mouth didn’t run near as fast or free as Applejack’s, so it wasn’t as obvious that he had inherited his own share of stubborn pride and unwavering determination. It was there, a bit more buried and patient than his sister’s, but no less potent. And it did its best work when he was feeling the pressure.

“Rainbow Dash,” Mac repeated, the words coming out with simple but earnest strength, and he let himself just give his mouth free reign. “I have always admired your strength and fearlessness. You never back down, and you never settle for less than the best you can manage. You speak you mind, bluntly at times, but always truthfully. I would be honored and blessed if you would consent to bring your strength, bravery, and honesty into the family that Pinkie and I are beginning.”

Dash just stared at him, eyes gone a bit wide, mouth just starting to hang open. Pinkie likewise was goggling, and though he couldn’t see her, Mac could feel Twilight’s gaze upon him as well. The moment hung in the air, stretching slowly out, until…

“Uh, yeah,” Dash said, the customary brashness gone from her voice. “I…I’d like that.”

“Then welcome, we’re glad to have you,” Mac said, stepping forward and embracing Dash. She stiffened at first, but gradually the tension went out of her, and wrapped her own arms as far around his broad chest as they would manage, returning the hug.

“Okay, okay,” Dash said after a moment, gently pushing against him, and Mac let her free. She spun away from him, but not so swiftly that he missed the flush of color on her face.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Mac spoke up, turning towards her, confidence in his chosen direction solidifying. His steps fell into the same steady rhythm of his words as he approached her. “Your gift for magic, and the things you are able to do with it, leave me in awe. Yet more amazing is how often and readily you use it to help others, and you never let the power you wield make you proud or condescending.” He came to a stop before her. “I can’t imagine what you’d see in a simple farmhand like me, but I would be humbled to have you, your magic, and your fine judgment join this herd.”

“I…I would…” Twilight half stammered. Then she seemed to take hold of herself, squaring her shoulders and standing up straight, looking him right in the eyes. Her voice adapted a tone suitable for addressing a gathered crowd. “Big Macintosh, you give me too much credit. If anything, I stand in awe of you. Your kindness, your compassion, the unwavering support you give your family. You are a good man, you are dependable, and I would consider myself fortunate to be part of the same herd with such a rare find.”

Then she stepped forward and hugged him before he could react.

“Oh sure, show me up will you?” Dash grumbled, only the have Pinkie give her a playful nudge as Mac returned Twilight’s embrace.

She didn’t push Mac away like Dash, but merely let her hold loosen, and he took the cue to release her. She was however as flush faced as Dash had been, though she didn’t try to hide it.

“Hey, what about me!” Pinkie demanded after a second, hip checking Twilight aside as she bounced enthusiastically in front of Mac. “How come I didn’t get asked like that?”

“Because you asked me, remember?” Mac pointed out.

“Well yeah, but…pleeeaaaase?” Pinkie begged, and Mac had to smile.

“Pinkie Pie…” he began, taking a brief pause to consider his words. “You bring joy and happiness with you wherever you go, and you share it freely and enthusiastically with anyone and everyone. I can’t imagine anyone being able to be unhappy when you’re around…”

Dash gave a slight cough of incredulity, but if anyone heard it, they ignored her.

“…I would be thrilled to have you as part of this herd,” Mac finished.

“I accept,” Pinkie said formally. And then she leaped upon him, arms looping around his neck, and slammed home a fierce kiss. Her legs wrapped around his waist as she pressed fully into the kiss, and it took his suddenly addled mind several seconds to consider putting his arms under her to help support her weight.

Pinkie gave an appreciative giggle as his hands cupped her backside, the sound muffled through the kiss. Her legs squeezed tighter, and her whole body rocked into him, making Mac wish she had latched on a few inches lower.

When she finally let him up for air they were both breathing hard. Pinkie rested her forehead against his, her eyes very bright and eager.

Then something touched Mac’s shoulder, and he glanced over to find Rainbow Dash hovering beside him. Her fingers dug into his shoulder, and her other hand reached out to take his chin. She half leaned in, half pulled him to her, and placed a light kiss on his mouth.

She pulled back, and though her face was still tinted red, there wasn’t any bashfulness in her expression. It was considering, evaluating. It was predatory, hungry. It was eager, excited.

She ducked back in, kissing him again, harder this time. Their lips parted for a second, and she lunged back into at once, her hands wrapping around his face as she explored his mouth with ferocious thoroughness that blasted all but the most base thoughts and desires out of Mac’s head.

At some point Dash managed to squeeze herself in between him and Pinkie. Now it was Dash’s arms about his neck, with Pinkie holding the pegasus pressed up to her chest, giving the earth mare easy access to Dash’s neck, which she gladly helped herself to.

Dash gave a delightful gasp as Pinkie’s teeth pressed gently into the sensitive curve of her neck. As delectable as the sound was, Mac silenced any further outbursts by kissing her again, and she responded with nearly desperate enthusiasm, her moans of pleasure vibrating through his jaw as she worked to force her tongue halfway down his throat.

“You going to join in Twilight?” Pinkie’s voice just barely registered through the Dash delivered daze, but Twilight’s name managed to get through enough for Mac to remember there was a third mare present.

“Uh, that’s okay,” came the nervous reply. “I think I’m just going to sit here and watch.”

“Watch huh?” Dash gasped as she finally pried her lips free. “I never would have taken you for the voyeur type.”

“Voyeur!” Twilight exclaimed in protest.

“You really are a dirtier girl than I would have guessed,” Dash teased.

“Dashy,” Pinkie interrupted. “There are better things you could be doing with that mouth.” She twisted Dash’s head around, kissing her silent.

The pair squirmed in Mac’s arms, and he had to pry some of his attention away from the lovely sight in order not to drop them both. He managed to turn the potential fall into more of a slide as they writhed and slipped out of his arms, setting them both on their feet.

Pinkie shoved Dash back into his chest, pressing up against her until the pegasus was pinned between them. The earth mare shameless indulged herself of the trapped Dash, raining down kisses and licks and nips across her face, lips, and neck. She pressed in so aggressively that Mac had to shuffle back to keep from over balancing, until she managed to back him right up to one of the hay bales.

A final shove knocked him into a seat on the bale, and Dash ended up in his lap, her back plastered to his chest as she gasped for air. Pinkie didn’t let up for a second, and proceeded to straddle the both of them. Her hips rocked, and Dash gasped sharply as she felt something firm and hard press against her rear. Mac echoed her sentiment with a grunt as Pinkie ground down on Dash, and through her, him.

“Feels good, doesn’t she?” Pinkie asked Mac, her eyes bright and intense as she glanced over the top of Dash’s head.

“Very nice,” Mac agreed.

“Good,” Pinkie cooed. “I want you to enjoy my friends as much as I do.” She laid her hands against Dash’s shoulders, pressing the pegasus firmly into Mac as her hips rolled and rocked, pulling mirroring sounds of enjoyment from the both of them.

“How about you Dashy?” Pinkie asked, leaning down to nibble on an ear. “How do you like him?”

“So far so good,” Dash panted with a smirk.

“It gets better,” Pinkie promised, giving her a wink before returning her attention to Mac. “So, you want her?”

“Uh,” Mac managed, taken a bit back by the blunt question. He glanced down at Dash, who was plastered so completely against his front that she had to press a cheek against his chest in order to look up at him.

“Yes…” Dash hissed with subtle intensity.

“Ahem, uh, yes…”

Pinkie giggled and slid down off the pair, her hands trailing slowly down Dash. “Pick her up for me.”

They both blinked at that, but then Mac shrugged and leaned back a little, taking hold of Dash where her wings connected with her back.

“Whoa…” Dash squeaked as Mac lifted her straight up without so much as a grunt of effort.

“Thank you,” Pinkie quipped, slipping a pair of fingers inside the waist of Dash’s shorts, and wiggling them off of her. She tossed the clothing aside, and then repeated the procedure with Dash’s panties.

“Just relax Dashy,” Pinkie told her playfully. “He knows how to be gentle.”

“Who says I want gentle?” Dash asked, earning a snorting chuckle from the earth mare as she leaned in closer to reach around Dash, her hands tracing up the front of Mac’s jeans. A button popped, and there was the soft rasp of a zipper slowly parting.

“A little higher please,” Pinkie prompted, leaning back to make room, and Mac raised his arms until Dash’s firm rear floated before his face.

“Oh come on,” Dash said with obvious disbelief. “I know I’m not the biggest mare around, but that’s just freaky strong.”

“I know!” Pinkie squeed, her eyes running along the lines of muscles of Mac’s arms. “Isn’t he awesome?” She dropped down onto her knees as she finished pulling open the front of Mac’s pants, and pulled down the front of his boxers. She made a rather appreciative sound as she did so, before leaning forward to take a long, slow taste.

“Whoa now!” Dash chirped as Mac nearly dropped her on Pinkie’s head in surprise.

“Sorry,” Mac grunted, lifting her back up. It was not easy to focus with the warm, wet embrace of Pinkie’s mouth sliding along his length.

“Mmmm, that is goooooooood,” Pinkie moaned brightly as she let Mac slip free of her lips with a pop.

“So glad you’re enjoying yourself down there,” Dash said dryly, making Pinkie giggle.

“Guess Dashy is feeling impatient,” she said to Mac, brushing aside the pegasus’s rainbow tail in order to look up at him. “How about you give her what she wants? I’ll play lollipop with you later if you still want it.”

Words completely failed Mac at such a comment, and he was saved the trouble of kicking his libido pummeled mind into action by Pinkie taking his silence as consent. She reached up to take hold of Dash’s legs and gave a little tug, and Mac’s arms responded without bothering to check in for permission.

“Ooooooooh,” Dash gasped as Pinkie gently guided her down, lining her up. She sucked in a breath and held it as she felt Mac bump against her, and then start to press inside. “Oh.My.Gosh. Oh my gosh…oh my gosh oh my gosh ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” He slipped inside her, pressing her apart, filling her up more and more and more and more… “Oh Biiiig Macintosh!”

“I think she’s impressed,” Pinkie stage whispered with a smirk. Mac barely managed a grunt of reply, his attention far more focused on the incredible sensation of Dash’s tight embrace. The rainbow haired mare gave a sharp grunt as he bottomed out.

“Sorry,” he muttered, shifting his grip down so he was supporting her by her rather pleasant rear.

“Less apologizing, more action,” Dash told him as she leaned back into his chest, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. She started to lift herself up, and Mac quickly responded, taking up the slack easily. The casual ease with which he lifted her was incredible, and it left her feeling unusually small and vulnerable. If he hadn’t been such a kind and gentle person, Mac could have been a very scary stallion.

He was kind and gentle however, and the way he held her, the sense of him she got leaning into his chest, made Dash feel safe, protected. There was a comforting sense of security about the big man, that he was willing and more than able to see her taken care of. It was a relaxing, peaceful kind of feeling, as if there was nothing she had to worry about.

That, and he was filling her up inside like no one had ever come close to doing.

“Faster,” she demanded as the rise and fall of her body settled into a sedate rhythm. All that comfort and ease and gentleness was nice and whatever, but that kind of thing was for afterwards. She could enjoy all that when she was laying in his arms, soaked and exhausted and sore. “Faster!”

Pinkie smiled smugly to herself as she sat back, watching as Mac kicked the pace up another notch. She kind of wished he was a bit more aggressive about sex, but at least he took orders well. She’d have to see about getting him to be more forthcoming with what he wanted.

“Speaking of…” Pinkie muttered, turning to glance back at Twilight. The unicorn was watching the coupling couple through her fingers in a mixture of interest, embarrassment, and outright desire. She noticed Pinkie watching her, and flushed furiously as she buried her face in her hands.

The earth mare tried not to smile too much at her friend’s discomfort, but Twilight really was being too cute. She bounced to her feet, skipping on over and plopping down next to her.

“Enjoying the show?” she asked brightly.

“Yes…no! I don’t know!” Twilight said, the words muffled through her palms. “I can’t believe I’m watching this!”

“Well actually you seem to be watching the insides of your hands,” Pinkie pointed out, and Twilight uncovered her face in order subject Pinkie to a glare.

“Might as well enjoy it,” Pinkie said, unfazed. “This is part of being in a herd. We’re going to be doing stuff like this. All. The. Time…” She leaned in towards Twilight bit by bit with the final words.

“I…I know that!” Twilight said in a flustered tone, shrinking away nervously. “But, this just seems so fast. I mean come on, we’ve only officially been a herd for five minutes now.”

“Why wait though?” Pinkie asked.

“Because! Uh…it’s proper…”

“Why?”

“It…I…it just is!” Twilight put her face back in her hands. “That’s a really lame excuse, isn’t it?”

“Maybe a teeny little bit…” Pinkie agreed.

“I don’t know Pinkie. I’m just not ready for this.”

“Twilight,” Pinkie chided gently, sliding an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “No one here is going to make you do anything you don’t want to.”

“I…I know that…but…”

“But?”

“But part of me really wants to go over there and…and…” Twilight’s voice trailed off.

“Get a ride?”

“Pinkie!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Twilight,” Pinkie sighed. “If you can’t even talk about it without getting flustered…”

“I know!” Twilight moaned. “I can’t help it though. Why does this have to be so embarrassing?”

“Because it involves being naked and making some weird faces and noises,” Pinkie supplied. She shrugged. “You just got to go with it. Trust me, it is more than awesome enough to make up for any embarrassment.”

“OH SWEET MOTHER OF CELESTIA YEEEEEEES!” Dash chimed in at that moment.

“See?” Pinkie said, gesturing towards the orgasmic pegasus. “You think Dash is thinking about how embarrassed she should be right now?”

“I’m not sure she’s doing much thinking at all right now,” Twilight replied.

“That’s kind of how sex is,” Pinkie informed her. “You just let go and lose yourself in the moment and enjoy it.”

“I’m not really good at that kind of thing,” Twilight muttered.

“I know,” Pinkie said softly, pulling Twilight into a hug. “But you’ll learn how to. Whatever you need, I’ll help with.”

“Thanks Pinkie,” Twilight said, returning the embrace.

“So, you want to take a turn?” Pinkie asked gently. “I’ll be happy to help along, like I did with Dashy.”

“I…I’m okay,” Twilight said. “I think I just need some time to come to terms with all this.”

“Okie dokie,” Pinkie said, slipping free of the hug and springing to her feet. “You just let me know when and where.” She gave Twilight a wink, and then bounced over towards Mac and Dash. “My turn!” she sing-songed, her clothes going flying off in a near fabric explosion between one hop and the next.

“Aw come on Pinkie,” Dash complained between deep breaths. “Can’t a girl even get five minutes of afterglow time?”

“Awww, but we can all do that together later,” Pinkie whined.

“How about you give the poor guy a moment to recover at least?” Dash insisted, pulling herself in even closer to Mac. “He’s not some kind of sex machine that can be ready for another round just like that…” She paused and glanced up at Mac. “Right? You’re not already good to go again are you, cause I wouldn’t mind if you were to…”

“No,” Mac sighed.

“Right right, just checking,” Dash said lightly, before turning back to Pinkie. “See! Give the poor guy a break already…”

“…alright then…” Pinkie said, her pout turning up into a sly grin. “He gets a break.” She slipped herself back into Dash’s lap, once again straddling the two. “You however…”

“Uh, wait wha-mffp,” Dash was interrupted as Pinkie seized her by the hair and proceeded to find out how far she could force her tongue down her friend’s throat.

Big Macintosh leaned back a little, propped up on his hands, and watched with rather enjoyable interest as Pinkie Pie went after Dash as if the pegasus was coated in chocolate frosting. Still being nestled pleasantly inside of Dash added a truly enjoyable tactile experience to the visual, and it didn’t take more than a few moments of watching and feeling Dash squirm under Pinkie’s roving mouth to find his second wind.

Rainbow Dash certainly didn’t miss it as he began to fill her up again, and her hips began to rock with more rhythm and force…

“Hey hey hey!” Pinkie exclaimed, pulling her lips away from Dash’s chest. “My turn!”

“S-sorry,” Dash half panted. “What’s that? Can’t hear you…”

“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie growled.

“Pinkie Pie,” Mac broke in. “Come here.”

“But…”

“Up here,” Mac repeated, settling back on his elbows.

Pinkie shot Dash a disapproving stare, but climbed off the pegasus and crawled around her to sit next to Mac’s head.

“She’s being greedy,” Pinkie complained.

“I know,” Mac groaned, trying to keep his focus. “But no fighting.” He laid down completely, and took hold of Pinkie by one arm. “Up here,” He said, pulling gently.

“Ooooo…” Pinkie cooed as she caught on, and threw a leg over Mac until she was kneeling over his face, his hands gripping her strongly by the hips. He turned his head slightly, kissing the inside of her thigh and sending a shiver up her spine. Her breathing became interrupted by a series of irregular gasps as his mouth slowly worked up the inside of one leg, and then the other. His hands slipped gently around her hips, strong fingers squeezing her butt before tracing up her spine and back down.

“Oh yes,” Pinkie gasped as Mac finally ran a long lick up her thigh right to the apex, his tongue brushing smoothly over her opening in a delightfully slippery warmth. He gave her a slow kiss, and began to explore her insides bit by bit. “Yes, yes, no go back to, yes! Right there! Harder! Not that hard! Just like that! Yes!” she moaned, settling down on Mac’s face.

Across the barn, Twilight Sparkle watched the trio with barely restrained desire. Whatever her mind might be trying to tell her about patience and propriety and proper whatever was being steadily and thoroughly drowned under a wave of blazing need that was starting to become nearly unbearable. She had to literally sit on her own hands to keep them from wandering across her body, and even that was starting to seem a lost cause.

“Focus, find something else to focus on…” Twilight tried to distract herself, but her eyes weren’t having any of that, and would only accept orders to look either at Dash as she bounced with increasing intensity in Mac’s lap, or at Pinkie as she squirmed and writhed across the stallion’s face.

“Ahhh, feels like I’m going to explode…” she gasped, pulling her knees up to her chest and squeezing her legs together in some vain hope of squashing her body’s traitorous sensations. She felt as if some great pressure was building up inside her, and if she couldn’t find some release for it…

She jumped in surprise as she felt the thrum of magic course through her horn; she hadn’t even noticed her control slipping, and now that she had reached for the power, she found it resisting her attempts to cut herself off from it.

Twilight groaned as she tried to focus, but her thoughts were just too jumbled. Her magic was as much a part of her as any bit of her physical body. It was made of her thoughts and feelings, of her desire to influence and direct the world around her, to make her ideas into reality. And right now her ideas and desires were running wild.

She could feel the magic reaching out around her, an odd, non-directional tugging sensation growing at the tip of her horn. There was a searching, hunting feel about it, and she felt it the moment her magic tracked down whatever it was seeking. The spell lashed out, and she barely had time to take in any of the details of what her baser thoughts had put together before the magical construct took effect.

Twilight had to yank her hands out from under herself in order to slap them over her mouth as a squeal came rushing up her throat. A spike of purest physical pleasure had just proceeded to slam home into her body. The enjoyment of it was so complete that she lost connection with all other senses for a length of time she couldn’t even begin to guess at.

As the orgasm started to wind down she was finally able to make some sense of what she was feeling. Something warm, wet, and soft was enthusiastically slipping and sliding in between her legs, while something else; hot, thick, and firm was filling her up until she thought she might burst from it as the sensation pumped fast and hard inside her. And there was another feeling, something enjoyable and yet somehow alien, a pleasurable sense of squeezing tightness that was disconnected from any part of her actual body.

She felt the final components of the spell sliding into place, and braced herself. She wanted to call out a warning, but her mouth might as well have been paralyzed for all the good the effort did.

There was a collective and simultaneous gasp from Pinkie and Dash and Mac as the Sensation Sharing Spell took hold, and the feedback of pleasure blanked out everyone’s senses this time. As one, all four bodies tightened, voices crying out in perfect unison to a pleasure so intense it was nearly pain. They remained locked in that moment as if time had suddenly stopped running.

Then the sensation drained out of them in one fluid rush, and they all dropped as one. Twilight ended up curled on her side, body quivering. Dash fell back on top of Mac in a limp droop. Mac didn’t have anywhere to go, though his arms fell to his side bonelessly. Pinkie toppled forward to land in an ungraceful sprawl.

“Wh-what the hay was that!” Dash exclaimed, bursting out into a brief coughing fit as her burning lungs tried too hard to reclaim the air they had just been forced to expel.

Twilight tried to push herself up, but her shaky arms would barely support her. Shame and embarrassment were flooding in, shoving aside the tingling afterglow of the physical pleasure, and right now she wished to be anywhere else. Her body was too dazed to let her do more than fight her way to an upright seat though.

She looked up, and found all three of her herd mates looking at her in surprise.

“I’m sorry,” she said, the words a hoarse whisper. She cleared her throat. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated, a bit louder. “I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t. It just…I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Pinkie said incredulously, getting to her wobbly feet. “Sorry!” She fell back on her rear and just sat there a second. She giggled, her features turning up in a tired but warm smile. “Don’t be sorry, just tell me you can do that again!”

Chapter 6

Spike found walking arm in arm with princess Celestia through the royal quarters to be one of the more jarring moments of his life thus far. That he was actually tall enough to manage it was by itself giving him a surreal sense of disconnection with his past. Not even half an hour ago he had barely come up to the princess’s waist, and now he could look her right in the eye.

At least, he could have if he had been able to look at Celestia without worrying about where his own eyes might end up. He’d never really noticed before now, but the princess was a rather stunningly attractive example of the female form. How exactly he’d ever missed it was something he was having quite a bit of difficultly understanding, and his ability to use rational thought wasn’t being helped by the thin, nearly form fitting nightgown Celestia was wearing.

She’d always been beautiful to him, but in the manner of a sunset or the artful design of the palace. It was beauty worth seeing and enjoyable to look at but he’d never desired a sunset, nor wanted to grab the palace and hold it pressed tightly against…

“So Spike,” Celestia said suddenly, giving him a slight start of surprise as his train of thought violently derailed. “How are you feeling?”

“Uh, I uh,” Spike stammered, and fought down the urge to hug his tail out of nerves. “Uh…tall. Very tall.”

“Yes, I imagine your new body must offer you a new and interesting perspective,” She said pleasantly.

“It’s…different alright,” he agreed with an uncomfortable cough. “So…you think you know what’s going on?”

“Fairly certain, yes,” Celestia replied, looking briefly thoughtful as she prepared her words. “Well, to begin with you need to know a few things about dragons, most especially how their magic works.”

“Magic?” Spike asked blankly.

“Yes. Dragons are extremely magical creatures you know.”

“Uh…no, I didn’t know.”

“Really?” Celestia asked with an amused smile. “So what did you attribute being able to breath fire, fire that can perform feats of teleportation no less, and the ability to spontaneously alter your size, shape, and basic body structure to, if not magic?”

“Uh…” Spike managed as his brain turned those tidbits over. “I guess I never really thought about it before.”

“Well then, allow me to give you reason to think about it. As I said, dragons are extremely magical, among the most powerfully magical creatures in existence.”

“But, then why can’t I cast spells like unicorns can?”

“Because that isn’t how draconic magic works. It is not an external force, but an internal one.”

“…huh?” Spike replied blankly.

“Your magic works upon your body, not upon the world around you,” Celestia explained with calm patience. “It alters your form to give you the means to achieve your goals and desires.”

“…I’m not really following…”

“Okay, well let’s consider your previous growth spurt for an example.” Spike winced a little at the memories. “You were tempted by your greed, which I feel the need to point out is far more potent in dragons than most other creatures. A dragon’s greed can be even stronger than hunger and several dragons have indeed starved themselves to death rather than leave their horde unguarded to go hunt. Your rejection of your greed was a truly remarkable feat, especially after having been so swallowed by it.”

“I can’t say I really remember,” Spike said uncomfortably. “Things were pretty fuzzy near the end there.”

“Yes, that’s because your magic was trying to fulfill your desire for material gain.”

“…what?” Spike said, beginning to notice a pattern to the conversation.

“You were being driven by greed, by a desire to acquire and protect treasure and items, or anything else you could get your claws on. That is why you grew as large as you did, to better grant yourself the ability to collect and horde. Twilight Sparkle, through no fault of her own but simple ignorance of what she was dealing with, spurned much of your growth by attempting to stop you. This made her a threat to your greed’s desire, and so you grew larger and larger, until you possessed size and strength enough that there was very little she could do to interfere.”

“Okay, that makes sense, I guess…”

“Likewise, I believe your magic dulled your mind because of the threat you posed.”

“…lost me again.”

“Your conscience was an obstacle to your greed. You knew what you were doing was wrong, and I don’t think I’d be mistaken if I guessed that you did experience some pangs of guilt early on?”

Spike didn’t reply, but nodded slightly, running a hand uncomfortably over his spines.

“Your growth was to prevent others from stopping you. The degradation of your mind was to prevent you from stopping yourself. A rather unfortunate combination, great strength and size, coupled with a diminished capacity for reason and empathy. In the end though you found something, realized something, that meant more to you than mere wealth…” Celestia trailed off, giving him a knowing look.

“Uh, yeah, I did…” Spike hedged.

“And that something, or someone…” she smirked as Spike fidgeted. “…is most likely the catalyst for this new change.”

“How do you mean?” he asked, trying to keep his voice level.

“Well Spike, not to be too blunt about it but your new form is very nearly the ideal image of masculine attractiveness.” Celestia took in the uncomprehending look on the dragon’s face and sighed. “Your transformation has made you very handsome…and sexually appealing.”

Spike blinked. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn the princess looked…bashful?

“And I think I would be right to assume you are finding your friends somewhat more appealing than before?” Celestia pushed on in a slight rush.

“Well…yeah…maybe…” Spike allowed, starting to become annoyed with himself over his own awkwardness. “It’s weird,” he forced himself to say in an effort to contribute more than embarrassed sounds and brief acknowledgements to the conversation. “No one really looks any different to me now, but…there’s this, I don’t even know what to call it…new emotion involved…”

“Lust, Spike,” Celestia stated simply. “Or desire, yearning, longing, whatever you feel comfortable thinking of it as. Your viewpoint for what makes women attractive to you has altered to better match Equestrian standards. Your new feelings would probably not be so alien to you if there had been some female dragons in your life before. As there were none however you never had the proper stimulation to bring forth such feelings until now.”

“Okay…” Spike said slowly as he thought his way through everything the princess was telling him. “So…my magic is acting on my desire to be…what, closer to one of my friends?”

“Just so,” Celestia confirmed.

“And to accomplish this, it changed me to be both better looking and to make me find my friends better looking?”

“Exactly, nicely summarized.”

“But then…”

“Yes?”

“Well if I had a dragon’s viewpoint of what makes a girl look good, why was I so attracted to Rarity in my old form?”

“Well,” Celestia started, only to pause with her mouth half open as her eyes widened slightly. Her gaze snapped sideways at him and her wings half unfolded. “I’m sorry, did you say Rarity?”

“Uh…yeah…” Spike replied uncertainly. Celestia looked positively thunderstruck.

“Rarity? Not Twilight?”

“Twilight?” Spike repeated, his turn to be surprised.

“Well, yes,” Celestia said, visibly pulling her composure back together. She tucked her wings down tightly against her back and ran a hand through her gravity defying mane. “I had believed this transformation of yours to be the result of the obvious emotional bond you and Twilight Sparkle share. That this was your magic providing a means by which to further your relationship by allowing you both to find the other attractive.” She looked at him thoughtfully. “Spike, may I ask you a few personal questions?”

“Uh…yeah, okay,” Spike allowed hesitantly.

“How do you feel about Twilight?”

“Uh…oh…” Spike hesitated. “She’s…swell?”

“Spike,” Celestia sighed. “Please, this could be important.”

“Well,” Spike paused to gather his thoughts, and his resolve. He’d never really talked to anyone about this kind of stuff before, let alone someone like the princess. “She’s…she’s like a big sister to me I guess. I like…” He sighed and hoped his face wasn’t as red as it felt. “…I love her. She is special to me and I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“But you don’t desire her.”

“No.”

“Not even now, with this new body and viewpoint?”

“I…I’m not sure. I mean I really haven’t really had much time…”

“I understand,” Celestia said, smoothly cutting in to relieve him of the need to continue further on an obviously uncomfortable topic. “So then, Rarity. When did you first…notice your attraction to her?”

“Pretty much the first time I laid eyes on her,” Spike admitted, and had to steady the princess as she half stumbled in shock.

“But that’s impo…” Celestia shut her mouth forcefully. She took a deep breath, and then started over. “That should not have been possible.”

Spike didn’t know what to say to that, and just shrugged.

“How could you have found her attractive?” Celestia asked, her tone suggesting she didn’t really expect an answer. “I mean she is certainly a beautiful woman, but her appeal should not have matched up to a draconic viewpoint. Spike, before your change did you ever find anyone else attractive as you did Rarity?”

“Hmmm…nope.” Spike answered after a moment’s thought.

“Not even…” She hesitated, and there was no missing it this time. The slightest color came to the princess’s cheeks, and her wings shifted in a self-conscious manner . “What about myself? Not to be boastful, but I am aware of my own…appeal, in relation to most people.”

Spike fidgeted, and did a rather passible impression of Fluttershy.

“Spike, loud enough for me to hear please,” Celestia said. “You won’t hurt my feelings. I would not really expect you to have been able to view me in such a way.”

“…no,” Spike forced out. “You were lovely, but not in a way that…you know…”

“I understand. Though that does leave the question, what does Rarity possess that would have crossed the species barrier between you two?”

“I have no idea.”

“Nor do I,” Celestia admitted.

They walked on for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, before Spike hesitated a moment in his steps.

“Spike?” Celestia prompted, and he shook his head.

“Sorry,” he said, regaining his stride. “I was just…so does this mean you think I actually have a chance with Rarity?”

Celestia gave him a brief look, then had to cover her mouth as a stream of giggled came pouring out.

“Oh Spike,” she said warmly, tugging on his arm to pull him closer. He shivered as the feathery touch of a wing brushed against him. “I rather think you have an excellent chance with Rarity.”

“Really?”

“Oh my yes,” Celestia told him. “Looking as you do, I’m not sure I’d turn you down if you asked.” Spike somehow managed to trip himself up with his own tail in surprised response to that, stumbling awkwardly. The princess was careful to smirk only on the side he couldn’t see.

“There you are!” Twilight exclaimed as she finally managed to track Rarity down. Or more accurately, randomly check down halls and open doors until she found Rarity.

“Twilight!” Rarity gave a little start of surprise at the sudden outburst. She put a hand over her heart. “Darling please, no need to make such a fuss.”

“Sorry,” Twilight said in that tone of voice that suggested she really wasn’t and had merely apologized due to social reflex. “But you kind of vanished on us there.” She took a second to take in their surroundings. The door had lead out onto a small, by palace standards, balcony that overlooked the royal gardens. It had a rather intimate feel to it. “What are you doing out here?”

“Oh I was just…getting some fresh air,” Rarity replied in a not quite lofty manner. She turned back to lean against the balcony railing and stare out over the garden. “I was just feeling a bit cooped up with everyone crowded in that room, that’s all.”

“Uh huh,” Twilight said, the disbelief plainly evident in her tone. She joined Rarity at the railing, though she only gave the view a brief glance before turning her gaze on her friend.

“…yes?” Rarity asked after a long moment.

“What’s going on?” Twilight demanded, a bit rudely perhaps but she just wasn’t in a mood to slowly pry the truth out bit by bit.

“Whatever do you mean dear?”

“Rarity,” Twilight said shortly. “Something is bothering you.”

“Nonsense,” Rarity said dismissively.

“What is it?” Twilight pressed.

“Nothing.”

“What is it?”

“Darling, really…”

“Tell me.”

“It’s really none of your…”

“Ah ha! So there is something!”

“I didn’t say…”

“You didn’t have to!” Twilight said, jabbing a finger at Rarity. “You were going to say it was none of my business, which means there is something, otherwise there would be nothing to not be my business!”

Rarity blinked at her, and then let out a long sigh.

“Sooooo…” Twilight prompted.

“I…don’t think you would be the right person to discuss it with,” Rarity said after a pause.

“…oh,” Twilight said, stung. “I see…”

“Oh no no no,” Rarity quickly spoke up as she took in her friend’s tone and expression. “It’s not like that darling, it’s just…”

“Just what?” Twilight asked defensively.

“Well it’s…” Rarity hunched in on herself a bit. “It’s about Spike, and with you two being so close, you might be…somewhat biased.”

“Me? Biased?” Twilight said indignantly. “When have I ever!”

“Pinkie Sense,” Rarity said simply.

“I…that…you can’t…ahhh!,” Twilight growled, earning a small smile out of Rarity. “Okay fine, so maybe I wasn’t being completely fair and totally open minded about the whole Pinkie Sense thing…”

“The way Pinkie tells it…”

“Alright alright!” Twilight exclaimed. “I had made up my mind before hand and was ignoring evidence I didn’t want to see!”

“Well, that is very mature of you to be able to admit,” Rarity said approvingly.

“Yeah well…oh wait a minute, I see what you’re doing...”

“Me?”

“You’re trying to distract me by changing the topic.”

“My, but you are going to be insistent about this, aren’t you?”

“Rarity, you’re my friend,” Twilight said, a bit less belligerently. “And so is Spike. So if something is bothering you, especially if it involves Spike, I want to help.”

“You promise not to just take his side?” Rarity asked after a long silence.

“Of course,” Twilight replied immediately.

“And you can’t tell anyone else about this.”

“Not a problem.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

“Oh come on Rarity…”

“Pinkie Promise,” Rarity pressed, and Twilight gave a sigh of reluctance.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly…” she said dully, half-heartily pantomiming. “…stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“Hmmmm…” Rarity mused doubtfully. “I can’t say your lack of enthusiasm speaks well for your sincerity.” She held up a hand as Twilight made to protest. “However you made the promise…so if you dare break it I’ll be sure to let Pinkie know.”

Twilight’s memories of Pinkie’s reaction to such a slight crawled out from some dark corner of her mind.

“YOU PINKIE PROMISED!”

She shivered.

“Glad to see we have an understanding,” Rarity said satisfactorily.

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed. “So, Spike…”

“Yes, Spike…” Rarity sighed. “Well…you…do you know how he feels about me?”

“Uh, yeah,” Twilight said. “He’s not exactly the most subtle guy in Equestria.”

“Perhaps not,” Rarity agreed. “He is quite the sweet-heart though.”

“Eh, he has his moments I guess,” Twilight allowed.

“More than mere moments love,” Rarity countered. “He’s always been so helpful and kind and constantly complimenting my looks and designs and…”

“And I’m supposed to be the biased one here?” Twilight broke in.

“Ah, yes…well…” Rarity coughed. “My point is, he’s always been wonderful to me. Selfless even. When those horrible diamond dogs made it clear they were going to kidnap me, Spike didn’t even hesitate to throw himself at the largest of them to try and buy me time to run…”

“Wait, Spike did what?” Twilight asked in amazement, but Rarity was too caught up in her monolog to listen.

“…and he’s constantly helping me with my business when I get in over my head, oh and there was that time he turned into a monster and it was the thought of me, me! That made him realize what he had become and…”

“Rarity!” Twilight interrupted. “What. Is. Your. Point?”

“My point,” Rarity said in a miffed tone. “Is that he has been just about everything I could have wanted in man. Except…”

“Except…” Twilight prompted impatiently.

“Well…I…” Rarity hesitated, looking deeply uncomfortable. “…except I never found him…attractive.”

“And?” Twilight asked.

“Well…now I do…” Rarity admitted.

“ …and?” Twilight repeated.

“Twilight!” Rarity snapped. “Where is your moral outrage?”

“What am I supposed to be outraged about?” Twilight asked defensively.

“Me!” Rarity half shouted, stamping a foot. “Me me me me me! That’s all I’ve cared about, isn’t it? Me! Spike has given and given and given, and what do I do? Take advantage, that’s what! I take and take and take, and tell him ‘oh thank you Spike, you’re such a nice friend’. Friend, just a friend, and still he gave and gave and gave and I took and took and took, and I doled out my little compliments to him and he was happy to get them. And now he’s suddenly handsome, suddenly amazingly, incredibly handsome. And only now, now! Do I find him appealing.” She slammed a hand down violently on the railing. “How can you stand me Twilight? I can’t even stand myself right now! I am a horrible, shallow person!”

“Rarity…” Twilight said, her tone a mix of panic and sympathy as she tried desperately to think of just how to reply to such an outburst.

“What am I going to do Twilight?” Rarity asked, her voice threatening to break. “I don’t think I can trust myself around him now. He’s just about everything I want in a guy, and everything I don’t deserve for how I’ve treated him. But how could I possibly say no and live with myself? How can I say yes and not hate myself?”

“Wow,” Twilight said, racking her brain for answers to questions so far outside her fields of expertise she would need astronomical units to measure the distance. Science and magic she could explain in her sleep, relationship advice however…

“So stick with what you know,” Twilight said to herself as an idea struck, and she forced her mind to consider the problem from a more familiar perspective.

“Pardon?” Rarity asked.

“Okay, let’s just take a step back and look at this objectively,” Twilight said. “Starting with the facts.”

“Umm, what?”

“Fact one: Spike is a dragon,” Twilight continued, her mind racing down lines of thought to try and figure out where she was going with this. “And you are not. Thus, there is no logical reason that you should find him physically attractive. Or at least, there wasn’t until he transformed. His prior physical form was so far outside the Equestrian standards for male beauty that it would be illogical to even try to apply them to him. Or would have been, beforehand. Uh so…in conclusion, you have absolutely nothing to feel ashamed about in regards to your previous lack of feelings of attraction towards Spike.”

“I’m not sure…” Rarity tried to speak up, but Twilight was on a roll and wasn’t about to let herself be interrupted.

“Fact two: You are the element of Generosity,” She paused, certain that there was something important about that. She just needed to find the right words. “This is not just some silly title or personality quirk. The Elements of Harmony are fundamental components of the very fabric of reality, the physical representation of forces that are important, nay, vital to the universe existing in the form that it does.”

“I…I don’t understa…”

“You!” Twilight kept going, thrusting a finger at Rarity again. “Are the physical incarnation of Generosity. You give selflessly to others, not just because of who you are, but what you are. You. Are. Generosity. So to have someone give to you, to be generous to generosity…well it throws you out of balance,” Twilight’s voice rose in mounting excitement as she became more and more certain she was onto something important. “It doesn’t add up, magically speaking, because such an act runs contrary to the very definition of what you are; you’re the giver, not the givee. Spike’s constant generosity towards you has upset your equilibrium, thrown your viewpoint out of focus, and it’s screwing with your sense of self. You’re so bothered by what you perceive as an imbalance of give and take between the two of you because you’re used to a far more skewed ratio, in which you give far more than you take.”

“So…what do I do?” Rarity asked after a bewildered silence.

“Well…get over it,” Twilight concluded bluntly.

“Oh, just like that?” Rarity replied tartly, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

“Yes. Acknowledge and accept that your measure for selfishness to selflessness is skewed and requires recalibration.”

“But…Spike really has…” Rarity tried to say.

“Been very good to you, I know,” Twilight broke in with a sigh. “But he’s done so much for you because he wants you to be happy. How do you think he’d feel if he found out all his efforts have just made you feel horribly guilty?”

Rarity didn’t answer, but she did shift rather uncomfortably.

“If you want to give him something, give him the satisfaction of knowing his generosity was appreciated and that his hard work was worth it.”

“I suppose I can manage that,” Rarity allowed slowly. “It would make him happy…but that doesn’t do anything for my shallowness.”

“Rarity, if you were really a shallow person, you would have stuck with prince charmless,” Twilight shot off, indulging a hunch.

“Twilight, no one could have stuck with that…that…”

“Of course they could have. He’s rich, royal, and good looking. He might have the personality of a rug and the manners of a snake, but hooking up with him would bring you fame, fortune, and just about anything else you might want. Except for a partner you could respect and enjoy the company of. You threw away a potential life of luxury on principle Rarity, because you deemed the material gains, incredible though they would be, insufficient compensation for having to deal with such a jerk . How does that make you shallow?”

“…I did, didn’t I?” Rarity said slowly, mulling it over. “But, Spike…”

“Is a totally different situation. You like Spike for being Spike, not because he’s good looking. The looks are just…well it’s like your relationship with him is a chemical reaction that’s just been waiting for the right catalyst to get started. And Spike’s new looks are that catalyst, and now he fits all your desired criteria.”

“So what, I should go ahead and throw myself at him now that he meets my romantic checklist?”

“I would suggest a bit less dramatic of wording, but yeah. I mean isn’t that what people do when they’re looking for a partner? They analyze, evaluate, and judge the other person for the traits they desire, and decide whether or not said person meets enough of the right traits to make a relationship feasible.”

“I would suggest a bit less analytical of wording, but I suppose you have a point,” Rarity grudging agreed. “But how can I trust that I’m accepting him for the right reasons when I have such doubts about myself?”

“By trusting me when I say that you are a good person, and that I think you and Spike could make each other very happy.”

“I don’t know Twilight,” Rarity sighed. “I just don’t want to hurt him.”

“Turning him down isn’t exactly going to be kind to his feelings.”

“That’s hardly fair Twilight.”

“Yeah well that’s life sometimes. I’m not saying you have to hook up with him to spare his feelings, but if you’re seriously considering this…”

“…I am,” Rarity admitted softly.

“Then it’s only right to take everything into consideration. Leaving something out because it’s not fair isn’t scientifically sound.”

“Love is not a science dear.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Science makes way more sense.”

“Heh, maybe to you darling,” Rarity chuckled. She rested her elbows on the railing and stared out over the garden. “How do you think I should approach this?”

“Beats me,” Twilight said wearily. “I am officially exhausted of relationship advise.”

“Pity, you were doing quite well,” Rarity told her.

“You think so? I was just winging it,” Twilight admitted.

“You are the Rainbow Dash of winging relationship advise dear.”

“Uh…thanks?” Twilight said uncertainly, and Rarity giggled. Which in turn made Twilight giggle. Soon the both of them were laughing at how much the other was laughing, and at how good it felt to indulge in such mindless mirth.

“Oh my, I think we just missed something quite amusing,” a velvety smooth voice cut in through the laughter. Both unicorns turned in surprise to find Celestia and Spike standing in the doorway. The princess was smiling cheerfully, though there was something in the expression that was more pleased than merely amused. Spike meanwhile was trying much too hard not to stare nervously at Rarity to even fake a smile.

“Princess,” Twilight said once the shock passed. “I hope it’s okay that we’re out here…”

“Why wouldn’t it be Twilight?” Celestia asked kindly as she approached. She looked out over the balcony, and gave her number one student a private smile. “You know, it is such a lovely evening. I feel like taking a flight around the palace grounds. Would you care to join me Twilight?”

“Me?” Twilight blurted. “Uh I, well…yeah but I don’t have any…”

“A situation I believe you can rectify,” Celestia told her.

“…oh, duh! Right!” Twilight exclaimed, remembering the flight spell she had once used to give Rarity a set of gossamer wings. Wings that had combusted and nearly dropped their owner to her death. ‘Don’t be silly,’ Twilight thought to herself. ‘It’s night, you’ll be fine. Focus: more personal time with the princess…oh and giving Rarity and Spike some alone time.’

She glanced over at the pair, both of whom seemed to be very much aware of the fact that they were about to be left with only the other for company. Both of whom looked rather uncertain and nervous about the prospect as well.

‘It’ll be good for them,’ she told herself, and brought the spell into focus in her mind. It wasn’t quite a difficult as she remembered it being, though still it was a power hungry thing and required her to really work to feed the effect enough energy. Especially as she felt the spell taking hold of her, threatening her focus as a spreading warmth just shy of uncomfortable flowed across her back.

That she was casting the spell right in front of the princess however did wonders for her concentration. There was absolutely no way she was about to let herself screw up magically with Celestia watching. She’s sooner throw herself off the balcony wingless than face that embarrassment.

Fortunately such extreme measures proved unnecessary. The spell went off without a hitch, and Twilight found herself the proud owner of a set of silver and violet wings that were only slightly less fragile and delicate than they looked.

“Very nicely done,” Celestia complimented, and Twilight tried not to blush too noticeably. The princess turned to Spike and Rarity, who were still busy casting furtive glances at each other. “Sorry to steal Twilight from you Rarity. I’ll lend you Spike in her place though.”

“Wha?” Rarity replied, obviously caught off guard at being addressed. “Oh uh, right…”

“Shall we Twilight?” Celestia asked, her words tinted with a suppressed giggle. She hopped easily up onto the railing, her own majestic wings spreading open gracefully.

“Yes,” Twilight agreed eagerly…right until she glanced over the edge of the balcony and took in just how far down it was. “…coming…” she added a bit nervously.

“Don’t think about the ground,” Celestia advised through a smile. “Trust your wings, and they’ll take care of you.” She pushed off the railing and out into open space. The princess fell into a graceful arching dive, her wings spread wide to soar on the nightly air currents like an eagle.

“Twilight!” Rarity hissed from just behind her as the newly winged unicorn made to clamber over the balcony.

“What?” Twilight asked, pausing with one foot on the railing.

“I…are you sure…I mean…” Rarity whispered, visibly restraining herself from glancing back at Spike.

“Trust yourself,” Twilight told her as she awkwardly shifted around until she was sitting with her legs dangling, the garden grounds far below. “You’ll do the right thing.”

“But…” Rarity whined.

“Twilight!” Celestia called, soaring back by the balcony. “Coming?”

“Yes!” Twilight called back, taking a nervous peek down. She took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself.

“But Twilight!” Rarity said in a low, desperate voice. “I’m still not sure how I feel. I need more time!”

“Sorry, but I can’t keep the princess waiting,” Twilight told her with a not quite apologetic smile. She slowly took her hands off the railing.

“But…” Rarity said, grabbing Twilight suddenly by the arm. The bewinged unicorn gave a start of surprise, and slipped sideways off the balcony. “…oh dear…”

“Rarity!” Twilight shrieked as she tumbled out into empty air, spinning in a rather stomach unfriendly manner. “Wings…wings…wings wings wings wingswingswings how do these stupid things work!”

There was a sharp jerk somewhere in the middle of her back that made Twilight feel like she had just bounced, and the sensation of falling faded away.

“Very nice Twilight,” Celestia said mirthfully as she flew by at an odd angle. “They even work upside down.”

“Huh?” Twilight replied. She took a moment to look around her, and realized she was tilted nearly on her head. Her wings however didn’t seem to care, and were beating in a steady rhythm that allowed her to hover in place. “Oh yeah…neat.”

“Come on,” Celestia prompted. “I have something I think you’d like to see.”

“Right uh…” Twilight squirmed, trying to figure out the right wing motions. The spell luckily took care of such considerations, and once she stopped trying to micromanage her wing beats, Twilight found flying to be almost disappointingly easy. She flipped herself upright and zipped off after the princess, climbing higher and higher into the night sky.

Twilight gave one final glance back at the palace, and could just make out the tiny figures of Spike and Rarity, both of them standing at the railing of the balcony. She smiled, and let herself feel hopeful. They really could be good for each other.

Then she remembered that Pinkie was intending to ask Rarity to join their herd. “Oh…oh son-of-a…”

Chapter 7

It was early morning, and the narrow pathways of the royal garden hedge maze were still filled with deep shadows. It was quiet within the maze, the thick growth of the wall muffling and suppressing any outside noise. The twists and turns were lonely, isolating places that denied the rest of the world.

Within the center of the maze, a single statue stood upon a raised dais. It was a hideous thing to look upon, all mismatched limbs and unequal features, its already ugly face twisted into an expression of panic and fear. There was a dreadful hopelessness about the depicted creature, made all the more terrible by the void formed by the maze.

The bright and cheerful humming that came gliding out of one of the passages had no rightful place in such a setting. It was an anathema upon the brooding emptiness, which gave reluctant ground to the unwavering happiness and unconcerned care.

Pinkie Pie came bouncing into the center of the maze, smiling and humming to herself, the satchel across one shoulder swinging along in counterpoint to her hopping walk. Only as she approached the statue did she drop into a more normal pace, though she continued to hum cheerfully right until she had reached the base of the dais.

“Good morning Discord!” Pinkie said brightly up to the statue.

The statue did not reply, or give any other indication of acknowledgement.

“I hope there’s no hard feelings between us,” Pinkie continued, unperturbed by the silence. She reached under the flap of her satchel, and pulled out a simple drinking glass. She set it on the dais, then retrieved a second, placing it besides the first. “I’m sorry you have to be a statue. I thought you were really funny, until you turned me and my friends against each other anyway. And I really miss those cotton candy clouds.”

Discord remained quiet, and stone.

“I wish we could have done more for you, like we did for Luna. It’s unfair that she got to return home with her big sister, and you’re going to be stuck here for…well ever I guess.” Reaching again into the bag, Pinkie pulled out a large jug, popping the cap off with a deft flick of her thumb. “Maybe if you hadn’t been such a big meanie jerk head, the Elements might have just taken away your powers or something.”

She carefully tilted the container over each glass, filling them both up with rich, dark, chocolate milk. She finished the drinks off with a long, twisty swizzle straw apiece and then reached up to carefully place one the glasses within Discord’s stony fingers.

Anyway, I know you were kind of evil despite all the funny stuff like dancing on Twilight’s head,” Pinkie went on, giggling a little. “But I hope that someday maybe you’ll be able to be free, and have fun without being mean to people.” She took a long sip of her drink, emptying half the glass of its chocolaty goodness in a single massive gulp. “Mmmm…not cotton candy cloud good, but good!” she beamed happily. “So, guess you’re probably wondering what we’ve all been up to since blasting you to stone.” Pinkie gave a tiny hop, plopping herself down on the dais with the statue and leaning back against one stoney leg. She finished off the other half of her glass in another long pull.

“Well for starters I’ve got a herd. I mean, can you believe it?”

If Discord believed anything, he was not forthcoming about it.

“It’s not perfect,” Pinkie admitted a bit sadly. “AJ turned me down. I guess she has a good reason, what with Macky being her brother, but you’d think she might have at least given it a chance, right?”

Silence.

“Exactly!” she replied. “But I’ve got Twilight and Dashy and ~big~ Mac, which is certainly nice. I really wish I had asked Rarity sooner though…”

Pinkie tilted her head back, eying the still untouched glass within Discord’s hand.

“You uh…gunna finish that?” she asked tentatively. A few silent seconds passed. “No? Well, if you don’t mind…”

Discord gave no indication that he did, which was good enough for Pinkie.

“Thanks!” Pinkie told the statue, pulling down the other glass and taking a rather moderate sip. “So yeah, like I was saying, Rarity and Spike. Who saw that coming? I mean sure, he’s been all hot for her since like, ever, but I never thought she’d be willing to go scaly.” She let out a big sigh. “Though given the way Spike is looking these days, I guess I can’t blame her. Seems kind of unfair to me though, just suddenly becoming a total stud muffin like that. Rather sneaky of him really.”

Pinkie lounged back against the statue’s leg, gradually emptying the glass as she watched the morning clouds being caroled into place in preparation of the afternoon rain shower. She set the empty glass down by the first, and glanced down at one bushy green wall of the maze, her gaze distant. Her big blue eyes seemed almost to be looking through the structure.

“So, I suppose you’d like to know the details?”

It was a calm, peaceful night. A little warm, but the gentle breeze was just enough to perfectly balance it out. The clouds were drifting lazily across the star filled sky, scattered just so as to create an appealing blend of light and shadow, especially where the moon was climbing towards its apex. The Canterlot weather team had clearly put their best effort forward for the night of the Gala. It was exceptionally lovely, and there was no shortage of admirers enjoying what was an ideal night.

On a small balcony, tucked somewhat out of sight from most of the palace grounds however, there was very little admiring going on. There was a lot of glancing about, of looking out in the direction of the beautiful night, but not so much actual seeing or enjoying. It was a nervous, uncomfortable, fidgeting air that hung around that small balcony.

For what felt like the thousandth time, Spike glanced sideways at Rarity. The words he had been carefully preparing in his mind turned to bitter ashes in his mouth as he did, and he knew far better than most just what that tasted like. No matter what he tried to come up with, it all just fell so short of what he knew she deserved. It was almost painful to look at her for the storm of emotions her perfection elicited, and he glanced back down.

There was no way he could do this, regardless of what Celestia had told him. The princess’s assessment of his new looks, of the purpose his magic had altered him for, he just couldn’t bring himself to believe it could be that easy. No, there was nothing in the whole of Equestria that could make him go through with…

“You know, I don’t think I ever thanked you,” Spike spoke up so suddenly that he startled himself. Doubly so in that he hadn’t meant to say anything.
“Thanked me?” Rarity asked in confusion. “Whatever for?”

“For saving me from myself.” Spike continued, the words coming unbidden from his mouth, “When I was out of control. You brought me back to myself.”

“Oh Spike,” Rarity tried for nonchalant, but fell short of the mark with the nervous edge to her tone. “I didn’t do anything. Mostly just ranted about my torn cape…”

“I know, but…” The self-speaking words paused for a perfect dramatic beat. “It might not have been anything you did right then, but more everything you had done before. It was like you had left something of yourself in me, in my heart, and it was what I needed to find my way back to who I really was when I was lost inside that monster I’d become.”

‘Alright Spike,’ the dragon thought furiously to himself. ‘I have no idea where that came from, or why I said it. But it’s okay, no need to panic.’ He dared to glance at Rarity, and found her staring at him, her eyes glistening and wide. ‘BEGIN PANICKING!’ his brain screamed.

“Oh Spike,” Rarity said, her tone hushed. “What a sweet thing to say.”

‘…it was?’ Spike boggled inwardly. His face however, remained calm. “Not as sweet as you’ve been to me,” his mouth continued on without direction from his brain.

“Heh, hardly,” Rarity replied with a scornful little laugh. “Not nearly as much as I should have been.”

“Rarity, you have never been anything but wonderful to me.”

“You’re too kind dearie,” Rarity sighed. “But I should have done…should have said something long ago, instead of…”

Spike surprised the both of them by laying a finger gently to her lips, silencing her.

“It’s okay,” he told her. “If anyone should have done anything, it was me. I should have realized that the time wasn’t right, that I wasn’t right for you, not as I was. I should have been patient…”

“Oh Spike, no,” Rarity disagreed. “You can’t take the blame for this, it was me, I was…”

“Too beautiful for me to think rationally around,” Spike cut in. The part of him that wasn’t trying to figure out why he was saying such things did take the moment to enjoy just how lovely Rarity looked when she blushed. Especially with her eyes open so wide, and filled with such amazement.

“Spike…” Rarity said in a breathy voice. “…my goodness darling, but when did you become so…I mean, no no, I can’t let you just brush off what I did to you, dangling you along like…”

Spike kissed her.

Panic the likes of which dragonkind surely had never thus forth experienced erupted within him when his mind finally processed what he had just done. How long that took he couldn’t even begin to say, as most of his attention was firmly and intently focused on just how marvelous it felt. Rarity’s lips were silken soft and smooth, pressing ever so gently against his. The delicious scent of her filled his head until he felt ready to drift away on the heavenly perfume. Her body was pressed up against his, a perfect blend of soft and firm.

As their lips parted and Spike started breathing again, his panic finally started to make headway into his conscious thoughts. He was in so much trouble. What in and above all of Equestria had compelled him to do something that stupid, that crazy, that…

Rarity kissed him.

Spike’s panic performed a sonic rainboom right into the ground.

The unicorn’s arms entwined around him, pulling him in close against her.

His panic dug itself its own grave, and pulled the dirt in on top of itself. She wasn’t offended. Or angry. Or scandalized.

He had kissed Rarity, and she was returning the affection! The realization would have floored him if whatever smooth talking, cool acting, babe kissing part of his new self hadn’t stepped in again, making him put his arms around her and start taking an active role in the kiss.

Spike had no rightful idea what he was doing. The most action he’d ever gotten was a few hugs and a kiss or two on the cheek. His instincts, or what he had to assume were his instincts as he couldn’t imagine where else he was dragging the knowledge from, kicked in and once again turned what should have been a complete crash and burn into a flawless maneuver. Rarity practically melted against him as the kiss deepened. Small, gentle moans of delight managed to slip their way free of her lips. She arched into him eagerly, her fingers tightening around the fabric of his shirt, pulling him to her in rising need.

Which was when an entirely different set of instincts kicked in. Something tickled the back of Spike’s mind. It was a small, subtle sensation, an awareness of something just slightly off. His senses, as preoccupied as they were with the marvelous mare in his arms, had just picked up on something. And it was right behind him.

There wasn’t time for thought, for consideration. His body was already in motion before Spike’s conscious mind had fully taken in that something had snuck up on him. Rarity gave a startled squeak as he pulled her off her feet, hunching protectively over her body. In the same motion his tail lashed out, fast as a snake’s strike. The something behind him let out a surprised curse, but even caught off guard it was just too quick, darting to one side in a multicolored blur. Spike’s tail smashed into, and then right through, the balcony’s guard rail in a spray of wooden splinters. A few rainbow colored strands of mane fluttered to the floor amongst the wreckage.

There was a long silence as Spike, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash just stared at each other.

“Um, wow…okay…” Dash said with a nervous laugh. “If you wanted privacy that much, you could have just hung something on the door.”

“Oh geez, Dash!” Spike finally gasped. “I’m so sorry, I-I didn’t, I wasn’t…I have no idea what just came over me…”

“S’cool bro, no harm done,” Dash said, trying to wave the incident off. She did not however step back within tail’s length of him.

“Spike dear,” Rarity spoke in a slightly strained voice. “Could you be so kind as to loosen your grip a bit?”

“What?” Spike asked, before realizing just how tightly he was holding the unicorn against himself. “Sorry Rarity.”

“That’s quite alright,” Rarity managed to say with dignity as he set her back on her feet. She took a measured step back from him, and glanced down. Her eyes tracked along his tail, taking in the ruined railing, and the spiderweb of cracks within the floor. “Are you alright?”

“Fine I think,” Spike replied, lifting his tail carefully. Nothing hurt, and turning it over revealed nothing worse a single chipped scale.

“All things considered,” Dash said. “That was actually really awesome.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said disapprovingly. “Be serious. If you hadn’t gotten out of the way…”

“I’d have one more lump to add to the collection,” Dash cut her off dismissively. “Please Rarity, I’ve been hit in the head before.”

“A few too many times perhaps,” Rarity retorted tartly.

“Yeah yeah,” Dash replied sarcastically. “Look, nothing bad happened, and even if he had gotten one in, I’ve walked away from worse. If everything I’ve managed to do to myself hasn’t taken me out, I don’t think Spike is gunna be the one to ground me for good.”

Rarity treated Dash to an icy glare. “And what if that hadn’t been you? What if it had been Twilight? Or Pinkie? Or Celestia forbid, Fluttershy?” The sky blue pegasus’s dismissive manner faltered.

“Well, I mean…” Dash hedged, her mind racing. “…Dude Spike, help me out here. Spike?”

The two mares turned their attention to Spike. The dragon had moved several paces away from them both, and was hunched in on himself, holding onto his tail as if afraid of what might happen if he let go.

“Spike?” Rarity asked in concern, taking a tentative step towards him.

“Don’t!” Spike half yelled, startling everyone. “Please, don’t come near me!”

“Spike,” Rarity said softly, though a thin undercurrent of pain laced the words. “Darling, it’s okay.”

“No it’s not!” Spike shot back. “Sun and moon, but you’re right. What if that had been someone else? I could have really hurt someone.” He shivered. “And just when I thought this time was different.”

“This time?” Dash inquired.

“It’s just like before,” Spike groaned, his hands clenching until his claws started to dig lines through his scales. “I’m going to keep getting bigger, and I’m going to be a danger to everyone I care about.”

Dash opened her mouth, but Rarity’s head snapped sideways to fix her with a narrow eyed gaze of doom, and the rainbow maned mare’s teeth clacked together. The unicorn gave her a few more seconds of ocular death, and then her features soften as she turned her attention back to Spike. She took a calming breath, and started forward.

“Stay back!” Spike pleaded, shuffling himself into one corner of the balcony. “Rarity please, if I did anything to you, I couldn’t live with myself!”

Rarity didn’t stay back, but purposefully strode over to where the dragon was now curled up on himself. She knelt down beside him, and gently laid a hand alongside his face. Spike flinched, but she didn’t respond to the motion. Her other hand took hold of the other side of his jaw, and she ever so softly turned him to face her.

“My little Spikey-Wikey,” Rarity managed to say in complete seriousness. “ You aren’t going to do anything dreadful to me, or anyone else.”

“You don’t know that,” Spike replied.

“Yes I do,” she told him tartly. “Unless all that about me being in your heart was just some pretty talk you didn’t really mean…”

Spike didn’t reply, but he managed to shake his head slightly between her hands. He might not have meant to say it, but that didn’t make it any less true.

“Then you have nothing to worry about, because I’ll be right there to keep you as yourself.”

“But…”

“No, I will not hear any buts out of you mister,” Rarity informed him. “The moment you even think about acting like some brute of a dragon, I will squoosh your cute chubby cheeks in front of everyone. I should like to see you try to be a monster when you are too flustered to do anything but splutter in embarrassment.”

Spike’s face flushed slightly just thinking about it, and Rarity leaned forward to rest her forehead against his.

“It’ll be alright darling.”

“You really mean it?” he asked softly.

“Pinkie promise,” she said with a small smile. “Now come on,” she urged gently. “You’re getting your…uh, outfit…dirty.”

“It’s just a set of curtains Twilight transmuted,” Spike said, allowing Rarity to pull him to his feet. “I don’t think anyone is going to really care about some dust on them.”

“Be that as it may,” Rarity replied primly. “It’s still no reason to be walking around in filthy garments.” She gave the baggy shirt and pants a slightly scornful look. “Though truth be told, I think it’d be best to get you out of those…”

Dash gave an indecent chuckle.

“…and into something more flattering for your physique,” the unicorn finished with only a slight edge to her tone.

“Maybe something a bit tighter?” Dash asked with a smug grin. Rarity gave a delicate ‘humph’, but otherwise chose to ignore the comment.

“Now then,” Rarity said. “What are you doing here Rainbow Dash? Sneaking up on people like that, hardly proper behavior.”

“Sneaking nothing,” Dash scoffed, crossing her arms and leaning against the railing. “You two were just so busy pawing at each other…”

“I beg your pardon?” Rarity flared up. Spike just blushed and looked down.

“Beg away,” Dash retorted. “Anyway, too bad I didn’t walk in on you two about five minutes later, I could have really gotten a show then.”

Rarity made a rightly scandalized gasp. “As if!”

“Oh please, you were half tearing his clothes off.”

“Anyway,” Rarity ground out through clenched teeth. “Why are you out here?” Dash looked like she’d rather keep needling the prim and proper mare, but finally she gave an indifferent shrug.

“Things got a little heated inside,” Dash supplied. “Pinkie was trying to surprise princess Luna with these pies and well…I’m not really sure what all happened, but there was filling everywhere and a hole in a wall…”

“Okay, I just have to break in here and set the record straight,” Pinkie said. “They were fritters, not pies. I mean seriously, might as well call an éclair a doughnut.” She glanced up at Discord’s stone face and nodded sagely. “Exactly. Anyway, where was I…?”

“Oh dear,” Rarity sighed. “I suppose we best head back and see if we can help salvage the situation.”

“We?” Dash asked skeptically.

“Yes, we,” Rarity told her. “We are all guests in the Princess’s home, and we should behave with proper decorum. What one of us does reflects on all of us.”

“Says she who snuck out to get freaky with…”

“That is quite enough!” Rarity snapped. “I will not stand here and let you indulge your crude sense of humor at my expense. Just because you’re jealous…”

“Jealous? Me!” Dash replied indignity.

“Yes, you,” Rarity sniffed. “Maybe if you bothered acting like a lady once in a while, guys might just pay attention to you too.”

“For your information, guys pay plenty of attention to me!”

“Well yes, with all the constant showboating you do,” Rarity said, rolling her eyes. “How many dates has that gotten you by the way?”

“Oh you just think you know everything about relationships do you?” Dash growled. “Then how come I’m in a herd and you’re not?”

“…what?” Rarity asked after a stunned silence.

“Yeah!” Dash smirked triumphantly. “What have you got…to…say…oh horseapples, I shouldn’t have said that,” she finished slowly as realization set in.

“Are you with Twilight and Pinkie then?” Spike asked, earning an even more thunderstruck look from Rarity.

“What?” the unicorn demanded.

“How’d you know about that?” Dash asked.

“Uh, well…” Spike fidgeted. “I might have walked in on them making out a few days ago.”

“They were what?” Rarity spluttered.

“Oh geez,” Dash sighed. “Alright fine, Rarity…me, Twilight, Pinkie and Big Macintosh have started up a herd.”

“And you didn’t bother to tell…”

“It just happened recently Rarity,” Dash broke in. “We were going to tell you…and well, ask you to join.”

“…you wha?” Rarity managed, all poise forgotten.

“We were going to ask you to join,” Dash repeated. “Pinkie had this whole big plan cooked up. I’m not really sure how it was supposed to work, what with the cannons and the confetti and…well anyway, I guess since I blabbed it…you uh, wanna join?” She finished lamely with a weak smile.

“I’m sorry Dash,” Rarity said, her voice suddenly very calm and controlled. “But I must decline.” She laid a hand upon Spike’s arm. “I’m going to be with Spike. Since your herd already has a stallion, I’m afraid it would be quite improper.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d say something like that,” Dash sighed.

“I am sorry Rainbow, it would have been very nice but…”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Dash said. “Just don’t know how I’m going to break it to Pinkie. This whole thing has been her idea.”

“If it would help, I’ll tell her,” Rarity offered.

“You…you will?” Dash blinked.

“Of course darling. It’s my responsibility to do so, as her friend.”

“Oh…well yeah, that makes sense,” Dash nodded, looking immensely revealed.

“No point putting it off,” Rarity said, as much to herself as to anyone else. She linked arms with Spike, and flashed him a warm smile. “Will you please accompany me, my stallion?”

Spike blinked for a second, then slowly smiled back. “Of course, my darling.”

“…and that’s about when Rarity, Spike, and Dashy walked in to find me, Luna, and AJ naked and covered in raspberry filling,” Pinkie finished up for Discord. “Which was not at all as fun as it might sound.” The pink earth mare trailed off with a sigh.

“Well anyway, Rarity made her choice. And sad as it is, I’m still happy for her. And at least now I don’t have to worry about Spike getting jealous about Twilight.”

Pinkie hopped down from the dais, stretching her arms high above her head with a series of pops. She gathered up the empty glasses and the milk jug, tucking everything back inside her bag.

“Well, thanks for listening Discord,” she told the statue. “It really helped me clear my head. I’ll be sure to stop by next time I’m in Canterlot.”

She gave the entrapped spirit of chaos a last friendly wave and then headed back out of the maze, skipping along contently. The sun had risen high enough to banish even the deepest shadows of the maze, the living green of the hedges brilliant in the golden light. The sunlight swam over Discord’s statue, washing out the harsher edges and hard angles, casting back a soft, white glow around the central courtyard.

Pinkie Pie soon left the gardens and the royal grounds entirely behind, bouncing her way across Canterlot. She smiled happily and waved to people as she wound her way through the crowded streets. Few people returned her smile, and fewer still waved back, but she didn’t let it bother her. She had come to accept that cracking the thick veneer of the uptight Equestrian elite was going to take far more than a night and a gala. All in due time.

Her erratic course through the city eventually brought her to the Equestrian Express Train Station. Like the city, the station was heavily packed with somewhat overly serious individuals. Mostly. One loading platform stood out starkly from the rest for the near lack of activity upon it. Only three figures stood upon the open expanse beside the waiting train, though the ramps leading up to the platform were crowded. Not by citizens however, but a contingent of royal guards.

“Pinkie, where have you been?” Twilight Sparkle called out in exasperation as the bubbly mare bounced her way up the loading ramp onto the platform, the guards parting to let her pass with only a cursory inspection . “We’ve been worried about you!”

“Whatever for?” Pinkie asked, coming to a stop before the purple hued unicorn. She folded her arms behind her back and treated Twilight to a warm smile. “The train doesn’t leave for another three and a half minutes.”

“And you don’t think that’s cutting it a bit close?” Twilight demanded, her features twisted in equal parts frustration and relief. “Everyone else is already on board. What if you had gotten hung up or…” The tirade cut off as Celestia stepped up behind her prized pupil and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Come now Twilight, she made it on time,” the princess told her, a small amused smile playing around her face.

“Indeed,” Luna chimed in, her own features stoic. “Do not stress thyself with what may have been.”

“…yes princesses,” Twilight relented, though she still gave Pinkie a hard look.

“I’m sorry Twilight,” Pinkie offered, stepped up close and dropping her voice to low whisper. “If you’d like, I can make it up to you later.” She waggled her eyebrows at the unicorn in an overtly suggestive manner.

Twilight flushed slightly, and then more so at the soft chuckle from behind her. “Please,” she begged in a very faint tone. “Not in front of Celestia.”

Before Pinkie could think of a suitable reply, a booming voice called across the station for the final boarding, and Twilight gave a small start. She turned quickly back to her teacher and mentor.

“Princess Celestia, thank you so much for inviting us to the gala, and into your home…”

Pinkie moved off a few steps, giving Twilight and Celestia a small measure of privacy. She was a bit surprised when Luna followed her, and that the princess was looking at her rather intently. Pinkie looked back at the princess of the night, bouncing slightly on her heels as she waited. She could all but see Luna trying to choose the proper words.

“Pinkie Pie,” the princess said at last, her tone so soft she barely sounded like herself. “Thou doest confuse us. When first we met on Nightmare Night, thou did flee from us repeatedly and in seeming fright. Yet the night previous it was thou who spent the most time speaking with us, and never once displayed fear or unease, even when thy friends did.” Luna paused, and then sighed. “You drenched me in several gallons of pie filling,” she added, dropping even her formal speech. “And somehow managed to convince me to strip naked, though how that was to help the situation I still cannot fathom. And you just carried on like nothing unusual had occurred. I…I have no idea what to think.”

“Well…” Pinkie said thoughtfully. “Did you have fun?”

“I…I suppose I did, for the most part.”

“And everything turned out okay in the end right?”

“My bedroom is going to smell of raspberries for a month, at least,” Luna complained lightly.

“Could be worse. But if it really bothers you…” Pinkie leaned in close, and waggled her eyebrows again. “I could make it up to you too.”

“Come on Pinkie, we have to go!” Twilight half shouted, grabbing her by the arm and pulling the earth mare towards the train. “Good bye princess Celestia, princess Luna.”

“Farewell Twilight,” Celestia replied, waving as her student dragged a widely grinning Pinkie Pie onto the train just moments before it began to pull out of the station. The solar princess glanced sideways at her oddly silent sister. “Luna, are you alright?”

Luna stared after the departing train in obvious consideration for a while, then looked at Celestia.

“Sister, you said that Twilight Sparkle had informed you that she and Pinkie Pie had formed a herd, correct?”

“Yes, she did,” Celestia answered in mild confusion. “Along with Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s brother. Why?”

“I have yet to fully study all the modern laws and customs since my return.” Celestia looked positively baffled at such a reply.

“And what does that have to do with…” Celestia began.

“Is the rite of the Honorary Herd Wife still practiced?” Luna broke in, and did her level best not to laugh at the rare sight of her sister looking utterly and openly flabbergasted. She managed, if only just. “What? It’s been forever since anyone talked me out of my clothing, and then I don't even get anything afterwards? I’d like to know what my options are for next time…”

Chapter 8

“Well, thanks for listening Discord. It really helped me clear my head. I’ll be sure to stop by next time I’m in Canterlot.” Pinkie Pie waved enthusiastically to the statue before she turned to leave, striking up a cheerful hum as she began to skip her way out of the central courtyard of the maze. She never noticed the hateful eyes watching out of one shadowy passageway.

“I don’t understand,” a soft voice hissed as the bubblegum pink mare bounced out of sight. “Why let her leave, it was a perfect opportunity. One of the Element bearers, all alone. Removing even just one of them would render all the Elements useless and…”

“You’re an idiot,” a cold, harsh voice interrupted the first, which cut off abruptly. An angry silence hung in air for several moments before the cold voice spoke again. “We did not come this far to throw it all away on a pointless risk. Keep your mouth shut! I will not chance her escaping to give warning, or her being missed before we have time to finish. Now come, we have work to be done.”

Two figures stepped cautiously out of the shadows. They were tall, and lean nearly to being emaciated. A disturbing amount of bone and sinew slid visibly beneath the dark, shiny flesh stretched tightly across their forms. Even more disturbing were the open holes that tunneled clear through their limbs.

Queen Chrysalis glared darkly after the departed Pinkie. Though she had forbade it, she was still loath to let one of wielders of Harmony just walk away. It would have been so easy to take her unaware. The cruelly hooked horn jutting from her stringy, tattered hair glowed a sickly green as she imagined the various spells she could have used to quickly and silently cut the heart out of the Elements of Harmony.

But the moment was already passed, and it would be even more foolish to go after her now. Returning to Canterlot had been far, far more difficult than infiltrating the city the first time around. The defenses around the Equestrian capital were far more subtle and dangerous than the crude barrier of before.

Chrysalis ground her teeth in frustration. Even through the haze of her mind control, Shining Armor had somehow managed to learn enough of the nature of her power to be able to craft spells that could tell the difference between Changeling and Equestrian magic. Now the entire city was blanketed in a web work that would instantly respond to any spell she or one of her minions dared to use within the capital. And she had practically handed him the means to do so!

Still, every problem has its solution. Since she couldn’t use her own magic to sneak into Canterlot, Chrysalis had simply used someone else’s. Finding the right unicorn for the task hadn’t been easy, but once a significantly talented individual had been located it hadn’t taken much effort to bend him to her will. The illusions had gotten her and her minion inside the city, aided by the influx of outsiders coming to attend the Grand Galloping Gala. As much as security might have been increased for the event, it was mostly focused on the palace itself. Something as unimportant as a hedge maze hardly warranted extra guards.

Not that the maze was without protection. Celestia had learned from her previous mistake, and the air around Discord’s statue buzzed with energy from the numerous spells laid upon and around it. Just standing within the courtyard made Chrysalis’s horn itch.

With the utmost care and caution, Chrysalis slowly reached for her magic and sent it drifting hesitantly towards the statue, gently probing the latticework of spells. This was the most dangerous part of the entire operation. She was counting on Celestia’s spellwork to provide enough interference as to avoid setting off Shining Armor’s alarm system. At the same time however she had to be careful not to trigger any of the spells Celestia had woven. Setting off Shining Armor’s spell would bring half the city guards down on her head. Setting off one of Celestia’s might bring down far worse.

And the Equestrian magic wasn’t the only threat to be concerned about. As her magic touched the statue, she felt her mind brush against a power more primal, more intense than any spell. It was the power of the Elements of Harmony, power enough to bring low even one of the Prime Spirits, to entrap the very source of chaos. There was nothing in the world, perhaps in all of creation, to rival such magic.

If what she had in mind worked however, she wouldn’t need to rival the Elements. Every Changeling in the world would not be enough for that task. But where brute force would certainly fail, perhaps subtly could succeed. Even an invincible wall could be thwarted if one could find a way to simply walk around it.

Time became a blur as she crafted the spell she had come so far and risked so much to cast. It had to be built in the tiniest steps, the magic flowing into the construct a slowly as she could manage. She lost herself in the casting, counting on her companion to keep watch for her. There was no room in her awareness for anything but the magic. Every ounce of focus had to go into this working, to keep the complex effect firmly in mind, to carefully work around the magical traps and alarms, to keep the flow of energy light enough to avoid detection. It had to be perfect. She had to be perfect.

Ecdysis meanwhile, was bored out of his mind. The Changeling stared dully down one, then another pathway, and then yet another. For the sake of variety, he would occasionally sneak a glance back at Chrysalis, but his queen hadn’t moved an inch since beginning her spellwork well over an hour ago. Whatever it was she was doing was complex to be sure, far more complex than anything he’d ever tried.

Not that he had ever really tried many complex spells. Why bother learning such annoying intricacies when he had strength enough to just overpower the issue. His brood mates had always accused him of being lazy, but they were just jealous. And rightly so, as his natural talent had clearly earned him this position of honor, of being handpicked by the queen herself for this important, top secret mission.

Granted he would have thought she might have let him in on just what the mission was at some point. Ecdysis figured she was testing him in some way though. Seeing how well he coped with being left in dark? Making sure he knew how to keep secrets before entrusting him with one? Or maybe she was seeing if he could figure it out for himself. That made some sense.

He glanced back at Chrysalis, wondering what she could possibly be doing that could take this long. It was impossible for him to tell without using magic, and the look in his queen’s eye when she had expressly forbid him from using even the simplest spell had promised consequences to make his nightmares quiver in terror. He could wait.

Another hour passed, and Ecdysis gave a start as Chrysalis let out an exhausted sigh. He had nearly fallen asleep on his feet, and his gaze jerked around the courtyard in alarm. If anyone had snuck up on them while he was supposed to be on watch, Chrysalis would have his head.

The clearing was empty of any newcomers though, and Ecdysis felt the vise around his heart loosen. He turned toward Chrysalis, and found her leaning against the dais to keep herself upright. The statue upon it looked unchanged, still that of an oddly mismatched and ugly individual, his features looking as if the artist had picked each element at random, with no regard or care for how they would look as a whole. Had the spell not worked?

“Your majesty?” Ecdysis approached hesitantly, his footsteps faltering as a low laugh bubbled from Chrysalis’s throat.

“Almost there,” she whispered. Her tone became firm. “Help me.”

Ecdysis quickly responded, striding over to help support Chrysalis to her feet. She leaned heavily against him. “What do you need, my queen?”

“Just one last thing,” she murmured. “Your love.”

“My…I don’t…” Ecdysis stammered in confusion.

“Don’t you love your queen?” Chrysalis asked in a soft hiss, turning those deep, bright green eyes upon him. He saw it coming a second too late, felt the magic take hold of his mind before he could start to bring a defense to bear. He hadn’t even realized the spell had been there the entire time, just waiting for her to activate it. Anger and betrayal flared in him, but it was quickly drowned out by love. Pure, unrestrained, horrible love for the woman that had just set him up.

“With all my heart,” Ecdysis responded passionately as his mind went blissfully blank.

“Good, very good my little Changeling,” Chrysalis whispered, pulling him into a deep kiss. Energy flowed into her, washing away the worst of the fatigue, and it was so tempting to just keep going. But she still needed him, and draining him dry would leave her unable to complete the task she had already put so much effort into. Reluctantly she shoved him back, drawing upon the fresh power she had taken. The final piece of the spell she had labored to construct fell into place as she forged a bridge between the hapless Changeling, and the statue behind her.

The results were amazingly lackluster. There were no flashes of light, no buzzing of energy. Nothing but an indistinct rushing sensation that seemed both very close and very far away. Ecdysis stiffened for a few heartbeats, and then slumped to the ground. He lay unmoving, glazed eyes staring blankly into the late morning sky.

It was perfectly silent.

Chrysalis took a hesitant step forward.

He wasn’t breathing.

She waited, holding her own breath.

One eye blinked.

Chrysalis jumped back as Ecdysis jerked up off the ground, sucking in a deep, painful lungful of air. His chest heaved frantically as he scrambled to his feet, his gaze casting around wildly. He spied her and froze, his eyes thoughtful and calculating. Far more so than they ever had been before.

He glanced down at himself, and just like that, he was in control. His breathing became regular, and his features smoothed into a clam mask. He flexed the fingers of one hand, and gave a small chuckle.

“Yes, I see now,” he spoke with a calm certainty. His gaze traveled up to the statue, and he smirked in a wicked, lopsided fashion.

Green flame erupted around the Changeling, washing over his features in a wave. When they cleared, the gaunt, sickly form was gone. In its place stood a mostly Equestrian figure, slender yet solid in build. He was tall and angular, with sharply contrasting features. He was ugly, but not hideously so. He could have been handsome, if not for the horrible clash of his mismatched appearance. He turned to face Chrysalis, and a single long canine flashed as he treated her to a smile full of teeth.

“Discord?” the Changeling queen asked.

“In the flesh,” the Spirit of Chaos replied. “Or at least, in someone’s flesh.” He gave an exaggerated stretch, with some truly hideous popping noises.

“Excellent,” Chrysalis purred. “Quickly now though, we need to…”

There was a bright, white flash, and Discord was gone.

Chrysalis just stared at the empty space where her prize had been standing. No, he couldn’t have just…

She risked a bit of magic, but could find nothing. No clue as to where Discord had gone, not even a general sense of direction. He had teleported away without leaving even a hint of power behind. And he had done so without tripping any of the alarm spells to boot.

“Well this body isn’t too bad,” a deep voice announced from right behind her, and Chrysalis almost jumped out of her skin. She spun, spells coming automatically to her mind. Discord was leaning casually against one wall of the maze, a rubber chicken of all things in one hand. “Still, it is a far cry from my own magnificent being.”

“Yes well,” Chrysalis said, forcing her voice to be calm as she let go of her magic. “Your body is entrapped by the greatest power in existence.”

“Yes, true enough,” Discord sighed dramatically, placing the chicken on his head. With a flash, it became a golden tiara, topped with a purple gem cut into a six pointed star. “So long as the Elements remain whole, there is no magic that can set me truly free.” The tiara blackened, and crumbled to dust.

“I too would like to see the Elements destroyed,” Chrysalis said. “Along with this wretched kingdom.”

“Of course you do,” Discord chuckled. “Why else go to the trouble to free me?” He gave her a blatant once over, and leered at her. “I assume you wish some kind of alliance?”

“Yes,” she replied stiffly, shifting a bit uncomfortably. “But perhaps we should discuss the details some place safer. I have a plan to escape, if you will follow…”

Discord yawned. “Oh, how dreadfully dull. What fun is there in being safe?” He snapped his fingers, and Chrysalis found herself sitting at a table across from him. A large stack of documents stood between them. “Now then, shall we begin the negotiations?”

“The what?” Chrysalis demanded.

“Negotiations,” Discord repeated brightly. “For the terms of our partnership.” He whipped the top sheet off the pile and pulled a pen from one ear. “Item one, division of labor resources.”

“…what?”

“Your minions,” Discord said, as if she was being purposefully slow. “Unless you Changelings have changed while I’ve been entombed…” he giggled, and then sighed when Chrysalis fixed him with an flat stare. “…then you no doubt have quite an army at your command.”

“Yes, MY command,” she emphasized.

“Oh come now Chrysalis,” Discord pouted. “Are you really going to make us fight over the children? Next you’ll be saying you plan to take the house as well.”

Chrysalis just stared at him for a long moment. This was the great and terrible Discord? The Prime Spirit of Chaos, that had once terrorized all of Equestria, that had twice now faced the full might of the Elements of Harmony and survived? He was a buffoon.

“Are you even listening to me now?” Discord broke into her musings, and Chrysalis had to blink in bafflement at the basket of baby bunnies balanced on his head. She felt one eye give an involuntary twitch.

“This was a mistake,” she told herself, pushing back from the table and starting to get up. Before she could rise however there was another flash, and she found Discord laying across her lap.

“Oh come now your majesty, we’re just getting started,” he grinned up at her. “Come come, you went through all this trouble for me, at least let me do something for you.”

“You could try being serious,” she informed him, crossing her arms sternly. Discord laughed in response, and the sound sent a chill down Chrysalis’s spine. As bright and gleeful as the sound was, there was a dark undercurrent to the humor that put her on edge.

“My dear,” Discord said, wiping away a tear. “I am always serious,” he told her in a chipper tone that made her stomach churn uncomfortably.

“Now then,” Discord went on, spinning around until he straddled her in the chair. “Let’s discuss some…other…benefits to our new partnership?”

“Ugh!” Chrysalis cringed back, and her horn blazed. The telekinetic shove sent the Chaos Spirit flying all the way across the courtyard, where he made a perfectly Discord shaped hole in the hedge wall.

Then the alarm sounded.

“Are you truly certain about this sister?” Celestia asked, pausing to look up from her work. Luna met her gaze in the mirror calmly.

“Quite certain,” Luna replied. “Why? Dost thou have reservations?”

“Stop that,” Celestia chided through a smile.

“Seriously Tia, why not?”

“Things have changed sister,” Celestia said, once again taking the brush to Luna’s mane. It still surprised her, how easily they had picked back up their old habits despite everything that had come between them, despite the Nightmare, and an entire millennium apart. Here they sat, back in their private rooms in the palace, one brushing the other’s mane before bed.

“So you keep saying,” Luna muttered though a yawn. It was nearly noon after all, rather late in the day for the princess of the night to still be awake. “I begin to wonder if you think me slow.”

“Of course not.”

“Then you believe I have not really been trying to learn?”

“Luna…”

“No Tia,” Luna cut in. “A great many things changed while I was gone, but many more things stayed just the same. I am not so out of touch as you seem to think I am.”

“Perhaps not,” Celestia allowed. “But you are considering treading down a very slippery slope, one that could trip you in many ways.”

“Good thing I have wings then,” Luna said smugly.

“And not taking this seriously will certainly send you plummeting,” Celestia said darkly.

“Oh do lighten up,” Luna sighed. “I am their princess. They should be so honored as to have caught my eye. How could they not welcome me with open arms?”

“Funny, I seem to recall hearing something very similar to that last Nightmare Night,” Celestia replied pointedly.

“Touché,” Luna allowed. “Still, we aren’t talking about random citizens.”

“No, we are discussing perhaps the most vitally important people in the entire kingdom. Those who wield the greatest power in creation. And whose hold on said power is only as strong as the bonds of friendship between them.” Celestia shook her head. “I already worry about what might come of them progressing their relationships further, especially as it seems unlikely they will all become lovers. What will such an imbalance of affection do to their friendship? Will they be able to keep hold of the Elements with such a shift?”

“That’s hardly fair Tia,” Luna protested. “You can’t ask them to live static lives just to maintain the certainty that they will be able to wield Harmony against some as yet unknown and uncertain to even exist threat.”

“Of course it isn’t fair,” Celestia agreed. “But neither is it fair to chance the safety of all our subjects.”

“But how many more threats could there be that would require the Elements?” Luna asked.

“If I could answer that, I would be less nervous about the entire situation,” Celestia replied. “It is not knowing that worries me.”

“In a thousand years, the Elements have only needed to be used thrice.”

“And two of those times within the last two years,” Celestia said hotly. “And we only survived not using them a fourth time by a stroke of good fortune.”

“If you had just bothered to wake me rather than challenging the Changeling Queen alone…” Luna said primly.

“I did not have time to do anything else,” Celestia grumbled. “And how was I to know how strong she would be?”

“If only you had access to someone with intimate knowledge of the creatures of nighttime and shadowy realms…” Luna said wistfully.

“Would you just say ‘I told you so’ and be done with it?” Celestia sighed.

“Why sister dearest,” Luna replied with false indignity. “We would never be so crass.” She smiled daintily up at Celestia through the mirror.

“We thinkest thou must be suffering an imbalance of the mind then,” Celestia retorted. “Did thou not just the other day speculate most boldly and rather inappropriately about which guard would be most likely to possess the largest…”Celestia ducked as Luna levitated a cushion at her. “And now thou dost throw things at us as a child in temper,” she reprimanded with a wide smile.

“As the children of this age would say, bite our royal backside,” Luna smirked back.

Celestia laughed lightly, giving Luna’s mane a final few strokes before setting the brush down and setting about gathering the ethereal strands up into cooperative braids. Trying to sleep with the floating strands waving free and loose was an invitation to a restless night. Or day, in Luna’s case.

“You still haven’t given me a good reason not to take Pinkie up on her offer,” Luna pointed out after a moment.

“It’s Pinkie Pie, how certain are you she was serious?” Celestia asked in reply, eyes down on her work.

“It could hardly hurt to inquire.”

“What about your reputation?”

“I have been demonized as a cannibalistic monster that haunts the night once a year for the past millennium,” Luna said drily. “What are a few rumors to that?”

“There are those who oppose your return,” Celestia said, a hint of real anger creeping into her tone. “They only talk now, but it could be they have no other means to move against you. If they perceive an opening to strike at you through those they see as being dear to you…”

“I pity them if they dare try,” Luna scoffed. “We are speaking of the Bearers of Harmony.”

“Who are still just normal…” Celestia began, but Luna snorted in derision.

“Normal Tia? Even without the Elements, they are more than capable of taking care of themselves, especially against the individuals of this age,” Luna shook her head. “I must commend you on your work in that regard sister, the average citizen of today could hardly even consider violence beyond a few thrown fists. You truly think there are dissenters that could do more than some heavy handed bullying? After Discord, Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis; you think Twilight or the rest would be defeated by some name calling?”

Celestia didn’t answer, but shook her head and sighed.

“Why don’t you tell me the real reason?” Luna asked.

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked after a brief pause.

“You have given me many excuses,” Luna said. “But you haven’t voiced the real reason you have against this.”

“I’m afraid I have no idea what you mean,” Celestia informed her levelly as she finished up the final few twists to her sister’s mane. Luna scowled at her in the mirror, noting with some vexation that it was hard to look properly regally annoyed with her hair in cute little braids. The bows really didn’t help.

“You can’t use that tone with me,” Luna stated imperiously anyway. “I know that tone, I’ve heard you use it to deny all sorts of hidden truths to all manner of politicians, rivals, and guests alike.”

“I’m afraid I have no idea…”

“Fine then, be that way,” Luna cut her off. “If you won’t admit to it, then you forfeit your right to complain later.”

“And what would I be complaining about sister?” Celestia asked wearily.

“How I stole Twilight Sparkle from you, of course.”

Celestia just stared at her, blinking in surprised confusion.

Luna stared back, waiting.

Celestia smirked.

That…that was not what Luna had been expecting.

Celestia put a hand over her mouth, but her eyes sparkled with mirth. She began to shake with suppressed laughter.

“Stop that!” Luna demanded. “What are you laughing at?”

“N-nothing dear s-sister,” Celestia giggled.

“Why is that funny?” Luna asked, standing up and turning to face Celestia.

“B-because,” Celestia paused to take a few deep breaths. “Oh my poor sister, have you really been taken in by that foolish gossip?”

Luna stared at her for a handful of seconds, and then realization clicked. Even her dark complexion could not fully hide the blush.

“You…and she are not…you never were…” Luna sputtered.

“No, not at all,” Celestia managed to say with a mostly straight face.

“But…but everyone thought…” Luna protested.

“Of course they did,” Celestia said. “With the amount of time I spent alone with her on ‘private lessons’. Amazing as it is however, I really was just teaching her magic.”

“But, the way she looks at you…”

“…yes,” Celestia sighed. “I suppose it was unavoidable really. I gave her so much, my time, my knowledge, my affection and attention. So much at such a tender age, it’s no surprise she developed a crush on me under such circumstances.”

“More than a crush Tia.”

“Perhaps, but it doesn’t matter either way. I did not allow it to become more than what it was. I am her friend, her teacher, her mentor. That is our relationship, and that is all it can be.”

“…why?” Luna asked in puzzlement.

“Because anything more would not be appropriate.”

“Says who?” Luna demanded.

“Tradition sister,” Celestia replied softly. “The social morals of the age, my own sense of ethics, take your pick.”

“Trough wash,” Luna swore dismissively. “Tradition changes all the time, morals even more so. You are supreme ruler of the land, answerable to no one and only obligated to explain anything to me.”

“Such heavy handed leadership is not the way of things anymore,” Celestia insisted. “I keep telling you, our rule is by the grace of the people…”

“A pretty lie to make yourself feel better sister.”

“Luna!” Celestia said, looking as if she’d been slapped.

“I am sorry, but it is truth,” Luna said mulishly, though she did look apologetic. “We rule because only we can. Who else has the stomach for it? Who else can truly keep this land safe from what lies beyond the boarders? Who else can provide the rock solid stability of centuries of consistency? Look at the chaos of the Griffin lands, their leaders switching every few years. They are lucky to have someone in office for a good decade. They struggle along because no one has the time to implement even minor policies before getting booted out by the next hot head with grand visions she’ll never be in power long enough to see done. You can say the people allow us to rule, but if they do, it is because they realize and recognize that they could not possibly replace us.”

Their eyes met, and it was Celestia that looked aside first. Luna stepped up to her and placed a hand consolingly on her shoulder.

“I still think it is inappropriate,” Celestia said thickly after a moment, laying a hand over Luna’s. “I knew her when she was just a filly.”

“She is a grown mare Tia,” Luna said softly.

“She’s still young.”

“Next to us, who isn’t?” Luna asked with a slight smirk. “She’ll be wrinkled as a prune and still be a baby by comparison.”

Celestia smiled sadly. “I know. But I still feel as I do.”

Luna sighed in mild frustration, but nodded.

“Very well sister. I do hope you won’t hold it against me if I feel differently though.”

“Of course not,” Celestia told her, pulling Luna into a brief hug. “But at least promise me you will be thoughtful of their feelings.”

“When am I not?” Luna asked indignantly.

Celestia pulled back from the hug enough to fix her sister a level look.

“…fine, I will be on my best behavior.” Luna grumped after a moment.

Celestia laughed and started to say something, only to freeze in place. Luna felt a chill crawl into her stomach as she watched a normally alien emotion fill her sister’s eyes.

Fear.

“Discord is loose,” Celestia breathed, her gaze turning in the direction of the garden.

“Wh…” Luna had to swallow. “What do we do?”

“Strike, quickly,” Celestia replied in sudden heat. “Before he harms anyone.”

Golden flames erupted around the solar princess in a flash of blinding light and searing warmth. A second later they were gone, and Celestia with them. Luna gave a start, shaking off the uncertainty and nervous fear that tried to pull her down. Shadows rose to engulf her, and when they melted back into the dark corners of the room, so too was the princess of the night gone.

Chapter 9

“This is all your fault!” Chrysalis screeched. Magic flashed and crackled all around the courtyard of the hedge maze, faster than the changeling queen could track. At least half the spells seemed to be nothing more than flash and bang; distracting, but not actually dangerous. However one of those had turned out to actually contain a hidden spell that had almost laid her out flat on the cobblestones, which now had her questioning just how harmless the rest might be.

“My fault, I think not,” Discord scoffed, waggling the trowel clenched in one hand condescendingly . “I wasn’t the one sloppily throwing magic around in an arcane minefield.” He scooped another glob of cement out of the bucket at his feet, and finished filling the hole his impact had left in the hedge maze.

“If you hadn’t provoked me,” Chrysalis growled, eyes scanning for an opening. Even without the potential dangers hidden in the light-show, escape was looking more and more unlikely. The entire courtyard was now encased in a dome of shimmering energy, rather akin to the barrier that had surrounded Canterlot during her previous trip to the city. Despite being condensed into a much smaller area however, the dome seemed charged with even more power than the city spanning blockade had been. Chrysalis was certain that touching such a force would not end well for anyone foolish enough to do so.

On top of that, the city guard had begun to arrive. It had only taken seconds for the first pegasi to come screaming out of the sky, taking up positions above the courtyard, weapons at the ready. Flashes of light within the maze passages marked unicorn teleportation, and the buzz of magic in the air grew thicker as spells where prepared. It couldn’t be much longer until the ground troops arrived.

“Well, this is going to be some party,” Discord chuckled as he surveyed the gathering force arrayed against them. “I do hope the games will be as fun as they're promising to be.”

“You’re insane,” Chrysalis spat. “We’ll be lucky to get out of this alive.”

“Nonsense,” Discord replied flippantly. “And trust me, I’m a man who knows his nonsense.”

Chrysalis’s respond was cut off by a burst of magic, the aura familiar amongst the multitude of energy surrounding the courtyard. Despite the situation, she felt her lips curl in a mocking smile.

“Why, is that my ex-fiancée I sense?” She crooned, turning her gaze towards the newest arrival. Stern blue eyes met hers from just on the other side of the barrier, a carefully controlled anger burning within. “Aww, you’re still upset about our falling out I see.”

“Chrysalis,” Shining Armor spoke the name as a curse. “To think there actually is a way I could be glad to see you again.” He regarded her coldly. “You are under arrest, surrender immediately…or don’t. I would not be sorry if you didn’t.”

“Why don’t you take down this barrier, and we’ll see who is sorry,” Chrysalis purred.

“If it was in my power to do so, I promise you, I already would have,” Shining Armor replied with a cold calm.

“My my my,” Discord chuckled. “Celestia has gotten paranoid of late, not even trusting her captain of the guard?”

“Trust has nothing to do with it,” a soft voice echoed through the maze. Flames erupted near the inner apex of the dome in a dazzling vortex of fire. “There are simply some things that I must do, personally.”

The fire burnt away, revealing a figure clad in shining golden mail. The individual links of the armor blazed in a thousand pinpricks of rippling light that ran across the metal like liquid flame. She stood upon a roiling thundercloud that crackled and flashed with internal lightning. An elegant but sharply pointed crown rose from her ethereal strands of pastel hair. Wings of a white so pure they seemed to emit their own light spread wide, and Celestia pointed an imperious finger down at the spirit of chaos.

“Discord,” she spoke, her words filling the entire maze despite the softness of her tone. “You go no further this day.”

“Oh very impressive Celestia,” Discord replied with a mocking applause. “I have to congratulate you on the theatrics, and might I add, you look quite fetching in the armor.”

Celestia’s horn blazed, and the very air vibrated with sudden power.

“I hate you,” Chrysalis growled at the still grinning madman.

“You could break a fellow’s heart saying such things Crissy,” Discord said in a wounded tone.

“Shut up and figure something out!” Chrysalis snapped. Energy was pouring out of the surrounding spell-works in a flood of magic. “Can’t you feel that? She must have been storing power here for months! And she’s about to use it all on us!”

“Actually, probably just on me,” Discord corrected without a trace of concern. Above them, Celestia horn glowed with power enough that it drowned out the midday sun. “You only need to be concerned about being burnt to a cinder by the backwash.”

Points of light sprang to life around Celestia, and Chrysalis let out a wordless cry of frustration and fury as she let loose a sickly green blast of power at the princess. The deadly beam barely made it halfway to its target before simply breaking apart like a wave upon rocks, the spell destroyed by nothing more than the sheer magnitude of energy surrounding the high ruler of Equestria.

The lights took forms, ghostly figures in a variety of colors; deep violet, sunny yellow, cheery pink, snowy white, sky blue, and purest orange. Bands of gold encircled the necks of five of the ethereal figures, a golden tiara gleaming upon the sixth. Gems glowed with a sudden solidity within the otherwise spectral apparitions.

“…oh,” Discord said simply, his tone disconcerted. “Well now that’s just plain cheating.”

Power leapt from the conjured Elements into Celestia’s waiting hand. She thrust her arm out towards Discord, and the energy roared out in a wash of rainbow light. Chrysalis flung herself desperately out of the way, pulling a barrier of energy around herself as she did. Her horn thrummed in pain as the immensity of the power washed over her, and she waited for it to tear her to pieces.

Only it didn’t.

There was a thunderous detonation against her arcane senses, and just like that, the power faded away as if it had never been. She dared to open one eye and found herself still whole and within the courtyard, her back pressed against the central dais. Her magical shield had been scattered as easily as vapor before a strong wind, and yet her body seemed whole. In fact, she felt as refreshed and energized as if she had just recently fed upon a particularly potent source of love. It left her feeling almost giddy.

Then she caught sight of Discord, and the sudden high vanished. A fresh statue stood beside one wall of the hedge maze, leaning back in a casually indifferent manner against the cement patchwork.

“Now,” that terrible, soft voice echoed around the courtyard. “To deal with you.”

Chrysalis scrambled to her feet, turning to face Celestia. She sneered with forced bravo. “You want to try me again? Maybe you don’t remember what happened the last time we fought.”

Celestia looked down upon her with unconcerned calm. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

Chrysalis sensed a sudden surge of energy behind her a half second before what felt like frozen bands of steel wound about her throat. She spun, horn charging with power, to find Princess Luna stepping out of a void within the air, strands of the night sky twisting from her fingers into a garrote.

The princess of the night wore scaled armor made of silver and shadows. Twisted spires of purest darkness flowed from her crown, more noticeable for where it obstructed her star filled mane than for itself. The night flowed around her in defiance of the sun above, and half formed images danced in that void; things normally only seen out of the corner of the eye, the nightmares of the imagination.

Chrysalis readied her counter strike, but writhing tendrils whipped free of the noose line to encircle her horn. Her spell crumbled at the freezing touch of Luna’s power like brittle ice, her power sparking off around her in a feeble light show. She reached for her magic again, but it was suddenly like trying to juggle while someone held her wrists, the necessary precision impossible to maintain.

The shimmering cord around her throat tightened, and blackness began swim at the edges of her vision. She dropped onto her hands and knees as a crippling exhaustion stole the strength from her limbs. She couldn’t reach her magic, and it wouldn’t be more than a handful of seconds before her blood starved brain just gave out. Chrysalis wondered if she would wake up again.

Then there was an odd metallic impact in her ears, and Luna’s crown came spinning across the cobblestones to bump against her hand. Chrysalis stared at it in numb minded confusion for a moment, before realizing her vision was clearing and that the crushing pressure at her throat had lifted.

Her eyes tracked upwards groggily to find Discord standing over Luna’s now prone form, a slightly dented bucket of cement swinging from one hand. She blinked at that, her mind certain the sight shouldn’t make any sense. With difficulty, she glanced back over her shoulder.

The fresh Discord statue was gone. Instead there was only Celestia, who was nearly statue stiff herself, frozen in mid-step from climbing down off her now grounded storm cloud. She was staring at Discord with a look of alarmed confusion that made Chrysalis want to laugh, though her throat probably couldn't handle such a vocalization at the moment.

“Impossible,” Celestia whispered.

“Why thank you,” Discord replied with a bow. “I do try.”

“How? You should be sealed away,” Celestia took a cautious step off her cloud, her eyes flicking down to her sister’s unmoving body for a brief instant before returning to the chaos spirit. Her face had hardened into an unreadable mask, but emotions raged within her violet eyes; anger, fear, panic, consideration.

“It’s really the simplest things that always trip you up, isn’t it Celestia?” Discord mused. “All that hard work. How much time did you put into mimicking the effect of the Elements? How much power? And in the end it was all for nothing because you overlooked one tiny little thing.” Green fire flashed, and Discord’s form reverted to that of the changeling body he possessed. “Those weren’t actually the Elements of Harmony Celestia, merely a copy of one specific use of them.”

“And that magic was designed to entrap the spirit of chaos,” Celestia finished with painful understanding. “Not a changeling.”

“Exactly so,” Discord said smugly as he transformed back into himself. “So now that you’ve wasted your best shot…”

Celestia’s hand snapped out, and a bar of blinding white light streaked from her palm. It glowed with an intensity that nearly made it nearly a physical object, and Chrysalis felt her skin prickle with heat from its mere passage.

Discord casually swung his dented bucket up, and caught the beam within the flimsy pail as if it was nothing more than a stream of water. The energy blazed and roiled within the bucket in imitation of the sun itself, but Discord just tucked it under one arm without concern and flashed Celestia his lopsided grin.

“As I was saying,” Discord went on. “Ah ah ah Celestia,” He interrupted himself as the solar princess drew upon her magic again. He held the bucket out, and tipped it slightly over. A few trickles of molten power spilled forth and the energy hissed and smoldered horribly as it consumed a tiny patch of stone where it landed; directly beside Luna’s head.

“Be a good girl now,” Discord prompted, and smirked in smug satisfaction as Celestia reluctantly let her gathered magic dissipate. “That’s better.

“What do you want?” Celestia demanded, her voice crackling with barely restrained emotion.

“What I always wanted my dear,” Discord replied. “Chaos, turmoil, entertainment. I want to see all order torn down. I want to do as I please, when I please, to whom I please. I want to turn the world upside down and see what shakes loose. I want to show people that all the structures and laws and rules and social expectations are nothing more than cheap dreams binding them to lives of bland order and mind dulling regularity.” He considered his surroundings. “However, at this moment I will settle for you taking down the barrier and letting me walk free.”

“Never,” Celestia hissed.

“Are you certain about that?” Discord asked whimsically, swirling the bucket over Luna thoughtfully.

“Don’t listen to him Tia,” Luna slurred painfully.

“Really now?” Discord chuckled. “Miss Nightmare Moon, playing the hero?” He dug a foot under one shoulder and kicked Luna over onto her back. “Are you sure you want to start being selfless at this moment?”

“We play at nothing,” Luna groaned. “But we would gladly lay down our life just to spit in your eye, cur.”

“Ah, well in that case,” Discord seized her by the chin, pulling her head up as he placed the rim of the bucket at her lips. “How about a soothing drink to help get the saliva going?”

“Discord!” Chrysalis called in warning, and the chaos spirit ducked aside just before Shining Armor’s sword would have taken his head. He spun towards the captain of the guard, flinging his deadly bucketful of molten sunshine in a wide arc.

Shining Armor dropped, throwing his body between Princess Luna and the attack even as he called a protective shield of force into existence. Celestia’s stolen power erupted into a roiling inferno as it struck the ground, the conflagration completely covering both Equestrians.

Discord didn’t waste time waiting to see if either would emerge again. The bucket went flying, erupting into a spray of razor edged shards that forced Celestia to fall back. He flashed across the courtyard to Chrysalis’s side, a clawed hand clamping on her wrist. “Please keep all arms and legs inside the ride,” he droned happily, eying the small parting that had been opened in the barrier to allow Shining Armor to creep inside.

“What are you…?” Chrysalis started to say, but her words were lost in a sudden rush as she was dragged along, and the world vanished in a blinding flash of light.

“What do y'all mean, ‘why’?”

Rarity arched one delicate eyebrow, but otherwise barely reacted to the outburst. “I would think what I meant should be perfectly clear.”

“Well maybe y'all thought wrong,” Applejack growled in response.

“Please,” Fluttershy meekly tried to intervene. “There’s no reason to…”

“Or maybe the question was too difficult for you?” Rarity said frostily, talking right over the pegasus.

“Y'all best not be questioning my smarts.”

“I’m sure we can work this out peaceful…” Fluttershy tried again.

“It’s not your ‘smarts’ I’m questioning,“ Rarity said with precision sarcasm. “But rather your rational.”

“Ah dun see much difference there,” Applejack scoffed. “Y'all still implying we ain’t thinkin’ straight.”

“Well then prove me wrong,” Rarity said simply. She settled back in the train bunk, one arm wrapped rather possessively around Spike, who was watching the proceedings with something approaching alarm. “Why do you and Fluttershy want to join us in a herd? Give me a good reason.”

Applejack scowled at the unicorn, muttering under her breath. Her eyes tracked upward in a thoughtful expression, then cast sideways at Fluttershy with a silent “help me” look.

“W-well…” the meek mare said softly. “We were talking,” she made a tiny gesture at AJ and herself. “And well uh, it seems like everyone is kind of getting together right now…”

“Wait, so you know about…” Rarity started, but cut herself off, not wanting to voice a secret until she was certain it was already spoiled.

“Yeah, she knows about Twi and Dash and Pinkie,” Applejack supplied. “Sumthin’ ‘bout standard mammal mating habits?” She finished questioningly, and Fluttershy nodded.

“I noticed some behavioral patterns between them that is fairly typical of mammals that engage in group mating practices, as well as certain physiological reactions whenever they are …” she trailed off at the amazed look Rarity and Spike were giving her. “Uh well anyway, it just seemed very obvious to me.”

“Very astute of you Fluttershy. However that doesn’t really explain why you want to join us,” Rarity said, though rather more gently than she had spoken to Applejack.

“Uh, I guess I was, I think, that is…” Fluttershy ducked her rapidly reddening face until her bangs mostly hid her features.

“Look, y'all gunna need more than just the two of y'all to make a proper herd,” Applejack cut in. “Who ya gunna find better than us?”

“She does have a point there,” Spike offered in a carefully neutral tone. Rarity’s gaze snapped over on him, her eyes sharp. The dragon flinched slightly.

“I’m sorry,” Rarity spoke to Applejack and Fluttershy, though she kept her eyes on the dragon beside her. “But a lack of better options is not really a valid reason to accept someone into a herd.”

“What do y'all want then?” Applejack demanded. “Written references?”

“What I want,” Rarity said firmly, turning her attention back on the cowgirl. “Is a good reason.”

“We’re y'all friends! We like y'all, we care about y'all!”

“And I care about you too Applejack,” Rarity said, some softness coming to her words. “But that is not the same thing as wanting to have you as a lover. Do you really want to share a bed with me again?”

“That…that was different,” Applejack protested. “And we made up afterwards anyway.”

“Yes, and I think it was good for our friendship,” Rarity said. “But you’re not asking to just be my friend. Or did you think we would be passing Spike around like a party favor?”

Said dragon opened his mouth, then seemed to think better of it, and shut it without commenting.

“C-course not,” Applejack flustered. “Ah wasn’t suggestin’ nothin’ like that.” The cowgirl seemed to deflate in on herself a bit.

“Then what?” Rarity asked bluntly. “What would you want out of this?”

“Ah, Ah want…” Applejack said, looking like the words were fighting her to come out. “…shoot, just forget it.” She mumbled finally, turning and storming out of the train car. She slammed the door shut behind her with a loud bang.

Rarity let out a sharp sigh, and sagged against Spike. She glanced up at Fluttershy, her lips pressed tightly together. The pegaus looked back at her nervously for a moment, then turned and slowly followed Applejack without a word.

“Well, that could have gone better,” Spike said carefully.

“It could have,” Rarity agreed in a strained voice. “If she would just stop being so stubbornly prideful…” Her face scrunched up as her eyes glistened. “All she had to do was…was…”

“I know,” Spike said. He really didn’t, but his instincts told him it was the right thing to say, and so far they had a better track record with women then he did. He put an arm around her shoulder comfortingly, and she turned to rest her head against his chest. They just sat there, with nothing but the rhythmic clacking of the wheels on the tracks to fill the silence.

Then everything went dark. Absolutely, utterly pitch black darkness. The sudden void of light was disorienting in its completeness, but Spike felt it when something appeared in the car before him. It was the same nagging sense that had warned him of Rainbow Dash sneaking up on him. The memory tempered his reaction, somewhat. He was already on his feet, imposing himself between the whatever and Rarity, though this time he kept his tail in check.

A heartbeat after it appeared, the void retreated, letting light return, revealing a tall, armored figure standing within the walkway between the bunks. Before he had time to take in the details though, she became aware of Spike looming over her, and lashed out in surprise. Starry tendrils of shadow whipped out at the dragon, who shocked everyone, himself included, by roaring in response.

The sound was a physical force in its own right. It rattled the entire train car, sent lines of cracks racing through the windows, and startled one princess of the night into stunned stillness. Luna only hesitated for an instant, but it was enough for Spike’s tail to streak down under her magical conjurations and take her feet right out from under her. She gave a rather undignified cry as she landed hard on her backside, the impact ruining her concentration. Her spells dissipated like smoke.

“Oh…” Spike groaned in alarm as his thinking mind caught up with events. “Oh horseapples.”

“This,” Luna said in a long suffering kind of tone. “Has been quite the unpleasant day.”

“I am so sorry princess,” Spike babbled. “I didn’t know it was you until, I shouldn’t have, I wasn’t…”

“At ease Spike,” Luna broke in wearily, hauling herself to her feet. “We did arrive unexpected and suddenly. Thou need not apologize for thy reaction.”

“Your majesty,” Rarity said, slipping around Spike to give a proper bow of greeting, which faltered halfway as she caught sight of heavy bandages wound around the princess’s head. “Sun and moon, what happened to you?” She blurted in shock.

“Trouble,” Luna replied simply. “Where are the others?”

On cue, the car door sprung open. Twilight Sparkle headed the onrush, and was nearly trampled for her speedy response when she came to an abrupt halt at finding one half of the royal family before her. She hadn’t been certain what to expect when she’d come to investigate the bone shaking roar that had jolted her out of her daydreams, but this had not been high on the list of likelihoods. Luckily for her, Applejack was second in line, and the sturdily built cowgirl managed to hold back the rest of their friends in the resulting pileup.

“Excellent,” Luna announced, raising her voice to drown out any attempt by the gathering to start asking questions. “We do apologize, but we require that thou return with us to Canterlot, immediately. Discord hast escaped.”

The princess paused for the expected gasps of surprise before once again overriding any inquires with verbal brute force.

“We will discuss matters back in the castle,” she announced, her tone offering no room for comment. “Gather round us, as close as thou can.”

There was little to be done but obey, and in seconds the creeping shadow of Luna’s power flowed to surround them all. The trip was short, but unnerving. It was like being blindfolded and tossed into the deepest depths of the ocean. There was no light, no sense of direction, only a crushing icy pressure as vague, alien sounds drifted somewhere off in the void.

Then they were dropped within the throne room of the palace, the light and warmth of such normal surroundings a pleasant welcome. Less pleasant was the gathering of armed and armored soldiers that lined the walls, or the frantic bustle of scribes and palace servants that buzzed about with an air of nervous energy. Worse still was the sight of Princess Celestia, standing at the center of the half organized swarm, issuing commands and directions even as a trio of doctors applied ointments and bandages to the numerous cuts that crisscrossed her body.

“Princess!” Twilight’s voice cut through the thrum of voices as she shoved her way through the crowd. She came to a sudden halt just a step away from Celestia, her face marred with emotion was she struggled to comprehend what she was seeing.

“Twilight,” Celestia greeted her prized student with her usual calm voice. She made a brief, dismissive motion to the gathered servants, who quickly tucked away their scrolls and quills and bustled on out of the room. The soldiers went with them; the doctors however cast uncertain looks among themselves.

“Your majesty,” the eldest tried to protest, but a stern look from his patient shut him down. The old unicorn clenched his jaws in frustration, but gave a stiff bow of acquiesce, and then ushered his companions out before him.

“Oh princess,” Twilight said, half reaching out to her before pulling her arm back.

“Please, I am alright,” Celestia said soothingly, placing a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. She smiled down at the purple mare, though there was something strained in her eyes. “There is much more to worry about then injuries this minor.”

“Right, right,” Twilight replied, clearly working to pull herself back together. “Princess Luna said Discord managed to escape.”

“Yes,” Celestia nodded. “Queen Chrysalis managed to free his mind from the prison the Elements entrapped him in. His power is much diminished, but the threat he poses to Equestria is hardly lessened for it.”

“Don’t worry princess, we stopped him once, we can stop him again,” Twilight said, some bravado returning to her words. Behind her she heard her friends voice their earnest agreement and support.

“That’s…well spoken Twilight,” Celestia replied with an odd catch in her words. Her gaze swept over to her sister, and Luna nodded solemnly.

“Come,” the princess of the night commanded. “We shall bear thee to the Elements, that you may take them up in preparation.”

Twilight started to turn to follow, but Celestia’s hand upon her shoulder tightened. She gave a little start of surprise, looking back up at her mentor.

“Stay a moment,” Celestia said quietly. “I…I have…to tell you something.”

Twilight felt her stomach clench at the princess’s tone, at the sudden cracks she noticed in the carefully prepared mask Celestia wore. The twinkle had gone out of the solar princess's eyes, replaced by a deep pain.

“Princess?” Twilight asked, tears already coming to her eyes. “What’s happened?”

Just outside the throne room, Spike came to a sudden halt, and Rainbow Dash gave an annoyed grunt as she had to jump aside to avoid running into him.

“Spike, what the hay?” she complained at him.

“Twilight’s not with us,” the dragon said, looking back over his shoulder.

“Our sister has need to speak with Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, her tone rather moderate.

“About what?” Dash demanded.

“About a consequence of Discord’s escape,” Luna replied after a moment’s pause. Her eyes fell to the floor, and her voice turned bitter. “Our injuries, mine and my sister's, are the least of those inflicted.”

Before anyone could ask for clarification, a wordless wail pierced the air. It was pain, and grief, and denial made sound. It rose into a feverish pitch of purest anguish before dissolving into painful, racking sobs. The specter of that cry echoed in the minds of everyone gathered as they turned towards the source, as they looked back down the length of the throne room to where Celestia stood, her head bowed as she held her ever faithful student. Held her, and tried to find words of comfort and apology for what her stolen power had wrought.

Chapter 10

The water was cool and refreshing upon her face, the sense of cleanliness it brought slightly revitalizing. It wasn’t as enjoyable as a proper shower, but it was as much as Luna was ready to allow herself at the moment. Retrieving the wielders of Harmony had been a priority greater than her own comfort, and she had given the palace doctors only enough time to ensure her injuries weren’t life threatening before rushing off to gather them.

She still had much to do, but she felt she could at least see to her comfort and appearance a little now that they had a proper defense in place against Discord. Her armor was gone for one thing, for all the good the stuff had done her. Hundreds of thousands of bits and weeks worth of magical enchantment had gone into its creation, and she’d been taken out by a bucket because she’d been lacking a proper helmet. The indignity of it was worse than the headache.

Her sore head at least was easy enough to remedy. Spells to dull aches and pains were fairly simple and reasonably effective for most injuries. Such a spell cast by someone with Celestia’s skill and power could make an injury seem to all but disappear. The lump was still there of course, but between her sister’s magic and the illusion she herself had cast over the bandages, Luna looked and felt as if she had been fully restored.

She toweled off her face, checking her reflection in the mirror. She looked tired, which was no surprise given what she had been through and how much past her usual bedtime it was. She wasn’t expecting to get any sleep this day, nor the coming night. Raising the moon the coming evening was likely to be a chore if she was already feeling this worn out.

“You have endured worse,” Luna told herself. Which was perfectly true. Few things in life could compare to a millennium of exile with nothing but the madness of pure magical corruption as company. That her mind was as stable and whole as it was after such an ordeal was no small miracle. She sometimes wondered how much of that she owed to the Elements of harmony, and how much might be her own resolve. At the moment, she felt the Elements deserved the greater bulk of the credit.

Despite feeling relatively well physically, despite trading in the weight and bulk of the armor for the comfort of her normal attire, despite knowing that Equestria was as ready as it could be for whatever Discord might have in mind, Luna could not find much in the way of peace of mind. She’d been careless, and had nearly lost her life for it. The cost of her surviving that blunder had been high, and had been paid by those she already owed much. It was a cost that many others might still have to pay in the future as well.

“Time to start working my debt off,” Luna told her reflection as she reached for her magic. Her image faded from the mirror as darkness filled the room. For a moment the blacken glass showed her the endless void from which her power flowed. It was also the abyss that had taken her anger and bitterness and spawned the Nightmare of the Moon. And somewhere in that lightless realm there might still lurk the seeds of that terrible transformation.

That was a problem for another night however. The mirror and then the entire room vanished into the darkness as Luna left the natural world, falling into the lightless under realm. The feeling was always that of falling, regardless of the actual direction she traveled, and despite the complete lack of anything that she could be falling towards. The void wasn’t truly empty, but what did exist there was present merely as memory and idea, fleeting and insubstantial.

She appeared in a quaint and idealistic orchard of neatly ordered and spaced apple trees. The overhanging branches were thick with leaves and heavy with fruit, and the mid-day sun was muted and diffused beneath that green canopy. Light shadows danced and flowed across the mostly bare earth as the wind softly wound its way through the grove.

The peaceful silence was broken by the sound of a heavy impact, the rustling of leaves, and a rapid, irregular thudding. Luna turned towards the noise, but although it had sounded close by, she could see nothing beyond the nearest trees. She stood still and quiet, ears straining even as her mind tried to match the sound to some memory, but she was coming up blank. Her horn glowed faintly as she opened her mind to the currents of magic that were ever present within Equestria.

It was not through her horn that she sensed it though, but up through the soles of her feet. A pulse of earth magic rippled through the ground, and for a brief instant Luna felt herself rooted in place. The power pulled at her, connecting her to the enormity of the world itself, and she found herself as always in awe of the might of magic that flowed through the lands. Earth magic was subtle to the point of being nigh invisible, but that did not make it weak. Woe indeed upon anyone who doubted the strength of a master of such power, for the entire world itself would lend power to those who knew how to ask for it.

That was the real secret of earth magic; unicorns had to provide their own magic, and pegasi had to bully existing currents of weather into doing what they wanted. No one however had the power to make the earth do as they wanted. One had to make themself known to the land, had to earn it’s respect and good will, and even that only granted the right to ask if it would lend some of its infinite might. Being a practitioner of earth magic was not an art nor a science, it was a relationship.

Princess Luna was not very good at earth magic. Her relationship with the world was one of mutual, begrudging respect of the other’s stubbornness. Polite but stiffly formal, and the very few times she had called upon that power the land had granted it to her mainly out of an understanding of the direness of the situation that had forced her to make such a plea. And it had been very smug about her having to ask for its help.

Celestia was on much better terms with the world, but even so, Luna had enough of a connection to recognize that whoever was calling on the magic was doing so with a casual air that spoke of a deep, personal affiliation. The energy held a sense of not just familiarity and respect, but genuine fondness as well, the magic given happily and without hesitation or reservation.

The magic was also lingering an abnormally long time, especially around where she stood.

“Oh stop that,” Luna chided the earth, forcibly breaking her connection with the land. Last thing she needed right now was the world bragging on someone else’s behalf. She strode off in the direction she had felt the magic coming from, pushing her way through the low hanging branches and into another row of trees.

What she found there made her steps falter, and she quickly stepped back to remain in the deeper shadows directly beneath the trees. She wasn’t quite certain why she hesitated to reveal herself, but some instinct told her to take a moment to study the individual casually making his way up the row. After a second to consider her feelings, Luna concluded that said instinct might not be one of her more pure minded ones.

He was not the biggest stallion she’d ever seen, not in height nor bulk of muscle, but he wasn’t far from the top in either. His build was not one for show however, not the carefully cultivated and toned look that often suggested more strength than was actually possessed. His was a working man’s build, solid slab muscle over a heavy, powerful frame. If there was any doubt of his physical prowess, and Luna had none but if there had been, it would have quickly been squashed by the casual manner in which he hauled along the wagon behind him.

It was a four wheeled behemoth, large and sturdy enough to have served as a dance floor for six. It was packed full with barrels, half of which were nearly overflowing with apples. The stallion was pulling it along with one arm, his steps slow but coming easily. The rough ground was no impediment to his pace, even as it tried and failed to trap the heavy wheels of the cart, its efforts defeated with simple tugs on the yoke.

Luna watched as he brought the wagon to a halt and began to unload a set of baskets, setting them out around one of the apple trees. Curiosity made her wait, even though she felt at this point she was verging on spying by staying hidden. Hardly appropriate behavior for a princess, to be sneaking around in the foliage to stare after a stallion, regardless of how impressively built he might be. Actually, that probably only made it worse, especially since he had shucked his shirt at some point with the rising heat.

Once the baskets had been placed, the stallion stepped up to the trunk of the tree, placing a hand gently against the rough bark. Even with her connection to the earth suppressed, Luna felt it as the land responded to his silent request, felt the energy gather. It was so swift, and so casual. The gathering of power was without effort or even much concentration. It was something done by rote, and with incredible precision. It was something he had clearly done literal thousands, if not tens of thousands of times.

With the same practiced ease and surety he brought his hand back, tucked in close to his side as he feet spread for stability. He thrust his arm out in a sudden blur and his palm struck against the tree in an impact of physical strength and magical energy. The power raced through the tree, excess bleeding off into the ground in another pulse of magic. And nearly the entirety of the apples popped right off their branches to fall neatly and precisely into the waiting baskets.

Luna felt her jaw unhinge from the shock of trying to process what she had just seen. She had just witnessed a true master of earth magic at work, someone who had cultivated a true connection with the land, to the degree that he could call upon the inherent magic of the world nearly as if it was his own. And he was using it to harvest apples! The absurd juxtaposition of such mastery used for something so utterly mundane left her flabbergasted.

The princess of the night half stumbled out of the cover of the tree line, walking towards the stallion in something of a daze. He did not notice her approach at first, his mind clearly turned inward on his own thoughts as he went about his day’s labor. He caught sight of her out of the corner of one eye as he was busy transferring his harvest from basket to barrel, and Luna saw him tense for just an instant, an expected reaction to being surprised. What was less expected was how he just as quickly forced himself to relax, to override his instincts before he would let himself respond.

Which was about the point he seemed to actually realize just who she was, as the tension came screaming back into his posture. The baskets went tumbling to the ground as they fell from his hands in his haste to kneel before her, his head bowed so low he’d have a hard time seeing anything but her feet. The apples went spinning across the dirt and sparse grass, scattering in a small wave of reds and yellows.

“Please, rise,” Luna instructed simply, her tone muted. Her magic flared, and the apples floated from the ground, depositing themselves back into the baskets in a brief flurry of motion, the baskets in turn hovering over to rest upon the waiting cart. “And tell us, might thou be known as Big Macintosh?”

Mac paused in climbing back to his feet, something that might have been alarm in his eyes. He straighten up slowly, and Luna took the opportunity to get an appreciation for how large he really was at such a close distance.

“Uh, eeyup,” Mac answered simply. He didn’t quite look at her, but instead stared at a spot slightly above the princess’s head.

“Excellent,” Luna breathed, earning a confused blink out of the stallion. “We need you to come with us to the palace.” She could see the thoughts turning over in his mind as he tried to make sense of that request. Truth be told, she really should have eased into the conversation a bit more gently, but she was tired. And perhaps she was a bit curious to see how he reacted.

For a moment Mac’s gaze shifted down to meet hers. His eyes weren’t exactly afraid, but more cautious and a bit considering. He didn’t hold her gaze long enough for Luna to get a good read on him, but she got a sense of stubborn determination that definitely solidified him as being Applejack’s brother in her mind. His attention quickly returned to looking safely over her head, and he nodded.

“Alright,” he replied simply.

“Alright?” Luna asked with a quirked eyebrow. She knew she shouldn’t bait him. She had more important things to do, and it was hardly appropriate. But at that moment she just couldn’t help herself. She just had to know just what kind of man could not only catch the interest of Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash alike, but also manage their attention as a good herd stallion must. “Just like that? No questions?”

“Don’t see much point to em,” Mac answered with a shrug, his face becoming calm and impassive. It was a good mask, one of the better one’s Luna had seen even with her centuries of experience. “You’ll tell me what I need to know when I need to know it.”

“And if we never tell you anything?”

“Then I’ll just have to assume you had a good reason for the secrecy.”

Luna blew out a breath, not sure if she was annoyed or impressed. “We could want you to perform some act of vile wickedness or treason against the kingdom for all you know.”

“I suppose so,” Mac agreed slowly. He took a deep breath. “But if you are intending to ask such a thing of me, I should tell you now that you’d be better off finding someone else for the job.”

“We are your princess,” Luna informed him sternly. “Our word is law. If we command you, you are to obey.”

“Eeyup,” Mac agreed again. His bearing shifted slightly, a bit of tension coming into his stance as he lowered his eyes to meet hers. As good as his mask was, his eyes betrayed the turmoil of emotions raging behind them. “You are a princess. So is Celestia. And no offense your majesty, but she’s been my princess a good bit longer than you have.”

Luna’s jaw didn’t quite drop open in surprise, but only just. Now she was impressed.

“You would act on her assumed position in defiance of our commands?” She demanded in a dangerous tone.

“Eeyup,” Mac answered, rock solid conviction in his tone, his jaw set stubbornly. “It don’t take much assuming to judge her position on any kind of questionable acts. She’s a good person, good as they come.”

Silence stretched as the two traded glares, sweat beading along Mac’s brow.

“She is that, isn’t she?” the princess of the night said with a sudden, fierce smile. That finally made Mac blink. His confusion mounted as Luna tilted forward at the waist in a slight bow to him, her wings spreading in a mild flourish. “Our respect to thou Big Macintosh. Thy conviction and moral dedication are quite admirable.”

“Uh…thanks?” he replied hesitantly. He bowed back to her, his motions jerky with uncertainty.

“Please accept our apologizes, but we felt it necessary to take thy measure.” Luna straightened, folding her wings back down. “There is a dire situation developing, and thou might be able to help contribute to its resolution.”

“…me?” Mac asked, sounding thoroughly disbelieving.

“Indeed. Pinkie Pie suggested that thou might be able to help.” That did not quite have the reaction Luna was expecting. If anything, he looked even more concerned.

“I…see…” Mac said slowly. “And uh, what is it she thinks I can help with?”

“We may soon be needing the Elements of Harmony,” Luna explained, trying to make sense of his reaction. Surely the good word of one of his herd mates on his behalf should have been taken as a good thing, a sign of her confidence in his abilities. “However we are concerned for the emotional wellbeing of Twilight Sparkle in light of a family tragedy.”

The shift in his expression was startlingly swift. His uncertainty and concern morphed into an anxious worry, and she could practically see him restraining his imagination. “What happened?”

“Her brother was gravely injured in the line of his duties as captain of the guard,” Luna answered, her own imagination trying to rise up the fresh memories. “We do not know if he will survive them or not.”

Big Macintosh closed his eyes, his face twisted in sympathetic pain. “What can I do?”

“Comfort her,” Luna replied. “Her friends already do so, as well as her herd mates and her family. You can add to that comfort. She can use all she can get right now.”

Mac nodded. “Alright.” His expression scrunched up in thought. “This will probably take me away from the farm for a while I imagine.”

“Likely until the threat against Equestria is ended,” Luna agreed.

“Then I can’t just rush off into this,” Mac said, and Luna found her opinion of him rise yet again. He looked and sounded like he wanted to hurry to Twilight’s side, but he was making himself slow down and think. The nature of the stallion in Pinkie’s herd had been something of a source of concern for her, however much she had told her sister she was certain about her intentions towards joining them, even in an honorary position.

Luna knew something of Pinkie and the rest of the bearers, if in a jumbled and incomplete way. She didn’t know much of the details of their lives, but she knew what kind of people they were. Knew in a way few others could. She had felt them all when she had been subjected to the magic of the Elements. Being a bearer of Harmony was more than just having the right to wear the Elements and call on their power. One became part of the Elements, and the Elements part of the bearer.

She might not know their favorite foods or what goals they had in life, but she knew who they were deep down. They were nearly strangers to her, and yet she had come to know them on a frighteningly intimate level through the power of the Elements. It was how she knew Pinkie’s offer at the train station had been more than just a jest. It had been an opening, subtle enough to let her laugh it off as a joke if she wanted, but perfectly serious if she wanted to accept.

Luna knew that she could trust Pinkie and Twilight and Dash to accept or deny her for genuine reasons. She knew they just weren’t the type to use her and her position for their own benefits. It was that exact concern that had kept her from seeking a herd of her own since her return. A thousand years of isolation had left Luna with a nearly overwhelming desire for the comfort and closeness of others. It had been such an agonizingly long time since she had known any kind of physical or emotional comfort.

Her time with Celestia was the only thing keeping her from throwing all caution and care to the wind. And yet as much comfort and support as she provided, Luna needed more than just the care and attention of her sister. Her body craved the kind of intimacy that family couldn’t rightly provide, and the bearers of Harmony seemed to be the ideal fit. They were safe, a known factor thanks to the odd connection that had been bridged between them.

Their herd’s stallion however, he was an unknown. Luna felt he had to be a decent enough guy, though she wasn’t certain that she didn’t just want to believe that in order to simplify things. But she found the idea of him being anything like the self-serving, ego centric ‘elite’ she routinely had to deal with too unlikely. Surely that was not the type of person Pinkie or Twilight or Dash would go for. And he certainly didn’t seem like that type. His mastery of earth magic spoke well of his personality to her. Unless she was just hoping it to be so.

She was just so tired of being alone.

“Princess? Princess Luna? You alright?”

Luna jerked out of her thoughts, suddenly aware of Big Macintosh looking at her with some concern. She instantly composed her features, slipping on the familiar mask of royal serenity she had worn for countless centuries. There was no way to take back what he might have seen however, nor even know just how much she had given away in her absent minded reflection of her situation.

She stifled a sigh. Nothing to be done for it now but to press on.

“We are fine, pardon us our rumination,” Luna responded coolly. “The situation is merely troubling. We should be on our way, what doest thou need to prepare?”

“Well…” Mac paused, thinking. “I’ll need to pack some…”

“Unnecessary,” Luna interrupted. “Whatever material needs you have can be provided at the palace.”

Mac looked a bit uncomfortable with the idea, but he nodded in acquiesce. “I’ll need to let my family know what’s going on, as well as find someone to look after them. Applebloom is too young and Granny Smith…well they need someone to keep an eye on things if both me and Applejack are going to be gone.”

“And who would you consider appropriate for this task?” Luna asked.

“I guess I’d soonest ask my cousin Apple Fritter,” Mac answered after a pause. “She lives nearby, knows the farm well enough, and could probably handle Granny for a bit.”

“Very well,” Luna said. “Hold out your hands.”

“Uh, like…this?” Mac asked, presenting his hands to her palms up.

“That will do,” Luna said with a nod, placing her own hands palms down in his. He flinched.

“Hold still or this won’t work,” she scolded lightly. Her grip tightened on him, and he responded in kind almost automatically. Her hands seemed rather small, laying against his thick fingers, and Luna felt an involuntary thrill at the sense of strength in that grip. She really needed to have a talk with Pinkie Pie, and soon.

“Wait, what won’t work?” the big man asked nervously.

“Shhh,” Luna instructed as the aura of her magic enveloped her horn. “Now, picture in thy mind thy cousin’s home.”

She felt it as the spell locked onto the thought her words conjured from his memory. It tugged at her, providing a sense of distance and direction that she fed into her teleportation spell, and the pair of them vanished into the void for a split second. The trip was short, almost absurdly so for her brand of teleportation, and the darkness came and went so quickly it could have been mistaken for a long blink.

For a moment Luna thought something must have gone wrong, as their surroundings had hardly changed at all. Rows of neatly spaced and ordered apple trees spread out around them, the only thing missing was the wagon. A second later a voice came drifting through the trees, accompanied by the light crunch of footsteps on dry dirt.

“So ah tell the lyin’ weasel, ‘Mister, if ya’ll from the ‘partment of agra’culchah, ah’m princess Cele…’”

The words stopped dead as a mare stepped through the tree line, her foot frozen in mid-stride as surely as her speech was in mid-word. She was a bit taller than average, built like a runner, and had a lush green mane split into long pigtails down either side of her face. She was currently goggling at the sight before her in a way that made Luna realize just what a scene she was presenting. She was holding hands with a stallion; a shirtless stallion at that, off in the potential privacy of an orchard.

Big Macintosh seemed to realize just what things looked like at the same time she did, as they both released the other and pulled their hands back at the same time. Luna suppressed a wince; that reaction was not likely to make their situation seem any less innocent.

“So what’d he say after…oh my word…” A second mare stepped into view, her progress likewise coming to a sudden halt as she laid eyes on the scene before her. She was a little shorter than the first mare, a bit more solidly built, and with a wavy blonde mane she kept tucked behind her ears.

The two mares looked at each other as if hoping one of them knew what to do or say.

Luna cleared her throat pointedly as she took a step forward, and the pair jerked in response. They dropped into bows, tension starting to build in their posture. She turned to look back at Mac.

“Thy cousin?”

“Apple Fritter and Apple Tart,” the big stallion replied with a nod towards the green maned mare and then the blonde.

“Good, then explain so that we may be on our way.” Luna took a couple steps away, giving him a small offering of privacy with his family.

“Uh, are we allowed to, ya know, stand up or sum’thin?” Apple Fritter asked quietly, peering over at the princess out of the corner of one eye.

“I reckon so,” Mac said, offering out a hand each to help them up.

“…Mac,” Fritter said by way of greeting as she let him haul her up.

“Fritter,” Mac replied in kind.

“Mac,” Tart mirrored, politely refusing the offered hand.

“Tart,” Mac nodded back.

Silence.

“So uh...” Apple Fritter began. “Sum’thin’ ya’ll needed to tell me?”

“Right, um,” Mac coughed. “I was hoping I could ask you to mind my farm for a bit.”

“Oh? You going somewhere?” Tart asked.

“Eeyup,” Mac answered. “Canterlot, couple of days like as not.”

“Applejack?” Fritter asked.

“Already there,” Mac replied.

“Ah,” Fritter said by way of acknowledgement.

More silence.

“So…are you and the princess…?” Tart ventured.

“No!” Mac said quickly, straining to keep his voice down. “It’s not like…I was…she caught me at a bad time is all, I was out working.”

“Right…” the blonde said slowly, glancing over first at Luna, then at Fritter. The two mares looked at each other in that way that Mac had come to recognize as two women practically communicating telepathically.

“So if it ain’t…like that…” Fritter said in a far too reasonable tone. “Then what is it like, that one o’ the princesses herself is the one collecting ya’ll?”

Mac rolled his eyes. “It ain’t really about me. It’s got to do with my sister and her friends. You know, Elements of Harmony and all that.”

“Oh,” Tart said thoughtfully. “Oh…” she added a second later.

“That sounds a bit troublin’ ta me,” Fritter put in darkly.

“It…it could be,” Mac agreed. He glance at Luna, and dropped his voice even further. “Look, I get the feeling I should be keeping my mouth shut…”

“Big task for you,” Tart cut in with a smirk. Mac ignored her.

“But could you see to it that the family is…well ready for anything, just in case.”

“’Course we can,” Fritter assured him quickly. “And don’t ya’ll worry none about ya’ll farm, we’ll keep an eye on things for ya’ll.”

“Thank you,” Mac said gratefully. “Bit of warning, I did not have time to tell Applebloom or Granny Smith what was going on, so you’ll need to fill them in.”

“Not it!” Tart said quickly, earning a stink eye from Fritter.

“Fine,” the green maned mare grouched. “But now ya owe me one Mac.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” the big man promised. He glanced over to where Luna stood, one foot starting to tap in impatience. “I best be going I think.”

“Right right, go help save the world or something?” Tart asked.

“Or something,” Mac replied.

“Well what’ver it is, be careful ‘k?” Fritter told him, stepping forward and giving her cousin a brief hug.

“I will be,” Mac said, hugging her back.

“You better,” Tart said, giving and receiving her own hug. “I’m going to need Fritter back here before the fall harvest.”

Mac rolled his eyes, but gave her an extra squeeze before letting the hug go.

“Art thou ready?” Luna asked as he made his way over to her, and he gave her a simple nod. “Very well, let us be on our way then.”

Mac steeled himself as the princess’s horn glowed, and the shadowy presence of her magic engulfed them both. His stomach felt like it was trying to climb its way up into his chest for a moment, and then it came slamming down again as his feet reclaimed purchase on a solid surface.

He had only a brief second to take in the richly decorated surroundings of the royal throne room before something pink and blindingly fast streaked across the room and latched onto his arm with a squeal of “Macky!”

“Pinkie,” Mac said, stumbling a bit for balance as the mare started hauling him along like a small child. He was partly aware of others in the room; a few guards staring after him quizzically, some other fellows in fine dress looking rather affronted by the whole scene, princess Celestia looking like someone trying not to smile…

The big man took a firm step in the direction Pinkie was hauling him, getting a foot planted solidly for just a second. It was all he needed however to bring the excitable mare to a halt by the simple means of lifting the arm she was holding until her own feet came off the ground, leaving her treading empty air.

“…something wrong Macky?” Pinkie asked conversationally, as if she wasn’t hanging a good foot off the floor.

“Could we slow down just a bit?” Mac asked reasonably. “At least until I can pay proper respect?” He nodded over towards Celestia.

“Oh that’s quite alright Macintosh,” Celestia spoke lightly, her efforts to keep her smile under control losing ground. She hid part of her face behind a scroll she had clasped in one hand. “Go with my blessings.”

"Uh, thank you your maje…” Mac started, only to be cut off as Pinkie somehow reclaimed traction with the ground.

“Thanks Celly!” the hyperactive mare said as she resumed stallion-handling her man out of the throne room, much to the amusement of one princesses, amazement of the other, and general bewilderment of everyone else present.

“You couldn’t even let the poor fellow get fully dressed sister?” Celestia asked as the pair vanished out the door, her tone playful.

“We were merely being expedient,” Luna answered back primly, well aware of the looks the guards and nobles were pointedly not aiming in her direction. It was the kind of false privacy that always made her feel more self-conscious than if they just stared outright.

“Of course,” Celestia agreed amicably. “Though you know, sometimes speed isn’t everything. Be sure to pace yourself.”

Luna felt her face heat as she glared daggers at her sister. As if her teleporting into the palace with a half-naked stallion wasn’t rumor material enough as it was. “We will take your advice under consideration,” she replied with a forced cheer that missed the mark far enough to make everyone else present look like they were trying very hard to go willingly deaf. Celestia of course just smiled pleasantly back at her as if completely unaware of the pot her words were stirring.

“I’m sure you will act with good grace and forethought as usual sister,” the solar princess said brightly. She paused to sign the scroll she was holding. “He’s rather nicely built isn’t he? Good pick…”

“Sister!” Luna gasped, her outburst echoing off the walls as the royal voice came unbidden. “How could…you can’t just…at least pretend!”

Celestia put a hand to her mouth in an effort to stifle her laughter. “I’m sorry sister,” she giggled.

“This is highly inappropriate, especially at such a time,” Luna groused, getting her voice back under control. That knocked the laughter out of Celestia, though it didn’t entirely wipe the smile from her face.

“On the contrary Luna, I believe that more than any other time, mirth is necessary in times of crisis and in the wake of travesty. We cannot let ill times rob of us of the joys that make life worth living.”

“Including needling one’s sister apparently,” the princess of the night said tartly.

“Oh most especially that,” Celestia agreed with mock seriousness as she handed the scroll over to a guard, who looked quite relieved at the excuse to leave.

It took a bit of persuading, but Big Macintosh managed to convince Pinkie Pie that he was perfectly capable of walking without her half pulling his arm out of the socket. While she did reluctantly release her death grip on him though, she would not hear anything that suggested they move any slower than a brisk walk. Mac wasn’t usually one to hurry, but he was tall enough and had legs long enough that he could cover ground quickly when pressed.

And Pinkie was certainly pressing him.

She alternately lead, shoved, and directed him down several halls, stairways, and even cut through a couple rooms without regard to whether they were or were not occupied. Eventually the pair found themselves standing before a simple but well-crafted door of solid oak. A plaque was hung upon the door, perfectly centered. Upon the golden surface was etched in flawlessly crisp lines an image of a shield, a six pointed star contained within. A trio of smaller stars hovered over the shield.

And a trio of guards stood before the door, eying him and Pinkie warily. Though after a moment to properly consider them, Mac had to upgrade it from ‘warily’ to ‘nervously’. He also was forced to cut himself entirely out of the equation, as all three guards’ gazes were in fact resting solely upon the pink maned mare besides him. He wasn’t really certain what to make of that, or to expect as they crossed the final few feet between themselves and the tensing guards.

“Hi guys!” Pinkie said in her overtly friendly manner.

“Miss Pie,” came a much less enthusiastic, indeed even reluctant, response from the largest of the sentries. His eyes traveled over her as if trying to figure where she might have a weapon stashed. “No…cake this time?”

“Oh no,” Pinkie said with sudden and startling seriousness. “Not after last time.”

“Ah, very good,” the guard said, the tension in him easing a fraction. “No doughnuts either?”

“Never again,” Pinkie responded solemnly.

“Mmhmm. And what about…cupcakes? Or dumplings? Éclairs?”

“Fritters…” one of the other guards put in accusingly.

“Nope, nu uh, nadda, and no way,” Pinkie responded firmly.

“Mmm…well…” the first guard hedged, clearly looking for an excuse but finding none. “Ah, very well then.” His attention shifted to Mac, and he looked slightly hopeful. “And just who might this be?” he demanded.

“Big Macintosh,” Pinkie answered. “You know, Twilight Sparkle’s herd stallion.”

“Oh…yes of course.” The guard deflated. He spoke reluctantly. “Very well, you are both cleared to enter.”

“Thanks!” Pinkie said brightly, slipping on by the guards and pushing the door open. Mac waited a moment for the disgruntled trio to give way before following after her.

The room beyond was fair sized and well organized. A small reception area was set up immediately opposite the entrance, several chairs placed around a circular table atop a richly colored rug that hid most of the stone floor. A trophy case sat nestled in the corner, the glass front polished to a sheen. An assortment of medals and ribbons dominated the top half of the cabinet, arranged in four neat rows, all crisp and shining. The lower half of the space however contained a bare handful of dirty, worn, and damaged bits of armor and the broken hilts of weapons.

Mac didn’t get a chance to take a closer look at the display however as Pinkie once again seized his arm and hustled him down a side hall, towards a room at the far end. Her pace slowed just as they reached the doorway, and with unusual calm and reserve she reached out to rap softly upon the wooden frame.

“Come in,” came a dull response from behind the door. Pinkie gently pushed the door open, her grip sliding down Mac’s arm to take him by the hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze as she lead him inside.

The bedroom was a small affair, mostly taken up by a sizable bed and two dressers. A few chairs had been squeezed around the bed, though only two were currently occupied. Twilight sat side by side with Princess Cadence, their hands clasped. Both mares looked slightly haggard, though Cadence’s multi-hued mane hadn’t quite frizzed out as much as Twilight’s. The dark lines under both their eyes however were identical, and were magnified by the sharp shadows cast from the glowing auras about their horns.

Almost as one they glanced over to see who had arrived. Cadence looked politely puzzled as she regarded Mac. Twilight looked like someone being thrown a line while struggling to stay above water. She gave Cadence’s hand a slight squeeze, and the pair traded a look much the same as Fritter and Tart had. Whatever the message was, it was clearly communicated, as the light blue aura of the princess’s magic intensified even as Twilight’s own died away.

The violet maned unicorn stood up, moving carefully around the bed, and came over to embrace Mac in a hug tight enough to do Pinkie proud. The pink party mare meanwhile slipped into the seat Twilight had just vacated, putting an arm comfortingly around Cadence, who gave Pinkie a tired but warm smile.

“Thank you for coming,” Twilight whispered into his chest.

“Of course,” Mac replied, putting his own arms around her, completely engulfing her in the hug as she pressed her check against him, her eyes closed. The big man glanced down at her for a moment, then finally let himself really look at the figure laying in the bed.

There wasn’t much to see.

Most of the prone form was covered up under a thin sheet, and what did protrude was so entirely covered in bandages that it was hard to tell it was a person. Shining Armor’s condition was further muted by the glowing aura of magic encasing him, blurring out the fine details. It was just possible to make out the slow rise and fall of his breathing through it all.

“Come on,” Twilight said softly after several long moments. She released her hold on him, and Mac let her slip from his arms as she turned for the door. He followed after her, and the pair soon ended up back in the reception area at the front of the living quarters. Mac pulled out a chair for her, and Twilight dropped into it as if she had just run a marathon.

“How is he?” Mac asked gently.

“He’s fighting,” Twilight replied mutely. “The doctors weren’t very optimistic at first, but Celestia turned things around by lending her expertise and power to their spell work. They say if he pulls through the next few hours, he’ll be out of the worst of it. Still have to watch closely for infection though, his burns are almost a hundred percentage coverage.”

“Is that what you and the princess were doing in there?”

“Yeah,” Twilight nodded. “And keeping him sedated and under.” She rubbed at her face wearily. “Cadence is also holding some kind of dream spell on him, something she said princess Luna had shown her. She can talk to him through it, kind of.”

“Kind of?”

“It’s a very complex thing to do,” Twilight explained. “The only reason she can manage it at all is because it has some overlap with her Love talents, and because of the connection she and Shining have.”

“Oh,” Mac said, not really understanding at all. She gave him a small, knowing smile.

“Sorry, I could explain better, but I’m just so tired right now…”

“Don’t you worry about it,” Mac told her. “You should get some rest, and some food.”

“I will, in a bit,” Twilight told him. “I was just waiting for…”

She cut off as the door opened, and a pair of unicorns were admitted in by the guards. The mare was nearly a mirror image of Twilight, save for her mane was equally striped with violet and white, and she carried some extra years in the lines of her face. The stallion was a tall but slender man, with a dark blue mane that stopped just shy of purple.

“…my parents,” Twilight finished, getting to her feet. She crossed over to the pair, embracing them both at once.

Mac felt his spine stiffen as he considered his appearance. He was still shirtless, his pants slightly sweat stained, and he didn’t want to think about how his mane probably looked. It was not the kind of condition he would have chosen to be in for meeting one of his herd mate’s parents. Unfortunately there was neither time to fix himself up, or even to duck out of sight, as Twilight was already directing their attention his way.

“Mom, dad,” she was saying. “This is Macintosh Apple. Applejack’s brother. Mac, these are my parents, Twilight Velvet and Dusk Shadow.”

Mac got to his feet, nodding politely and doing his best to ignore his own state of partial dress. “Ma’am, sir,” he said, offering a hand.

“Ah yes, I think we’ve heard of you,” Twilight’s dad said, shaking hands. “Pleased to meet you.” Something about the man’s tone made Mac hesitate a second; it was not exactly indifferent, but hardly as interested as he would have expected from a parent meeting his daughter’s stallion.

“Likewise,” Velvet agreed distractedly, her gaze drifting towards the hallway leading to Shining Armor’s bedroom before returning to Twilight. “How is he?”

“The same,” Twilight answered somewhat hesitantly, and Mac had a sudden sinking feeling as his mind started to suggest an unwelcome idea. He wasn’t the only one to notice Twilight’s sudden discomfort.

“What is it dear?” Velvet asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Twilight responded awkwardly, and smiled nervously as both her parent’s sighed.

“Sparkle…” Dusk Shadow said with exaggerate patience.

“Uh…well…” Twilight muttered, meeting Mac’s eyes. Her expression was equal parts a plead for help and an unspoken apology. He repressed a sigh of his own at the confirmation that look gave to the idea knocking around in his head.

“Ma’am, sir,” Mac said, pulling out a pair of chairs for them. “Maybe you should have a seat. I think there is something we need to talk about.”

Dusk Shadow regarded his daughter for a moment more, then his gaze slowly turned to take in Big Macintosh. His eyes widened a bit and Mac could see understanding starting to form in the man’s face.

“…Twilight?” Velvet asked in a tone that suggested she was starting to think along similar lines to her herd stallion. “Twilight. Dusk. Sparkle…”

“Uh…surprise?” Twilight laughed nervously.

Chapter 11

Upon the return of Princess Luna to her station as acting royalty of Equestria it was officially, if not publically, decreed that no department, facility, or establishment of the government or the royal palace, save for those personally and solely under the command of Princess Celestia, should ever be unstaffed. After all, given the two princess’s opposing sleeping habits, there was now at least one active member of the royal family awake at any given time, day or night. Thus it was only appropriate that any and all aspects of the government be readily and equally available to both princesses.

In theory.

In practice however, once the sun set, there simply wasn’t the actual demand to truly require a full or even partial staffing of many areas of the government or palace. While Luna was indeed active through the night, very few others were as well. Things were slowly shifting as more and more individuals sought to adjust their political, business, or personal affairs to match the new nocturnal openings, but at present certain aspects falling under Luna’s purview had so little to do during the evening hours that they were staffed only in the technical sense of having one or more on-call individuals, ready to fill the needed positions as required, and only if required.

The royal kitchens were one such establishment.

During the day the place was a riot of activity as the chefs and cooks worked to provide sustenance for the nearly thousand individuals working the day shifts, for visiting dignitaries, for the daily charity donations, for any special celebrations that may be going on, and of course for the Solar Princess herself, Celestia. The night shift however was a far more relaxed and slow paced time. Very few dignitaries and charities needed to be fed through the evening, and there were fewer than a hundred staff members currently working through the night.

As such the royal kitchens were generally left fallow for several hours of the night. At two in the morning for example, there was no one present to witness the figure that slipped into the darken rooms, closing the door silently behind them. There was no one to watch as said figure quietly yet quickly navigated through the sea of tables and counters were so much food was prepared daily, making their way over to one of several ice boxes that lined the back wall. A soft, golden aura engulfed the lock hanging on the ice box, and a muffled click sounded within before the lock slipped easily free. The golden light brightened as the door swung open to illuminate the interior of the ice box, displaying the shelves within that were loaded down with any number of baked sugary delights.

At least, they should have been.

Princess Celestia blinked in mild puzzlement at finding her usual assortment of cake, éclair, doughnut, and the like simply not there. She took a step back from the container and swept her gaze across the row of ice boxes. This was indeed the right one, third from the left wall as usual. It was also the only one that was locked, as was standard. After all, only herself and the head baker were permitted access to this box, and technically her access was not strictly stated, but more implied by the nature of her status. She bestowed certain subtle favors upon chef Tender Crust to keep this ice box well stocked, and to keep her own mouth shut about any delights that may or may not go missing during the night. The two of them had an understanding.

At least Celestia had thought they had. She peered back into the empty box, wistfully thinking she must have missed something. And upon second inspection she realized she had. A small roll of parchment sat on the bottom shelf, hidden in the sharp shadows cast from the princess’s magic. With no small bit of curiosity, Celestia picked up the parchment and unfurled it.

IOU
-PP

The solar princess blinked at the brief note in rising disbelief and consternation. She didn’t bother questioning how the pilfering of her midnight snacks had occurred; a simple lock was unlikely to provide much of an obstacle to the current Element of Laughter. More worrying was the question of why. A snack of her own maybe, but even as impressive as the hyperactive mare’s appetite for sweets was, surely she couldn’t have eaten the entire container’s worth. The ice box was tall enough that the top shelves require a step stool to reach. Celestia had seen an entire twelve layer cake nestled comfortably inside it once. What in the world could Pinkie have wanted with all those baked goods, and at such an hour?

Princess Luna stared into her ready room for a long moment before her mind could begin to process the sight before her. The office was never really that neat, Luna’s own penchants towards order were somewhat less severe than that of her sister. She had the bad habit of stacking unrelated papers atop each other, of dropping items upon the closest unoccupied surface, of leaving spent ink wells scattered across her desk. It was fairly chaotic, but it was her chaos, and she knew how to handle it.

What she found was not her chaos, or at least not entirely hers. Her usual mess was still present, but it had been joined by a riot of colorful streamers, bunches of balloons, and softly glowing paper lanterns. A table had been set up in the room, wedged between the desk and filing cabinets. It sagged under the weight of sweets spread out across it. Cakes and pastries and chocolates and puddings and more, most of the desserts buried under mounds of whipped cream and frosting and sprinkles.

“Is everything alright your highness?” the guard standing to the left of the door asked politely as she continued to stare into the room. Luna glanced at him, wondering if this was some kind of jest, but the earnest expression on his face suggested otherwise. Which would imply that he was unaware of what had transpired within.

“Perhaps thou should answer that for us,” Luna told him, one wing unfurling to gesture through the doorway.

The guard blinked at that, and his gaze shifted ever so briefly across to his counterpoint, standing to the right of the sole entrance into the princess’s office. He then took a step away from the wall, and peered around the door frame. His jaw dropped open.

“…that…that shouldn’t be…” he stammered. The other guard moved to see what had her partner so aghast, and half stumbled in mid step as the innards of the room came into view.

“How long haste thou been standing watch tonight?” Luna asked as she took a few steps into her office, inspecting the damage. As far as she could tell, nothing of hers had been disturbed, but given the normal state of affairs, that was not a judgment she was sure she could be certain of.

“Since ten your highness,” the guard answered promptly.

Luna regarded the assortment of sweets for a moment, before picking up a ramekin filled with some kind of fruit gel mixture and topped with a heap of whipped cream and berries.

“Indeed, and doest this appear to have been sitting out for more than four hours to thou?” Luna asked, holding out the dessert. The mound of cream still stood stiff, the decorative swirls still crisp with sharp edges.

“Uh…no your highness,” the guard wilted. “That looks…very fresh actually…”

Luna said nothing, but the sharp flick of her tail spoke volumes of her displeasure.

“I…have no explanation,” the guard supplied weakly.

The Princess of the Night let out an unhappy “hmph” and set the ramekin down hard enough to rattle the table. The guards winced. Striding over to her desk, Luna surveyed it’s surface. It was covered in confetti of all things, and yet that was not what drew her attention. No that honor was reserved for the bright pink envelope that sat propped up against her lamp, her name inked across the front in a wild, looping script.

There was an image of three balloons stamped in one corner of the envelope.

“That will be all,” Luna heard herself say as she regarded the letter with a sudden mix of trepidation and confusion.

“Y-you’re highness?”

“That. Will. Be. All.” Luna repeated slowly. Her horn glowed, and the door swung shut in the baffled guards’ faces.

Sitting down at the desk, Luna regarded the letter across from her as if expecting it to spring at her throat. She reached out almost tentatively, hesitating just before her fingers would brush the paper. She pulled her hand back and sighed at herself.

“Oh come on now Luna,” she scolded herself, snatching the envelope and ripping it open in a single motion. A single sheet of parchment was stuffed inside.

Try the chocolate strawberries

The Princess of the Night let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but this wasn’t it. Then again she was learning that trying to predict Pinkie’s actions was largely a futile effort. Keeping ahead of the schemes and machinations of the noble court wasn’t nearly as taxing.

Dropping the letter onto the desk, she rose from her chair and crossed around to stand by the table, examining its surface until she finally located the strawberries where they were pressed gently into the top of a wide layer cake. Admittedly they did look rather tasty, coated in a rich dark chocolate that had been drizzled with stripes of white icing. The bright pink frosting of the cake they rested on glittered with decorative sugar. With a sigh, Luna selected one of the delectable fruits, giving it a little spin to coat it in the cake frosting before raising it to her mouth.

“…that, is spectacular,” she moaned to herself after the initial wave of deliciousness abated. The little treat was perfect, sugary sweet frosting with a slight crunch to the chocolate coat and succulently ripe strawberry beneath. Luna still had no idea what Pinkie was planning, but if this was meant to be some kind of bribe, it was working. She wasn’t finished with the first before she reached for another, pressing it down into the cake to scoop up an extra sized dollop of frosting.

The cake let out a soft giggle.

Luna froze in mid-chew, staring down at the sweet covered table with no small amount of apprehension. Surely she must have been hearing things. The longer and harder she looked though, the more certain she was that she could see the cake moving, just ever so slightly up and down. Releasing her grip on the strawberry, Luna cautiously extended a single finger and poked down through the frosting.

The table jiggled with a brief laugh, and Luna barely choked down a scream as a pair of eyes opened in the midst of the dessert buffet. She darted backwards, wings spreading half open as half of the sugary delights shuddered and rose in a wave, sprinkles and whipped topping scattering. And before her disbelieving eyes, Luna finally made out the form that had been hidden beneath the confectionary display.

“Ooo, that’s chilly,” Pinkie Pie laughed as a few scoops of ice cream slid slowly down off her shoulders and across her frosting covered chest.

“P…Pi…wha…?” Luna goggled.

“Did you still want this?” Pinkie asked, plucking the second strawberry from the frosting coating her stomach and holding it out towards the princess.

With a sense of surreal uncertainty that she had never before experienced outside of a dream, Luna felt her body walk over, accept the offered treat, and pop it in her mouth. Her automatic processes seemed to hit a wall at that point, as she just stood there with the chocolate coating melting on her tongue, staring.

“Good aren’t they?” Pinkie inquired.

“Mmhmm,” Luna agreed numbly.

“You okay there princess?”

That finally cracked her shell of shocked disbelief.

“Okay? Okay!” Luna heard herself mumble around the strawberry. She almost spit it out in frustration, but some part of her was loath to waste something so good. Instead she paused for a moment to hastily finish eating the treat. Pinkie seemed perfectly content to wait for her.

“Okay?” Luna repeated in a bit more subdued tone. “I don’t…I can’t…I don’t even…”

Pinkie nodded as if this all made sense to her, sending pudding droplets flying from her mane.

“Why?” Luna finally managed to ask.

“Well I did say I’d make it up to you,” Pinkie said simply with a warm smile.

“Make it up to me?” Luna asked in bewilderment.

“For the whole covering you in filling and making you get na…”

“I know what you mean,” Luna interrupted. “I just don’t…how does this…?”

“Well that depends on how you want to look at this,” Pinkie said matter-of-factly. Luna quirked an eyebrow at her, and the Element of Laughter took the hint to continue. “Either you can enjoy some sweets and have a good laugh at how silly I must look under all this…”

Luna did have to admit to herself that, now that her alarmed shock was wearing off, Pinkie did strike a rather absurd imagine dressed in such a hodgepodge of sweets. It was overtly ridiculous really, the clashing colors of various whipped toppings, syrups, sprinkles, and frostings that clung to her like some kind of slowly melting garment. A very thin garment in some places actually. Luna blinked as she started to realize just how closely the coating seemed to be clinging to the party mare. In fact, the more she stared, the more certain Luna was that she should not be making out the lines and curves of the mare’s body so clearly unless that layer of sweetness was the only thing she was wearing.

“…ooooooor…” Pinkie said slowly, drawing the princess’s attention back up to her face. The pleased smile under the dessert toppings brought a bit of heat to Luna’s cheeks. “You can enjoy some sweets, and me…”

The princess’s mind roiled with a sudden flood of thoughts, of questions and concerns and considerations. She barely noticed any of it though, the chaotic storm of her mind somewhere distant and disconnected from her sense of the moment right then and there. She knew there was so much she should ask, things she needed to have clarified. And yet at that moment, she just could not give a damn about anything but the simple choice being presented to her.

Pushing her thoughts away, Luna moved back beside the table to look down upon Pinkie Pie. The sugar smeared mare leaned back, propping herself up with her arms behind her, and waited. She looked so completely at ease, as if she routinely surprised royalty with tableful’s of temptations, though the slight twitch of her sprinkle topped tail suggested at the emotions she was keeping in check.

Luna slowly reached out and took hold of another strawberry in her fingers, her gaze never wavering from Pinkie’s face. She dragged the berry lightly upwards, eliciting a giggle as it brushed along the party mare’s stomach. The playful sound shifted into something more lustful as Luna’s hand drifted up between Pinkie’s breasts, the tip of the chocolate treat etching a line through the frosting right up to her collar bone.

Pinkie tiled her head back expectantly as Luna brought the strawberry up to dangle over the mare’s chocolate coated face. Her lips parted slightly as the sweetened fruit was lowered towards her mouth, her tongue peeking out eagerly. Luna brushed Pinkie’s lips with the berry to the accompaniment of a happy moan that turned into a soft whine of complaint when she pulled the treat back before Pinkie could get a proper taste. The Element of Laughter sat up straighter as she followed the path of the retreating dessert, stretching her neck to try and catch it, but Luna kept it just out of reach until she had Pinkie stretched as far as she could go. The sugar coated mare still strained for it, pushing herself up onto her fingertips even for those final few inches.

And then Luna popped the strawberry into her own mouth with a wicked little grin at the disbelieving gasp of protest the maneuver got from the Element of Laughter. She quickly silenced that sound however as she bent down and kissed Pinkie, shoving her chocolate and juice covered tongue right into the surprised mare’s mouth. The moment was a brief one though, owing to sugar frosted mare losing traction in the mess of melting whipped toppings and falling back against the table in a splatter.

The sudden impact did nothing to jar loose the smile on Pinkie’s face however. She reached up to seize hold of the front of Luna’s dress and pulled. The princess had a brief instant to be concerned for the immediate future state of her clothing, but then it was a moot point as she toppled on top of Pinkie, one hand landing in the pudding, another tipping over a bowl of rock candy. Frosted lips found hers, and Luna found herself unable to care about anything else.

Or at least she thought she couldn’t, right until Pinkie managed to roll her over onto the table. Luna gave an involuntary gasp as she felt the desserts beneath her soak through the fabric of her dress even as a deluge of frosting slipped from Pinkie’s chest and stomach to drop upon her. She shivered at the sudden cold of the chilled delights across her back even as Pinkie pressed down against her into the kiss. A sugary sweet mess was smeared across her face, her neck, all across her front as more sweetness was pressed into her mouth along with Pinkie’s questing tongue. Her wings unfurled, sweeping great double arcs of platters and trays off the table to clatter to the floor.

A second later Luna felt her heart leap into her throat when someone knocked.

“Princess, are you alright?” a voice called through the door, and Luna had to bite back a curse. She had completely forgotten about the guards.

“Fine!” she yelled, somewhat higher pitched than normal. She swallowed, willing herself to calmness. The amused smirk on Pinkie’s face did not help. “We are fine,” she said after a moment to compose herself.

“Are you sure?” the guard asked with clear uncertainty. The doorknob gave a subtle jiggle, as if a hand had been placed upon it.

‘If he opens that door he is going to the moon, I swear to Celestia…’ Luna thought furiously, her horn’s aura springing to light. “Quite sure,” she said, putting every ounce of authority she could muster into the words. A moment of silence followed, and then the doorknob jiggled slightly again.

“Very well your highness.”

Luna sagged back against the table in relief. Then she gave an annoyed wiggle, displacing the plate of cookies that was digging into her spine.

“Close one,” Pinkie said in a tone that suggested she wouldn’t have been completely mortified to have been walked in on.

“Too close,” Luna agreed, still holding onto her magic. A spidery web work of glowing azure lines crawled its way across the door before seeping into the very wood itself. The dark surface glowed with the faintest light.

“What was that?” Pinkie asked.

“A sound proofing spell,” Luna answered. “To make sure we’re not disturbed again.”

“Oooo,” Pinkie moaned happily, leaning back in for another kiss. She then gave a surprised gasp as Luna rolled them both over, pinning the party mare’s back to the table. A bowl fell in an explosion of breaking crockery and splattered cream.

Luna brought her lips down, but only briefly brushed them against Pinkie’s before ducking to the side and running her tongue along the mare’s cheek, cutting a path through the layer of chocolate smeared there. Pinkie giggled, then gasped again as the princess’s mouth closed against her neck. She squirmed as Luna nipped at her, pressing her body up against the alicorn’s. Her fingers caught in the straps of Luna’s top and pulled them down off the princess’s shoulders.

The Princess of the Night made to slip her arms out from the straps, but she was brought up short by Pinkie twisting the fabric into twin loops that snagged Luna by her wrists. The alicorn only had a second to realize how she had been tangled in her own garment before Pinkie rolled them back over again, her legs flipping over the side of the table and hauling the princess up to sit on the edge even as Pinkie came to her feet. The Element of Laughter tugged on the straps in her hands, and Luna’s arms were pulled tight and immobilized across her own chest.

Before she could begin to figure out how to free herself there were teeth pressed delightfully into the crook of Luna’s neck, forcing a pleasant pant out of her even as she struggled against her bondage. She wrapped her legs around Pinkie’s waist and tried to lever her back onto the table, but the Element of Laughter had been expecting the move and was braced against it. Luna moaned in mixed annoyance at being blocked and delight as Pinkie’s mouth moved lower, her lips brushing across the princess’s collar bone.

Luna bucked against the party mare, trying vainly to break her balance, but her sitting position didn’t give her any real leverage to work with, whereas Pinkie was able to brace herself with her hip against the table’s edge. There wasn’t anything she could do about the alicorn’s wings however. The sudden blast of wind sent papers scattering from the desk behind her as Pinkie was hauled bodily from her feet, landing with a soft grunt on top of the princess. Before she could recover Luna had flipped her over, slipping her arms free of the improvised restraints of her straps.

The princess dipped her head, and Pinkie whined as she felt the sudden liquid warmth of Luna’s mouth against her chest. She grabbed at the princess’s horn, but any thoughts of fighting for control again went flying out of her mind as Pinkie felt the velvety caress of Luna’s tongue across her breast. She tried to grab at the princess with her free hand, but Luna’s own intercepted her, seizing her wrist and pinning it to the table top.

The princess’s teeth brushed against her nipple, and Pinkie shuddered. The hand wrapped around Luna’s horn turned traitor on her, urging the alicorn onward, and she seemed more than happy to savor the victory. Luna’s tongue swirled in long, slow circles across Pinkie’s breast to the accompaniment of her whining moans, churning the smear of frosting coating the tender flesh.

“Oh my Celestia…” Pinkie moaned, then blinked in realization of what she’d said. She glanced down to find Luna staring up at her in playful annoyance. “…ah, that might have been a weird thing to say under the circumstances, huh?”

“Thou thinkest so?” Luna huffed, rolling her eyes. “I want to be more annoyed at that, and yet I must confess amusement at how embarrassed sister would be to know her name was being used such.”

“Sorry Luna,” Pinkie giggled. “It just kind of happened.”

“I know,” Luna said reassuringly. “Though again you confound me. You barely even recognize that me and my sister are royalty, and yet you will invoke our names as divine?”

“Well sure, totally different things really.”

“How do you figure?”

“Well…the whole royalty thing is something we made of you two, a way to fit you into a place that we could work with,” Pinkie said slowly, clearly searching for her words. “But the whole sun and moon thing…well that’s all you and Celly, ya know?”

“I…I suppose you could look at it like that, though that is a rather simplistic view of a very complex situation.”

“Simple works for me,” Pinkie said with a smile. “If simple is enough, why bother getting complicated?”

“I knew some monks once that would have heartily agreed with that,” Luna laughed. Then she cocked her head to one side in a thoughtful manner. “You are willing to see me as divine, as a goddess?”

“Sure thing your worshipfulness!” Pinkie chirped, smiling at the sigh she got in return. Luna pressed on.

“And yet that apparently did nothing to dissuade you from trespassing into my private office, or from covering yourself in sweets to tempt me.”

“Should it have?”

“I…well I feel it might have for most people.” Luna gave a little laugh at that.

“Is it okay that I did this?”

Luna raised a disbelieving eyebrow at that. “Pinkie Pie, I am half out of my clothing on top of you, completely smeared with all manner of sugar and cream based food stuffs. Do I appear displeased?”

“Only when you were losing,” Pinkie teased.

“Momentary disadvantages,” Luna scoffed. She sighed. “And though I told myself not to, I cannot help but ask…why? I can’t imagine this is your normal means of repayment on debt.”

“You needed the nudge,” Pinkie replied simply.

“…what?”

“Well you were planning to ask about joining my herd right?”

Luna pushed herself upright at this, staring down at Pinkie is amazement.

“How…how could you possibly…”

“A hunch,” came the easy answer.

“A hunch?” Luna said incredulously.

“My hunches are pretty good,” Pinkie said modestly.

“And thus you decided that the only thing to do was to surprise me with an offering of sweets and flesh?”

“Well first I had to ask my herd what they thought of course.”

“…oh?” Luna asked with a nervous flutter in her voice. “And what did they say?”

“Well Twilight flipped the freak out and was all ‘You can NOT ask such a thing of one of the princesses!’ and Dashy told me there was no way you were really interested but ‘if you can manage it, more power to you.’”

“And what of Macintosh?” Luna asked in what she hoped was a casual manner. The slight upward twitch to Pinkie’s lips was not promising to her success however.

“He suggested I wait on it and see, but also said that ‘since I doubt you’ll do that, at least promise me you won’t do something crazy.’”

“Hmm, that’s not exactly an encouraging set of answers,” Luna said in a subdue tone.

“Yeah well, they just didn’t believe me,” Pinkie said reassuringly. “I did eventually get them all to agree that if, hypothetically, you were to ask to join, that none of them would be against it.”

Luna sighed. “Again, that’s not really…”

“Oh don’t be a grumpy horn head,” Pinkie cut her off, sitting up to drape a friendly arm across the princess’s shoulders. “I’m sure once they get all the ‘I don’t believe you!’ and ‘no freaking way you actually got her!’ and ‘what did I ask you about not doing something crazy?’ out of their systems, they’ll be glad to welcome you into our herd.”

“You really think so?” Luna asked softly.

“Yeah, I really do,” Pinkie said in perfect seriousness, a light smile on her face. Luna glanced over at her, and couldn’t help but smile back.

“Thank you Pinkie,” the princess told her, pulling the party mare into a hug.

“Any time,” Pinkie responded, returning the hug. After a moment she swung a leg over Luna’s lap, straddling her. “So…where were we?” she asked hopefully.

“Thou was losing we believe,” Luna said with a smirk, her hands sliding down to rest on Pinkie’s hips.

“Yeah…too bad you never called time out!” The Element of Laughter surged forward, pinning Luna splayed out on her back and quickly going after her neck.

“Ah! Thou are a cheat!” Luna squealed in laughing protest. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt Pinkie sliding down her body, their dessert slickened skin rubbing smoothly across each other. A hand cupped her breast, and Luna cooed at the pleasurable tingle it sent through her. The party mare’s mouth came down over her other breast, and the princess arched her back eagerly at the gentle suction.

Pinkie’s attention was held only momentarily at the princess’s chest however, and she was soon moving lower, leaving a trail of kisses and licks across Luna’s taut stomach. An alternating set of giggles and moans came bubbling up out of the princess’s throat at the attention, punctuated by a heavy gasp as she felt Pinkie slide the hem of her dress up over her waist.

Luna bit her lip as Pinkie slipped a pair of fingers under the waist band of her panties, her breath coming quickly in sudden anticipation. The slip of fabric practically vanished as it was deftly removed, and the princess couldn’t help but blush at being so exposed. The embarrassment was very short lived however, as her attention was swiftly refocused by Pinkie’s lips upon her inner thigh.

The fingers of one hand curled around the nearest edge of the table as Luna felt her body tighten expectantly, her other hand slipping across her own chest to try and tease some of the sensation from earlier back. She looked down her chocolate and frosting smeared body, but could only make out the bobbing poof of Pinkie’s hair poking up from between her legs.

Then she felt something warm, wet, and wiggling press into her, and her wings nearly tossed her up off the table as the princess was firmly reminded of what she had gone more than a millennium without. The cry that ripped out of her throat made the remaining dishes rattle across the table top, and she had a brief instant to wonder if maybe she should have put sound proofing spells on the walls as well.

Then she slammed back down upon the table as her mind was washed clean of thought by swirling waves of delight as Pinkie buried her face between the princess’s legs and worked to see just how far her tongue could reach. Luna squirmed uncontrollably, writhing in nearly unbearable pleasure. Too long, it had been far, far too long since anyone had seen to her needs like this, and all that she had done for herself in that time since was suddenly proven to have been woefully inadequate.

Luna voiced her delight without restraint, her cries thundering off the walls in the enclosed space. It was an incoherent ecstasy, but Pinkie seemed to understand it perfectly well as she quickly zeroed in on what set the princess off the most. She wrapped her arms around Luna’s legs and held her firmly in place as she applied long, dragging strokes with her tongue, ending each lick with a deft flick of the tip that made the princess squirm and try to writhe away.

Pinkie felt her cheeks start to ache from smiling as she listened to Luna shrieking her enjoyment. She was delighted to be able to help the princess out with something she clearly needed. She was also thrilled to have been right in her hunch about the way Luna had been behaving towards her. She might not be a super close friend like Twilight and Dashy, but Pinkie had always considered Luna to be something of a distant part of her personal social circle, especially after last Nightmare Night. After all, Luna was sister to the mentor of one of her bestest friends. That alone made her someone Pinkie had been determined to get to know better, and now she would be able to do so in all kinds of fun and intimate ways.

The Element of Laughter realized she had let herself get distracted by her own thoughts as she felt the pressure on her ears lessen. Luna’s cries had died down to merely loud gasps for breath, the ridged tension in her body replaced by supine relaxation as she sagged against the table, nearly as gel like as any of the puddings. Pinkie’s eyes tracked up over the princess’s sweet coated figure, sparkling with mirth at the expression of utter contentment on the royal features.

Of course she wasn’t about to leave things be at just that. A quick glance around the table found Pinkie what she wanted, and she only had to stretch a little bit to reach the bowl of ice cream without disentangling herself from the princess’s legs. With her fingers she shoved an entire scoop right into her mouth, and then waited.

Luna’s eyes fluttered open after a subjective eternity, and she made only a feeble attempt to move before giving in to her body’s insistence to do nothing.

“Stars above Pinkie, that was…” She was thoroughly interrupted as the mare between her legs applied her now chilled tongue to the princess’s still sensitive arousal. Light headed didn’t begin to describe the effect that had on her. The sensation that shot through her left her literally breathless, her whole body paralyzed on a spike of what might have been pleasure. It was hard to say exactly as her mind seemed unable to properly process the sensation.

As the cold gradually gave way however her mind most definitely decided that what she was feeling was pleasure. The chill slowly transitioned into a delightful warmth, and then to a raging heat as she slowly began to experience the sensation of Pinkie’s tongue again as more than just a vague pressure, her awareness of that wondrous appendage gaining clarity until she could see it’s every move clearly in her mind just by the way her body responded to it.

This was so different from before, the pleasure hardly any less and yet it left her mind clear to enjoy it. It also gave her enough clarity to realize how one sided things had become. She should really repay Pinkie the favor, but at the same time she more than a little loathe to the idea of doing anything to disrupt the attention she was getting. Besides, she was doubtful in her ability to do anything that would require much movement at the moment, with her whole body quivering in pleasure induced weakness.

Her clear headed state however provided her with inspiration for an alternate method. Luna reached for her magic, and found it came easily and readily to her will. She sent the power questing down her body, a rippling wave that stirred the confectionery mess upon her skin into spiraling patterns. Then it reached where Pinkie had hold of her legs, and spread across onto the other mare’s body.

The Element of Laughter jumped slightly with a muffled gasp of surprise, and her gaze swept up to focus on Luna. She caught sight of the glowing aura around the princess’s horn, and her eyes sparkled in mirthful understanding as she felt unseen hands wander across her. Luna’s magic caressed and fondled her entire body, something akin to being massaged and groped and teased all at once, and she buried her face back between the princess’s legs in an effort to stifle the whimpering moans of delight the sensations brought.

It didn’t help much as she felt Luna’s magic flow down her body and slip itself between her own legs. Pinkie pulled her mouth free to suck in a deep breath as the force pressed into her, filling her up inside in a way even Big Mac couldn’t quite manage. It pressed against her completely, stretching her out until she was certain she couldn’t take anymore. And then it relaxed, just a bit, just a hair under being uncomfortably oversized.

Her mind was just starting to adjust itself to the sensation when the magical construct pulsed inside her, a single slow ripple flowing across its surface, pressing out against her insides. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment, and then came out as a soft whine. Her legs shook as another pulse ran through her, and another, and another…

Pinkie’s arms gave out on her, dumping her head in Luna’s lap as the princess’s magic picked up the pace. The ripples came faster and more frequently, becoming a constant wave of sensation that vibrated within her. She wanted to cry out, but the intensity of the pleasure seemed to be bearing down on her chest, and it was all Pinkie could do just to suck in one ragged gasp of air after another as her body twitched feebly in response to the princess’s treatment.

Slowly, painfully slowly, Pinkie raised her head until she could catch Luna’s eye. The princess stared back at her with unmistakable delight in the reactions she was getting out of the party mare, and Pinkie felt her mouth move practically of its own accord in response to that look.

“M…more…” she gasped even as her eyes squeezed shut as a lance of orgasmic delight lit up her nervous system, and she pressed her forehead against Luna’s belly for support. “M-more.”

Pinkie couldn’t see the incredulous look on the princess’s face, not with her own face pressed down against Luna’s stomach, but she could sense it all the same. Her mouth opened to repeat the demand, but all that came out was a trilling shriek as she felt the princess’s magic flow under her tail and gently press against her ass.

It was an effort, but Pinkie managed to roll her head so that one eye could glance up at Luna. The Princess of the Night smirked at her, one eyebrow raised as if to ask ‘Are you sure?’.

She didn’t trust her voice, so Pinkie just smirked back and gave a trembling nod. That was the last coherent moment she had before a second construct of force violated her body. It pressed into her slower and more softly than the first, but it was no less complete in filling her up until she felt ready to explode. She’d never been double stuffed before, and it was throwing her nervous system for a fit as her body tried to figure out just what was happening to it.

Then the second construct began to pulse, and all awareness was ripped away until there was nothing left but pleasure.

Luna managed to prop herself up on one elbow, enough to let her really watch as Pinkie crumpled into a heap of mind blowing orgasmic delight. The party mare barely moved, but every little motion screamed of her enjoyment. Her limbs twitched and shook, and aborted screams flavored her ragged gasps for air. Her entire body was locked up stiff, and was coiling tighter and tighter with each passing second. Her face was scrunched up, sweat starting to cut trails through the sugary smears upon her skin.

And then the moment broke.

“OH SWEET SUN AND MOON AND FREAKING STARS ABOVE MY LUNA HOLY WOW!” Pinkie cried, her back arching as her legs kicked spasmodically, sending desserts flying to splatter against the walls. Luna had to wrap her own legs around the party mare to keep Pinkie from climbing right up over her, and even then the Element of Laughter managed to shove them both halfway down the table before the fit passed. And then she collapsed so utterly that Luna would have been concerned if not for the exhausted breaths that raced in and out of her.

The princess pushed herself up to a sitting position, gently gathering the spent Pinkie Pie into her lap so that the motionless mare’s head rested comfortably against one leg. She ran a hand softly through Pinkie's sticky yet still uncontrollably poofy mane, and the mare's eyes fluttered slightly open. It took Pinkie several long moments before the glazed over look subsided enough for those bright blue eyes to focus on her.

“All you alright?” Luna asked softly.

“Wowie…Zowie…” Pinkie said in a small voice. “…head go kapowie…”

Luna chuckled, rolling her eyes fondly as she held the mare. As she held her new herd sister…

The door to her office swung open.

“Honestly sister, putting a spell of silence over a room without including some kind of chime to…let…people…oh…oh my me…”

“TIA!”

Chapter 12

Some notes for the sake of clarity

1) This will not be a kid friendly fic. I will do my best to maintain the humor, the optimism, and the warm fuzzies of the show. However I will also be describing situations that people under the legal age of consent shouldn’t be exposed to.

2) These are NOT ponies. They are anthropomorphized ponies. Whether or not they count as furry I suppose depends on your personal views on that, though I’m not going to be describing them as such myself. If for any reason this bothers you, feel free to picture them as human, it won’t really effect the story save for two things; unicorn based characters will have horns, and pegasi based characters will have wings. If this is still too much for you, you might as well close this page.

3) The fic starts immediately after Party of One. Consider this to be set in an alternate universe, in which everything that happened in the show up to the end of season two has happened, unless and until something in the story contradicts it. I’m going to be taking full advantage of the generally non-linear nature of the show itself, in that episode order doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the actual order of events within the world itself. That said, at this time, I'm just leaving season 3 and beyond out of this setting.

4) I’m using the extremely high female to male ratio seen in the show to assume that Equestrians follow the harem model for relationships seen in wild horses, in which a single stallion forms a herd with several mares. I’m also using this as an excuse to assume that most of the girls have at least some bi tendencies, when they aren’t completely bisexual.

5) Most importantly, this is not a porn. This is a story, that just happens to contain some adult material. If all you’re looking for is some pony stuff to clop to, you’re going to find yourself digging through a lot of writing to find the juicy bits.

6) This work was proofed by bsmart, who also provided his services as a wonderful sounding board and generally helped flesh out many ideas while reigning in things best not penned. Thanks go out to him for putting up with my oddities.

Chapter 12

Insomnia was not something Princess Celestia typically had to deal with. The routine of maintaining the cycle of sun and moon over the centuries had instilled in her a nearly mechanical degree of control over her circadian rhythms. She could normally will herself to sleep within a minute or two, and set her mind to come awake exactly on the hour of her choice. It had been literal ages since last she needed any outside help to find rest, or to wake from it.

So it was somewhat disconcerting for her to find herself wandering the halls of the royal palace in the final hours of the night, her mind far too preoccupied for sleep. She would be the first to admit she had much to be preoccupied about; Discord’s freedom was of course a major concern, as were the injuries Shining Armor had sustained during the Chaos Spirit’s escape, which in turn raised concerns about the mental and emotional wellbeing of her captain’s wife and sister. Cadence and Twilight were both vital in their own ways to the state of the nation, as well as being two of the closest individuals in Celestia’s life.

And yet she could not really convince herself that these were the issues keeping her awake. To be truthful with herself, and Celestia had long ago concluded that she could hardly afford not to be, her mind was focused upon her sister. Her little sister Luna, half naked, smeared from horn to foot with all manner of sugary confection, cradling an equally messy and even more undressed Pinkie Pie in the type of embrace that left little room to even pretend nothing had just happened between them.

That image bothered her more than even Discord’s freedom. And it wasn’t because it had been an awkward thing to walk in on. Not that it hadn’t been a somewhat uncomfortable moment, between Luna yelling at her and Celestia trying to apologize while also blocking both guards from seeing into the room or drawing conclusions as to what all the noise was about. Ultimately the only thing to be done was to quickly shut the door again and give the guards a gentle but firm order to ask nothing, say nothing, and remember nothing about that moment.

No, what bothered Celestia about the incident were the potential repercussions. She loved her sister, loved her in a way that most people truly could not fathom. The two of them had centuries shared between them, had multiple lifetimes worth of experiences to bond and grow close over. They shared a connection deeper and more profound than any two normal people could hope to forge within a mortal life span.

And yet there were times when Celestia just wanted to smack the Princess of the Night upside her star spangled head. They were as close as any two people could be, but they still had their differences and points of argument. And on the subject of the Elements of Harmony and their avatars, the two sisters were sorely divided. The Elements had nearly been destroyed when Celestia had used them against her sister, when she had abused and perverted the harmonious nature of the connection she and Luna had shared with the ancient magic. It had nearly destroyed Celestia herself to do it, and only the many bonds of friendship she had shared with her subjects of the time had allowed her to survive the betrayal of that singular but highly potent bond she had with her sister.

Even now, Celestia wondered about the fine details of that moment, of what little things may or may not have altered the outcome for herself, her sister, and Equestria. Luna had betrayed her first, and yet she had not done so in her right mind. Had the Elements understood that distinction, understood the necessity that had forced Celestia’s hand that night? Could the power of Harmony comprehend the need to forsake one friendship for the good of so many others? The true nature of the Elements and their power was still such a mystery to her, and it irked her to know so little about that which was the ultimate fail safe for her nation.

When her faithful student had reawakened the Elements, it had lifted an enormous weight from Celestia’s shoulders, while simultaneously dropping an equally heavy one in its place. The Elements were back, and their very first use by their new wielders had resulted in freeing her sister from the terrible darkness that had taken her. Twilight and her friends had used the power of friendship to do what Celestia had been unable to. They had saved the world, and Luna as well, and in doing so had left Celestia both delighted beyond belief, and puzzled to her very core. It had left her wondering about all she clearly did not understand about the Elements and how they functioned.

It had also left her with a sense of dread growing in the pit of her stomach. The Elements were back, but for how long? What would happen if Twilight or one of her new friends drifted apart from the rest? What if they had a falling out? What simply would happen when time inevitably caught up with them, when age started to take its final, grim toll? Would the Elements pass to other hands, fall into another millennium long slumber, or would they simply be gone for good?

Celestia had done what she could to cement the current state of being of the Elements and their bearers. She had instructed Twilight to study the magic of friendship for the dual purpose of maintaining and strengthening the bonds her student and her friends held, and as a means of hopefully learning more about the nature of the Elements herself. As it stood, Celestia felt she had been wildly successful in the former, but woefully failed in the latter. The Elements were as enigmatic as ever, and as such she had no idea what to expect from the new direction the bearers’ relationships had taken.

And that scared her more than anything else.

Luna on the other hand had taken a rather cavalier attitude towards the whole thing, pretty much dropped it all into the hands of fate, and now thrown herself into the mix seemingly without regard for what kind of impact it might have. Maybe nothing would come of her involving herself in the love lives of the bearers of Harmony, and maybe it would cause a cataclysmic rift that would break the Element’s power at a time when the magic of friendship might be all that stood between Equestria’s survival and its destruction.

“Late night, or early morning?” a smoothly pleasant voice slipped into her thoughts, jarring Celestia out of the state of brooding she had fallen into. She came back to general awareness of herself and her surroundings to find she had wandered out into the royal garden, to have taken solace and privacy among the thick foliage. Seemed she hadn’t managed to find either.

“A late night I’m afraid,” Celestia answered calmly despite the start. She had far too much experience to let herself be rattled by such an interruption. She shifted slightly on the stone bench upon which she sat, clearing a space. “And what about you? I can’t recall ever seeing you awake at such an hour.”

“Guess I have a lot on my mind,” Spike answered, matching the princess’s relaxed speech with his own as he took the offered space on the bench. “You?”

“The same,” Celestia said with a tired smile. “Perhaps the very same thing upon each of our minds?”

“Well…” Spike hedged. “Perhaps a bit. I suppose I should be more concerned about the whole Discord thing, but somehow I’m really not. Maybe I just trust Twilight and the rest of the girls to see him taken care of?”

“I trust them to give it their all,” Celestia said somberly. “I just hope it will prove once again to be enough.”

That wedged a moment of silence in between the dragon and the princess. She glanced over at him, and was rather taken aback by the way her heart fluttered to look upon him. Spike’s transformation was a potent thing, especially at such a close distance. More so than just the raw physical appeal though, there was a sense about him, something she couldn’t quite pin down at first. It tickled at the back of her mind for a bit until she managed to find the thoughts for it.

It was his youth that really worked to pull her in. Granted pretty much anyone was young by absolute comparison, but it wasn’t the difference in their ages Celestia was feeling. It was that Spike was, physically speaking, in the prime of his youth. His form was one that spoke to the very basest instincts, of procreation and protection. He was ideal in a purely animalistic sense, strong of body and full of vitality. His mind had a bit of catching up to do with his body, but in truth that subtracted nothing from Celestia’s appraisal of him.

Rather much the opposite in fact, such an open, innocent, and still developing mind was something the princess found nearly as attractive as any physical attribute. She had always enjoyed offering guidance and advice, even long ago when she was youthful herself in more than just body. She had always been naturally inclined towards teaching, whether it be magic or politics or life in general. She had offered wisdom and advice to tens of thousands through the centuries, and had done so freely and happily for the simple pleasure it brought her. It was something that had formed the core of nearly every relationship she had ever had, her friends and family, her associates and servants, her few lovers. Everyone just seemed to expect it of her, and she was happy enough to fulfill that expectation.

And right beside her at that very moment was a rather stunning young man who had sought her out with just such expectations. She could feel the unspoken questions lingering around him. It was the opening steps to a dance she had gone through more times than she could count.

“So, if not chaos and destruction, what keeps your mind awake this night?” Celestia asked, giving him the opening he was obviously looking for.

“Well…” Spike paused. “Well I had some questions I wanted to ask you actually.” He fidgeted a bit, and Celestia could practically see his mind choosing to delay the moment as a bit of uncertainty gripped him. “Though maybe this isn’t the best time. You must be busy enough as it is.”

“My dear Spike,” She smiled warmly at him. “I will never be too busy to find some time for those that are precious to me. Please, what can I help you with?”

“Well…” Spike repeated, pause and all. “I was kind of wondering about some of the things you told me before, about my magic changing me and all that.”

“Of course, what might I be able to clarify for you?”

“Okay, so I get the whole bit about it changing me to look better and to switch around my view of things. But it seems like that wasn’t the only stuff to get altered. I’ve been uh…noticing some changes about certain things that I’m…well…”

Nothing short of several centuries of discipline kept the blush from Celestia’s face, or her features in a politely calm mask. The magically enhanced attractiveness of Spike’s appearance shoved its way back into the forefront of her attention, and some treacherous part of her was actually suggesting she could give him some firsthand instruction about such matters.

She gave herself a full second to thoroughly banish that line of thought back to the void where it belonged.

“I see,” Celestia replied in a safe, neutral tone. “Well I think I can help you understand…that. Though I must admit to being a little surprised that you’d come to me with this, particular issue.”

Spike for his part looked somewhat puzzled. “Uh…okay…?” He blinked, and again looked suddenly so young. Very young, and yet still just adult enough, fit and ever so masculine and…

Celestia gave her mind a little shake. What was with her tonight? Spike was hardly the first overtly handsome person to pit her will against her baser instincts, and she’d had plenty of practice in telling her libido to sit down and shut up. She’d needed to do so more often then she’d care to dwell on. Princess Celestia, High Ruler of Equestria, She who Brings the Dawn, The Unconquered Sun, and so forth and so forth; she could hardly be seen as to be so common as to actually want sex. That illusion of her as someone above and somewhat apart from the world of normal people was as vital to the stability of Equestria as her ability to raise the sun. It cemented her as an eternal and unchanging pillar upon which the nation could always depend on. Everyone knew with absolute certainty that, no matter what else happened in the world, the sun would rise the next day, because Princess Celestia would always be there to watch over them.

“I do have to wonder that Twilight never gave you any instruction in regards to such matters,” Celestia pressed on. “Though I suppose she might have been too embarrassed. Still I would think she could have at least directed you to some appropriate reading material and…and I’m beginning to wonder if this conversation is actually about what I think it is.” Celestia finished as Spike continued to look more and more confused.

“And what is it you think it’s about?” Spike asked in a carefully polite tone.

“Well you see Spike, when a mare and a stallion love each other very much…” Celestia said with perfect seriousness, though it turned into a playful smirk as the dragon went suddenly bright red in the face.

“Oh! No no no! I wasn’t talking about! I didn’t mean! I know about, well I mean kind of but that isn’t!” Spike spluttered through the realization of what his opening statement had sounded like. Celestia for her part couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s quite alright Spike,” she giggled, laying a hand comfortingly over his. At least, that had been the intention. It was a little gesture she had used countless times, a simple touch that she had perfected to convey a sense that everything was perfectly alright. It had soothed and calmed the concerns of thousands upon thousands of individuals throughout the centuries of her rule.

This time the gesture turned against Celestia nearly the instant she touched him. She felt the spark of magic jump between them at the contact, and the embers of desire his presence had ignited erupted into a burning need that completely circumvented her rational mind. Her grip upon him tightened, and next thing she knew she was slipping herself across Spike’s lap. A brief flash of surprised panic flared across the dragon’s face as the princess practically flowed up his body, winding about him in a tangle of limbs, a delightful contrast of firm and soft sensations. Then his eyes started to glaze over, and his hands came up around her waist, pulling her firmly against himself. Celestia sighed in happy appreciation at the sudden firm hardness she felt press against her, and she ground her hips down against Spike’s. Her mouth found his, and they both dissolved into the pure animal lust of the kiss.

Something nagged Celestia in the back of her mind, but she was far too focused on the screaming desires of her body to give it much though. She pressed as hard and completely against Spike as she could manage, her fingers curling into tight fistfuls of his shirt in order to secure her hold on him.

‘Maybe it’s the clothes,’ a sluggish thought crawled across her awareness as her mind kept nagging her to stop a moment and think. The fabric was rather annoying in its inconvenience, in how it kept her from feeling him properly against her. Without their clothes it would only take a slight shifting of her hips to take him inside her, to have him fill the demands of her body. They really needed to get rid of that impediment.

Letting go of him to do so however seemed entirely unlikely. Celestia’s mind couldn’t accept even such a short cessation of contact; there just wasn’t room in her thoughts at the moment for anything rational. Instead she pressed harder against Spike, her mouth straining against his until it hurt, her tongue sliding frantically around to feel and taste as much of him as she could. Her legs tightened about his waist, grinding fiercely against his hardness in desperate desire.

‘Magic,’ her lust addled mind managed to toss at her, and Celestia latched onto the idea. Of course, she had her magic, surely she could get rid of the fabric obstruction with a simple spell. No, that wasn’t what her mind was trying to tell her, was it? It was so hard to think at the moment. What was it about magic? Something she needed to do, she could feel the power starting to thrum along her horn, even as her body tried to drown to the sensation with raw physical pleasure.

She almost lost the question as Spike tore his lips from hers and brought them back down on her neck. Her breath gasped out of her in a shudder as she felt his teeth on her skin, her hips bucking wildly against his in a demand for release. Stubbornly though her rational mind forced her attention back to the disjointed thought trying to come together, trying to tell her something, something important to do with her magic.

No, not her magic…

Celestia let out a gasp, not of lust, but of sudden realization. Her befuddled thoughts started to clear, and then she felt a pressure against her mind, trying to force her back into the bliss of flesh and ignorance. It was something not of her own mind, and she struggled against it in a growing panic as she felt herself starting to go back under, as the foreign presence told her to stop thinking, to stop worrying, to just give in and enjoy the moment. The strength of that will was terrifying, and Celestia clung to that fear as a last defense against the pleasure trying to rule her mind. Yet all she could do was stall it, she wasn’t strong enough to win, not when she had just started to fight back the instant before she lost entirely. Her shattered will wasn’t up to such an uphill struggle. Her mind was being smothered, her body was lost to desire, and her magic…

…her magic was still held within her horn, the power tight and coiled in anticipation, ready to be released. Celestia reached desperately for it, her mind struggling to figure out what to do with the power even as she touched it. She felt herself go under, to give in to the pressure and the pleasure.

And then her horn blazed forth in brilliant white light as she cast the only spell her mind had managed to dredge up. The Fail Safe Spell washed out from her in a wave of disruptive force, tearing down and scattering any and all magical power it contacted. The pressure against her mind shattered, and Celestia felt her thoughts snap back into proper motion again. Beneath her, Spike gave a hard grunt, and she felt him go still.

“Spike,” Celestia asked gently. “Spike, are you alright?” She pushed herself back from him slowly as she brought her mind back into order.

“What in Equestria was that!” Spike demanded after a stunned moment, staring up at her in alarm.

“That,” Celestia replied, and was startled to hear her voice quaver. When was the last time anything had gotten to her like that? “Was your magic taking direct action towards acquiring me as a mate.”

“…what?” the dragon asked in a very small voice.

“It’s not your fault Spike,” she spoke up quickly, putting as much certainty into her tone as possible. He would need that. Stars above, she needed it. “If anything, it was mine. I shouldn’t have been so careless.”

Reluctantly, Celestia started to untangle herself from the dragon. The magical compulsion might have been dispelled, but the desires of her body were still very much stirred up. She was flushed with longing and lust, and even without an outside will acting against her, there was the very real wish to disregard rationality and thought in order to sate her desire.

“I don’t understand,” Spike said, his arms slipped from around her, though the motion had a slight hitch to it that suggested he felt as torn about it as she did. It was all Celestia could do to stop herself from diving right back onto him. “All you did was touch my hand. You’ve done that like, a million times before. Heck, just the other night we walked around half the palace arm in arm.”

“Yes, but your magic was likely exhausted from the change you had just undergone,” Celestia pointed out as she got her feet under her, and took a slow step back. Her hands unconsciously smoothed the wrinkles from her nightdress even as a frown creased her features. “Although now thinking on it, that walk might well have been a very foolish thing.”

“Why?”

“Because it gave me the chance to reject you,” the princess answered.

“Is any of this going to make sense to me anytime soon?” the dragon grumbled slightly.

“I’m sorry Spike,” Celestia said with a strained smile as she brought her breathing back under control. “I’m still working the details out in my mind at the moment. And towards that goal, please allow me to divert the conversation a moment. I must ask you to tell me plainly, what was it you wished to discuss with me? I have the feeling it will be relevant.”

Spike gave her an uncomfortable look, his mind clearly still dazed and struggling to make sense of things. Celestia recognized the expression; the young drake had just had his thoughts and emotions badly jumbled, and was desperately seeking understanding in order to gain a point of reference by which to start sorting everything back out.

“Um…okay,” Spike sighed, pushing the words out with an effort. “Well…well see ever since I changed, I’ve been acting different around Rarity.”

“In what ways?”

“I’ve been…well less me I guess. I’m not sure how to say it. It’s like, normally I’m practically tripping over myself trying to talk to her. I never seem to find the words I really want to say to her, and I end up just babbling.” Spike paused a moment, obviously still working to maintain his emotional control. “But now there’s this voice in my head feeding words to my mouth that makes me sound just like I always wished I could have sounded when talking to her. And it works so well, I mean it is seriously smooth and has her all swooning and everything but…” He slumped a little. “But well, as neat as it is, as much as it makes me sound like the guy I want to be for her…well it isn’t me. And it kind of worries me.”

Celestia nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. When they opened again, the violet orbs shone with emotion. “I think you might have a reason to worry,” she said. “I think your dragon’s greed has not been as thoroughly overcome as I believed. Instead it has merely been redirected, and indeed may be as potent as ever.”

Spike stopped breathing as the words sunk in. His gaze went distant with thought, and then twisted up in pain. With a visible effort he swallowed, and forced himself to speak.

“S…so you th-think I’m going to start hording…my friends?” he asked in a very frightened voice.

“I believe your magic is going to push you towards that goal, yes,” Celestia said, wincing at the anguish on his face. She wanted to go to him, to give him comfort, to just hold him and tell him it would be alright. But she couldn’t trust what she might do if his magic got a second go at her. “And it is going to work upon you as well as those you desire.”

“Oh sun and stars,” Spike groaned. “So I’ve been, what, magically drugging Rarity?”

“…no, I don’t think so,” Celestia replied after a moment’s thought. She pressed on as he gave her a disbelieving look. “I think in Rarity’s case it would not be necessary. A more subtle, less direct approach ought to be sufficient for her, because she was already open and welcoming to the idea of being with you. Your magic merely had to provide you with extra articulation of your speech to thoroughly win her over.”

“It’s still not me she’s really fallen for though. It’s this fake me my magic is presenting!” Spike growled, slamming a fist down on the bench.

“I would give her more credit than that Spike,” Celestia told him gently. “Rarity is no fool, and she has known you for quite a while. If this voice of yours was truly all that different from who you really are, do you honestly believe she would not realize it?”

“I…” Spike let out a frustrated breath, green sparks hissing through his teeth. “ I don’t know.”

“I would have to see the magic in action to be certain, but I would assume that all it is doing is giving you the clarity to speak your mind smoothly. I would actually prefer to see it myself, to be certain, but I would not jump to so drastic a conclusion as to think your greed felt the need to twist Rarity’s mind.”

“It tried to do so with your though.”

“Yes well, mine is a somewhat different case, for several reasons. I doubt you’ve really been thinking about me as mate material.”

“N-no, of course not!” Spike blanched. “I mean not that you aren’t gorgeous and smart and funny and…”

“Spike,” Celestia said softly, cutting him off. “Breath, relax. It’s okay.”

“Right, sorry,” he replied nervously.

“So, no wistful daydreams about me then?” she asked in a slightly teasing manner, hoping she might start directing his mind out of the pit of dark emotions he seemed ready to start wallowing in.

“Well, there was the one where you made me the official ice cream taster for the royal kitchens…” Spike managed to weakly joke. Celestia let out a single, soft laugh.

“If such a position ever becomes required, I promise to give it to you,” she said, a slight sparkle coming to her eyes. Her mirth slowly drained, as did his. “I think your magic made such a drastic attempt to snare me because of who I am, more so than of any physical appeal I may have to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Please understand that I am guessing somewhat, though I am basing it off of what I understand of dragons from the few I have managed to get to know. I should like to know more, about them and their magic alike, but yours is a reclusive and secretive race. However if I had to guess, and I do, I would say that your magic understands enough to realize what a fine prize I would be to add to your horde, or harem perhaps in this case. I have power, both personal and political. Having me would give you a great deal of prestige, and would present you as someone who must have great value of his own to have caught my eye. I would be a trophy and a venue to give you access to the finest riches and women of the kingdom. “

Spike for his part looked ready to be sick. “Is that really what I am?”

“No, not in the least,” Celestia replied sharply. “If that is what you were, you would have come at me again to give your power another chance to snare me. You are not defined by your magic any more than you are your biology. You can breathe fire, and yet you don’t go setting everything around you ablaze. You have a great desire for treasure and wealth, and yet you’ve faced that desire down and brought it under your control. Your impulses and desires do not define you, your choices do that. And you are constantly choosing to be better than simple greed and selfish gratification. You are better than most people I know about it.”

“But it’s still mine to deal with.”

“Yes, that it is. But you need not deal with it alone. You have friends who will help and support you no matter what.”

“But I can’t trust myself around them anymore. I can’t put them at risk!” Spike argued.

“No, I agree, that would not be fair or prudent,” Celestia said. “But we can find a way to keep them safe from your magic until such time as you learn to control it.”

“If that’s even possible,” Spike grumbled.

“No magic is untamable Spike,” Celestia insisted. “I won’t lie, this is not likely to be easy. It will require a fair deal of discipline and self-control, but I should like to think you will be sufficiently motivated to give the training your all.”

“Training?” Spike asked in puzzlement. “You already have a plan for getting this under control?”

“Of sorts,” Celestia informed him. “Your magic is not all that dissimilar to that of pegusi actually, a power more focused inward than out, used to bolster the body and mind to achieve feats and abilities beyond the capabilities of mere flesh and blood.”

“Yeah, about that,” he interrupted. “I thought you said my magic was all about changing me. So how…”

“Did it seize control of my mind and body?” Celestia finished. Spike nodded. “By exploiting a loophole, just as pegusi do to walk on clouds, or impose their will over the weather. They don’t use their magic directly upon the object they wish to manipulate, but indirectly by setting up a magical effect within themselves that then radiates out from their bodies.”

“Riiiight…” Spike remarked slowly, and Celestia sighed, though she tempered it with a smile.

“It’s like...well if you were trying to hit a target with a stone. A unicorn can throw the stone directly at the target, but for you and pegusi, the target is hidden behind a wall. You can’t aim directly at it, but instead must ricochet the stone off of another object first. It’s doable, but harder and less efficient, both of which makes it nearly impossible to do unless you are very close to the goal.”

“Which is why you had to touch me before my magic could affect you.”

“Exactly,” Celestia nodded. “Though given the strength of that compulsion, I’m certain you could manage a less powerful working over a short distance as well.”

“So just refraining from touching someone probably won’t be good enough?”

“I would not depend on that as a safety measure,” Celestia informed him. Spike sighed, and nodded his understanding glumly.

“So, that rock bouncing metaphor…is that how it is for Earthers too?”

Celestia let out a little laugh. “No, not at all. For them, magic is like having the wall between them and the target, and then having to convince someone else to pick up and throw the stone for them.” Spike blinked at that, and opened his mouth, but Celestia cut him off. “Perhaps that is a discussion for another time?”

“Right, sorry,” the dragon relented. “So, you think a pegasi training regimen might work for me huh?”

“I do,” Celestia answered. “And what’s more, I just so happen to know a few pegasi who happen to be experts at training others to master their inner magic.” She smiled at him playfully. “And you might just look rather dashing in a blue and yellow skintight uniform.”

Spike stared at her in puzzlement for a moment, then his mouth dropped open. “Wait, you don’t mean…” Celestia’s smile just widened. “…oh, Dash is going to be so freaking jealous.”

The solar princess let out a mirthful laugh, the chiming sound doing wonders to dispel the air of discomfort and worry that had settled around the dragon.

“Yes, I suppose she might be,” Celestia agreed as she reclaimed control of herself. “Perhaps I should see about getting her an audience with Spitfire at some point. I think she has earned herself at least that much for her dedication and loyalty.”

“Please do,” Spike said through a small grin. “Otherwise she’ll probably end up badgering me to take her along.”

“Ah well, for the sake of your training then, and your peace of mind…”

They shared a small but light hearted laugh, and Celestia felt a fresh surge of attraction for the young dragon. She could still taste the kiss on her lips, and her body was still warm with longing. She tried to beat the feelings down, but nothing she did could rid them from her thoughts entirely. She had them under control, but the temptation was there none-the-less, and at the moment she found herself weary of denying herself. She needed a distraction before she could think of a good rationalization to indulge herself. Fortunately, though annoyingly, she had one ready at hand.

“It’s nearly morning,” Celestia commented, her gaze sweeping out across the sky. The moon had already sunk below sight, and the stars were beginning to wane. “After I see to the sun, I should like to see you and Rarity together. It’ll be a good way to get a measure of your magic I think.”

Spike nodded slowly, though he looked troubled. “Is…is she going to be safe around me now? I mean, you make my magic sound like something alive, that can think for itself. If it knows we’re trying to stop it…”

Celestia shook her head. “It doesn’t work quite like that. Magic doesn’t think exactly, but more reacts to your own thoughts. It can form into reflections of your own thoughts, but these mimicries are immutable, unchanging on their own. They lack the free flowing nature of true thought.” She paused to gather her own thoughts on the matter. “Such mental constructs are more akin to instinct. They are machines of thought, able to fulfill a set goal, but only when the appropriate circumstances are met, with little ability to adjust. Your magic itself did not formulate a plan centered around ensnaring me, some part of your mind did that. Your magic merely took the form of those thoughts and acted on them.”

“So then I really am…”

“You are who and what you are Spike,” Celestia cut in. “A dragon, prone to greed and selfishness. You are a good friend, ready to give your all for those you care about. You are a hopeless romantic, chasing a dream you never thought you’d truly catch, and yet all the more determined to try. You are a great lover of creature comforts, of warm beds and late mornings, of sweets and gems, of long hot baths. You are a person Spike, and people are not just one thing or another. They are complex, multilayered beings, and they are ever changing. Please, do not be so quick to label yourself as a single thing and use it to describe the whole of yourself. Yes, you do have dark and undesirable thoughts, as does everyone. It is not a shameful thing to want power or wealth or flesh. It is how we handle these desires, much more than the desire itself, that speaks of who we are. So please, stop trying to demonize yourself.”

“Sorry, sorry, you’re right,” Spike sighed, rubbing at his face tiredly. “It’s just…scary to think I could be possible of such things, even if it’s just a little tiny bit of me.”

“I know,” Celestia said consolingly. “I know all too well really.

Spike blinked in amazement at her. “You?”

“Oh yes, more than most people in fact. Temptation is something I face every day.”

“But…but I mean…” Spike floundered for words for a moment before spluttering. “But you’re…you!”

“My dear dragon,” Celestia smirked. “I am somewhat different than most yes, but not so much when it comes to matters of the mind, or the heart, or the body. I have wants and desires the same as anyone.” She let out a deep sigh. “And I have to be all the more careful because of who I am, and what I am.”

“Why? I mean, you’re Celestia. You could have anything you wanted.”

“Yes, I could,” the princess said seriously. “Almost anything I asked for, I would have given to me. And anything else, I have the power to just take if I so chose to.” She fixed Spike with a level gaze. “After all, who would deny me? Who could deny me?”

Spike leaned back from her a bit as he considered that.

“I have power Spike, more than just about anyone, anything, else on this world. I control the sun itself. That alone would be enough to let me do as I pleased, without anyone being able to tell me otherwise. I have the power to completely disregard right and wrong, to do whatever makes me happy, and no person, no nation, could stop me without disastrous consequences. I have more temptation than just about anyone, because for me, I know that I could have it all. And I have been tempted. I’ve had days were I just wanted to sleep in late and worry about rising the sun whenever I got around to it, and everyone else could just be patient about it. I’ve wanted to tell ambassadors and leaders of other nations to shut up and just do as I say, or else I might divert the sun so that their lands stay in twilight. I’ve wanted to command men and women to my bedchambers for catching my eye.”

Spike swallowed a bit drily at the brief, hungry glint in the princess’s gaze as she stared at him.

“But I have resisted those temptations, because I believe in right and wrong, in good and evil, and I do not want to be such a person. I could be, very, very easily.” Her tone dropped, almost to a whisper. “And it is terrifying to think of what I could be if I let myself slip.”

“I…I’m sorry princess,” Spike said softly. “I wasn’t thinking, I shouldn’t of…”

“Oh Spike,” Celestia said, her soft words a blend of warm fondness and bitter regret. “Please don’t apologize. I should not have laid that upon you, it’s my burden, and you have problems enough of your own right now without having to listen to mine. Especially one so old and familiar to me.”

“Okay,” Spike nodded, though he looked like he wanted to argue the point. After a moment he added. “But I’m glad you felt that you could share that with me. I wish I could help you, especially after all the help you’ve offered me. Unfortunately I think all I can do is listen.”

“Perhaps,” Celestia agreed. “But that is a greater thing than I think you realize. Thank you Spike.”

“Sure, anytime,” the dragon replied with a small smile.

“Well then, I really ought to be getting ready for today’s sunrise,” Celestia said.

“And I should go explain things to Rarity I guess,” Spike said, rising from the bench. “When should we…?”

“As it suits the both of you,” Celestia answered. “I usually spend the first hour or two of the day in my study. Don’t feel the need to wake her before she is ready. If I’m not there, I will leave instructions on where to find me.”

“We’ll be there then.” Spike sighed. “This…is going to be an awkward conversation.”

“Likely so,” Celestia agreed. “If I may offer some advice?” Spike nodded, and she continued. “It might be wise to…let’s say, gloss over some of the more, intimate, details of our discovery of your magic’s nature.”

Spike coughed self-consciously. “Uh, yeah, good thinking. Not that we got that far or anything, but…” he trailed off awkwardly as his face flushed slightly.

“Keep it straightforward and simple,” Celestia provided to try and cover the silence, herself shifting her feet as her own face warmed over the still fresh sensations in her memory.

“Right, so uh…we’ll see you soon. Yeah…”

“Yes,” Celestia said simply. The two stared at each other across the scant few feet between them for another silent moment. “I…I really need to go. The day can’t be kept waiting.”

“Of course,” Spike agreed readily, though neither moved. Another moment slipped by in a tense silence. “Celestia?”

“Yes Spike?” the princess answered softly.

“…uh, nothing. Nothing, never mind,” the dragon shook his head, and with what seemed a great effort of will, finally turned and started to make his way out of the garden. “I’ll see you in an hour.” He said over his shoulder to her.

“Or two,” Celestia added. “Or even later. No need to rush, Spike.”

He nodded to her, and soon vanished behind the dense, professionally maintained foliage of the garden as he followed the stone pathway. Celestia remained where she was for a time, trying to bring her thoughts and emotions into something resembling their usual order. Eventually she gave the exercise up as a bad job, and turned her mind and magic upon her daily task. If the sun rose a little less smoothly and a bit quicker than normal that day, how many would really notice? And of those that did, who would dare open their mouth about it anyway?

Chapter 1

Some notes for the sake of clarity

Chapter 1

“Good night! Good Night! And thank you all again sooooo much! I had such a wonderful time!”

“G’night ya’ll, see ya ‘round.”

“Later guys.”

“Good evening everyone, I hope you have an enjoyable night’s rest.”

“Sleep well.”

“Good night people. Hopefully we can do this again soon.”

“Soon, but perhaps not too soon dear?”

“Oh, yeah, hehe. Good point.”

“Awww, but I have a really super awesome amazing teeerrrifiic idea for…”

“I’m sure you do Pinkie, but maybe it can wait just a few days?”

“Weeelll…okay. Oooo! Oooo! That just means more time to make things even more amazariffic!”

The sun long since set by the time Pinkie Pie’s birthday party had wrapped up, and five of the six friends were wearily looking forward to some well-earned time in their beds. The birthday mare in question however was still riding high on the excitement of the day, as well as the seemingly endless fuel tank of hyperactivity that propelled her through life like a foal on caffeinated sugar. While her friends walked or flew along sedately, Pinkie bounded ahead in a fashion that should not have been able to cover as much ground as it did as quickly as it did, the frills on her skirt billowing and her striped stocking clad legs flashing. Her little pet alligator Gummy stared placidly out from where she had tucked him safely down the front of her V-necked vest.

Reaching the gates of Sweet Apple Acres and the road back to town, she spun around to see how far behind Twilight and Rarity had fallen. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had taken to the air of course, and Applejack didn’t really have to go anywhere, but her two literally magical friends would be taking the same path home as her, once they caught up.

Something in the corner of her eye caught Pinkie’s attention mid-turn, and if gravity could have claimed to have a proper hold on her, she probably would have fallen over due to the suddenness by which she stopped. A figure stood a bit off the path, leaning casually against one of the many apple trees that gave the farm its namesake and income. Pinkie’s mind came to as abrupt a stop as her body in sudden recognition. Her usual cheerful grin faded to brief surprise, then to an expression of consideration, and finally back to a smile, though something more reserved than normal. She stepped off the path, striding across the sparse grass at a pace that wasn’t quite a hop, but a bit more than just a walk.

“Hi,” she greeted the individual with just plain enthusiasm. “I uh, guess we need to talk, huh?”

Big Macintosh raised one eyebrow in an expression that spoke of the pure understatement of her words.

"Eeyup,” the big man drawled, pushing himself upright from the tree. His features were as calm and passive as always, but there was a hint of anxiety to be seen in his eyes. He cast a glance up the path Pinkie had come down, and she caught the meaning quickly enough.

"Well come on then, let’s take a walk,” she suggested, taking hold of one thick arm and heading off into the trees. She didn’t even come up to the big man’s shoulders, and between his height and an abundance of farm earned muscles, he weighed twice as much, plus some, more than her. None of which hindered Pinkie in the slightest, and only the full length of his considerable stride kept Mac from tripping right onto his face as he was manhandled along.

“So, about earlier…” Mac prompted after a few minutes, as he finally managed to slow Pinkie down enough that he wasn’t having to work to keep pace alongside her.

“Yeah…earlier…” Pinkie repeated. She didn’t look at him, but stared on ahead, her expression somewhere between joy and embarrassment and regret, if such a look can exist.

“I reckon I might owe you an apology,” Mac said gravely.

“I can’t imagine why,” Pinkie said, shooting a quizzical look up at him. “You didn’t do anything I didn’t want.”

“No, but…well you…I…” he floundered for a moment. “I’m not sure you were exactly…”

“Sane?” Pinkie provided.

“No, that’s not what I was…”

“Macky, after I got done with you, I threw a party with a bag of flour, a pile of rocks, a bucket of turnips, and a big ball of lint. They convinced me my friends were a bunch of losers and that I should never speak to them again.”

The silence that followed this confession wasn’t awkward. Awkward silences happen after nice, normal things like forgetting someone’s name after being introduced to them for the third time, or doing something despite a nice, obvious warning sign being present to tell people not to do said thing.

“But then I found out I was totally wrong about why my friends were avoiding me and everything’s good and normal again!” Pinkie announced cheerfully after a moment.

“Well…that’s good,” Mac said, somewhat less enthusiastically.

“And I think you and I would be great together.”

“I…what?”

“Well, you had a good time, right?” Pinkie flashed him a self-satisfied smile that made Mac’s cheeks darken.

“I suppose I can’t deny that…but that ain’t the same thing as saying…”

“Aaaaand,” Pinkie cut over him. “You could use someone like me in your herd.”

“I…I don’t have a herd,” Mac protested.

“Uh duh, that’s why you need someone like me silly,” Pinkie informed him. “You’re too old to be doing the lone stallion thing.”

“Now hold up, I’m only a few years older than you and…”

“And unless you want to get snatched up by the first group of mares that decides you’re taking too long to start picking…well I suppose that’s your chance to take.”

“Whoa, wait…what are you…?”

“Oh come oooon, don’t you listen to any of the gossip in town?”

“Well I…”

“Just about all the mares got their eyes on you. I swear, Cheerilee is probably just a few weeks away from organizing a raid to come claim you.”

There was a certain degree of wide eyedness to greet this news.

“Buuuuuut…” Pinkie continued with playful sultriness. “If you let me be your first pick, we could get you your herd formed and organized before anyone can do anything drastic.”

“You…really think it might come to something like that?”

“Uh huuuh,” Pinkie told him seriously. She crossed her arms in front of her sternly, though the gator head poking out of her cleavage detracted from the look somewhat. “You have no idea. There’s only like, three decent guys in all of Ponyville, and none of you are showing any signs of even considering who to pick for your herds. It’s been driving most of the mares crazy!”

“I…I didn’t realize it was such a big deal.”

“Stallions,” Pinkie sighed. “Well it is. And now that I’ve got some claim on you, I’m not letting you go.”

“Uh, look, Pinkie,” Mac said, running one hand through his mane. “What we did, I mean it didn’t…I wasn’t…” He trailed off at the look the normally bubbly, pink woman leveled at him. There was something very unnatural about how clearly he could see his own nervous face in her glaring big blue eyes.

“You wouldn’t be trying to say you’re planning on using me and then losing me, would you?” she asked in a slow monotone.

“Uhhh…” Mac swallowed, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “No, that wouldn’t be right. I got to be a proper fellow about this and...”

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie exclaimed brightly, her face lighting up in a smile. “Alright, here’s the plan! You stay here on the farm where it’s safe.” Her tone became a conspiratorial whisper. “Someone could have seen us earlier. If so, it’s only a matter of time before everyone in Ponyville knows.”

“…everyone?” Mac repeated in mild alarm. Pinkie just kept going as if he hadn’t spoken.

“So we have to act quickly, before anyone else can make a move. I’ll get your herd rounded up and established while you lay low, and by the time the news breaks, it’ll be too late for anyone to nay-say us.”

“Whoa, wait a moment,” Mac exclaimed as Pinkie made as if to dash off right then. “Shouldn’t we discuss who is going to be part of this herd?”

“Should we?” Pinkie asked. “I figured it’d be obvious.”

“Well, maybe so, but uh how about we discuss it anyway. Just to avoid any misunderstandings?”

“Oooo, good thinking! Well I couldn’t possibly be in any herd that didn’t include my friends.”

“Your friends…um, all your friends?”

“Oh, of course not silly,” Pinkie laughed, giving a little snort. “That would be most of Ponyville. I just meant my bestest friends.”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

“What, you don’t like my friends?”

“No, course I do. It’s just uh, one of your friends is…well…”

“Ooooooooooh!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Right. Don’t worry, those rumors about Rainbow Dash are completely bogus, she has this stash of magazines, that is one mare who definitely loves the… ”

“No, not Dash,” Mac cut in.

“Oh, you meant Fluttershy! Don’t worry about her either, I’ve seen some of the looks she’s given you when she thought no one was looking. Might take a bit to get her to be comfortable with things, but I think once she is, she’s going to be a real fre…”

“No!” Mac interrupt again. “I’m talking about the friend of yours I already have a relation with.” The surprised gasp that greeted these words made Mac flinch involuntarily.

“No way! I thought I was your first! You’ve been with someone else? How did I not know about that!?”

Mac took another deep breath and let it out slowly.

“I’m talking,” he said with forced calm. “About my sister Applejack.”

If Pinkie’s eyes had gotten any bigger, they would have pushed the rest of her features right off her face.

“You’re sleeping with AJ?” she exclaimed, and Mac nearly choked. “WHOA! And here I was thinking that she’d be the hard sell for getting everyone together, oh man, does that make things easier…”

“No!” Mac half yelled before reigning himself in. He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to think calming thoughts. Getting riled up never help no one do nothing better. “No,” he repeated in a quieter tone. “I am not sleeping with Applejack.”

“Oh…why not?”

Inside his head, Mac felt his brain officially give up and walk out on him, leaving him completely at a loss as to how to respond.

“I…she…we…” his mouth sputtered in an effort to keep working in the absence of instructions.

“I mean I know it’s a bit unusual, but it’s not like it’s unheard of.”

“Well yeah, but as a last resort kind of thing,” Mac managed as he dragged his protesting mental faculties back to the job. “AJ is hardly in that desperate a situation.”

“Well she might be,” Pinkie suggested. “If she really really really really wants to stay close to her friends and we manage to get everyone else to join up…”

“Oh fine,” Mac said, struck by sudden, desperate, inspiration. “If you can convince AJ to join up, knowing full well what she’s getting into…”

“Not a problem!” Pinkie proclaimed with such enthusiastic confidence that Mac felt a tingle of dread run down his spine, and found himself questioning his brain on the supposed wisdom of the ploy it had just suggested.

“Uh…right then…”

“I got to get to work then!” Pinkie said. “I mean, it’ll be dawn in only like, eight hours! I have to be ready!” She took a pair of running steps, then halted. She took the exact same steps in reverse, spun, and grabbed Mac by his shirt lapels, hauling herself off the ground in a perfect chin-up to lock her lips about his. The kiss sent an entirely different kind of tingle down his spine, and befuddled his mind even more completely than trying to argue with her had managed, such that he didn’t even notice the snout poking him in the chest. Then she dropped back down and was gone so quickly that she seemed to become a pink blur before vanishing into the night.

His thoughts still jumbled, Mac half walked, half stumbled back through the orchard, barely aware of his surroundings until the front door to the Apple family house snapped shut behind him. He blinked, coming out of the trance, and sighed. How in tarnation had he gotten himself into this mess? And how was he going to get out of it without being a right rotten scoundrel?

The familiar creak of the floor by the kitchen made him glance up to see Applejack glancing down the hall at him.

“Oh, it’s you,” she drawled sleepily. “What were ya’ll doin’ outside at this hour?”

“Uh,” Mac hesitated as he ferociously kicked his mind back into gear. “Had some chores I was behind on, what with going into town today for Granny’s joint balm.”

“Oh yeah,” Applejack yawned. “Got so busy ma’self ah forgot ya were gone part’er the day.” She vanished back into the kitchen for a second, then the light clicked off and she reappeared, carrying a glass of water in one hand and running her fingers through her long blonde mane with the other.

She was dressed in one of Mac’s old hand-me-down tees, her usual sleepwear. It gave him a pause to see her like that. He remembered the shirt coming down to somewhere near her knees when he’d first given it to her. Now it was riding up nearly to her flank, showing off a fair deal of very well-toned leg. There was even the briefest flash of red on every other step as the lowest sliver of her cutie mark peeked out under the hem. When had she gone and grown up that much without him noticing it?

“Ya’ll ‘right?” Applejack asked, and Mac realized he’d been staring.

“Huh?” his increasingly useless brain provided.

“Ya had that far ‘way look ya git when y’ur thinkin’ real hard ‘bout sumthin,” she said, coming to a stop right next to him. When had she gotten so tall? He had a good head of height more than her, but that still left her a fair deal taller than most of Ponyville.

“Oh, yeah, uh…”

“What’s buggin’ ya bro?” she demanded.

His brain started firing excuses his way, none of them good. And as much as he didn’t want to tell her what happened, even more so he knew he’d feel bad not telling her. They’d always trusted each other with their secrets, and it felt wrong to consider changing that now. Even if it was embarrassing.

“…I might have done something stupid today,” he admitted.

“How stupit?”

“Hard to say yet, but maybe…Uncle Hawley’s barn stupid.”

Applejack winced in memory of the event.

“Aw’right, ya better tell me ‘bout it,” she said, padding over to the big comfy couch that was the center piece to the family living room. Mac gave a moment’s thought to running, but dismissed it as a bad idea. Applejack was faster than he was.

“Well…” he started, sitting down on the couch and earning a protesting groan from the springs as they fought to hold him up. “I had just picked up Granny’s balm…”

“…and make sure she doesn’t use more than the instructions allow for,” Lotus was telling Mac, unless of course maybe she was Aloe. He never had gotten the spa sisters’ names straight, and he was too embarrassed about it to actually ask anyone for clarification after this long.

"That right,” Aloe, unless she was Lotus, added. “I know Granny Smith believes that more is better, but it just won’t work like that with this.”

“I’ll be sure to not give her more than she should have,” he assured the two, who smiled at him sweetly.

“We know,” the one he was thinking was Lotus said. “You take such good care of her.”

“That he does,” the one that would be Aloe if the other was Lotus added. “I sure hope I can find someone to take care of me that well.”

“Well now, surely you won’t be having to worry about anything like that for quite a while yet,” Mac offered politely.

“Oh…yes, well,” Maybe Lotus hedged. “Still, it would be, nice to have someone to pamper me…”

“Pamper us,” Maybe Aloe corrected.

“Hmm, well yes, I suppose so,” Mac agreed, not really knowing what else to say.

“Speaking of pampering,” Lotus, possibly, spoke up, “Whenever are you going to stop by for yourself?”

“Shoot ladies, no disrespect meant, but uh, the whole…spa dealie really ain’t my thing.”

“Oh now,” Could be Aloe said. “You could at least give it a try. A good massage would do wonders for all those tough, hard, powerful muscles…”

“Yes, you really should,” Likely Lotus picked up as her sister trailed off. “Why just look at your hands, so…strong, but so rough. A good soaking and some personal attention…”

“Well, I guess I could think about it,” Mac allowed, starting to edge towards the door. “But not today, I really do need to get back to the farm.”

“Oh…well if you ever change your mind!” the both of them called after him as he stepped outside.

It was a pleasant day in Ponyville, as expected. The town might not be as big or rich as some other places in Equestria, but they did have one of the best weather teams around, and when the schedule said a day was to be nice and enjoyable you could sure enough count on it to be so.

Tucking the bag with Granny’s jar of joint balm in it under his arm, Mac headed off down the street, weaving easily through the light traffic. Definitely one of the nice things about a smallish town, it was rarely so packed that a fellow had to worry about bumping into anyone. He nodded and smiled and offered polite greetings along the way. Another nice thing about a smaller town that, knowing most everyone, at least by sight, and them all being friendly.

So it was something of a surprise when someone ran right into him as he came around Sugarcube Corner, half knocking the wind out of him, and then just kept on walking as if they hadn’t even noticed. Mac had to fumble the bag to keep from dropping it, and he cast an annoyed look at…Pinkie Pie?

It took a second look to be sure, because it sure didn’t look like Pinkie. Her normally curly poof of a hairdo was flattened and straight. She was trudging along, not skipping or hopping or bouncing at all. There was none of the usual cheerful brightest about her, but rather a depressing dullness that seemed to mute the colors around her. There was just no…spark, no energy, no vitality about her.

“Pinkie Pie?” Mac called after her, and was actually kind of surprised when she stopped to look back at him.

“Huh? Oh, hi Big Macintosh. Sorry, didn’t see you,” she muttered listlessly, and Mac became officially worried. Pinkie had never used his full, proper name before.

“You alright Pinkie?” he asked, stepping a bit closer to look at her better. Her eyes looked a bit swollen.

“Oh, yeah, I’m great,” she replied, and smiled. It scared Mac. It was the most unnatural looking smile he’d ever seen, and he was glad that she stopped trying to maintain it after a brief moment. “Excuse me…I have to go…throw a party…with some…people…”

“Pinkie, what’s wrong?” Mac insisted. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing,” she said softly, one hand tugging absently at her mane. “I’m fine, totally fine, everything is just…really…awesome…”

The next thing he knew, Pinkie had half collapsed into his arms and was crying into his shirt. Mac did his best to juggle the girl, the bag, and his own footing, and miraculously managed not to lose any of them.

“Pinkie?” he spoke with no little amount of alarm.

“They…don’t…friends…hate…parties…excuses!” she sobbed incoherently.

Mac sighed with general understanding. He had no idea about the details, but he came from a very big family, and he’d held more than a few hysterical cousins when they’d needed someone to comfort them. Once they reached the point of being unable to string words together into proper sentences, there wasn’t much else to do but hold them and let them cry it out.

Gentle as he could, Mac scooped the sobbing mare up in his arms, and proceeded to carry her into Sugarcube Corner. He was relieved to find the place empty of customers; he certainly wouldn’t have wanted to find out what kind of rumors would have otherwise been spawned from him carrying a hysterical Pinkie Pie home. Unfortunately neither Mr. or Mrs. Cake seemed to be around either. Much as he didn’t have a problem offering comfort to someone who needed it, Mac would have been more comfortable passing Pinkie over to someone who knew her better.

Not seeing any other options though, he hefted her up a bit more securely into his arms and started up the stairs to the second floor. He had no idea which room was hers, but a quick look around found him one that was decorated as if someone had hollowed out a cake, turned it inside out, and blown it up to live in. It was all pinks and reds with candy decals and hand painted balloons and streamers crisscrossing everything. It seemed a safe bet to assume it was Pinkie’s.

Mac nudged the door all the way open with one foot, and carefully maneuvered his now merely quietly crying armload inside. There was a bed that had been designed and decorated to resemble a giant custard dish, and he gently set her down on it, then sat down himself as she refused to let go of him. He dropped the bag to one side and put one arm around Pinkie’s shoulders, and waited with practiced patience for her to wind down.

Some minutes later she slowly pulled away from him, and Mac slipped his arm free to let her. She didn’t look at him, and her long, straight mane fell to hide her face, but he’d been through this kind of thing enough times. He pulled a big green handkerchief from one pocket and held it out where she could see it. She took the offering in one slightly shaky hand and cleaned herself up, ending with an enormous honking blow.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome. Now, do you want to talk about it?” He asked gently.

“I…I don’t know.”

“Okay. Would you like to be alone?”

“No!” she spoke sharply, grabbing his arm in a sudden, fierce hold. “No, please…”

“Alright, alright,” he said calmly, laying one hand softly over hers. After a moment the tension went out of her, and her grip loosened enough for the circulation to start back up, sending a prickling down the limb. Mac just sat there with her, not saying anything, just holding her hand for several silent minutes before she spoke up.

“They don’t like me anymore,” she whispered.

“Who doesn’t?”

“My friends. They don’t like my parties and they don’t want to be my friends anymore,” Pinkie said in a tone suitable for the ending of the world.

“That’s…quite a serious thing to be suggesting,” Mac said. “What makes you think that?”

“They don’t want to come to Gummy’s after-birthday party,” she said, a bit of heat in the words. “They’ve all been making excuses not to come,” she added, her voice rising. “And they’ve been sneaking around town and avoiding me all day!” She shouted, jumping to her feet and stalking about the room. A teddy bear had the misfortune to cross her path and ended up being sent flying by an angry kick.

Mac rose to his own feet as she paced angrily back and forth. “So, you have tried talking to them about it?”

“Uh, yeah!” Pinkie raged. “Rainbow Dash actually ran away from me! She didn’t want to talk to me sooooo much she kept running away no matter how often I cornered her! And then she went and hid in your barn and Applejack said I couldn’t come in because of construction and she slammed the door on my head!”

“I…see…” Mac said in obvious bewilderment.

“I know!” Pinkie shouted as if he had just whole-heartily agreed with whatever point she was making. “It’s all secrets and lies with them! Well I’m on to them now, and if they don’t want to be my friends, then fine!” She tried to scream the last few words, but her voice broke and only a visible effort managed to get them out.

“Look, Pinkie,” Mac said in a ‘let’s be reasonable’ tone. “I have no right idea what all this is about, but I can say this about my sister, and that’s that it just don’t sound like Applejack to up and abandon one of her friends. Something just ain’t right about that, and if it’s okay with you, I think I ought to go have a talk with her about it. Maybe I can figure out what’s going on for you?”

“You…you would do that for me?” Pinkie asked in a small voice.

“Course I would.”

“But…” she bit her lip, and her eyes shone with worry. “What if they really don’t like me anymore?”

“I can’t imagine how that could be possible.”

“But what if…?”

“Well then, they’re doing themselves a mighty fine disservice. A person would have to be a proper no fun grump not to like you, and if they don’t, well then, I still will, and so will a lot of folks.”

“Really? You…you like me?”

“Course I do.” Mac smiled slightly at her. “How couldn’t I, after all the nice things you’ve done for me and mine? You’re always trying so hard to brighten everyone’s day, bringing me balloons and cake when I hurt my ribs, cheering up Applebloom when she was down about not having her cutie mark, throwing that amazing party for Granny Smith’s 80th birthday. You’ve never been anything but friendly and wonderful to the Apple clan, and I’m not going to forget that, not ever.”

“So you really like me?” she asked desperately.

“I really do.”

“…prove it.”

“Uh…excuse me?”

“Prove it,” Pinkie demanded. “Prove you like me.”

“Um…well…” Mac scratched his head. “Uh, what would you accept as proof?”

“Well…you…you could…” she looked around as if for inspiration. “…kiss me.”

“Beg pardon?”

“You could kiss me,” Pinkie repeated. “That would prove it,” she said, seemingly talking more to herself than him. “People only kiss people they really like.”

“Uh, well I suppose that’s true…” Mac granted, trying to take a nervous step back, but finding himself blocked by the bed. He could have sworn one of her eyes had just twitched in a manner he didn’t find very comforting.

“Right, that’s settled then,” Pinkie said formally, and stalked right up to him. “Well, go oooon…”

Mac cleared his throat and gave his shirt collar a nervous tug. She was staring at him very intensely. Slowly, in little jerky motions, he leaned over, and placed a hesitant kiss on her forehead.

“…so, that’s how much you like me…” Pinkie stated coldly, and her gaze sharpened as her eyelids half closed.

Mac opened his mouth, closed it, swallowed drily, and opened his mouth again. He was saved the trouble of finding words by Pinkie seizing him by the front of his shirt and hauling, and some panicky part of his brain was screaming that he was too young to die, and then her tongue was fighting for space with his in his mouth and he had somehow ended up on his back on the bed and she was crawling on top of him and…

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Applejack broke in. “Ya was makin’ out with Pinkie!”

“Making out nothing,” Mac replied. “I think I was fighting for my life.”

Applejack snorted. “Well land sakes, ah can’t believe that girl. And ah can’t believe you!”

“Me?” Mac said defensively.

“Takin’ advantage of ‘er when she was all emotional like that.”

“I was not the one taking advantage of the other,” Mac grumbled.

“Are ya really goin’ be that whiny with me?”

“I am not whining…but come on AJ, have you ever seen Pinkie really mad?”

Applejack started to reply, then stopped. Her mind played her a flashback of her own confrontation with Pinkie Pie, right after Rainbow Dash had dove for cover in the barn. It had been like trying to stare down an active volcano.

“Ahhhhh…shoot, fine,” she relented. “Ah guess ah can’t take it out o’ ya, ‘specially if she was the one startin’ things. And it’s not like there’s any real harm in a little kissin’.”

Mac made an uncomfortable sound, and Applejack shot him a suspicious look.

“That’s all that happened, right?” she pressed.

“N-not exactly,” Mac hedged.

“What else? Ya didn’t go getting’ handsy with ‘er, did ya?”

“Uh…well…I didn’t start it, but…”

“Ah don’t believe this,” Applejack protested. “Next ya’ll be saying ya went and…” she trailed off as Mac glanced down at the floor, his face darkening. “…Big Mac-in-tosh!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. The glass of water was dropped to the floor, soaking the carpet.

"Would you please keep your voice down?” Mac pleaded. “You’re going to wake everyone up.”

“Ooooooo,” Applejack fumed, but she managed to get enough control of herself to moderate the volume of her voice. “What is the matter with ya?” she hissed. “What was ya thinkin’?”

Mac threw his hands up. “I don’t know. She was just being so…and I’d never had anyone touching me like…and she just looked like if I tried to stop her…I…” He put a hand over his face. “I guess I just wasn’t thinking.”

“Ah bet ya weren’t,” Applejack said in disgust. “Anything else I ought to know ‘bout?”

“…yeah.”

“Seriously? There’s more?” she exclaimed in disbelief, and Mac motioned for her to keep her voice down.

“I talked with her after she left that party you threw for her.”

“Yeah, and?”

“And…well…” Mac blew out a long breath. “She’s going to be joining my herd.”

There was a stunned silence.

“Ya…she…wha…” Applejack spluttered. “Ya ain’t got no herd!” she finally spit out.

“Yeah well, I do now.”

“But…but…Pinkie Pie?”

“It was her idea.”

“And you said yes? Just like that?”

“As opposed to what AJ?” Mac said, a hint of heat coloring the words. “What else could I have told her, ‘thanks for the good time, but no thanks’?”

Applejack rocked back slightly at his tone. It took an awful lot of poking and prodding to get Mac’s temper going, but it was a right bear once it was awake.

"Aaaaah…shoot, no,” she said, deflating a bit. “Ah guess that wouldn’t be right.”

“Yes, I know,” Mac huffed. Applejack sighed and sat back down.

“So, what now?” she asked.

“Darned if I know,” he admitted.

“Wrong!” Applejack told him. “Ya done started picking for a herd. Soon as word of that gits ‘round town, we’re gunna have us a stampede of the lady folk come lookin’ to join up.”

“Yeah, Pinkie said something like that.”

“And she’s right. If ya don’t git ya herd picked and established ‘fore word gits ‘round…” she trailed off ominously.

"Pinkie said she was going to handle it.”

There was another, more intense, stunned silence.

“Pinkie…Pinkie Pie is going to handle picking out ya herd?” Applejack asked, after she picked her jaw up off the floor.

“She seemed very confident that she could do it,” Mac protested defensively.

“Pinkie Pie is confident she can do anything she puts ‘er sugar filled head to,” Applejack retorted. “Please tell me ya at least got names out o’ er.”

“Course I did, I’m not an idiot,” Mac shot back. “Not a total one,” he amended after a dismissive snort from her.

“Well?” she pressed.

“Well…” he stalled. “Well…she was thinking…about her friends.”

The third stunned silence danced its way across the conversation.

“…oh…ma…Celestia…” Applejack groaned, putting her face in both hands. “And ya didn’t try an talk er out o’ it, did ya?”

“Like it would have mattered?” he asked.

“Ah got to stop this,” Applejack said, getting to her feet.

“What makes you think you can?”

“Ah don’t know, but ah gots to try. Bless Pinkie, ah love er to death, but there ain’t no way this crazy plan o’ hers is going to pan out smoothly. Ah got to talk sense into er before we end up with a whole heapin’ o’ hurt feelin’s.”

“You…you think it could get that bad?”

“Bad? Bad! Don’t ya know anything ‘bout forming a herd? It ain’t just ‘bout findin’ a stallion and some mares ya don’t mind sharin’ him with. Ain’t no guy be ‘spected to keep a whole handful o’ ladies happy, if ya getting ma meanin’. The mares got to be into each other, at least somewhat.”

“…oh horseapples.”

“Exactly! And how’s it goin’ to turn out if Pinkie feels that way ‘bout them, but maybe some o’ em don’t feel quite that way ‘bout er?” Applejack’s imagination treated her to an vision of Pinkie Pie being rejected as a potential lover by one of her friends. She shuddered involuntarily. “Got to stop er,” she told herself, and headed for the door.

“Uh, AJ?” Mac called out.

“Not now, ah got to think,” she told him, opening the front door.

“Perhaps you ought to think about putting on some pants before you go running into town?”

Applejack paused, and then looked down at herself and the over-large tee that was her only attire.

“Oh…right…that…” She shut the door and bounded up the steps, pausing halfway to the top. “Don’t you go nowhere. Ya gunna be comin’ with me an’ helping ‘splain things, ya hear?” And then she reached the second floor and darted off towards her room.

Downstairs, Mac considered again about making a break for it. He’d have a few minute’s lead, and it was too dark for her to follow him easily. He could be most of a mile away by the time she was finished dressing, which was at least as far as he’d really like to be when Pinkie told Applejack that she wanted to have all her best friends join his herd…

Chapter 5

Twilight Sparkle stumbled in through the front door of her library home, needing to keep a death grip on the door handle to stay upright. She closed the entrance by way of leaning against the door until it snapped shut, and then remained there as she tried to get her wavering legs to cooperate. While her muscles weren’t actually worn out and tired, the lingering effects of the Sensation Sharing Spell were insisting otherwise, and her body just couldn’t accept that what she was feeling was only illusionary. She’d barely managed to limp home with a gratuitous amount of teleportation spells, and the expenditure of so much magic had left her feeling even more worn down.

It actually took her more than one attempt to magically light the lanterns in the main room, and only her pride kept her from literally crawling over to a chair to slump down in. As soon as she was seated however she gave fully into her exhaustion, both real and spell induced, letting out a whimpering groan of relief at just being off her feet. She closed her eyes, leaned her head back, and tried to organize her thoughts through the physical discomfort.

Her mind didn’t hold back on her despite her condition, but slammed her right away with a doozy of a question: Was she still a virgin?

‘No one actually touched me,’ she pointed out to her mind.

‘And yet, you took an active role in the giving and receiving of sexual pleasure of another person. Three other persons in fact,’ her mind shot back.

‘It was involuntary,’ she tried to counter.

‘The first time, maybe…’ her mind instantly retorted. ‘The second and third time though…’

‘I wasn’t really actively pleasuring anyone,’ she argued, dropping back a point in the debate. ‘I was just providing a means of allowing them to greater enjoy themselves.’

‘While getting your fair share of the fun,’ her mind pointed out dismissively. ‘It might have been Pinkie Pie that Big Mac was plowing during the second sensation spell, but the way both of them were looking at you…’

‘I still haven’t actually had anyone inside me,’ Twilight thought through a rising flush.

‘Semantics,’ her mind scoffed. ‘If your senses can’t distinguish otherwise , then what meaningful difference is there between reality and illusion? Especially an illusion whose sensory input is a copy of something you know to be real?’

Twilight was saved the trouble of trying to come up with a counter by a sudden ruckus in the next room…or maybe a fracas?

“Ugh, too much Pinkie in my mind tonight,” Twilight groaned. She pushed herself upright in the chair and focused on the door. Whatever the cause had been, she had at least recognized the sound itself, having heard it more than a few times. It had been the sound of books falling, a pile of at least twenty if her guess was good. “Spike, is that you in there?”

“Twilight?” the almost familiar voice of her dragon companion and assistant responded. The tone wasn’t quite right though, somewhat too deep and rough. Not to mention nervous sounding.

“Spike? You okay? You sound…different.” Twilight tried to stand up, but her legs weren’t having any of it and she remained seated.

“Do I? Uh yeah well, I think I might be coming down with something.” There was a series of forcibly loud hacking coughs. “Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I don’t feel so good.”

“Well come here so I can give you a look over,” Twilight called, managing to get to her feet despite her body’s protests.

“Uh uh ummm…” came the frantic reply. “Uh no! I uh, don’t want to risk getting you sick! Especially with the Gala tomorrow and everything!”

“Don’t be ridiculous Spike,” Twilight said, hobbling to the door. “We’ve never caught each other’s illnesses before.”

“Gah!” Spike cried out as Twilight pushed the door open, and he tried to hide behind the half fallen stack of books covering the table. He would have had better luck if he hadn’t been a good three feet taller than normal.

“Spike!” Twilight exclaimed hotly, her weariness momentarily forgotten. “You’re hording again!?”

“I’m not!” Spike replied, peering nervously out from around the pile. “I swear!”

“Then what’s all this?” Twilight demanded, pointing at the collection of books.

“Research material,” Spike told her.

“Oh come on,” Twilight scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“I’m serious,” Spike said, a bit of hurt coming into his tone. “Look, see?” He picked up a book and held it out to her. “It’s about dragons. They all are.”

Twilight remained skeptical, but she did take the offered book and give it a glance. “Spike,” she said curtly. “This is a book on dragons in myth and legends.”

“Yeah well,” Spike said meekly. “Most of them are actually. I think I found all of just two books about dragons that aren’t just stories.”

“Really?” Twilight asked, taken aback enough to forget to be stern. “That can’t be right.” Turning to the pile, she gathered the mess up, absentmindedly counting as she did. “Twenty one, close.”

“What?” Spike asked.

“Nothing, never mind,” Twilight replied as she started sorting through the books, stacking them into twin towers. Or more accurately, one tower and something that would barely qualify as a foundation. She picked up the meager three books that had earned non-fiction status in her sorting.

“This can’t be right,” she repeated, trying to think back to her last re-shelving day. “You got everything we have about dragons here?”

“Everything,” Spike said certainly. “I double checked. I even triple checked to make sure I didn’t miss anything while double checking.”

Twilight’s eyebrows went up, and she turned back to the tomes in her hands. Draconic Magic, by Starswirl the Bearded. Dragon Danger: Dealing with the Direst without Drastic Drama, by Golden Band. And finally, The Dragon Diaries, by Honey Badger.

“What exactly were you looking for?” Twilight asked.

“Anything that might explain why I’m growing like this again,” Spike answered, shuffling out from behind the books. He was only a few inches shorter than she was now, though the gangly awkwardness of his limbs suggested at more height to come. “And how to make it stop.”

“There might not be any way to stop it Spike,” Twilight said seriously.

“But, why not?”

“Well, if you really aren’t hording again…”

“I’m not! I swear! I Pinkie Promise even!”

“Alright, alright,” Twilight relented. “Well then, you might just be growing because you’re getting older.”

“But…I don’t want to get older!” Spike protested.

“Heh, Spike,” Twilight chuckled. “Everyone gets older, it’s part of life. It’s not a bad thing.”

“Yeah well, most people don’t turn into rampaging monsters when they grow up,” Spike said direly.

The smile dropped from Twilight’s face. “Oh…Spike…” she said softly.

“Please Twilight, you have to help me,” the dragon begged. “I don’t want to be like that. But I’m afraid I won’t be able to help it if I get that big again. And if that happens, I’m going to have to leave, or I might hurt someone.”

Somewhere in her chest, Twilight felt a hand seize her heart and squeeze.

“It’s not going to come to that,” she said, trying to shake off the feeling.

“How do you know?”

“Because I won’t let it!” Twilight said, startling herself with the fierceness of her own words. “If there’s a way to keep you you, I’ll find it. And if there isn’t, I’ll make a way!” Her magic yanked a chair out of the corner of the room, and she sat down with only a minor protest from her legs. She dropped two of the books in her lap, opened the third, and started reading with the determined resolve normally reserved for those about to engage in battle.

Starswirl’s book, while quite interesting, proved mostly useless, being all about magic spells as applied to dragons. She did find one entry that she mentally bookmarked for possible later use though. She magically levitated the book back on the table, taking a moment to stretch a little. She caught Spike’s eye from where the dragon had taken a seat on the floor, his knees pulled into his chest and his arms and tail around his legs. Neither said anything, and Twilight quickly picked up the second book.

Golden Band’s work threatened to put Twilight into a coma. Her initial boost of worried energy had long since faded, and only the interesting subject matter of Starswirl’s writing had kept her general exhaustion at bay. It came creeping in as she started the second book though, which was about as educational as it was gripping and exciting. Which was not in the slightest. While the opening chapter had declared the book’s intent to be ways and means for the average person to deal with dragon related problems, the vast majority of the text could have been condensed into a single sentence: Whenever possible, avoid any and all interaction with dragons. The little remainder could have been covered with an additional sentence: When not possible, seek professional help.

Only the practice gained from several years of late night cram sessions during her tutelage under princess Celestia provided Twilight with the will and means to power on through the book, and she unceremoniously dropped it on the floor beside her chair when finished. Spike gave a tiny startled sound, but didn’t completely wake up from the sleep that had claimed him. He had fallen over on one side, still curled up tight around himself. Twilight took a few minutes to get up, stretch out, and grab a blanket for Spike, and some hot chocolate for herself before attempting the final book.

Luckily Honey Badger proved to be a rather amusing author, as well as having something of real interest to write about. The book was a documentary about several years Honey had spent getting to know three different wild dragons, and was full of remarkable accounts, anecdotes, and random trivia. It was however, still pretty well useless as far as providing anything to help with the current predicament. While Honey had found out some very interesting things about the dragons she studied, most of it was about those individual dragons as opposed to dragons as a species. And none of those dragons had been anywhere near as young as Spike.

Twilight set the book down, and rubbed at her tired eyes. She was utterly exhausted; it had been a long and eventful day, and the clock on the wall informed her that it would probably be more accurate to call it an early morning than a late night at this point. She yawned, leaned back in her chair, and let her eyes close for a second, just to give them a rest.

“Twilight. Twilight? Twilight!”

“Huh, wha?” Twilight sat upright in a start. Spike stood beside her chair, scales gleaming in the bright sunshine streaming in through the window. “Oh no, I fell asleep!”

“Yeah, me too,” Spike said dully. “Did you find anything?”

“Nothing that had anything to do with dragon aging or growth I’m afraid,” she informed him. Spike drooped. “I did however find a possible temporary solution though.”

“You did!” Spike exclaimed, perking up hopefully.

Twilight nodded, and got out of the chair, wincing a bit as she did. Her back informed her in no uncertain terms what it thought about her sleeping upright with minimal padding. She wobbled slightly on over to the table, and retrieved Starswirl’s book, flipping open to the page she had noted earlier.

“Now remember,” she told Spike as she glanced over the spell. “This is just a patch, it’s not going to fix anything, only give us some more time.”

“Right, I gotcha.”

“Okay, here we go…” Twilight said, closing her eyes as she reached out for her magic. While not the best night’s sleep she’d ever had, she had gotten sufficient rest to let her horn recharge, and it was a simple matter to pull in the power she needed. Pushing it back out in the form of the spell she was trying to cast was somewhat more difficult, but she’d performed much more complicated forms of transmutation than this.

Spike gave a little shudder, his body lighting up with the dark pink aura of her magic. The shudder became a quiver, than a violent quaking, and then with a tiny “pop”, the dragon shrank in on himself. For a second he was little more than a purple and green blob with hands and feet, and then his body bounced back out, his proportions returned to his familiar stature.

“Awesome! Thank you Twilight!” Spike exclaimed, his voice also back to its youthful state. He leapt on her in a hug.

“You’re welcome Spike, but remember…”

“Right right, temporary,” Spike said. “But at least this way I won’t freak anyone out. I just hope it lasts through the Gala…”

“The Gala…” Twilight said thoughtfully. “The Gala? The Gala! The Grand Galloping Gala!” She gave a little shriek. “It’s tonight! And I slept in late! I should be getting ready!”

“But Twilight, we don’t have to leave for a few hours still,” Spike pointed out.

“Only a few hours!” Twilight panicked. “How will I ever get everything done in time! I need to go see Rarity right now!”

“…women,” Spike said to himself with a shake of his head as Twilight bolted out of the room.

“Women…” Spike gloomily echoed himself several hours later, as he sat dejectedly at the counter of his favorite Canterlot donut shop. He couldn’t believe they had all just abandoned him like that, running off on their own and leaving him all by himself. And after he had driven the carriage all the way from Ponyville at that! “Some gratitude,” he muttered, shoving half a glazed donut into his mouth and chewing as if the pastry had done him a personal wrong.

And just because his mind decided he wasn’t miserable enough, or maybe it just took sick pleasure in kicking someone when they were down, his thoughts turned to Rarity. Who was probably with…him…right now. Her prince, the one she had come to the Gala to find. She probably had the lucky sod wrapped around her little finger by now.

“And I just let her slip out of my grasp,” he moaned into his coco. He’d known why she wanted to come to Gala, had known for months. And in all that time, he’d never managed to work up the nerve to tell her how he felt, except for that one time when he thought they had been about to plummet to their deaths. He’d thought she’d understood what he had been trying to say, the way she had gently cut him off, looking at him with those big, tear filled eyes.

Only she’d never brought the moment up again after that, and any time he’d tried to edge the conversation in that direction either someone would interrupt, or she would suddenly start up a new topic. Maybe she hadn’t realized what he had been about to say after all. If so, he’d just blown it big time the day before. He’d had all day with her practically, helping her carve and shape gems for her dress and tiara. The very dress and tiara she had worn to the Gala, that had no doubt helped her already stunning beauty capture the attention of…him.

All that day to say something, and he hadn’t. Instead he’d helped her get ready to present herself to another guy! What had he been thinking?

“Hey, Joe,” Spike called grumpily down the counter. “Another donut.”

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” the proprietor of the shop asked.

“Another donut!” Spike insisted. “Extra sprinkles!”

Joe gave a sigh and a roll of his eyes, but plopped another confection down before the ornery dragon.

“Spike?” a familiar voice spoke up from behind him.

“Twoolluph? Spike garbled through a mouthful of donut, looking over his shoulder.

His friends stood in the entrance to the shop, looking like they had just barely escaped some kind of riot. Twilight’s mane had taken on the frizzy quality Spike recognized as a sign of stress and worry. Rainbow Dash was missing a shoe, and her dress had been ripped almost completely open on one side. Pinkie Pie looked as if she’d been trampled, with loose strands sticking out from her mane and her hat crumpled on her head. Applejack looked much the same, crushed hat and all. Fluttershy was a wreck, pieces of her gown falling off even as she just stood there, trying to flatten down her mane. And Rarity looked as if she’d been dunked in frosting and tossed to a pack of rabid dogs.

“…what’d I miss?” Spike asked as soon as he managed to choke down his oversized mouthful.

Spike’s mood vastly improved afterwards, as they all crowed around a table and swapped stories of their nights, laughing at how horrible it had all been. He wasn’t sure what was funnier, Pinkie’s disastrous attempt to get the uptight Canterlot elite to have fun, or Dash’s over the top efforts to impress the Wonderbolts. He tried not to seem too overtly happy at hearing that Rarity’s prince had turned out to be a royal jerk, though he had the impression that Twilight at least was aware of his feelings on that matter.

“Sounds like this was the worst Gala ever,” Spike commented at the conclusion of the recounting.

“I would say this was the best Gala ever, myself,” a cheerful, musical voice spoke from the door, and a set of surprised gasps went around the table.

“Princess Celestia!” they all chimed in at once, leaping from seats to bow as the princess came striding into the shop, the interior of which seemed to brighten by her very presence.

“I don’t understand,” Twilight spoke up as she straightened. “What do you mean? The Gala was awful, and it was all our fault.”

“Oh Twilight,” Celestia said with a radiant smile. “The Gala is always awful.”

“We thought the evening was progressing rather pleasantly ourselves,” a thunderous voice disagreed, and Celestia half turned to smile at Luna. There was another round of surprised gasps, as well as a muffled coughing from Dash, who had made the mistake of thinking nothing could be more surprising than Celestia showing up, and had taken a heavy sip of her drink. Everyone once again dropped into a bow as the Princess of the Night came in to stand beside her sister, though Applejack had to help Dash stand back upright afterwards as she continued to wheeze.

“Really now?” Celestia asked pleasantly. “You were enjoying that stuffy, uptight affair?”

“It was one of the few properly dignified events we have had the pleasure of attending since our return,” Luna confirmed, rattling the cups on the table. “At least, it was…”

“We’re really, really sorry about that Princess Luna,” Twilight said meekly. The princess glanced at the half cowering unicorn, and seemed to give a tiny start.

“Nay Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said after a momentary pause, her voice dropping to merely loud, as opposed to thundering. “Thou need not apologize. We would be amiss if we did not truthfully admit that thy antics and those of thy friends were...amusing.”

Celestia gave her sister a wry smile, and Luna sighed.

“And perhaps,” she went on with a resigned tone, her voice dropping even further in volume. “We were beginning to find the poorly disguised attempts of some to curry favor with us through badly phrased flattery a bit annoying.”

“Just wait until more of them find the courage to approach you,” Celestia said brightly. “It’ll be very nice to have someone else for the brown nosers to harass.”

“Princess, I’m still confused,” Twilight admitted. “If the Gala is always so dreadful, why host it every year?”

“Tradition,” Celestia answered with a shrug. “It wasn’t always so boring you know, but over time, it’s become less about having fun and more about trying to gain political advantages. Luckily, you and your friends managed to liven things up, just as I’d hoped you would.”

“Just as?” Luna asked skeptically.

“Okay, maybe a bit more lively than I expected,” Celestia admitted. “Regardless, it was very entertaining, and it ended the evening far earlier than usual. Why, I think I actually have nothing else planned for the day!” She smiled cheerfully. “It’s been ages since I’ve had a completely free night.”

“And what pray tell will thou do with this freedom, dear sister?”

“Oh, I have a few ideas…”

So it was that Spike and the others found themselves invited back to the palace, into the private halls that lead to the royal living quarters. Celestia had insisted that they were to stay the night as royal guests, and tasked her guards with making sure no one disturbed them for the rest of the evening. Once some food, drink, and a change of clothing had been delivered that was.

The royal living quarters, while as beautiful and well maintained as the rest of the palace, weren’t as overtly grand. The halls didn’t stretch off endlessly, the ceilings didn’t soar far overhead, and the walls were more sparsely, but more intimately, decorated. Stepping through the entrance from the general palace into the royal quarters was like walking into an entirely different building, one meant for comfort and ease, as opposed to the overwhelming awe that was the design approach of most of the sprawling structure.

“This is so cool,” Rainbow Dash stated, glancing around.

“Darling, this is far more than ‘cool’,” Rarity corrected. “This.Is.Incredible!” She gave a swooning gasp. “The royal quarters, oh I’ve always dreamed but never truly believed I might…” She gave a giddy giggle and bounced excitedly.

The sense of comfort and ease built into the decor was momentarily challenged as they followed Celestia down a hallway towards her personal rooms, and a door swung open to reveal prince Blueblood. The prince was wrapped in a thick, heavy bathrobe, his mane damp and matted. He gave a start of surprise when he noticed the gathering.

“Good evening nephew,” Celestia said politely. “We’re going to be having some guests tonight.”

“Oh, I see,” Blueblood replied, taken aback. He barely managed not to be openly disapproving about the idea. “Well that’s very…” He trailed off as his gaze swept over the royal guests, and landed on Rarity. The frosting speckled unicorn favored the prince with a flat glare that should have set him ablaze on the spot. “…uh, very nice,” he finished, his voice cracking a bit. He edged back away from the group until his back hit the wall, one hand groping along blindly beside him. His speech picked up to a slightly rushed pace. “Well don’t let me keep you, have a good evening and…” His hand found a door handle, and he cut off in mid-sentence to quickly ducked inside, shutting the door loudly. There was a click.

“Oh dear,” Celestia said with mock concern as she glanced at Rarity, who instantly composed her features into a neutral mask. “I do think you traumatized the poor fellow.”

“Indeed,” Luna agreed, not even bothering to pretend to be concerned. “Allow us to offer thou our congratulations.”

“Luna,” Celestia chided playfully.

“What? He is an arrogant, poor mannered, blustering, loud mouthed, good for nothing.”

Pinkie Pie gave a snort of laughter. “Loud mouthed, that’s funny coming from you princess.”

“Pinkie!” Twilight hissed in alarm, casting a fearful gaze at the princesses. Celestia was too busy giggling behind a hand to really notice though, and Luna seemed more puzzled than anything.

“Ah!” the younger sister said, comprehension crossing her features. “We see the irony now. Well spotted Pinkie Pie, very humorous.”

Twilight gave a shaky sigh of relief as the party started back up, and they soon found themselves in a moderately sized room that they were informed served as a bridge between Celestia’s and Luna’s private bedrooms. Even more so than the rest of the royal quarters, it was a comfortable, personal feeling room. There was actually some disorder, the floors and walls didn’t shine as if scrubbed and polished daily, and the layout of the furnishings and decorations didn’t have a professional touch to them.

“Oh, oh my,” Fluttershy meeped as her gaze came to rest on a small vase holding a trio of delicate looking flowers, whose wispy petals emitted a soft, pale light. “Are these, lunar lilies?”

“That they are,” Luna answered, surprise evident in her voice. “We are impressed fair Fluttershy, that thou could recognize them. They have not been present upon the earth since…for several centuries.”

“Oh, well,” Fluttershy said with a faint blush, “I’ve read about them. I never thought I’d get to actually see any though. They’re very lovely.”

“Yes,” Luna agreed, her tone actually dropping enough to qualify as soft. “I have spent some time enjoying their beauty.”

There was a knock on the door, and a handful of palace servants swept inside. In short order they had a pair of tables set up and piled high with snacks and beverages, and a dressing screen was erected in one corner. An empty clothing hamper was set to one side of the screen, and a rack of nightgowns of various sizes placed on the other. The servants then swept back out of the room, the entire process having taken less than a minute and being done with a degree of grace and precision to make a professional dance team envious.

“The door right beside the screen leads to a washroom if you need it,” Celestia informed them.

“Oh thank heavens!” Rarity proclaimed dramatically, just barely not running to be the first to get washed up and changed.

It was a rather enjoyable night that followed, as they all sat around and just talked. Twilight tended to hog Celestia’s attention, but Luna was more than eager to play hostess for their guests, and as the evening went on, she managed to lose most of her stiff formality as she become more and more engaged in the various conversations. Pinkie in particular seemed to be able to get Luna to relax and just be herself, likely due to the pink mare’s seemingly complete indifference to the princess’s royal status.

Spike had been trying to work out a way to get into a private discussion with Rarity when he felt it. A sharp, sudden prickling sensation that washed over his scales and put his spines on edge. Somewhere in his chest, he felt a pressure starting to grow.

“Oh no, not now!” he moaned to himself, jumping to his feet and looking around wildly.

“Spike?” Hearing Rarity’s angelic tones pronounce his name gave the little dragon the briefest of pauses as his heart fluttered, but then the panic reasserted itself even harder. “Are you alright darling?”

“Fine!” he replied, a bit high pitched. “I just need to…I gotta…berightback!” He finished in a rush, darting for the door out into the main hallway.

“What in tarnation was that about?” Applejack asked.

“No idea,” Twilight answered, not entirely truthfully. While she didn’t know for certain, she did have a hunch at what had made Spike flee the room so quickly. “I’ll go check on him,” she said, reluctantly excusing herself from her discussion with Celestia.

Stepping outside, she glanced up and down the hallway, but saw no immediate signs of her runaway dragon. She was about to just pick a random direction and go looking, but the bit of her mind that wasn’t pouting over having to abandon a perfectly good conversation about magical theory managed to toss out a better idea.

“Duh, Twilight,” she said to herself, firing up the gem locating spell she’d picked up from Rarity. Celestia had remembered Spike’s craving for gemstones, and had made sure that a bowl of them had been provided along with the other snacks.

She felt a gentle tugging behind her as the spell took hold, back towards what was left on the table. She also felt a pull to her right, and Twilight smirked. “Gotcha.”

The spell lead her around the first bend in the hallway, and to the third door on the left, which she knocked gently upon.

“Spike? You in there?”

“Hey Twilight,” came a voice that she wouldn’t have ever guessed belonged to Spike. Even with the depressed edge to it, the tone was a deep, rich timbre. It was the kind of voice to make a mare swoon. “Come in.”

Twilight pushed the door open, and found herself stepping into a small library that was crammed full of books, most of them quite old judging from the sea of worn and faded spines facing her from the shelves. She froze for a moment as realization hit; she was in princess Celestia’s personal library. Princess. Celestia’s. Personal. Library! She felt a nearly orgasmic squeal of delight start to claw its way up her throat.

Then her gaze fell on Spike, and all other thoughts were wiped from her mind. He wasn’t just taller this time, he was flat out tall. She couldn’t be certain without a direct comparison, but he was at least on a level with Big Macintosh now, possibly even a bit taller. He wasn’t as heavily built however, though he was by no means scrawny. He had a leonine musculature, the compact, iron hard type of muscles common to many apex predators. His face had lost its chubby cheeked roundness, becoming more angular and sharply defined. His spines had likewise traded in their softer edges, and his scales had picked up a metallic sheen.

He was also far more obviously male than before.

“Oh geez, Spike,” Twilight said with a flush, turning her gaze aside. “Okay, step one, we need to find you some pants.”

“Uh, okay…” Spike said with obvious obliviousness. Despite herself, Twilight felt a shiver run down her spine as that voice vibrated into her ears. She shook her head, and cast her gaze around for something to impose a level of decency on her not so little dragon.

“Sorry princess,” she said softly as she magically seized a set of curtains and pulled them off the window. She floated them over to Spike, wrapping one around his waist and draping the other over his shoulders.

“Really?” Spike protested.

“Hush,” she told him, concentrating on what she wanted. The curtains flashed, and the material shifted and flowed like water before settling again, having become a passible if somewhat baggy shirt and pants. “That’s better.”

“If you say so,” Spike agreed, his tone still clearly confused. He stared at her for a moment, and she stared back, her mind trying to take in just what she was seeing.

“This is really weird, looking up at you,” she said finally.

“Yeah,” Spike replied. “It’s really weird to be looking down at you.”

“Uh, how do you feel?”

“Tall. Really tall.”

“Besides that,” Twilight sighed. Spike shrugged.

“Okay I guess. At least, I don’t feel like I did back, you know, when I was growing last time.”

“Well that’s good. And you seem to be yourself, and capable of full sentences and proper grammar.”

“Do you think that means I’m not going to become a monster then?” Spike asked hopefully.

“I…I don’t know Spike,” Twilight admitted reluctantly, cringing a little as he deflated at her words. “But I do know what we can do to find out.”

“You do?”

“Yup. We’re going to go talk to the princesses about it.”

“Uh…you mean, now?” Spike asked hesitantly.

“Yes.”

“Right now?”

“Yes, right now!”

“But, what about…”

“What?”

“Well, can’t we wait until everyone else goes to bed or something?”

“Spike, this isn’t something you need to be ashamed of.”

“I know, I just…I don’t want to scare them or anything.”

“I know, but trust me,” Twilight said, taking a step forward and reaching up to put a hand on his shoulder. She was surprised at how pliable and warm his scales felt. “They’re your friends, they’ll understand.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“…well…okay…”

Twilight took Spike by the hand, and gently lead him back down the hall. She pushed open the door, and cleared her throat for attention. “Excuse me everyone, if I could…”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Pinkie’s shriek cut her off. The earth mare pointed a trembling finger passed Twilight. “Spike’s on the rampage again! Quick, protect the cake!” She suited actions to words, diving across the snack table and snatching the remains of the chocolate cake that had been provided.

“Really feeling the understanding here,” Spike said in a sarcastic whisper, and Twilight split a glare between him and Pinkie.

“Pinkie, knock it off,” she said sternly. “He’s not rampaging, and he’s not going to steal the cake.”

“Why’s he big again then?” Dash demanded.

“Yeah!” Pinkie chimed in, hugging the cake protectively to her chest and getting frosting all over herself.

“Because he’s growing!” Twilight shot back.

“The last time he started growin’…” Applejack began, but Twilight cut her off.

“This isn’t like last time.”

“How can ya be sure?”

“Because he’s not hording this time,” Twilight said hotly. “He’s just getting bigger because he’s getting older, like everyone else does.”

“Ah don’t know anyone else that done grows four feet in an evenin’,” Applejack said mulishly.

“Worry not Applejack,” Luna spoke up from behind the cowgirl, making her jump. “This is not a growth of greed.”

“Do you know what this is then?” Twilight asked excitedly.

“We believe so,” Luna said, glancing over the unicorn’s shoulder into the hall. “Prithee Spike, come in where we can see thou more clearly.”

Twilight stepped aside clear the doorway, and Spike nervously edged out of the relative darkness of the hall and into the brightly lit room.

“Whoa nelly,” Applejack said.

“Dude…” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy gasped.

Pinkie and Rarity both remained silent, the former still clutching the increasingly smushed remains of the cake she was trying to protect, though some of the tension had gone out of her to make room for shocked disbelief. The latter was openly goggling at Spike, her mouth half open.

“He’s freaking awesome looking now!” Dash broke the momentary silence. Spike’s head snapped up, and he blinked at her.

“You…you really think so?” he asked.

“My goodness!” Fluttershy squeaked. “His voice! It’s…it’s… gorgeous…” Everyone turned to look at her, and she blushed. “Well it is,” she added with timid stubbornness.

“Yes, as we suspected,” Luna commented as she looked Spike up and down. “This kind of growth in a dragon is most likely the result of…”

“Something Spike might not want revealed in front of everyone,” Celestia broke in, laying a hand on her sister’s shoulder. Luna gave Celestia a questioning glance, but then shrugged.

“If thou thinkest so, dear sister,” she allowed.

“Spike,” Celestia said, turning towards the dragon. “Why don’t we take a walk, and I’ll explain what’s happening to you.”

“Yeah, okay,” Spike agreed. Twilight started forward, but Celestia held up a hand to stall her.

“No Twilight. I know Spike is precious and close to you, but this could easily be a personal matter for him. If he feels comfortable with you knowing, he can tell you himself after I explain it to him.”

“But…I…” Twilight tried to hedge, but Celestia gave her a rare, stern look. “…as you wish princess,” Twilight relented.

“Come along Spike,” Celestia said, taking hold of him by the arm and leading him out of the room.

The door had barely swung shut when Dash turned towards Luna.

“Soooo…what’s the deal?” she asked.

“We do believe that our sister made that matter clear,” Luna replied. “It is a personal issue, and Spike shall reveal it if and when he chooses.”

“Oh come on…” Dash whined, but Luna merely crossed her arms. And then blew a raspberry at the pegasus.

“New Spike is kind of hot,” Pinkie spoke up, licking chocolate off her fingers. She glanced up to find everyone staring at her. “What? He is.”

“And wicked cool looking,” Dash put in.

“And that voice,” Fluttershy said softly. “Uh, Twilight, does Spike know how to sing?”

“Not that I know of,” Twilight answered distractedly, only half listening to the conversation, being more engrossed in her own thoughts.

“Do you think he’d like to learn?” Fluttershy asked, twiddling her fingers nervously.

“Heh, look who suddenly wants to spend some alone time with Spike,” Dash teased.

“I just thought he might enjoy it, if he’s got such a nice voice now…” Fluttershy muttered from behind her hair as she ducked her head.

“Hey, where’d Rarity git to?” Applejack suddenly asked.

“She was just right here a second ago,” Pinkie said, pointing at the empty space a few feet away from herself.

“She’s probably just in the washroom,” Twilight interjected.

“Nope!” Dash called out a second later, having zoomed on over and peeked inside.

“She’s not in Luna’s room!” Pinkie announced, poking her head out from the doorway to the royal bedchamber.

“Pinkie Pie,” Luna protested. “We would appreciate thou not helping thyself to…”

A pink blur rushed by the princess, blowing her mane out to the side and cutting her off in mid-sentence.

“Not in Celestia’s room either!” Pinkie yelled from the other side of the room.

“Pinkie Pie!” Luna repeated, exasperation bringing with it the beginnings of the royal voice.

“Would ya’ll settle down?” Applejack told Pinkie with a nervous glance at the princess. She caught the hyperactive mare by the tail and hauled her into the nearest seat. “Don’t make me tie ya there.”

“Where do you think she went?” Dash asked. “I mean, there’s only one other door out of here. You don’t think she went sneaking after Spike and Celestia do you?”

“I don’t think Rarity would do that,” Fluttershy said.

“Ah agree,” Applejack said with a significant look at both Pinkie and Dash. “Just ‘cause some folk here can’t respect other’s privacies, don’t mean the rest o us…”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Dash demanded.

“Ah think ya’ll know right what ah meant,” Applejack told her.

“Girls!” Twilight exclaimed before Dash could shoot back. “Please, no fighting. I’ll go find Rarity, okay?”

Not waiting for a reply, Twilight shoved open the door and stepped back out into the hallway again, swinging it shut behind her just as she heard Dash start up. Thankfully the door was thick enough and heavy enough to cut off the pegasus, and Twilight was in a mood to let herself believe that Dash wasn’t going to say anything provocative to Applejack.

“Rarity, what are you up to?” Twilight asked of no one, once again finding herself glancing up and down the royal halls for any signs of a missing friend. She didn’t see Rarity, and luckily she didn’t see Spike or Celestia either. She didn’t want the princess thinking she was trying to eavesdrop on them.

“You better not get me in trouble with Celestia,” Twilight muttered towards wherever Rarity had gotten to, before setting off to find her.