I wake up in a warm embrace, a silken coat brushing against my nose and a curtain of soft hair over my face.

My eyes open up to see a field of purplish-pink. Leaning my head back a little, I see that there’s soft fur all across it, shimmeringly bright.

I poke at the fur. Surely this thing was Rose Quartz laying in front of my face. The soft, firm flesh of the crystal mare yields under my hoof, and and she murmurs something, then wiggles close to me again.

Wait. What?! I pull myself away from the pony. Why was I next to her, and this close too! Where was Breeze? Where was Goo? What is going on?! Memories of the previous night slowly filter back as Rose yawns and stretches. What did I do?! She calmly sits back up, until she catches sight of me, then yelps.

“W-wait, what’s going on?! Oh-oh no, did we-?”

Rose seems almost as confused as I am, but she looks a little scared, too. Her brightly shining fur dulls, and her mane falls flat, her octagonal irises going tiny.

“I-I.. I think we did!”

No fury, only fear within my body. What if Breeze found out? I don’t want to lose her. Not after everything I promised to her!

Rose suddenly collapses to the bed, crying.

“I-I- I’m so so-o-o-rry!”

She sobs out her words, choking as she tries to speak.

“I-I should’ve... should’ve been m-m-more carefu-fu-full!”

I suddenly feel my heart sink at her sobs. My forehooves lift out of the air to hug the mare tightly. I hate seeing ponies cry.

“Hey, don’t cry. Nothing bad came out of it” I hope.

She just sniffles in my arms, and I pat her on the back.

“I- I suppose n-not.”

She’s obviously trying really hard to keep herself together.

“J-just... please... d-don’t leave me alone. N-not after that.”

She looks up at me with those beautiful, sparkling eyes.

“I-I won’t... but I need to keep going. You heard my plans.”

How could I say no to those eyes?

“Th-then take me with you! I-I understand that Breeze is your Lead Mare, but I can still help you! Please, I know how to brew potions, and can help a lot, please?”

Well, that could come in handy later down the road.

“I guess you can. Just expect a lot of traveling. I want to find the village first off and get as much information as I can about these gods and the pegasi nations.”

This was not going to be easy. How am I suppose to tear down a nation and free an entire species?

“The living gods? I have a book on them! It’s not the most informative, but it should be able to help a little. Here, let me go get them!”

Rose jumps off the bed and races to the door and down the stairs, her bright coloration returning again. Strange. Why did it change like that? Oh well, more important things. I follow after Rose. This might help out more, even if only slightly.

Upon stepping onto the landing, I see that the door to the room Goo and Breeze are in is still closed. I hope they’re alright in there.

Trotting down the stairs, being extremely careful not to fall, I’m greeted at the bottom by a beaming Rose, who has a book in her mouth, held out to me.

I walk on over Rose and take the book in my mouth mouth. Taste is purely bland once I feel my tongue touch the binding. Carrying it over to the dining room table, I set it down, and Rose opens it.

The title is in gold and the book has a picture of six alicorn silhouettes on the front. Inside is carefully written text, but I can’t understand a word of it. Even though I recognize it as writing, I can’t actually read it.

“W-what does it say Rose? I forgot how to read.”

I see her head turn towards mine in confusion.

“I hit my head really hard.”

“So you used to know how to read? Huh, I thought pegasi don’t teach their foals to read. Anyways, not important, uhm, you should probably go back upstairs and get your lead mare, while I pack up to go. Somepony else will take over this dusty little shop. I’m going on and adventure~!”

She makes a little ‘squee!’ noise as she grins at the last part, and begins rushing around the shop.

I laugh a little at the display. She sure is excited about joining me no doubt, though, I feel a little bad knowing it won’t be fun and games ever... well, maybe sometimes. I head on up the stairs to Breeze’s room. Clambering up the stairs again, I carefully open the door, and look in. Breeze is laying, splayed out, on the bed, Goo laying across her like a blanket of lime jelly.

“Breeze? I think we’re ready to go now. Rose will be joining us as well.”

I walk up to the bed, speaking softly to the sleeping fluttekin. Setting my hoof on her shoulder, I shake her gently. She moans and rolls onto her side a little, and Goo raises her own head.

“Breeze, we need to be going shortly.”

Breeze yawns, and blinks owlishly up at me. She smiles and blushes.

“O-oh, master Zach! I-I’m so sorry, after you saved me last night, I... well, I was so stressed, and, uhm, Goo here was so warm, and, uhm, ah... well...”

Breeze stammers a lot as she speaks, and blushes a furious red.

I smile at her and nod my head in understanding.

“Don’t worry about it Breeze. We need to get going soon though, still have a long way to go to find the rest of your kind. Hopefully, someone knows about where they went to.”

She shakes her head.

“It’s alright. I’m a part of your clan now, I can’t go back to that village, or they’ll have to stone me.”

My ears droop at the news, this ruins everything now.

“Okay, so... I think I’m out of ideas now. I was planning on asking them if they did want to be free. I need a new plan then, if you are banished from visiting.”

She rolls over and sits up, putting a hoof on my shoulder.

“Really, master Zach, it’s alright. You were my first, and I will follow you anywhere.”

I smile at her. Maybe this wasn’t blown out of the water after all. But then I frown as a thought enters my head: Rose Quartz.

“One thing though Breeze. I... I uh... well... she did smell good... I sort of nailed Rose... our host...”

Breeze’s brow furrows in confusion.

“You did what? I-I don’t understand.”

My heart plummets. I was going to have to explain it to her?!

“I-I... I had sex with Rose...”

Breeze’s ears go back.

“O-oh... Alright. I, uhm, guess that’s alright, master Zach. Y-you are the master, after all.”

Breeze’s voice is low, and she isn’t meeting my eyes.

“D-does this mean...?”

She lets the question hang in the air for a moment.

“W-what are you trying to say Breeze?”

Down goes my soul, and my stomach churns in despair.

“A-am I your Lead Mare, then?”

The question throws me off, as her voice holds a ring of hope in it.

“What’s a Lead Mare?”

Breeze looks at you in utter confusion, her ears drooping.

“B-but- you- but!”

She sounds completely lost, and her voice is tinged with despair.

“Breeze... I have no idea what a Lead Mare is...”

I really need to look at a book about Flutterkin traditions.

“Th-then, just say I am, and I- I’ll take care of everything!”

Breeze sounds a little desperate, and she’s just a short distance from my muzzle. I can see into her sky-blue eyes.

“What. Is. A. Lead. Mare?”

Breeze pulls me a little closer.

“A-a lead mare is the closest companion of a colt, and the leader of his herd. She oversees the others and makes sure that everypony gets along.”

She’s breathing a bit harder as she gazes into my eyes.

“Yes Breeze, you are my lead mare.”

I put a hoof on her cheek and stroke it lightly before placing a small kiss onto her lips. She wraps her hooves around my neck, however, and kisses me deeply in return, pushing me back a bit as Goo also joins in on the hug.

When she pulls back from the hug and kiss, she looks me in the eyes giddily. We both turn as there is a rapping on the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Rose Quartz! May I come in?”

“Come on in Rose, we’re just about ready to move.”

The door opens up, and Rose, still in her happy-state, crystalline and shining like a glass ornament, is standing in it, a double-saddlebag on either side of her. I realize I’ve forgotten my own saddlebag and pants in her room, and blush.

“W-we’re almost ready to go. How about you three get to know each other while I fetch some things.”

I almost feel my hooves take off after saying that. I really need my pants, especially when there’s three hot mares surrounding me!

Carefully sliding off the bed and snaking past the pink-and-cream mare I dart into Rose’s room, searching out my pants and saddlebags. Finally locating them (how did my pants end up on the dresser?!) I carefully pick them up and drag them back to Breeze’s room, intending to ask for help putting them on. Once there, I see that Breeze is nuzzling Rose.

I only smile at the display.

“I see you two are getting along quite nicely. Good to see because we have a long way to go before we find the Flutterkin. Everybo-pony ready?”

Rose and Breeze nod, and I see that Goo is stretched between the two of them, providing a hug for both.

Rose smiles brightly, making that adorable ‘squee’ noise again in the process.

“I’m honored to be accepted into your herd, mister Zach, especially after last night. I-I really hope you don’t hold it against me, I never meant to force my way in.”

Okay, I’m starting to feel left out, so I walk on over and join in on the hug.

“It’s not a problem Rose, the more the merrier.”

I break off from it after a few moments.

“But, it’s time to move now. We are losing time by the second here.”

Rose nods eagerly, and Breeze is still smiling from before. Goo just seems happy to be there with all of us.

“Oh, uh, also, can one of you ladies help me get my pants on? And my saddlebag? I’m having a little trouble...”

The mares grin harder, and I blush as I realize they’re both going to try to ‘help’ me. And, after several awkward, blush-filled minutes of Rose and Breeze pulling my pants on eagerly with their teeth, tongues seeming to ‘slip’ out and touch me every few moments, I’m fully dressed again, and Breeze helps put my Saddlebags onto my back.

I take in a deep breath and exhale all of its contents. This was it, no more fun and games from this point forward. It’s time to set things right between three species. These gods. The pegasi. And finally getting the Flutterkin the freedom they deserve.

The four of us, me, Breeze, Goo, and now Rose, walked out of Rose’s front front door, and Rose locks it behind us.

“I might not return for a while, but there’s nothing in there that’ll spoil in the next ten years or more. It’s a good thing I own this land, too.”

Rose smiles up at the two story building, with its sagging facade and deceptively small appearance.

“We should be back there soon, but we have a long journey ahead of us. Right now, we need to find the Flutterkin and talk to them about becoming free. From there, I think we find a way to bring down the gods and the Pegasi, maybe even put the pegasi on our side.”

This wasn’t a bad idea actually. More troops to take down six angry gods. Or we could just come to peace and have nopony get hurt. I think that works better. Rose nods as we begin to walk out of the town. There’s a different guard on duty this time, and she nods at us as we walk out, though there’s confusion evident in her eyes.

We begin walking down the road, sun at our backs as trek onwards into the unknown. Several hours later, as the sun reaches its zenith, we stop to rest. Rose pulls out a bottle with a muddy-brown liquid inside. She takes a pull at it, then offers it to Breeze, who looks at it curiously and sniff the top.

“What in the world is that Rose?”

“It’s a meal-in-a-bottle, a special type of potion. Its flavor isn’t too great, but it’s filling and good for you. Just take a single drink, that should be enough to keep you going.”

Breeze cautiously takes a swig, and grimaces. She hands it to me next, and I takes a little drink as well. I almost spit it on out. That tasted horrible. I look at Goo and hold the bottle to her now. No way I’m drinking that unless I really needed to, but there’s no other food as far as I know.

Goo accepts the offered bottle gleefully, and swigs as well, a brownish cloud mixing into her like a drop of ink in a glass of water. She seems perfectly fine, and even offer the bottle back to me, though I decline and hand it back to Rose, who puts it away.

We sit around for a bit more, catching our breath and basking in each other’s presence. Standing up and stretching, we get ready to get moving again. Moving out once more, we continue to follow the road, until I finally realize that I have no idea where we are going.

“Hey, uh, Rose? Where does this road lead?”

Rose looks at me for a moment, stumbling slightly.

“I-I thought you knew where it leads. It goes directly to the lands of Lady Rubeum. The Caverns of Stone Spires is her realm, as she’s the Living God of the earth.”

I stop dead in my tracks, causing Goo to bump into my rear, as I hadn’t realized she’s following so closely.

“T-the god? We’re heading straight towards a god?!”

Now fear was rushing through me at an intense pace. Here we are, with a flutterkin by my side, a slime-pony following us, and now this crystal pony as well? This is a recipe for pure disaster on all our ends!

“Y-yeah... I thought you meant to go there, as she’s one of the two least of the Living Gods, at least according to the book.”

Breeze looks at me.

“I-I think she’s right, I’ve barely heard anything about Lady Rubeum, just that she’s connected to the earth and is in charge of a legion of ghost-ponies and giant, mutant monster-bat-ponies! B-but that’s just rumors... right?

Breeze stammers and stumbles over her words, standing a little closer to me now.

“So... monsters, angry god that brought down Breeze’s species, and is in charge of a powerful legion? Nope! We are not going there this early on! But, let’s just... keep going... might as well see what we’re all going against. Have any of you seen a god before?”

Rose and Breeze shake their heads no, but Goo grins and nods her head really fast, bit of her gooey form splattering the rest of her.

“Okay Goo, what does she look like since you’ve seen her?”

Goo stops for a moment, before squishing down into a thick disk, before beginning to rise, long, shapely legs forming beneath the blob as it rises and thins, forming into the shape of a tall, stately mare, with a drifting mane and tail, wings, and a long, spiraling horn. Goo shivers, then collapses back into a puddle.

“That’s cool and scary at the same time. So, who wants to visit her? She sort of looks like Princess Celestia, might be friendly enough.”

Goo forms back into her normal form, and raises a hoof, smiling broadly. Neither of the other mares do, though, instead looking at me in confusion.

“Princess who?”

Rose turns her head as asks the question, raising an eyebrow as well.

“Y-y... Dah. Princess Celestia is the ruler of this land right? You know, Equestria?”

Rose wrinkles her nose.

“Uhm, this is Imperium Sol, and is ruled by King Eosos, the one who raises the sun.”

“What?”

“King Eosos, one of the Living Gods? He raises the sun, even regulates the seasons, to a degree.”

“Okay... so not in Equestria, bad news. Okay, so I say we visit this Rubeum. It’ll give us an idea on... something.”

Rose nods, looking a little reluctant, but Goo just jumps for joy. Breeze just stands beside you. Eventually, all of us decide to move on, continuing to follow the road. Continuing along the road, we walk until the sun begins going down, illuminating the the mountains surrounding one side of the valley in orange, pink, and violet.

Rose pulls out a tent-set, begins setting it up, with Goo and Breeze’s help, but I feel kinda useless, because I can’t really manipulate anything anywhere near as well as they can. After several minutes, the tent is set up, and the sun’s light is almost gone as I’m ushered into the small tent, just enough room for the four of us to sleep in it, as long as we don’t mind being very close.

Which we don’t.

Snuggling up against my special someponies, I reflect on how wild the last several days have been, and I realize, it’s only been about a week since I arrived in this world. How the hell did all this happen in a week? I ask myself this as Goo settles in over us all, acting as a warm, form-fitting blanket as we fall into a peaceful slumber, and I get a kiss from each mare surrounding me as I drift into my dreams.

Author's Note

Yet again, thanks to Hunterz263, starring as Zach!

Once more, please tell me of any issues, I want to fix them ASAP.