‘Fucking PACS.’

That was about the only thing going through my head as I pulled the hood of my APECS jacket over my headset and tried to get comfortable once again. My name is Eric Broussard, Dedicated Crew Chief on the Rivet Joint airframe, and I am a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force with about ten years in service. Yet even after working and flying on these planes for a decade now, I still could never get used to how cold these flight crews like to keep the insides of these jets whenever we went somewhere. True the RC-135 is literally packed to the gills with sensors, processor racks and a plethora of other electronic goodies, and while it is also true that all those electronics produce a lot of heat when they're all up and running. I still didn't think that it was necessary for the upstairs to be kept at icebox temperatures by running both Pressurization/Air-Conditioning Systems at full blast; effectively turning the fuselage compartment into the world’s longest deep-freeze.

This of course didn't help me to get any amount of decent sleep as we continue on our ferry flight from our home station at Offutt AFB to our detachment in Japan. Currently we are flying somewhere over Alaska after having stopped at Eielson for some gas, usually this meant that I could have taken some kind of sleep aid to help me endure the rest of our journey, but the day's flight plan didn't call for any mid-air refuels. So we were going to be stopping at Misawa to top off one more time before continuing on to our final destination. So that meant that I will only be able to grab a couple hour nap at best, before we arrived at our next destination. Now to me being a maintainer means that working long hours and getting little to no sleep was nothing new. In fact it came with the job, and I personally prided myself on being able to fall asleep pretty much anywhere on command, yet this numbing cold wasn't going to make it very easy.

Rolling on the floor in front of the aft hatch, I tried to get comfortable in my sleeping bag for what seemed like the umpteenth time, doing so I happened to catch a glimpse out of the hatch window to see one of nature’s most beautiful wonders. Dancing high above the plane with its magnificent ethereal flames of greens and purples and blues was the magical fires of the Aurora Borealis, the northern lights. Being originally from the gulf coast of Texas I never got the opportunity to see such sights before in the night skies where I grew up, and to be able to get a chance to see sights such as this was one of the reasons that I had decided to join the Air Force almost as soon as I had graduated from high school. As I watched the particles burn up in the upper atmosphere I could almost forget the icy numbness coming from my toes and accept the welcoming embrace of slumber.

That is if it wasn't for that damn whistling noise that I was now hearing.

Rolling my eyes I let out a growl of irritation as I dragged myself out of my bag, making my way towards the offending noise. The whistling seemed to be coming from somewhere on the insulated wall in front of me but I couldn't pinpoint the exact location in the depths of shadows that surrounded the aft hatch. Reaching into my backpack I grabbed my flashlight and shined the bright light against the side if the fuselage, and by using my ears and sense of touch I began to search for the source of the rushing wind. After a few moments I was able to pinpoint the noise to the top of the aft hatch where the seal hadn't completely sealed against the bulkhead. This wasn't a big thing because I could see that it was only a small leak and didn't run any risk of possibly depressurizing the plane and could be easily fixed enough by adjusting the stops on the hatch. Unfortunately, you couldn't adjust a hatch on a plane that was pressurized and currently flying several hundred miles per hour at thirty thousand feet.

Giving a sigh of frustration in knowing that I wouldn't be able to get rid of the noise until we landed at our next stop. I inspected the hatch once more to ensure that it was still properly secured before I went to go and try to find somewhere else that was quieter to take a nap.

Just then the aircraft began to lurch violently as I heard the voice of the A/C ring through my headset, “Hey everyone, make sure you’re in your seats and your buckles are fastened. Looks like we've hit a little rough patch of turbulence, but we should be out of it soon.”

With that I turned off my flashlight and went to place it back in my backpack when the plane jumped hard again under my feet, making me lose my balance. Using my hand to steady myself I began to hear a slow moaning sound come from the hatch behind me. The aluminum started to pop and creak eerily as I watched it in silent horror, unable to will my body into movement. I knew that I shouldn't be concerned, because the lip of the bulkhead made it almost impossible for the aft hatch to be sucked out, but that didn't mean that the bulkhead itself wasn't the piece failing. Then almost as soon as it had started the noise went away. I sat there waiting with baited breath for a moment as if to make sure that the danger had truly passed, but fate would not be so kind to me that night.

With one final explosive pop the hatch collapsed in on itself as it was simultaneously sucked out into the night sky along with myself. I tried to yell for help but was quickly silenced as my head came into contact with the bulkhead in my forced expulsion from the plane.

The last thing I could register as I watched the shadowy outline of my plane fly away and the inky blackness of unconsciousness consume me was the rushing of cold wind by my head, and the colors of the northern lights still flowing above me like the waves of some distant shore.

Darkness.

That was all that greeted me as I slowly came back to the world of consciousness, my senses returning to me one by one. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin which was a welcomed blessing from the freezing cold that I remembered from the plane. Taking in a deep breath I smelled a clean scent that reminded me of my trip with my family to Yellowstone when I was younger. It was the unmistakably pure smell of mountain air mixed strongly with the biting sharpness of pine trees. The droning sound of cicadas that were beginning to invade my ears was leading me to believe that somehow I was now in a forest.

Daring to open my eyes, I quickly closed them again as sunlight stabbed relentlessly at my unadjusted irises. Giving myself a moment for the pain to recede I opened my eyes again, this time more carefully, only to find myself staring up into an azure sky. My muscles were stiff and protested as I slowly tried to move my limbs to ensure that nothing was broken or paralyzed. Clenching my fist I felt the soft blades of grass tickling my fingers as they ran through my grasp.

“What the hell happened?” I asked aloud as I plucked a handful of grass and brought it in front of my face. My mind in disbelief at my current situation, but even in my foggy state of mind I knew I should have been dead. I let the grass go into a passing breeze and lazily watched them as they floated away. “There’s no way I should have survived that fall.”

After a few moments I cautiously began to pat myself down so as to rest the uneasy feeling of possibly having serious bodily injury or broken bones, when I was convinced enough that I was okay I slowly sat myself up and took a look around. I found out that my suspicions were true as I was now sitting in a clearing in the middle of a forest as sprouts of wildflowers sprouted here and there all around me. The sky was clear, save for the stray wisp of cottony cloud floating by, and a bird that circled high above me on a thermal current. A rosy colored butterfly caught my attention as it fluttered past my eyes, and I followed it as it continued on, until it came to rest on a familiar looking lump that was lying in the grass not far from me.

Crawling over I grabbed the ABU patterned backpack and pulled it to me, opening it to make sure everything was still okay and that no creatures had decided to make it their new home in the time I was unconscious. Opening each compartment I ran through a quick inventory to see what I now had available to help get me through this situation. I came up with: one pair of civilian clothes consisting of jeans and a spare khaki t-shirt, a pair of flip-flops, one laptop, a bag of trail mix, one half eaten bag of jerky, random assorted pens and mechanical pencils, around a hundred feet of paracord, some scrounge inside a gallon size Ziploc bag, my plastic water jug, a folding pocket knife, a multi-tool, a set of APECS pants and jacket, a sage green fleece jacket and beanie, my mp3 player with extra batteries, and my David-Clarke headsets.

After ensuring that no stowaways had made their way aboard I repacked the bag with the items, minus the pocket knife and water jug which I shoved into one of my many pants pockets. Slinging the bag on my shoulders, I placed my ABU cap atop my head as I stood up to try and figure out the next order of business. Which would be to figure a way out of these woods and back to civilization.

My first reaction was to grab my smartphone to check the time and see if I could maybe get a call out to someone, but as I reached into my pocket and felt nothing I silently cursed at myself as I recalled placing it in one of the cup holders back on the plane to let it charge. Now with my best aid for a possibly speedy recovery gone I was forced to resort to more tried and true methods for survival. First off I needed to figure out what time it was. A quick scan at the sky found the sun hanging over my left shoulder, and by using hand widths and the dampness on my clothes from lying in the grass as measuring tools I quickly guesstimated it to be roughly about ten in the morning.

After figuring out my general directions and a rough guess at the time I tried to remember all the hunting trips I had taken with my father and grandfather, along with any other survival information I had learned, to try and find away out. As I looked at the surrounding forest I could make out a couple of game trails which lead across the clearing. Unfortunately though, none of them had any fresh enough tracks on the ground to let me know whether or not it was still being actively used. Finally figuring that anywhere else but here was better than sitting still; I decided to take the path that would lead me in the southerly direction.

Taking a limb that I found on the ground I began to gouge an arrow into the dirt pointing down the path I was going to take incase any aerial rescue came by. I had to chuckle a little bit when I thought about some team coming along expecting to find my body, and instead find out that I had simply walked away from a thirty thousand foot fall. After making my marker in the dirt I readjusted the cap on my head before I began my trek south, and was secretly hoping to come upon civilization soon.

“Fuck you Murphy,” I muttered to myself angrily.

It had been over six hours and I was still no closer to getting out of these woods then when I had started. Stranger still, was that I hadn’t seen any wildlife either. Sure I had seen the occasional signs of footprints or droppings but they were older signs. Heck the wolf tracks I found were so worn down that they looked absolutely humongous, bigger than any tracks I had ever seen before.

Still, I wasn’t going to take any chances on having a surprise encounter with any said “super-wolves” as I gripped tighter around my makeshift spear that I had made out of a sturdy sapling. I could see the sun as it slowly crept closer to the horizon on my right and I knew that I would need to start looking for a place to bed down for the night before it finally set.

Stopping on the trail I pulled out my water jug and took a small swig, wetting my parched throat with the cool liquid. As I placed the almost empty jug back into the cargo pocket, it reminded me that I also still needed to find some source of fresh water in addition to finding shelter and building a fire. At that moment, as if some deity was watching me from the heavens above and decided to take pity on my wretched predicament, I heard a faint splash as it made its way to my ears. A sound that brought comfort to me because it meant two certainties were close by, water and food.

With renewed vigor in my step I began to head towards where I had heard the noise come from. I made my way through the underbrush till I soon came upon a wide rapid flowing stream, the crystal clear water babbled over the bed of smooth grey rocks. Kneeling on the bank, I dipped my hand into the water only to flinch slightly as the icy cold liquid flowed between my fingers. I was relieved by this because it meant that the stream was more than likely aquifer-feed, which reduced any chances of any kind of pathogens.

Now that I knew that the water was safe to drink; I quickly relieved my thirst and replenished my jug before I moved on to the next order of business, finding shelter for the night. Luck seemed to continue to shine on me as I soon came upon an abandoned cave not far from the riverbank from where I was. After scouring in the woods around the cave I had gathered enough wood to hopefully last me through the night, and with the help of an AAA battery and a bubblegum wrapper I soon had a strong fire going. Just in time it seemed as I watched the last rays of sunlight dip below the horizon.

Much later that night as I sat at the entrance of the cave and stoked the campfire absentmindedly, I dwelt upon my situation as most everyone does when lost and alone. I still didn’t know where I was, but judging by the foliage I felt that it was safe to assume that I was likely still somewhere in Alaska. My fear though was the very real possibility that I was actually on one of the many uninhabited islands in the Aleutians chain between Alaska and Japan if I considered the lack of wildlife I had seen.

Even though I hadn’t seen much I still knew that Alaska was teeming with all sorts of dangerous wildlife, especially bears. And I was sure my pointy stick would do little more than piss off a full grown brown bear. Right before it used said stick as a toothpick to clean my remains out of its teeth.

The firewood popped as I continued to poke at it, sending a geyser of embers flying ever skyward. Over the cackling of the fire I suddenly heard a twig snap off in the woods to my left. Turning my head towards the noise I felt my blood go suddenly cold in my veins.

Off in the woods I found a pair shining green eyes as they seemed to stare at me with devious intent. I could not see the rest of the creature that they belonged to as it stayed hidden out of the reach of the fire’s orange glow. This action only seemed to aid in raising my fear as I could only wonder what it could be. Secretly I hoped that it was something harmless like a passing deer or moose, but by the way the eyes bored into me I knew that I wasn’t that lucky.

The creature and I continued our stare down with each passing tense moment, silently daring each other to make the first move. After what seemed like hours the creature finally turned and returned back into the darkness, not even trying to hide itself anymore as I heard its steps grow steadily quieter. Once it was far enough away to where I felt safe I found myself releasing a breath that I hadn’t even known that I was holding.

I kept a close watch on my surrounding for the remainder of the night until sleep eventually overtook me.

Etpinego/ Applejack

I awoke the next day groggily to the crackling sound of the dying campfire. Slowly and stiffly I lifted myself from my resting place against the cave wall. My back was damp from the moss lined walls, and protested bitterly against my attempts to straighten out the sore muscles.

The sun had just begun to break through the trees as I let out a stifled yawn. I took a look at my surroundings now that it was lit up by the daytime sun, to see if my visitor from the night before had decided to come back for a morning visit. Once I was certain the area was clear of danger I decided to try and muster up some kind of breakfast down at the stream. I snuffed the last dying embers of the campfire out with some dirt as I grabbed my bag and spear before heading down the path towards the cool spring.

After the encounter from the night before; to say that I was a little more on alert this morning would have been an understatement as my eyes darted about at anything that looked suspicious. I also made every attempt I could to walk as stealthily as possible so as to not attract any unwanted attention. I still didn’t know what the creature was, but if the distance between its eyes was any kind of judge of size, it was definitely something I didn’t want to get the drop on me while I was out in the open. That had made me all the more thankful for the tiger-stripped pattern of my ABU’s. They may not have matched the surrounding foliage color exactly, but the pattern did a lot to break up my profile which was what I needed to help me blend in.

Taking a cue from my childhood from when I played army with the other kids from the local neighborhood, reaching into the soft black dirt I began to rub the soil across my exposed skin. Streaking my tanned skin with shadows of dirt and mud; hopefully completing my camouflage as best as I could without a ghillie suit. Continuing on it wasn’t long before I could once again hear the sound of rushing water.

Using some good ol’ crew chief ingenuity I had quickly fashioned myself a makeshift fishing pole. I used a sturdy limb for a pole and a couple of nylon strings from the inside of a strip of paracord that I had cut to length and braided for my fishing line. For the hook I found a small cotter pin in my scrounge bag that I bent into shape using my multi-tool and had sharpened to a point on a nearby river rock. Taking a small piece of my remaining jerky, I fastened it to the hook and with a pinecone as a bob I was soon relaxing on the shore waiting for a nibble.

To keep an alert appearance incase predators were about I leaned against the trunk of a tree, and decided to try and quell my hunger with the last handful of trail mix and some water. Keeping a watch on the floating pinecone I noticed a brightly colored reflection pass along the water surface, at first I thought it might have been a passing plane or helicopter. But being as I couldn’t hear any engine noise and the fact it was now out of sight I quickly dismissed it as a passing bird.

“Didn’t know they had birds colored like that here,” I found myself muttering absently to no one, “Almost looked like it was colored like a rainbow.”

Shrugging it off I focused back on the task at hand, and after a couple of hours I had a few nice brown trouts stringed out in the stream with the rest of the piece of paracord from earlier. Looking into the sky I saw that the sun had now crept ever higher to its noonday apex, which had made the air turn hot and muggy. Deciding to call it a day I wrapped up my fishing line, and pulled my catch out of the water to begin looking for a place to clean them. Preferring, to have the smell of fish guts here by the stream as opposed to having it at wherever I decided to make camp later.

Finding a fallen log to use as a makeshift table I make quick work on the trout before eating the meat raw, not wanting to waste time trying to build a new fire. As I knelt over the river, I cleaned my knife of the fish residue in the rushing water, I was slightly startled by the sound of splashing that came from somewhere upriver. A part of my brain told me to ignore the noise as just some more fish, but unfortunately the curious side of my brain won out and began to set me on a path of events that are still unfolding to this day.

After quickly scrubbing my hands in the dirt to help cover the smell of my fishing endeavor; I decided to leave my fishing rod there as I planned to pick it up on my way back. As I took up my spear again I began to head in the direction of the noise.

I made my way through the dense undergrowth that lined the shores of the stream which was no easy task as I was eventually forced leave my backpack by a tree to ease my journey. The sound grew louder as I continued on letting it guide me to its inevitable source. Eventually I came to a final ridge and I ducked silently behind a nearby tree trunk, hoping not to startle whatever was on the other side. Suddenly remembering the encounter from the night before I silently cursed myself for falling for my curiosity again. For all I knew that very same predator was on the other side of this ridge and here I was offering myself up like an entrée on a silver fucking platter.

Picking up a few dried leaves I held them infront of me and let them go, watching them as they floated away from me. A sigh of relief escaped from my lips at now knowing that I was now atleast downwind of whatever it was; gathering up the courage I finally peeked around the trunk to the other side of the ridge, before my mouth promptly fell open in awe.

There standing in the stream, taking a bath, was a blonde-haired girl. Scratch that. With those curves there was no way the person who stood in front of me was anything short of a woman. She was currently facing away from me as she ran her hands through her golden mane that flowed down her toned back and past her slender waist, sticking to her wide hips and supple rear before it pooled out into the thigh high water. Her wet tanned skin shined in the sunlight like a gem as my gaze went back up to her slender arms, and I caught the slightest peek of the side of her sizable breast that led me to believe that her front was just as curvy as her back. As she shifted slightly to the side I saw what looked like a tattoo of three red apples on her hips.

As much as I wanted to continue to gawk at this river nymph before me, my Southern morals and upbringing was trying to convince me that looking at this woman bathe without her consent was wrong. So with one last look for future memories I stepped out from behind the tree while making sure my cap was lowered enough to obstruct my view as I cast my eyes downward and cleared my throat.

“Ahem,” I announced, causing a reaction from the woman almost instantaneously as I heard a splash from the water. “Sorry to startle you ma’am but I’m currently lost and was wondering if you could help me get back to civilization so I can get in contact with my unit?”

I hear nothing from her as I continue to stand there while trying to fight every screaming urge running through my head to soak in the sight of her flesh again. After a few uncomfortable moments of silence I figured that I may have startled her too much and should try and make an attempt to calm the situation. Taking a cautious step forward and I kept my hands up, trying to remain as non-threatening as I could be.

“I really am-,“ I started but was quickly cut off as she yelled at me.

“Wec fego ra c’el liev!” She yelled at me as I heard the water splash again, more than likely from her taking a step away from me.

I stood there motionless as I tried to process what she had said. The language was foreign to me and despite my best attempts I couldn’t understand what she was trying to tell me.

‘What is that? It doesn’t sound like Japanese or Korean. Maybe it’s Russian or some kind of Inuit language.’ I thought to myself. Either way I could tell by her tone that she was uneasy by my presence and I wasn't going to let something like simple etiquette risk my chances of getting out of here as I looked up to meet her gaze.

Any doubts I had about my course of action were quickly quelled as I gazed upon her body, which she didn’t even bother trying to cover. As beautiful as she was there were certain features that were beginning to strike me as, well just plain not normal.

First of these was the set of tan colored ears that were currently lying down atop her head that reminded me of the kind of ears you’d expect to see on a deer or some other kind of hoofed animal, not a woman. Next was her face, which looked normal enough, even the eyes which were the biggest set of emerald green eyes I had ever seen. The kinds of eyes that drew you in and never let you go from their embrace. Freckles speckled across her cheeks which I thought went well with her cute features, and her full lips were currently set agape as she fumbled at what to do. The next thing I noticed was that the last joint of each finger was a shiny dark brown as she slowly pointed one in my direction.

Trying to put random thoughts of The Island of Doctor Moreau aside, I still figured that this wo… female was the best chance of me getting out of here. Taking another step forward she yelled at me again in that strange language.

“Wec fego! Ra me aevirk c’el!”

“I’m sorry little lady, but I don’t rightly understand what you’re trying to say.” I told her in the calmest voice I could. But as I took yet another step forward she yelled the same command to me; so instead I held still which seemed to work as she stopped yelling at me.

Needing to gain her trust I decided to show a sign of good faith by dropping the makeshift spear in my hand as I took off my cap, running a hand through my short black hair. Why I did that I don’t rightly know, maybe it was some crazy idea that if she could see that we were similar looking she wouldn’t be so on edge. Either way it seemed to work as she began to drop her guard ever so slightly as we just stood there looking at each other, both of us unsure at what to do next.

Trying to break the ice again I spoke up, “So do you speak any English?”

She just tilted her head a little to the side as I watched an ear twitch; her expression reminded me of the look a puppy gave you when you tried to talk with it on why it had peed on the carpet. I now knew that she obviously didn’t know English so I tried another approach. I brought one of my hands up to my chest and gently pat it against my blouse so that she would hopefully get the hint.

“My name is Eric Broussard. What’s yours?” I asked now pointing to her. Nothing, still the same look as before so I decided to try again but this time even simpler as I pointed back to myself. “Eric.”

As I pointed to her this time her brow furrowed as if she was honestly trying to process it before I saw the realization in her eyes and she placed one of her hands up to her breast, “Etpinego.”

“Etpinego,” I tried the name, liking how the alien name rolled off my tongue, to which she smiled and gave a small nod before pointing to me.

“Ehlrik?” She said trying out my name, and even though it was a little wrong it was still some sort of progress so I gave her a nod in approval before I repeated my name. She tried it again and this time got it right without any issue.

Now hoping that I had some sort of rapport with Etpinego I tried to see if she could at least point me in a direction I could head in. Etpinego’s tension from earlier now seemed to be completely gone as she now headed to the shore before disappearing behind a tree, to grab her clothes I figured. Much to my surprise she walked back around the other side still as naked as the day she was born, save for a worn brown Stetson that now rested snuggly on her head.

“Uh, Etpinego?” I said as she looked towards me with that same smile on her face, “Not that I don’t enjoy looking at the gifts that nature gave you, and it’s going to hurt me to say this but do you have any clothes?”

Again with the furrowed brow and blank stare. So with a strained sigh I pinched the shoulders of my blouse and shook it slightly, “Clothes?”

She shook her head after a moment and I decided to drop the subject and just enjoy the view, “No need in looking a gift horse in the mouth I guess.”

As if Etpinego was reading my mind I watched as the length of hair below her waist flicked back and forth as she tied the end of it with what looked like a red scrunchie. I found myself starring at the blonde hair as it swished to and fro while my mind tried to comprehend what exactly I was seeing.

‘A tail! She has a motherfucking tail!’ My brain screamed at me as she leaned over in front of me to grab some kind of satchel by a bush. Worry was thrown aside with another flick of that long blonde tail and I caught a glimpse of her tanned legs that seemed to go on for days right up to that perfectly shaped derrière with the apple tats. While admiring it I was reminded of a popular song from a couple of years back that used to play in the clubs as I began to hum it softly to myself. ‘She had them Apple Bottom Jeans, Boots with the fur, The whole club lookin at her…’

Suddenly Etpinego stood up and I watched her ears rotate atop her head, scanning the surrounding forest. Straining my own hearing to try and make out whatever phantom sound that she had heard, yet aside from the steady droning of insects in the noonday heat I heard nothing. Yet the next thing I knew she raced over to me and without a moment of hesitation began to pull on my hand while talking to me with absolute terror lacing her voice.

“Qis vu c’el kampa! Ai navash kix livi!” She told me as she continued to tug on my arm as she kept desperately repeating, “Qis vu! Qis vu!”

I firmly stood my ground, not understanding what had gotten her so worked up all of a sudden as I grabbed her wrist and brought her close to me staring down into her green eyes. She stopped struggling as she looked into my blue eyes but I could still feel her whole body trembling in my grasp, “Etpinego, what is it?”

I heard a rustling now coming from all around us in the surrounding forest and almost didn’t catch what she said as she spoke in a voice just above a whisper.

“Azcidi.”

Etpinego/ Applejack

“Azcidi…?” I muttered confused at not knowing what the word meant. Whatever it meant I could tell by the noise that was coming from all around us that it was big and didn’t sound very nice.

I grabbed my spear from the ground as I quickly shoved Etpinego behind me and silently cursed at myself for not trusting her to begin with. The least I could do now was to try and ensure that she got away from here the best I could.

Suddenly a creature came bursting forth from the underbrush to the right of us and I barely had enough time to pull Etpinego and I to the ground as its body flew over us. Landing effortlessly a good distance away from us it began to circle around us growling the whole time, the element of surprise now lost. Now having a good look at the creature I could see that it resembled a wolf but not like any I had ever seen before in any kind of nature show.

The creature stood around eight feet at the shoulder and its body was at least double that in length. The body was made up of what appeared to be pieces of the forest itself instead of the muscle and fur I was used to seeing. Muscle was replaced with branches of all assorted sizes and thickness while its fur was mostly patches of moss which left much of the body behind it exposed. The azcidi snarled at us exposing the jagged pieces of black rock that made up its teeth. Yet even though this creature was scary enough what with its size and appearance resembling some wooden zombie wolf; what scarred me the most was its glowing green eyes, the same green eyes that had starred at me from the darkness of the forest last night. That’s when it dawned on me that this wooden wolf wasn’t afraid of me last night, it had been afraid of the campfire. Yet here I now stood exposed and without an ember to my name.

“Well fuck.”

The azcidi continued to pace back and forth in front of us, its demonic looking green eyes looking on us hungrily. I knew I had to get Etpinego out of here but unfortunately the azcidi was in front of us and the stream was to our back. Maybe I could distract the wooden wolf long enough for her to get to safety across the stream. But the only doubt I had with that plan was that I remembered wolves usually traveled in packs and I wasn’t sure if this azcidi did the same.

From behind me I heard Etpinego as she stood back up and placed herself between the giant wooden wolf and myself. I couldn’t believe that this female who just moments before was on the verge of a panic attack, was now facing down this giant creature with a look of determination on her face. Yet a closer look at her trembling hands let me know that, just like me, she was still very much afraid. I watched as she puffed out her chest and began to paw at the ground with one of her feet as I heard her yell at the creature.

“Kix fego! Kix fego! Hi’yah!”

‘Wait a minute… she’s trying to protect me.’ I thought to myself as she continued to face down the creature. The thought that she would risk her life for a complete stranger like me gave me the courage I needed to stand back up and face this hell spawn in front of us. ‘There’s no way I’m going to let her do something stupid like that. I’ve got to get her out of here and by God I’m going to.'

The azcidi, meanwhile, just growled at her in response, narrowing its eyes but not attempting to pounce at her. For a moment I thought her display would actually work, until I heard the faintest sound of rustling leaves over my left shoulder. Tilting my head my blood ran cold as I saw yet another azcidi, smaller than the first but just as ferocious, crouching on the ridge I had just come from. Its salivating jaws gapped open ready to pounce and devour us at any moment. Well at least this answered the question about them being pack hunters.

“Clever son of a bitch.” I slowly said in disbelief as I heard more rustling in the underbrush from the other side. No doubt yet another one. That meant that the one in front of us must have been the alpha.

The one on our left was the first to attack and I barely had enough time to raise my spear in defense. I watched as the point impacted on its shoulder moments before the shaft snapped in half. Not even slowing it down in the slightest as it barreled into me knocking me to the ground with its weight. I raised my hands to grab it by the jaw in an attempt to try and keep it away from me as best I could.

Panic set in as my hands grasped at what I hoped was its head just to have the body above me go still momentarily before I felt the creature’s full body weight fall on me. The clearing went silent above me as I started to claw at the body of wood above me, trying to get out from under this predator’s body before it had time to finish me. Quickly I saw sunlight ahead of me and burst forth out from the body and stood back up. Expecting the azcidi to continue its attack I looked back down to my opponent.

To my surprise where once was a massive living creature of wood, now laid nothing more than a pile of unmoving wooden debris with me standing squarely in the middle of where its chest used to be. I looked towards Etpinego for hopefully something that would explain this turn of events, instead to find her and the alpha staring at me in unmoving silence. While Etpinego held a mixed look of relief, shock and fear the alpha held one that could only be described as pure rage. With a yelp from its jagged maw I head the other hidden pack member rush forward as itself charged at an unaware Etpinego.

“Look out!” I yelled to her as I pointed behind her at the oncoming danger. I saw her turn just in time and watched as she delivered a powerful kick squarely against the alpha’s jaw, sending it backwards, before I was pounced on yet again by another pack member.

This new one pushed my chest down against the body of its fellow pack mate as one of its massive paws pressed on my back, crushing the air from my lungs. I feebly tried to grab the foreleg and remove it, if I could, before it had a chance to bite me in a vital spot. Which taking their size into account, would pretty much be effectively anywhere. I managed to touch its leg with one of my hands, the roughness of the bark scrapping against my fingers before once again I felt the full weight of an azcidi land on me. The branches that made up its body scratched my skin slightly as the body broke up and fell apart around me to join the body of the previous one.

A sharp pain shot through my back and ribs where I had been hit as I stood up. I hoped it was only the beginning of a nasty bruise and not anything worse like a broken rib. My mind was racing on why these creatures were only attacking me before suddenly dissolving away before even attempting to finish me off. I put these thoughts to the back of my mind as I remembered Etpinego was still in danger.

Turning quickly to see how she was doing I was immediately justified in my worry as I watched the alpha swat her away with one of its mighty paws. Causing her to careen across the clearing like a ragdoll, before crashing into the base of a tree with a sickening thud. She laid still for a moment before she let out a low moan and tried to push herself up but instead fell back to the ground.

‘Got to admit she’s a tough one. I don’t even think I’d be getting up from a hit like that.’

I didn’t have time to revel in my thoughts before I remembered the alpha azcidi and heard it growl as it crept towards Etpinego’s helpless form. Anger and adrenaline flared through my veins as I thought about the very real possibility of this monster taking away my only companion, and chance of getting out of this whole fucked up situation. All fear was suppressed by some primal urge to protect this defenseless woman from her threat, no matter the cost to me.

Jumping from the carcasses of the alpha’s two fallen pack mates, I rushed over to Etpinego’s fallen body so as to face the oncoming predator as it began to charge as well. Planting my left foot firmly on the ground, I tried to use the only weapon that I could think of that might hurt it, as I kicked my right foot forward and solidly impacted it across its head with my steel-toed boot. I was rewarded with a loud crack as the branches that made up the left side of its face snapped, damaging its left eye.

The creature yelped in pain and stepped back pawing at its damaged face. I heard Etpinego moving behind me but I dared not to look away from my opponent.

“Come on you fucking son of a bitch!” I yelled defiantly at it, hoping that it would think twice before trying again. “You wanna go again asshole! Let’s go!”

Unfortunately the alpha decided to call my bluff as it growled and looked at me with its one good eye. Staring into that fiery green pit, all I could see was absolute hatred and death before it charged once again. Hoping to finish the job I had started I lined up to kick it on the other side of the face with my other boot. It must have been expecting this as it ducked under my sweeping leg only to grab my foot in its jaws after my leg had passed. I winced in pain as I felt the teeth clamp around my foot, the thick leather and rubber sole preventing penetration but the mere pressure of its jaws hurt my foot like hell.

With a jerk of its head and body, the world became like the inside of a washing machine as I was hurtled through the air. Coming to land in bush that luckily cushioned my fall, a very prickly cushion, but a cushion none the less. Rolling to a stop I pushed myself up as swiftly as my body would let me. My left foot throbbed in pain as I applied weight to it, but nothing felt like it was broken as I wiggled my toes. Pushing the pain to the back of my mind I turned towards the clearing to see the alpha inching closer once again to the still dazed Etpinego, who had managed to raise herself to one elbow but had her back towards the approaching threat.

A rush of anger consumed me again as I charged towards the large azcidi releasing a primal roar to draw its attention. Turning its head to look at me, startled by my cry, I didn’t give it time to react as I brought my fist down between its eyes. I felt the jolt go through my arm as my fist impacted against the alpha’s skull; the cracking sound of breaking wood rang out in the clearing. As my fist continued on through the alpha’s skull, I watched as its remaining eye faded away like the dying flame of a candle and its body broke apart around my arm to fall to the ground like its companion’s had done before.

Standing over the pile of wood in disbelief, my breaths came to me heavy and labored as the adrenaline began to ebb away. I looked at my shaking hands wondering what had just happened. There was no way my punch was strong enough to go through its skull, and instead of standing here I should have currently been a chew toy right now. Yet other than a scrapped knuckle from the initial impact and some minor scratches from rolling in the bush nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Even the pain in my foot and back, although still lingering, was slowly fading which was a good sign that they weren’t as bad as I first thought. I heard a rustling behind me, remembering the injured woman that I had risked my life to protect. Turning I saw that Etpinego had managed to turn over and was staring at me with a dazed look as a trickle of blood dripping down her forehead from a cut somewhere in her hair.

As she spoke her voice came out groggily as I saw her eyes try to focus. “Alex col lec ei c’el?”

Etpinego/ Applejack
Twilight Sparkle

“So which way?” I asked over my shoulder to the injured woman resting against my back as the path came to a fork.

I felt her rustle a little, trying to get a better look at the path in front of us before pointing down the corridor on the left. As she rested her head against my back again I hoisted her a little higher up so as to get a better grip on her legs that were currently wrapped around my waist before continuing on down the path.

Moving along as best as I could with my cargo; I thought back to the events that had transpired ever since we were attacked in that clearing by the stream. After the demise of the pack Etpinego and I just stared at each other for what seemed like hours as we both tried to understand what had just happened. It wasn’t until the trickle of blood that was going down her face reached her chin and a single crimson drop fell onto her breast that I was knocked out of my stupor.

Rushing to her side, I knelt down and reached out to cup her face; but instead she jerked her head back with a look in her eye that I could only describe as wariness.

“It’s alright Etpinego,” I told her in the most reassuring voice I could muster, “I’m just trying to help. You’re injured.” I told her gesturing to the blood on her face.

She reached a hand to her face, while keeping an eye on me, and touched the liquid there before pulling it away to look at it. Hoping that she now realized her situation I tried again to examine her injuries, and luckily this time she allowed me. Cupping her face in the palm of my hands I realized another thing about whatever species she was. What I had thought was just tanned skin was actually a layer of really fine fur whose texture reminded me of the feel of velvet. Which raised the question again of what was she?

‘Just another thing to add to my list of ‘What the fucks’ so far.’ I bemused to myself as I pushed it to the back of my mind to focus on trying to stop her bleeding.

Luckily with a quick examination and some reassuring words to help her keep calm whenever I hit a sensitive spot, the wound turned out to be just a minor laceration. Probably not even deep enough to warrant stitches, but being a head wound it was still bleeding quite heavily so I had to find a way to patch it up. Remembering my backpack I swiftly ran off into the woods, back the way I had come from until I came to the tree where I had left it. Without even stopping I snatched the bag and ran back to the clearing, finding Etpinego where I had left her so abruptly with a slightly concerned look on her face at my sudden departure.

Now I didn’t have any medical equipment in my bag, but I did have good ol’ fashioned ingenuity and that would just have to work. Ripping open one of the many zippers I quickly started throwing items aside as I searched for the items I needed. Soon enough I found them, a clean canvas parts bag from my scrounge bag and my green fleece watch cap. Having what I needed I shoved all the other items back in before zipping it closed.

Going over to Etpinego I showed her the items in my hands as she raised a dainty eyebrow in confusion.

“Alex eol lec c’el ser e lec sel aouzl?” I heard her ask and even if I didn’t understand the language, I still got the message that she wasn’t entirely sure what I was planning.

With a sigh I placed the parts bag on top of my head and then pulled the cap over it, effectively holding the bag in place. “See, it’s a bandage for your head.”

Once I had demonstrated my idea to her, she gave a nod in approval as I took off the hat and handed her the canvas bag, which she placed on top of her head like I had shown her. While she continued to apply pressure with the bag I went about cleaning the blood off her face with another parts bag that I had wetted with some water from my jug. After cleaning the blood off of her face I had to pause because of the blood that had managed to drip down onto her breast, and I figured it wouldn’t be prudent to start molesting her all for the sake of cleanliness.

“Uh, Etpinego…” I waited till she looked me in the eye, because with years of Air Force Sexual Assault briefings under my belt I wanted to make sure that my statement was understood. Language barrier be damned. “I think it would be best if you cleaned the rest.”

She looked down at the blood on her chest as I simulated scrubbing on my chest and pointing to her supple orbs. Yet, for what seemed like an non-ending cycle ever since I had arrived in this forest, I was surprised as she instead just jutted out her chest towards me so as to give me an easier time cleaning them…I hoped. I sat stunned for a moment having never come upon such a situation like this before and my mind didn’t quite know what to make of these strange but not unwanted turn of events. One side of my conscious was yelling at me that this was some kind of trap in a very familiar fictional admiral’s voice, while the other side just had one thing to say…gigitty.

Figuring I might as well throw caution to the wind and logic out the window, I reached forward with the wet bag and began to go to work, all the while keeping a mental journal of this event for future use.

‘Dear diary…jackpot!’ I inwardly mused as I mentally patted myself on the back with each caress of those perfectly shaped globes.

Even with my good fortune I didn’t want it to seem that I was being lecherous with her by taking too long. So with enough willpower to rival a Catho-, I mean Buddhist monk, I finished as efficiently as possible and placed the now bloody bag back in my backpack. After all, no reason to leave trash in the forest.

Placing the pack on my back I removed her hand from the bag on top of her head to make sure that the bleeding had stopped. Once I am satisfied that the makeshift gauze had done its job in stopping the flow I placed the watchcap on top of her head over the parts bag to hold it all in place. Pleased with my first aid ability, I placed the stampede string of her cowboy hat around her neck, as we each shared a smile before I stood up and offered my hand to help her up.

As she applied weight to her right leg she let out a hiss of pain as she quickly lifted the sore foot. I helped her back down to the ground to take a look at the affected appendage. Grabbing her leg by the calf, I took a quick look at her swollen ankle, taking note of its purple color even under the tan colored fur.

I was a little loss for a moment on what to do because I still needed to get her and myself out of here but she wasn’t going anywhere on that ankle. So I began running ideas through my head.

‘Even if I make a splint for her ankle it’s not like she is going to be able to walk on it at any decent speed, and I don’t have anything I can wrap around her ankle to help with that swelling. Paracord would just cut into her ankle and would begin to hurt. But maybe I could make some kind of sled with some branches and paracord.’ I thought idly to myself, ‘No, that won’t work in this thick of underbrush. What if I built some kind of cart? Nah, how would I make the wheels...?’

I continued running one idea after another and found each one crazier than the last as I paced back and forth muttering to myself. It wasn’t until I felt a tug at my pant’s leg that I paused in mid-thought about a giant wooden badger to look down at my companion who was currently looking up at me with her lips turned down in a frown and her ears splayed backwards. I knew women enough to know what that look was, she was irritated with me.

“What?” I asked a little annoyed at having my train of thought derailed, but I was still concerned about what she thought was so important enough to warrant it.

“Alex ei c’el zasun my? Ip ki moi c’el zosy fi kiss jevy qi. Ligo c’el soop ew ip ew que flex Ip Qeg.”

I gave a sigh as she got done with, what I could only assume was, lecturing to me about something that I was doing wrong. This language barrier was becoming a little bit of a headache as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Look Etpinego, you’re a really cute… whatever you are, like smoking hot, but I have no idea what the fuck you’re saying.”

Growling in frustration she motioned with one of her hands to come closer. With a growl of my own at having this small female trying to boss me around, I begrudgingly took a knee before her. As soon as I was within arms reach she turned me around to where I was now facing away from her, and I felt her begin to pull at my backpack.

“Etpi! What are you doing?” I asked as she continued to tug, slowly working the bag off of my shoulders.

Suddenly a light bulb went off in my head as she finally worked the bag off, that she wanted me to carry her on my back. With this new information I moved my bag and her bag to my chest, using the buckles and straps on the backpack to secure it around my waist, before grabbing her hands to help her climb on. Once her arms were wrapped loosely around my neck and I had looped my arms under each of her toned thighs. When I made my way to my feet I was actually surprised at how light she felt, but contributed most of this to the bags around my front helping to counterbalance her weight.

After a brief moment to ensure that the weight was equally distributed I gave a cheeky smile to my passenger, “So where to milady?”

At this point the language barrier wasn’t even an issue, as we both wished to leave our little spot by the stream. With a point and a gentle “Lex dec.” we were on our way.

That was I guess a little over three hours and four rest stops ago, and the sun was now low in the sky and just beginning to turn a warm orange. I figured that we might have to make camp for the night soon if we didn’t get out of this damned forest. Although I was a little wary to spend another night here after our last encounter with the local wildlife.

Being as neither I nor Etpinego could really talk with one another for obvious reasons, plus it seemed that the knock to her head made her a little dizzy so she mainly dozed off on my back leaving my mind to wander. At first I dwelled upon my good luck to basically have a naked woman with the body of a playmate pressed up against my back, and how certain ones of those attributes felt oh so good. But eventually I found myself dwelling on the more pressing and relevant questions to me. Like where the fuck was I?

I may not be an expert in the fields of Biology and Anthropology, but I’m sure I would have heard about animal/women hybrids with shit brick house proportions and giant wooden zombie wolves at some point in my 28 years of living; especially the busty hybrids. Being a maintainer it’s no secret that we’re all just a bunch of horn dogs, and there’s no maintainer worth his salt in the world that wouldn’t have known about a girl like Etpinego if she existed on Earth.

That in itself posed it’s own questions. If I can conclude that this wasn’t Earth then where was it, and how did I get here? Logically one would think falling out of a plane flying around four hundred miles per hour at an altitude of thirty-five thousand feet would kill you deader than a doornail. I should be at such an extreme level of dead that they’d have to create a new word to describe how dead I was, like… cadaverific. Yet here I was feeling perfectly fine, minus the random scratches and bruises from my previous tussle.

But if I continued to throw logic out the window it opened up a whole assload of what ifs. Maybe I was dead and this is some version of the afterlife. Or maybe I had been transported to some other planet like that piece of shit Disney movie they made a couple years back. Or maybe I was transported to a future where Etpinego’s people now ruled the world and human’s are being used as sex slaves, but a quick look over my shoulder at the woman who had once again fallen asleep quickly crushed that idea. I really needed to lay off the porn some… maybe… better to get out of here first before making any life changing decisions like that.

After a while though I had run out of ideas and had settled on just humming an old country song that I used to play with my dad around many a campfire growing up. The song reminded me of a life that I hoped that I would get to see again. Strangely enough I thought that I heard Etpinego humming the same song as she drifted in and out of sleep.

As we continued on, the path eventually lead to a clearing at what looked like what was hopefully the edge of the forest. My eyes followed on down the trail till I saw what appeared to be some kind of village. Said village appeared to be populated if the smoke that was rising from the thatched roofs were any indication. Unfortunately I couldn’t make out much more than that due to the town being hidden behind a ridge.

“Hey Etpinego-,” I spoke over my shoulder to my sleeping passenger. I waited for a moment till I felt her lift her head from my back before I nodded in the direction of the town with my own head, “- looks like we made it.”

Etpinego was happy to say the least as I felt her begin to pat me on the shoulder and bounce up and down in my handgrip, “Kiss ni xivi tehvriv, el ori ai assed quio pa! Nyx spasi vaoli eh pel fi osti!”

Even though I didn’t know what the hell she was saying I had to smile at her enthusiasm, and I was happy that she would soon be seeing her family and getting medical attention soon. Plus I held out a little bit of hope that I could get help here in finding a way back home.

I moved to continue towards the town, before I was suddenly blinded by a flash of white light. My first reaction was to ensure the safety of my injured charge, as I dove to the ground shielding her with my body as best I could from the light. As my vision slowly returned I could hear the shuffling sound of people behind me, before I heard a feminine voice talk sternly to me I could only guess.

“Fego haec my Etpinego eh huva qeo erc whyir siz.”

Turning around I could see that we now had a welcoming committee, although their sudden appearance and look had me quite confused. There were five of them, all women it seemed, four of them were white in color and were dressed in some kind of golden armor. Bronze, I could only assume because it’d be pretty impractical to be dressed in gold. They were positioned two on each side of the woman in the middle.

She looked to be about the same age and height as Etpinego and while maybe not as curvy, her body was definitely nothing to snuff at. But what really confused me about her were some of the more glaring details, detail like her lavender coloring. Her hair and tail coloring was a rich deep purple with a pink highlight streaking down the middle of both like some kind of purple skunk. Her violet colored eyes were currently narrowed at me dangerously, but even those weren’t the strangest things I had seen that day. No it was the twelve inch fluted horn sticking out of her forehead and the pair of feathered wings on her back that were the same lavender color as the rest of her body; the wings that were fluttering in obvious agitation.

I was speechless for the briefest of moments before speaking the first thing that came to my mind.

“What…the…fuck.”

Etpinego/ Applejack
"Penelope" Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
"Skittles"/ Rainbow Dash
"Bubbles"/Pinkie Pie

“What… the… fuck.” I said aloud as I stood back up, continuing to examine these newcomers.

‘That’s it! This has to be somewhere in Japan. Only they could think up something as crazy as genetically mutated, multicolored, naked busty beauties. Maybe this is their version of Jurassic Park for businessmen; except for dinosaurs you have these girls,’ I reasoned to myself, because right now the lavender one in front of me defied all forms of my logic. ‘Seriously, I mean even those guard girls look like they could be on the cover of SI’s swimsuit edition, and what’s up with their outfits? Is there some kind of medieval fair going on here? Or maybe they’re some kind of ceremonial guards, what with that bronze armor and those blue colored push brooms on their helmets.’

The five of them were taken aback for a moment as I stared at them. I could make out the guards gripping the shafts of their spears a little tighter. It might have been because of the fact that I easily stood head and shoulders over these women, and even though I may have thought that I could overpower them if the time came to it. I didn’t want to run the risk of being skewered by those spears like a shish kabob, so I thought it would be wise to try and ease their minds on my danger to them.

“Now ladies, I don’t want any trouble. I’m just looking for some help for my friend here and a way out of here.” I spoke to them in as easy sounding of a voice as I could.

”Cey ger wieo?” the leader, who I had decided to nickname Penelope after that cat from those old Pepe le Pew cartoons, replied in a tone best described as surprise before a smile came across her face, and I watched her attitude do a complete 180, “Cey ger wieo Equis?”

The only reply I could give her was a confused look and a shrug of my shoulders, because I still didn’t know what the hell any of them were saying. For all I knew she was wanting me to be some ritual sacrifice or some sort of sex slave to repopulate their species.

‘Wow, really need to lay off the porn.’

Yet, unlike my encounter with Etpinego, Penelope seemed to catch on pretty fast as I saw the smile fade a little. Then she seemed to remember the blonde haired woman who was currently lying on the ground behind me. She looked like she was about to say something again but never got the chance as my vision was blocked by a rainbow. A very angry sounding, feminine rainbow.

“Lic mihr, alex lec cel aupor celev pun sel Etpinego!” the angry rainbow yelled as I felt something hard poking me in the chest.

After allowing my eyes to adjust to the assault of color on my irises, I was allowed a better look at the offending thing in front of me. Lo and behold it turned out to be yet another woman, although she was a sky blue in color and had a perky little body that just screamed athlete. Her magenta colored eyes were currently burrowing into mine while one of her hard fingertips was currently trying to break through my sternum. The cyan colored wings on her back were fluttering at an almost languid pace, yet somehow defying physics and keeping her hovering about two feet off the ground so that she was looking me squarely in the eyes. The wind coming from the beating of her wings caused her prismatic hair and tail to float gently in the breeze created by each beat of her wings.

“Vemsa Hewl, zavs lex! Li ettiev av fi pualkir!” I heard Penelope yell from behind this new woman.

Part of me was hoping to all things holy that she was telling ‘Skittles’ here stop poking me in the chest, mainly for two reasons. First off, it was really starting to hurt. I mean I didn’t know what the material that covered the last knuckle of their fingers was made up of but it was pretty hard. Secondly, it was really starting to tic me off as I could already feel the frown forming on my face.

“Ciel Hewl, li emis yu ercimir dyun. Li liptin qi alir ai nav hahgoi if sqi azcidi, eh izir texglih qi y huk isnoa qi fego.” I heard Etpinego say from behind me, hopefully pleading my case to these other ones. Skittles looked a little confused as she looked between Etpinego and Penelope, but continued to poke me all the same.

Okay. Now I was really starting to get pissed and I tried one more attempt at civility, “Please stop poking me.”

Skittles took notice of my warning tone and replied with one of her own, “Vo, e avno ki evi c’el. Qi emrs vhep cel.”

I quickly grabbed the offending hand, which must have startled her because she immediately fell back to the ground. Gritting my teeth I tried to keep my anger in check as I towered over her and brought her close enough so that our noses were almost touching.

“Stop! Poking! Me!” I told her with suppressed rage, enunciating each syllable so as to get the message even through our language barrier. I gave her hand a slight squeeze to emphasize the point, causing her to give a whimper in pain as she kept looking at me with eyes that rivaled mine in intensity.

She desperately tried to pull away from me, but my grip was too strong for her. Her wings which were once beating so slowly were now furiously thrashing about, throwing swirls of wind at me and even hitting me a few times. I heard Penelope yelling at me but I didn’t pay much attention as I was trying to get my point across. Suddenly a purple light flashed from the left side of my vision, effectively breaking my concentration.

Turning towards the source of the light I found Penelope glaring at me again as the horn on her head glowed the same purple color as the light that had blinded me. The guards that were once behind her were now standing at the ready in front of her, their spears pointing directly at me.

“Pix. Liv. Ko.” She said as the glow on her horn grew brighter.

Now I didn’t have to be a linguist or even a rocket scientist to know what she was saying. Looking at the rainbow-haired woman out of the corner of my eye I began to contemplate letting her go for a second, but another look at the tips of those spears made me decide to let her go. Once I had released her she flew over to Penelope’s side and began to whisper in her ear.

I couldn’t make out what they were saying from where I was, but judging from the shocked reaction from Penelope and the now wary look that they were both giving me something told me that gaining their trust was going to be a little harder than I thought now. Part of me thought about making my way back into the forest but I figured if they could fly, then catching me would be easy. It wasn’t until I heard Etpinego’s voice behind me that I was broken out of my thoughts. At least she would get so help.

“Pa’w soec ip ki. C’el emrs yu ercimir dyun.” She spoke to me in a calming tone, her emerald eyes pleading with me. I just wish I knew for what.

With a sigh of surrender I leaned over to sling my backpack back to my back, before taking a knee in front of Etpinego. Swiftly, I picked her up in my arms bridal style, being mindful of her hurt ankle, and turned to the group before walking to them. The guards raised their spears, pointing them at my face, but a word from Penelope caused them to lower them hesitantly. Stepping past the guards and directly up to Penelope, I looked down at her as she looked up at me. She was trying to put on a brave face, but the look in her eyes and splayed ears told me all that I needed to know. She was afraid of me.

With a quick glance to Skittles I saw the same look, although she was better at hiding it. I gently set Etpinego on her good foot and waited for Penelope to support her before letting her go. Etpinego was swiftly wrapped into a warm embrace by the other two women, shielding her in a cocoon of arms and wings. I had to smile a little as the other two fussed over Etpinego’s injuries and rubbed her cheeks with their own in a display of affection. Apparently she meant a lot to these two.

Now knowing that she was safe with her own kind, but figuring my display against Skittles had ruined any chances of receiving help. I turned around from Etpinego and the other two so as to take my leave of the situation. Unfortunately, my progression was halted by the points of the guards spears once again, and to be honest I had had about enough of this false hostility towards me.

True I had lashed out against Skittles but that was only in reaction to the provocation that she was provoking and my retaliation only reached to the limit of stopping said provocation. Brushing the spear points away from me gently with the back of my hands I moved to leave again. The guardswomen obviously thought differently of this, as they halted me again; choosing to make their point literally as they pressed the tips against my chest. Clenching my hands into a fist my knuckles let out a popping sound as my grip tightened and I watched as their eyes widened a little.

From behind me I heard Penelope say to me something that Etpinego had said earlier.

“Alex ei cel?”

Looking back over my shoulder I see that Penelope is now standing almost directly behind me. Both her and Etpinego are looking at me with the same expecting eyes, while Skittles was glaring at me again as she had an arm and wing protectively wrapped around Etpinego’s shoulder. I thought about ignoring them entirely and making my way through the guards, but my line of sight was distracted by some fast approaching colors from behind these three. Said colors soon turned out to be three more women approaching.

‘Are there any guys in this place? Maybe the whole sex slave idea isn’t as far fetched as I thought.’ I had to humorously think to myself as my mind briefly turned to more lustful thoughts.

“Hi there!” A pair of blue eyes yelled at me as they appeared suddenly in front of me, almost scaring the crap out of me as I fell back on my ass.

“Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you people! Don’t any of you girls know anything about personal space!” I yelled at them as I heard them giggle at my misery. That was until it clicked that whoever this new woman was, she had spoken to me…in…English.

This new woman in question reminded me of bubblegum for some odd… glaring… pink… reason. I mean that she was literally pink from her curly shoulder length hair and matching tail all the way down to her little pink toes that she was currently bouncing on. Speaking of bouncing, she had to seriously be the bounciest woman I had ever seen, human or otherwise. I was so mesmerizing to watch her bounce around that I almost forgot what she had said to me.

“Wait a minute…-“ ‘Bubbles’ stopped hopping as I spoke and graced me with her bright blue eyes again and the biggest smile I had ever seen, “-do you speak English?”

Bubbles rolled her eyes as she blew a raspberry with her lips, “Of course not silly billy that would be ridiculous. I just know how to say ‘hi’ and this explanation.”

I was dumbfounded as I could feel one of my eyes begin to twitch, “You can’t be serious.”

She cocked her head in that same confused manner that I had become very much acquainted with today, “Alex?”

With that I felt a blood vessel somewhere in my head pop as a migraine began to spread through my skull. That was the last straw as I stood up, glaring at the women currently surrounding me. I noticed the other two newcomers that had arrived with Bubbles. One was pure white, minus a highly styled purple hair and tail that formed a single flowing curl, and placed squarely on her forehead was a white horn just like Penelope’s. The other one I couldn’t make out much except for her long rosy pink hair and butter yellow fur, and the fact that she seemed to like to hide behind the white woman.

Penelope and the others were talking to each other off to one side, while I stayed with the guards fuming over not being allowed to leave. I could only imagine what they were talking about as I occasionally saw one of them look over or point in my direction. Skittles and the new white one both seemed wary, while Bubbles and Penelope seemed to be agreeing with whatever Etpinego was saying. The butter colored one didn’t seem to lean one way or the other as she stayed silent and refused to look at me.

As they continued on with their debate, I was feeling quite bored and even thought about maybe trying to strike a one sided conversation with the guards. But one glance at their frowning faces made me reconsider it.

‘Probably would be a boring conversation anyways.’

“Eric?” I heard Penelope say as she walked over to me. I was taken aback for a moment on how she knew my name, but quickly dismissed it; remembering that I had told it to Etpinego.

I nodded my head in agreement, which quickly caused her to smile obviously happy about such a small victory in breaking our language barrier. Expecting her to just start rambling on in their language again, I was surprised when she begins to use her hands to act out what she was trying to say. Clever girl.

“Mu aohurz my liptpun sy mymir Etpinego. Ai assed moi my cel e qis sel yew e sy zempeki.” Penelope said while pointing between Etpinego and myself before making a walking motion with two of her fingers and pointing to the town in the distance.

Relieved that they were still willing to help me I gave her a grateful nod, to which she graced me with a smile that almost rivaled Bubbles in intensity. She then gave a command to the guards, who are quick to obey and formed a perimeter around me. Whether for my safety or theirs I’m not sure but I decide to stay ignorant to the truth on it. Penelope then had everyone stand around her as I watched her horn glow a bright purple again, which spread out till it had enveloped everyone in its light.

Then in the same flash of light that heralded their arrival, they were gone leaving me alone in the clearing. Looking around at my open surroundings I found myself a shocked and a little hurt at being ditched by these women right after they seemed so willing to help. That was when my unbreakable wall of control finally burst.

“Son of a bitch!” I yelled at the top of my lungs as I threw up my arms in frustration, “You know what? Fuck this place! Damn women have been nothing but trouble since I meet them!”

Frustrated and angry at everything and in desperate need of something alcoholic, I began to pace back and forth ranting about all my misfortunes.

“First I have to get sucked out of a perfectly good plane to land in some God forsaken forest; which would have been fine because at least I was still alive. But then I have to come across some hybrid pinup girl taking a bath in a stream and struttin’ her stuff for the whole damn world to see. Not that I’m complaining about that, because she has a world class body. But it couldn’t have just been that, nooo. We had to be attacked by fucked up wooden wolves on steroids and I had to be used like their own personal chew toy. Only for them to just up and fall apart like a Jenga tower.

“Then a moment of chivalrous weakness and bouncing bosoms, I had to help her out of the woods in hopes of finding help in getting out of here. Instead I come across the land of Mutated-Multicolored-Medieval-Naked-Amazons that only seem interested in annoying me and making me a kabob. And to top it all off just when it seems that they might actually help me they instead dump me like some kind of prom night dumpster baby, without so much as a thank you!”

By now I was breathing heavily as my anger calmed down and my mask of control made its way back on to my face. I was about to say “fuck it” and continue down the road till I found someone who was willing to help me, when I was blinded by another flash directly in front of me knocking me on my ass as spots floated in my eyes. Penelope stood before me again with her guards with an almost embarrassed look on her face.

“I wish you would stop doing that.” I told her as I stood back up rubbing my eyes before crossing my arms and setting her with a stern look, “What do you want now?”

She began to play with a few strands of her hair, all signs of her confidence from earlier gone as she looked at everything but my eyes.

“Wys hivba lex.” She whispered in a quiet voice.

Seeing that my poor mood had upset her unsettled me, so I let out a sigh trying to release my tension from earlier as I laid a hand on her shoulder. Her body jumped a little at the touch and her eyes immediately locked onto mine as I give her a reassuring smile and a gently squeeze on her shoulder.

“Sorry for snapping at you. Friends?” I asked as I held out my other hand.

She seemed to perk up a little by seeing that I wasn’t upset at her as she shook my hand. Figuring it was the best time to get introductions out of the way I pointed to myself like I did with Etpinego.

“Eric Broussard.”

“Wypujil Xamspona Tevopi.” Was her reply when I pointed to her.

I had to scratch my head at that, “Good grief girl that’s a mouthful. Do you have a shorter name?”

I tried to emphasize my point by pointing to her and then making a small gap between my open palms meaning small. After a few times it clicked and she let out a cute little giggle.

“Xam.”

Smiling I extended my hand again which she took in one of her own and shook it gently, “Hi Xam.”

“Hai Eric.” She replied with a smile and part of me knew I was still in store for more surprises.

Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle

The walk to the town was luckily an uneventful one, especially after my first encounter with these women. After introducing myself to Xam she began to lead us down the road with her gilded guard forming a perimeter around us. As we walked, I tried to take in the sights of my new surroundings, because by that point I was pretty much positive this wasn’t Earth or at least not the Earth I was familiar with.

Also it was a reason to not to find myself blatantly starring at Xam’s round little ass as it bounced along. A couple of times I thought my stealthy approach was blown when she would look back in my direction. She would look like she wanted to say something but instead would just look forward again.

After about a mile of walking we finally made it to the town, just as the sun dipped below the horizon. The town itself was very quaint, in a very English village type of way. The buildings were thatched roof cottages of different colors, with the occasional store settled amongst them. The signs hung outside each individual store with a picture and writing telling potential customers what they sold inside. The writing on the signs while they kind of reminded me of some kind of ancient text like runes they still seemed familiar to me somehow.

The townsfolk must have been concluding their business for the day as I saw families walking home. I was happy to see that the world was not full of just women as I saw a father walking his daughter home. Yet I was dumbstruck that everyone young and old, male and female was as naked as the day they were born. Sure, there were some that wore an occasional tie, hat, or some other accessory item, but for the most part everyone was as naked as a jaybird. Luckily enough though, the anatomy of the guys didn’t have certain features flailing about for the viewing public, I took this as a small victory and thanked any deity listening for it.

‘This is going to take some getting used to.’ I thought to myself as I watched an older gentleman light the streetlights with the horn on his head.

I stood there in the middle of the street with my hands hooked into the straps of my backpack, trying to take in this strange new nudist society. I don’t rightly know how long I was standing there, and it wasn’t until I felt a hand touch my own that I came to. When I looked down I saw Xam staring at me with a concerned look.

“Ei cel soec?” she asked as she looked to see what had caught my attention, but obviously didn’t see anything amiss as I watched her ears twitch and she looked back at me a little confused.

I mentally shook myself out of my stupor and gave her a reassuring nod as I noticed some of the townsfolk taking notice of us. Most of them just looked confused at me while some parents took a hold of their children, so as to steer them away from us. I could only assume it was because I was the first human they had ever seen, but it also might have been because my fully clothed nature was just as strange to them.

Xam turned back around and continued down the street again as the guards and I took step behind her. Once the townsfolk took notice of Xam I noticed all of them began to bow in her direction as I watched her wings flare in what I could only guess was a sort of display. I had had my suspicions that Xam was maybe some kind of military leader, what with how the guards responded to her commands so eagerly. But I slowly began to think that maybe her position was higher and maybe more civil in nature, like maybe a chieftain or something with the amount of respect that the populace was showing her. Plus I noticed that she was the only one with both a set of wings and a horn out of the people I saw. Maybe being born with both of them was a sign of rank, I didn’t know but it was something for me to think over at the time.

We walked on until we came to a Victorian-styled three story building. The outside was a rich dark blue with white trim framing the edges and the windows, while a set of double doors made of a dark wood marked the entrance. The sign out front showed the same strange script surrounding a picture of a couple of pillows, bringing me to believe that this was some kind of inn or lodge. Xam walked up to the double doors as one of the guards opened it up for her and took post by the open door.

Inside as I removed my cap and shoved it in one of my cargo pockets I saw a large wooden counter placed in the middle of the room with a set of staircases on either side of it, leading to the higher floors. Above the hand carved desk hung a very old looking crystal chandelier, each crystal twinkling from the candlelight behind them. Behind the desk stood an older winged gentleman who was dressed in a simple looking white dress shirt with a sharp looking black bowtie. I assumed he was wearing some sort of pants, but considering what I had seen so far in this town I wasn’t about to peer over the counter to find out. Upon seeing Xam he gave a warm smile and a quick bow, his amber eyes twinkling behind his spectacles.

“Aipsqi fego Wypujil. Mi sti cel el celv irxivski ei luscpun celv wec mu uymix zempeki?” He spoke to her in a jovial tone.

She returned the little bow with a nod of her head and smiled back at him as she replied to his greeting. Obviously not understanding what they were talking about I decided to excuse myself from the conversation and take in more of my surroundings. The clanking sound of dishware and idle conversations drew my attention to the left to look at the next room over. Looking through the doorway from where I stood at the counter I saw what appeared to be a small café that was no doubt part of the hotel, luckily it seemed that none of the patrons had taken notice of us. Back in the far corner of the room, sitting around one of the white table clothed tables, was Etpinego and the other women from earlier.

I was broken out of my idle gazing, by a nudge from behind. Looking back I saw one of the guards motioning to me with her head to the right towards one of the staircases. Xam was whispering to one of the other guards, who nodded swiftly before taking up the empty spot around me as they led me up to stairs while Xam headed into the cafe by herself.

The second floor was full of rooms that went around the perimeter of the floor with the center of the room void of flooring to allow visitors to look down on the floor below, and the chandelier now hung suspended in the center of the room at eye level. The guards led me along to a room on the backside of the building before opening the door and motioning me inside.

Once inside I had a look at my accommodations. The inside was quaint and comfortable like a bed and breakfast, but not overly expensive looking. A queen sized bed sat on the far side of the room flanked on either side by a nightstand and lantern. Off to the right of the door sat a chair and a small desk, stationary sitting on top of it in a neat pile. While in the left corner was an upright dresser that stood next to a closed door, which I hoped lead to some kind of bathroom.

I unshouldered my backpack and dropped it by the door before I turned around to thank the guards when two of them walked into the room with me and began to get settled in, mainly by removing their armor. One of the two remaining guards that stood out of the room motioned towards the closed door inside the room. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke and I could almost feel the disdain in her voice.

“Fexli Eric, eol Wypujil azoli cel e nup liv eh eol vaoly Imique Fieviv.” Her voice was calm but held no room for questions. Too bad I didn’t know what she was saying so I didn’t really care at that point, especially after my current interactions with these four.

“Look lady, are you really expecting these other two to stay in here? Because I’m sure I can take care of myself.” I told her as I thumbed over my shoulder at the other two, who’s breastplates were currently being removed.

“Fexli.” She said again as she thumped the base of her spear against the floor to help drive her point across.

I held up my hands in mock surrender as I thought about how universally stubborn women were, “Alright, but I’m not going to be held responsible for you leaving two naked women in here with me.”

“Fexli.” She said again as she closed the door in my face.

After I gave my scalp a scratch and took a breath to clear my mind, I turned around to face the other two women who were left in the room. Maybe they would be easier to reason with then their cohort. The other two were at that moment removing their greaves, and as soon as that last piece of armor was removed they transformed before my eyes. Where once stood two white furred women, who looked close enough to be sisters, now stood two that couldn’t be any more different.

The one on the left was orange with a blue hair and a tail while her golden yellow eyes almost seemed to glow in the dimly lit room. While the other was a sky blue coloring like Skittles was but her hair color was the whitest I had ever seen. Her deep blue eyes looking at me as she crossed her arms under her chest and nodded towards the door like the other had moments before.

“Fexli.”

Obviously communication with these guards was not going to happen so I figured I might as well have some fun with it if I could. “Alright ladies I’ll go in there, but I’ll let you know this isn’t my first three-way.”

They just looked at me confused, obviously unaware at what I had said. I tried to hold it in as I walked to the closed door but as soon as I touched the handle and glanced back at the two their looks were too much for me as began to laugh my ass off. Once they realized I had made a joke at their expense they both began to scowl at me.

“Kix mu xivi!” the orange one yelled as she pointed at the door.

Still laughing I opened the door to see that the room was indeed a bathroom. The décor followed the same Victorian style that the rest of the building did. A large white claw-footed bathtub stood in the corner with a brass shower attachment rising from the faucet. A pair of navy blue shower curtains hung from the curtain rod suspended from the roof that overhang from the tub. A single sink with cast fixtures rested on the other side of the room in front of a mirrored medicine cabinet. The room was lit by lantern fixtures placed on the walls casting the room in a bright glow. While a toilet took up center position between the tub and sink.

I went to close the door but was stopped when the blue one stopped me, “Oit pa stir.”

“You want the door open?” I asked as I tried to close it again only to be stopped by her again as she repeated the phrase and pushed the door open all the way, “Alright, but I usually don’t do free shows.”

It wasn’t like I was afraid to get undressed in front of the women. Military life and many a one night stand had pretty much gotten rid of any insecurities about nudity a long time ago. Plus they were all nude anyways and I figured, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans.’

I pulled my hat out of my cargo pocket so as to deposit the contents of my other pockets in it. Once that was done I took off my reflective belt and RAB placing them in the hat as well. Part of me worried about the security of the RAB along with my CAC, but I didn’t think they had any interest in such things or they didn’t know about them because they hadn’t searched me for them earlier. Still I would keep a close eye on the hat just incase. Taking off my blouse and shirt I folded them and placed them on top of my hat before sitting on top of the toilet lid to remove my boots and socks.

Once my boots were off I stood back up and began to undo my belt as I caught movement in the mirror to my left. I turned my head to see the two women watching me from the bed where they sat. I could see they were trying to be inconspicuous about it but were failing miserably. With a wink and a smile that made my peeping toms look away I finished undressing and jumped in the shower.

I made quick work in the shower, letting the hot water and soap wash away all the sweat and grime from the past few days. After the shower I turned off the water as I stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around my waist. Grabbing another towel I dried myself off as I walked over to the sink and looked at myself in the mirror. Other than a small cut on my right cheek and a jaw full of stubble I didn’t have any signs that I had been in a struggle with nature for the past couple of days for my very life.

I ran a hand through the stubble admiring the ruggedness of it but I knew that I was in need of a shave as soon as I could get one. When I opened one of the drawers I found a pair of complementary toothbrushes and a tube of what I hoped was toothpaste. Taking the tube I squeezed some on the toothbrush and began to clean the funk out of my mouth all the while hoping it wasn’t some kind of hemorrhoid cream or something; at least it had a minty taste.

Finished with my grooming I walked out of the bathroom, flashing a smile to the two on the couch as I passed, and grabbed the pair of jeans and t-shirt from my backpack and quickly threw them on. I turned around to still see the orange and blue guardswomen sitting there watching me, honestly it was funny at first but now it was becoming a little annoying.

“Can I help you?” I asked them as I hoped for no more weirdness today, “If not then can I please get a piece of that bed?”

The orange one looked at me as a small smirk crossed her lips, which for some reason unsettled me, before she pointed to the bedroom door, “Eol Wypujil mo aempun.”

I stepped closer to the two as they continued to smirk at me until I was almost touching their knees and I leaned over into their faces. “Look here girls, it’s been a very long and weird day for me and I would just like to get some sleep. So if you don’t mind, move your asses.”

My hand reached out to move the two women but was met with the sharp point of a knife against my neck. The blue one pointed to the door again with that same cocky smirk,”Eol Wypujil mo aempun.”

About that time I found myself heavily reconsidering my ‘no hitting women’ rule, at least when it came to these guardswomen, and maybe Skittles. I knew that most of my frustration stemmed from out lack of good communication, but I couldn’t get over the feeling that these guards had some kind of grudge against me. Either way, I was raised that you don’t threaten someone unless you were willing to deal with the consequences woman or not.

When I saw the two share a quick glance, probably being a little smug at having outsmarted their unwitting charge over something, I grabbed the offending wrist and twisted it. The orange woman let out a yelp of pain as her grip on the blade loosened enough for me to take it from her. I took a step back before they could retaliate and watched as the orange one rubbed her sore wrist. The bedroom door swung open as the other two, still white, still armed guards burst in.

Not wanting them to think the wrong idea, like I was trying to attack them or make an escape, I threw the knife onto the pillows of the bed before I tried to walk out the room to the hallway so as to remove myself from the situation and calm down. Unfortunately I didn’t get to leave the room as the one from earlier stopped me with a hand on my chest. Having finally had enough with their attitude and the stress from the past few days I grabbed her wrist before I twisted it like I had done with the orange one moments before.

The result was the same as she gave a whimper and fell to her knee as she tried to pry my hand away with her other one. I watched as her white wrist turned black which quickly spread down her arm like liquid ink and soon consumed her whole body. It continued on to her hair, turning the blonde strands shiny silver. Finally I watched as her watery blue eyes dissolve into a deep forest green.

Surprised and shocked by this sudden change I immediately let go of her wrist, which she swiftly cradled to her chest. No sooner than I had released her did she change back into her original white coloring. It was one thing to see the other two change color when they removed their armor that, as crazy as it sounded, I could half-way accept. But to sit and watch as my touch caused the change to happen, I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. I thought that maybe they could change their appearance at will, but one look at the taken aback expressions of the other three told me that the girl's change wasn’t supposed to happen. I looked back at my hand before looking at the woman on the floor as I tried to put the pieces together, but I was interrupted by the blue one as she repeated a phrase that seemed to be a normal phrase with these women.

“Alex eol lec ei cel?”

They were as confused as me on what was going on, yet I was on the verge of a mental breakdown trying to wrap my mind around what was going on. Lost in a strange land with these people, not being able to understand them, being treated as an unknown threat, and now my touch had the ability to dissolve wooden wolves and somehow turn women into fucking chameleons. I needed answers and the only person I could think would have an answer would be a leader in this community, someone like Xam. With a small detour to my backpack I grabbed my flip-flops and made my way out of the room, leaving the four women in shock.

Before I knew it I had made my way down the stairs and past the front desk, ignoring the counterman and made my way into the adjoining café. I scanned the restaurant quickly and spotted her sitting with Etpinego and the others from earlier at the same corner table. It looked like they were enjoying dinner and were having a conversation. Now I know it might have been considered rude to interrupt your host, but at that moment in time I wanted answers and I didn’t give a flying fuck about etiquette.

I stormed my way over to them and Etpinego saw me approaching as she gave me a wave, but I was too angry to worry about returning it. I had almost reached their table when I was tackled to the ground. The conversations in the café went silent as all the patrons were entranced by the spectacle that was going on. I managed to throw whatever was on my back off of me as I tried to make my way back to my feet, only to be knocked back down as arms wrapped their way around my limbs. I could only guess on who they belonged to.

From my position on the floor I could see Xam and the others rise from their chairs, as Xam made her way over to me till she stood in front of me. Normally looking up at a beautiful nude woman as she stands above me would have elicited some kind of sexual remark, but at that moment I was too unstable for that.

“What the fuck is wrong with me, where am I, and why is this weird shit happening to me?” I almost growled at her.

Xam meanwhile, chose to ignore me as she addressed the guards on my back, “Piyxerex Pyvu Tiev, alex mo eol qierpun fao moz?”

I heard the white, or black, or whatever one reply to Xam, and watched as Xam’s eyes widened a little before she looked down on me as a collective gasp was heard throughout the café. Which was shortly followed by more hushed whispering. Xam seemed about to say something before a small flash happened in front of her, leaving what looked like a rolled up scroll floating in the air surrounded by a faint yellow glow.

Xam quickly grabbed the scroll and began to read through it silently before she looked down at me briefly before addressing the guards.

“Piyxerex, pix lev ko.”

“Iba, Wypuji…” The guard immediately responded in a pleading tone, but was cut off by Xam.

“Lec uva ubizapu qi, Piyxerex.”

“Que cel azol, Wypujil.” The guard replied as her and the others removed themselves from me, and allowed me to get up.

As I straightened my clothes and dusted myself off, I was about to thank Xam when she thrust the scroll at me. Confused I grabbed the scroll and took a look at it. Written at the top was the same strange writing that I had seen on the signs outside, but it was what written on the bottom that drew my attention. There handwritten in elegant cursive was a single phrase written in English.

‘Follow the one who hands this to you for answers.’

Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
Etpinego/ Applejack
Vivmay/ Rarity
Paxxila/ Fluttershy

The next day found me on a train as we rode to destinations unknown. While the others conversed amongst themselves, I found myself content to stare out the window at the passing scenery. Pristine farmlands and wilderness passed by at a steady pace, only visible for a few moments before they were gone in the ever-changing backdrop. The monotony of the moment allowed my mind to wander on the events since last night.

After I had read the message on the parchment I tried to ask Xam for answers, but once again my attempts were in vain as I only succeeded in making myself look like an idiot as I flailed my arms around trying to act out my words. The only information I could get was a phrase the Xam would repeat over and again in her sentences as she tried to calm me down.

“Wypujil Gilzia.”

I didn’t know for sure if this ‘Wypujil Gilzia’ was a person or a place, but I assumed that it had to be a person by the word ‘Wypujil.’ A word that I had heard Xam referred to numerous times since the moment I had met her. Either way I hoped that whoever it was could answer my questions about what was going on. Because honestly I didn’t know how much more of this weirdness I could take.

Once I had been disappointed in my quest for some kind of answer, Xam had motioned for me to take a seat at the table with her and the others. Yet even though my stomach was growling from not having a good meal in a couple of days, I just didn’t have the urge to deal with the situation anymore. So with a slow shake of my head I turned to return to my room and was swiftly blocked by the four guards briefly before Xam called them off and thankfully let me on my way. I shot the girls a small smile as my only sign of thanks before wandering out of the café as I heard the muffled whispers of the other customers as I passed.

As soon as I had reached the room I didn’t waste any time as I shucked my flip-flops by the door and threw my shirt on my backpack before I collapsed on the bed. No sooner than did my head hit the downy pillow I was off to the land of dreams.

Next morning I awoke to a warm weight resting on my arm as my nerves tingled from the pressure. I opened my eyes to the darkness of the room; the sun apparently hadn’t yet risen for the day so I had no idea of the time. Reaching my free hand over to the numb arm to remove the weight from it I was met with something soft. I pushed on the weight and heard a soft moaning sound in return. Confused, I ran my hand along the object until I was met with something soft yet firm and very familiar. Another moan was heard as I squeezed the object, and immediate recognition washed over me at what was on my arm.

One of the guards must have fallen asleep on the bed to catch some sleep at the end of their shift and accidentally rolled over onto my arm. Using my freehand I managed to roll her enough to remove my arm, which soon filled with the pins and needles feeling as blood rushed back into the appendage. I gritted my teeth so as to not yell and wake the sleeping woman next to me, and through no small feat of will I was able to accomplish my goal. Yet now that my arm was free another issue began to present itself as I felt a movement on the mattress behind me and a strange arm draped over my waist.

Now even though I might have still been half asleep at the time my mind could still do simple math. Two arms of my own, plus one woman lying in bed in front of me, plus an arm around my waist equals… I cautiously looked over my shoulder to find the orange guard from last night peacefully sleeping there, which meant that the blue one must have been the one who was on my arm earlier.

‘Alright Eric you’ve been in tougher situations than this before.’ I thought to myself as I turned back to the blue woman sleeping in front of me, ‘You’re the meat in a naked woman sandwich, which while pretty awesome, doesn’t help the fact that you really need to take a piss right now. Now these girls may look like saints now but you already know how they act when they’re awake; so the question is how to get out of this bed without waking them?’

I tried to look around the moonlit room for an escape path out of this trap of arms and legs. Yet every squirm and movement I made only caused the orange one to tighten her grip around my waist and the blue one to roll over and drape her arm over my chest as I eventually made my way onto my back. As grand as it was being these two women’s life size teddy bear, that urge to use the bathroom was reaching near critical levels.

‘Well desperate times call for desperate measures.’ I thought as a final crazy idea came to mind.

I began to run my fingers softly against their thighs and hips, to which I was rewarded with a content moan from the two. After a moment of focusing on their hips I moved my fingers around to their lower backs and they responded as I had hoped and rolled away from me as their bodies subconsciously attempted to follow my touch. Before I could even give them a chance to realize it, I had shot out of the bed like a jack-in-the-box. As I reveled in my small victory silently, I looked back to the bed just to make sure that my escape hadn’t awoken them. The two women just rolled back to the center of the bed where I had been moments before and used each other as a substitute for my missing body heat as I watched them embrace and settle back into deep sleep. I would have stayed and admired the view longer but I had more ‘pressing’ matters to attend to.

After completing my morning business I made my way out of the room as I wanted to attempt to try and rummage up some grub before my stomach decided to eat through my spine. Once down the stairs I went into the café, whose doors were luckily open, and took a look around. The place was empty, save for one lone winged figure asleep at a table by the fireplace at the back of the room.

Once I got closer to the figure I realized it was Xam, her face cheek down on an open book while papers and quills were strewn about on the tabletop. I didn’t want to wake her because she looked like she had been up late, but she also looked a little uncomfortable and it would have only been right for her to be in her bed.

“Xam? Xam,” I said as I gently shook her shoulder “come on let’s get you to bed.”

With a twitch of her wings I watched as her eyes slowly opened before she immediately shut them again and let out a low moan.

“Oh, alex apqi mo pa?” she said slowly as she rubbed her eyes.

“Nooo, Eric remember?” I smiled as I joked a little at her expense as she let out another moan; obviously she wasn’t a morning person.

“Eric? Ale-!” she said as I watched the realization dawn on her face before she bolted up and fell over the back of her chair, ”Ow.”

I had a good laugh at her expense as she rubbed her sore rump, which only earned me a small scowl as she looked away from me embarrassed. After having my fill of jovialness I helped her back to her feet and I glanced at the documents and books on the table hoping to make heads or tails out of it all.

“Whatcha working on?” I asked as I picked up a graph.

Even without knowing what I was saying Xam still seemed to understand the question as she stood beside me and looked at the graph that I was holding. “Mi aew acpun e wi mao xivi aew a dec e spzi eol perkeki pzwyi zs ai ger xepo sel cel. Iba eol spiyevc livi mu Qeriwbyn hisu’a lezi eol wynoa fsow mirih e gospixi que viwiegl. Xivimo zsqiaopun efsyx osa eol Qekth eol Levyvue hsivu’a wiit e gurilja sel cel moi eol viw fao yew. Izir ra mi ger wi pa zova pun haec myst cel.”

I saw a glowing coming from Xam out of the corner of my eye and I dropped the paper as I turned to see her horn glow a faint purple while her eyes were bathed in white light. She reached her hand out towards me, but paused before pulling it back nervously, or it was me who backed away from her I wasn’t sure.

“Ma moi e aye zsqiaopun, mao cel lecu’a puk?” she asked me hesitantly.

I knew that she was asking for something and I paused momentarily wondering if I should trust the now glowing woman. Yet I pushed that thought to the back of my mind and nodded my acceptance because other than the guards, and maybe Skittles, they hadn’t given me any reason to doubt them.

Slowly her hand reached out towards my bare chest, but she paused again just centimeters from my skin before gathering the courage to close the final distance between us. The change was almost instantaneous as the glow from her horn and eyes disappeared back to their normal states. Just like the previous times I felt nothing different from the contact other than the feeling of her hard smooth fingertips against my skin. She pulled her hand back like she had been burned and looked between me and her hand, confusion and worry laced across her face, but with another glow from her horn she let out a sigh of relief.

“Eqedpun…” she breathed out before she went to the table and grabbed a quill and a clean piece of parchment before she furiously began to scribble stuff down.

As I watched her write away I saw the letter from last night in the pile and picked it up before getting Xam’s attention again, “Xam can Gilzia get me home.”

She looked confused at the mention of Gilzia but when she saw the letter I was holding she put down the quill and looked a little downtrodden. Even though we couldn’t talk she seemed very good at understanding what I was trying to say, at least that’s what I wanted to think because it made our conversations less confusing for me. “Mi lecu’a orsa.”

Her mood told me everything even without knowing what she had said and I could feel the feeling of uncertainly and depression start to come over me again. I sat the letter back down as I took a seat across from her at the table. Xam looked like she was searching for something encouraging to say or do, but I didn’t need her worrying over me because it didn’t do anyone any good to solve the problem. So with a reassuring smile I tried to change the subject. Luckily I didn’t have to as Etpinego walked into the café yawning. She smiled when she saw Xam and me but it faded slightly as she probably picked up on the down atmosphere.

“Tuvypun c’ela xas. Mo zsqiaopun’ eoe qexiv?”

“Uv, uv uvapun ex eps.” Xam replied as she put on a smile; I could only hope she was trying to reassure Etpinego.

Etpinego looked between the both of us with disbelief written all over her face. Her blonde tail twitched subconsciously, but she thankfully left whatever was bugging her go and came to join us at the table and rubbed her belly.

“Mi zybl gysph ko sy zsqi epti tergeoiw aoz tuvypun’.”

Xam seemed to agree with whatever Etpinego had said when my stomach let out a loud growl. The two women looked at me briefly before they began to bust out laughing at me.

“Yeah, yeah laugh it up.” I told them as I crossed my arms and gave them a little glare, “Let’s see you survive on jerky and nuts for a few days and not be starving.”

Etpinego waved a hand in apology to me as she wiped a tear from her eye, “Wys Eric soop moi ce’lei efsyx ew lyrvc ew e thuagyvi sel e avaolegli. Pix qi wi mao mi ger vyaxpi yew zsqi nyvi.” And with that she got up from the table and walked into the kitchen.

As she walked away I noticed that she wasn’t limping nor did she seem to be in any pain from her injury from yesterday. I was relieved that she obviously felt better, but was a little surprised at the speed of her recovery. With how swollen her ankle looked yesterday I figured she would have been off it for at least a week. Yet there she was walking just fine, swaying that firm backside back and forth like nothing was ever wrong.

Xam must have caught me watching Etpinego a little too long because she let out a suppressed cough, breaking my concentration on that apple bottom. When I looked towards Xam she gave me a disapproving look.

“What? I was just making sure she was feeling better? Plus if all of you girls are going to walk around naked, it’s only natural that I’m going to look at the goods. Any man that says he won’t is either lying or gay.” I said defensively as she rolled her eyes.

After that we both sat in silence as I began to dwell on my situation again. What would I do if I couldn’t find a way back to where I was from? I would more than likely have to find someway of making a living but as what? What kind of job could an aircraft maintainer get in a place like this? Mechanically speaking, this place was very pre-Industrial Revolution yet they still had the occasional modern technology like the video game system I had seen in a shop window last night as I entered the town. So maybe if they had electronics they also had other mechanical things I was used to, and if not I could also get a job as a hired hand in some kind of manual labor job.

Then there was the language barrier that I would have to overcome before I could do any of that, and if those four years of Spanish I took in high school was any indicator then that was going to be very difficult. That brought about another thought of where I was going to stay until I could garner the skills necessary to work in this strange society? I couldn’t possibly impose upon these girls who had taken me in after the forest, it just wouldn’t be right. Maybe I could do something for them to help them out to help cover my rent.

And what about my enlistment? Even though I was probably no longer on Earth I was still a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force with a little over two years on my current enlistment left, and I had taken an oath that I would never betray. Lost in an alien world or not I was still an American Airman. In the end it was a very daunting and challenging path ahead of me.

I was lost in my thoughts and barely noticed that the other girls from yesterday had walked in. Xam introduced each of them in turn as I stood and shook their hands; all except the light yellow woman, named Paxxila, who continued to hide behind her friends. Even Skittles, who was actually named Vemsa Hewl, shook my hand even though she still was very defensive around me as I would find her looking at me with a hawk like gaze every time I looked at her. After the introductions were over Etpinego came back in with a waitress behind her, who swiftly handed out menus to everyone. It seemed that luck was shining down on me this morning as the menu was mostly illustrated, and while some items looked foreign to me there were still quite a few that were familiar like pancakes and eggs.

Once the waitress made her way to me I simply pointed to the picture of the waffles with a couple of eggs and a glass of orange juice. She seemed a little perplexed on why I pointed as opposed to telling her, but she didn’t bring it up as she smiled and moved onto the next order. As she moved on to Etpinego I noticed that Xam was scribbling down something in a notebook but decided to not think more on it at that moment. The rest of breakfast was uneventful except when it came to the bill when, to my embarrassment, the girls had to cover my tab which they almost seemed too happy to do for some reason.

After the meal I made my way back to my room to get dressed back in my uniform for the trip I assumed we were going on if I read the girls actions from last night correctly. Part of me didn’t really want to put on the dirty uniform because it had three days of sweat and funk embedded in it. Yet part of me felt that if I was going to meet an official or someone of importance that it was proper etiquette to be in my military uniform.

Upon entering my room I found the two guards still embracing each other as the sunlight had just begun to shine through crack in the curtains. Hoping not to wake them still I sneaked my way to the bathroom, to where I had left my uniform the night before, only to find it missing. My ID and RAB and wallet and other things that were in my pockets were still sitting there in my hat, but the rest of my clothes from yesterday were nowhere to be found. After I had given the room a thorough look over and still not finding the lost clothes, I went to the bed to wake the two guards. Maybe they were playing some sort of prank on me for making fun of them last night or even worse they desired my uniform for some other means.

I shook the orange woman by the shoulder and she eventually opened her golden eyes slowly before giving a yawn which woke up the blue one.

“Alex?” she said as she stifled another yawn.

“No, Eric.” I replied without thinking before mentally slapping myself for making the stupid pun and decided to continue on before they caught on, “Where are my clothes?”

They looked confused at me as I stood and rubbed the bridge of my nose, ‘It’s too early for this shit.’

I went and grabbed my shirt that I had discarded the night before and held it up for them to see before pointing to the open bathroom door, “Where are my clothes?”

“Taw Vivmay loop celv valoew sy pierpun.” The blue guard said as she raised her arms above her head and stretched her back, giving me a great view of her tits and caused me to look away lest I lost focus.

I couldn’t make out most what she had said but one word stuck out to me ‘Vivmay’ for that had been the name of the white-furred woman with the curled purple hair and tail. I gave the two guards a quick thanks as I bolted to the door, swinging it open to find the woman in question standing there, my clothes nestled in one of her arms while the other was raised to knock.

“Oh, Eric,” Vivmay said, seemingly startled by my sudden actions before regaining her composure and began to speak in an almost haughty tone, “Mi wea osa kapvyc celv valoew leh figsqi ciwxivhec, uva e izir qirxmur wiptzl fao cel lezipun e spil mu lex hviehys vivza. Zs mi highih e pier xliq ew e shepp xsoir sy aohurz my wezipun Etpinego.”

She levitated the clothes to me as she spoke, the clothes and her white horn glowing a soft blue, as I wordlessly took them the glow disappearing instantly as I touched the fabric. She continued to talk about something, being very dramatic in her actions as I checked over my clothes. They were clean and I meant really clean. Being a maintainer my uniforms, even when washed, never were fully devoid of grime and stains after the first wear; though each dirty knee and oil stain and tear was worn with pride as I would watch the plane that I had toiled on take off. But now they were all gone every last one like it had never been there, and needless to say I was colored impressed.

When I came upon my underwear I heard Vivmay go quiet as she took notice of them. I looked to see her white cheeks tinge a light shade of pink as she smiled and I assumed to try and play it off.

“Aips Hevppun, pa assedrux lec togl kiss e lec e nif lesmaec.”Vivmay said as she rolled a hand in the air as if trying to explain something.

I gave her a wide smile and a curt nod of my head, “Well thank you very much Miss Vivmay.”

“Aips mi zlep wi cel mu e spasi fam.” She said as she turned to leave and gave a little wave over her shoulder.

I watched her leave for a moment, as I admired her smooth soft curves, especially the dimples in her lower back, before I went back into my room to get dressed for the day.

That was around four hours ago by my best guesstimation. Although this was yet another time that I wish that I had had a watch to be sure. Being as we maintainers were not allowed to wear watches with exposed metal for safety purposes, most of us didn’t wear any to begin with just to be safe. The train ride had been highly uneventful and honestly I didn’t like it because it gave my mind too much time to dwell on the thought that I would never be going home. We had stopped about halfway through the ride so far at another town, and I was directed off by the guards as the girls got off at the train station.

Xam said something to the lead guard, to which the guard nodded in reply, before her and the other girls disappeared in a flash of light from Xam’s horn. As I waited with the guards for Xam and the others to hopefully return I watched as passerbyers stared at me and the guards as they went along their way. Honestly it made me feel like an animal at the zoo, which didn’t help with my frustration that had been building as I began to grow impatient. Luckily Xam and the others returned before too long in another flash of light. This time I noticed that each of them now wore a golden necklace around their necks with a shaped jewel amulet; all except Xam who wore an elegant gold crown with a large pink jeweled six-pointed star in the center.

Upon closer, careful, prolonged inspection I noticed that all of the pendants that the girls wore were of similar shape and color to the tattoos that marked their hips. This was just another piece of evidence that these girls were somehow important around here, in particular Xam. I put that case on the back burner for the time being as I figured that the answer would come along on its own with time. Xam directed us back onto the train and as the engine lurched forward we were back on our way down the rails.

That lead us back to where we were now, clanking along down to the tracks to some unknown destination with me staring off distantly out the window. I was lost in what was basically a specialist’s wet dream with no way of communicating and no foreseeable way of getting home. The more I thought about my situation it honestly made me more depressed and that just made me pissed that I was at the whim of fate right now. I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn’t notice someone sit down on the bench next to me. Suddenly I felt the slightest touch on my right shoulder, soft like the brush of a butterfly’s wing, and I was startled out of my thoughts.

Turning to my right quickly I heard a squeaking sound like the tiniest mouse, and a certain butter colored pink haired woman freeze in fright. My heart beat loudly in my chest at being startled but it also beat for other reasons as I was finally able to gaze upon the shy woman’s face for the first time. She had to be the most beautiful woman I had seen since arriving to this land. True each of the women were stunningly beautiful in their own ways, even Vemsa Hewl was a good solid 8.5 or 9 because none of them wore anykind of makeup. Yet the winged woman sitting in front of me now held a level of beauty that one could only find on only the purest of angels or other heavenly beings, and as I saw her eyes mist up a little with tears from being startled just as much as I had been. It just made me want to hold her and shield her innocence from the evils of the world.

I tried to give her a reassuring smile to help calm her down, “Hello there...Paxxila was it?”

Slowly I extended my hand to hopefully reassure her by touching her on the hand, but as I my hand got closer to her I stopped as her hand was trembling the closer mine became. Not wanting to frighten her any further and figuring I had done enough damage to the poor girl I returned back to my side of the bench.

I waited in silence for what seemed like around ten minutes for the shy woman to say or do something, but all she did was sit there and nervously fidget with the ends of her hair as she hid her face behind the silky bangs again. Every so often I would see her move slightly to face my direction but when she would see me look towards her she would cower again and mutter “Wys” in a voice so soft it reminded me of the cooing of a dove.

Figuring that my previous actions around the poor woman had made her think I was just some kind of mindless violent person I sadly returned to looking out the window wanting to give her her space. And after almost half an hour more of silence I pretty much assumed that she had returned to her seat, too afraid to talk to the violent creature. My eyes grew heavy under the noonday sun and I closed them to take a quick nap. I drifted slowly off to the world of dreams when a slender pair of yellow arms ripped me back to reality as I was pulled backwards.

My first reaction was to jump like before, but any urge to struggle was immediately squashed as the smell of cherry blossoms filled my nose. As I was pulled back against a soft chest I dared not speak a word, lest I scare the angel who was now wrapping her wings around me in a comforting embrace. I felt her fingers begin to run softly through my hair as she began to say something in her soothing voice that I could only guess was some kind of apology or reassurance that everything was going to be okay. Because even though she was nude there wasn’t even the slightest feeling of lust in the embrace, only one of comfort like a newborn baby being cradled by its mother. And it was in this comfort that my worries drifted away and I slowly fell asleep in the arms of this timid woman.

Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
Blueblood
Gilzia/ Celestia
Pyre/ Luna

I awoke an unknown amount of hours later as the train screeched to a halt. A quick glance out of the car window let me know that it was sometime in the early afternoon as the sun was still high in the sky but was already well along on its downward path. Paxxila was gone from the bench by the time I had awaken and after a quick glance around at the other seats I found her sitting towards the front of the car talking to Vemsa Hewl.

It was odd to me that Paxxila had just straight up and hugged me like she did, especially when she couldn’t even gather the courage to talk to me. Either way, I was indebted to her that she had shown me that single act of kindness because it made the situation of never possibly returning to the world I was used to a little less frightening.

The conductor announced over the intercom system some sort of message and everyone in the railcar stood to leave, Etpinego motioning for me to come along. Grabbing my backpack I slung it over my shoulder and fell inline behind the girls as we filed off the train.

The hissing sound of steam being relieved from pressurized boilers and a sweet smell that reminded me of burning kerosene filled my senses as I walked out of the railcar and onto the platform. As I took a look around the rail station I stopped in awe at the sight before me and almost dropped my bag from my shoulders if I hadn’t hooked my thumbs in the straps. The station was located halfway up a towering peak that stretched for many hundred more feet above where we stood till finally it crested in a cap of pure white snow. Along the side of the mountain was nestled a buzzing metropolis that rivaled the great cities of antiquity in its splendor.

Colorfully winged citizens flew between the towering buildings that seemed to have been carved out of the very side of the ridge itself. While hot air balloons floated lazily in the afternoon breeze as they ferried back in forth like flying tortoises from a central hub up near the mountain’s peak. But the single most amazing attraction had to be the marble castle that was perched fearlessly out over the side of the mountains slopes. Its pristine white towers that seemed to sparkle in the afternoon sun towered ever skyward, threatening to outreach the mountain itself, as a thundering waterfall spilled off the edge of the castle’s dais crashing into the wide forested valley below.

“Wow,” I said breathlessly as I let out a low whistle, “I didn’t even know people could build things such as this.”

A nudge from behind me by one of the guards knocked me out of my awe and I hurried along, so as to not lose the girls in the technicolored crowd. Although I doubt that that would happen being as I stand at least a head higher than the local populace and could easily spot Xam’s lavender wings and horn in the crowd. Once we had exited the station two of the guards took up point in our little group as the crowd parted like the Red Sea did for Moses when the saw Xam and the others. Xam, like when we had entered the village yesterday, was walking with an air of authority about her as she held her head high and her wings arched out behind her.

The crowds stopped in their tracks to watch our procession pass as we continued on down the thoroughfare, and I heard muttering from them and even saw the occasional bystander point in my direction. Being talked about by strangers should have made me nervous, but for some reason the only thing I felt was my irritation rising once again and I wanted nothing more than to be done with this situation. Yet I had to endure it if I was going to get any kind of answers, at least I hoped so.

As we moved long through the streets, walking up through the different levels of the city, I noticed more and more of the inhabitants were wearing clothes. Some still only wore the occasional accessory, but a steady growing group of the others were wearing full outfits that reminded me of Victorian England. These clothed people seemed to walk with the same air of authority that Xam was, and even their bows weren’t as low as the nude citizens from back at the station.

‘Maybe clothes are a status symbol.’ I thought to myself as I watched a particularly tall white furred woman with a horn on her head and styled powder pink hair, who was dressed like she was about to board the S.S. Titanic. ‘Yet they still don’t entirely seem to be on the same level as Xam, because they are the ones who keep initiating the bow.’

Onward we trekked and I could feel my calves starting to burn a little from the amount of walking and sheer number of steps we had climbed. Eventually though we finally reached the outer wall of the castle and our party stopped before a massive wooden gate that was guarded by two of the bronze armored guards. These two however were clearly male with their broad shoulders and squared jaws as they stood at their post motionless, silently announcing their authority to all who passed. Once the two gate guards saw Xam and the others they swiftly moved to open the gate and allow us passage into the castle grounds.

The other side of the gate spread out into an expansive garden that was filled with many decorative bushes that were being expertly tended to by a team of gardeners. But I never held much of an appreciation for horticulture, finding the whole process too tedious for me to bother with. Instead I focused on the path I was being lead along on, that winded through the garden till it eventually took us into the castle proper.

My amazement grew as we made our way through the towering marble hallways. Each side was lined with columns and colorful tapestries that hung from the ceiling that loomed high above my head. The floor was made of green granite that had been polished to a mirror finish as I looked at my reflection in the emerald depths. Sunlight shown down through detailed stain glass windows, which were so massive that you could possibly tow the nose of a jumbo jet through them and still not run the risk of touching the sides. Who ever had built this castle had to be true masters of their trade because all the stones, from the floor to the top of the ceiling, fit together with such precision that it looked like the castle was made from solid pieces of marble and granite.

I continued to gaze at the majestic fortress around me that I didn’t notice our group had come to a stop till I bumped into the rear of Vemsa, who shot me a scowl before facing forward again. Muttering a muffled sorry I looked up to see why we had stopped to see that there was a white furred man with wavy golden hair and tail and a white horn on his head standing in our way. The strange man wore a white tux that had black lapels and a blue bowtie was tied around his collared neck. He stood taller than Xam and the other girls yet not by much, but he still fell short of my height by a head’s length. While his features reminded me of a primped pretty boy that had never soiled his hands a day in his life or a wuss to be more specific.

He was talking to Xam although from both of their actions it seemed like neither of them really wanted to talk with the other all that much. As he would say something I would see Xam give what sounded like a forced reply. He seemed to be somewhere around the same status as Xam because he didn’t bow down to her and almost seemed to look down on her. A look at the other girls showed me that they didn’t really seem to care for this guy either as most of them looked either bored or slightly irritated; all except Vivmay who looked positively furious for some reason.

I know that I should just mind my own business, but with me being so close to finally getting some kind of answers I felt a little more impatient that I normally would. The man noticed me finally as I made my way to the front of the group and stood behind Xam. He reeled back in disgust as he held a hand to his face to shield his eyes from the sight of me I guess, like I said a wuss.

“Alex mu que ebua’z reqi mo lex aopun?” The strange man said as he pointed to me.

“Aoz mo Eric, li’z eol viwsev alw Wypujil Gilzia lew geppih yew livi.” Xam replied as she motioned to me.

I heard Xam say my name and I figured she was trying to introduce me as I extended my hand to him, “Howdy, the name’s Eric Broussard.”

The strange man just stared at my hand like it was covered in slime or something before he ignored me and addressed Xam again, “Asyph cel omphur xip celv tix xepo mu utoyhep Equis alir heviwpun e Wypug fao Iuyzaph.”

“Lex’z sir fao eol viwsevz alc ai’vi livi. Li’z buhisi e tieow Equis sy bukzahuk pa figeywi fao omp pualypavn sel eol Qekth fao Levyvuc.” Xam said as she motioned towards me for some reason.

The strange man scoffed and looked down his nose at Xam, causing her to furrow her brows in irritation as she let out a repressed growl. “Pa asyph mykvi lex fao ep qeviz asyph purk e giebyll lex mo ew grysyxl ew eol viza fao celv vefpi. Ew e wypujil cel zosy vus segwiphel celvwip sel swixl lex vispiw celv ria zahab, silzamwi pa whirz eol asvun qiweki e eol sqirivz.”

“Que mymirz ei uva vefpi!” she retorted with irritation lacing her voice.

Apparently this man had said something that obviously upset the women as I noticed even the lead guard’s grip on her spear tightened, but yet she did nothing as she continued to stare forward at attention. Wanting to calm the situation down so we could be on our way I stepped in front of Xam, blocking her from the blonde haired man.

“Look here buddy, now I don’t rightly know what was said between you two but it looks like that you’ve obviously gone and upset these ladies.” I said motioning to the group behind me as Xam tried to get my attention which I promptly ignored as I turned back to the man and laid a hand on his shoulder. “So why don’t you apologize to the little ladies and we’ll be on our way.”

The man looked at the hand that laid on his shoulder in repressed anger as he seemed to not hear that I was speaking to him. He quickly brushed away my hand as he glared at me.

“Osa havi cel aopur lex cel ei kemzir eol meloa e asygl uwispaf wyjo ew quewip. Ra fego haec giebyll eh orsa celv petgi.” And with that he back handed me across my cheek causing the women behind me to gasp in shock as my head was knocked to the side.

Yet I couldn’t hear their gasp as I slowly retracted my face, my cheek slightly stinging from the impact. I had to give it to the guy he had a mean backhand, but Eric Broussard was no one’s bitch and I sure as hell didn’t have a rule against hitting douchebags. Especially ones half my size in muscle mass and should have known better than to be picking fights.

The look of superiority on his face was immediately replaced with one of terror as he gasped in a lung full of air to replace the oxygen I had just forced out of his lungs as my fist made contact with his spine via his stomach. He began to lean forward, doubling over on my arm, but I wasn’t going to give him a moments rest as I withdrew my fist and clenched my hand around his neck. With a quick heft of his body upwards and my right heel hooked behind his own, I choke-slammed the little prick onto the stone floor.

As I straddled him and pinned his arms beneath the weight of my knees I looked into his terrified eyes, who literally a moment before held such smugness. His chest was still heaving erratically as his still devoid lungs tried to feed air into them through the crushed windpipe I still held in my grasp. Leaning down to him I barred my teeth and tightened my grip a little causing his eyes to bulge slightly in their sockets as he probably began to go in and out of consciousness.

“Now apologize.” I told him slowly.

From behind me I could hear the muffled sounds of the girls as they yelled something that I couldn’t understand. My anger was too high right now to worry about it, yet when I saw the flowing of purple and blue light wash over me I was distracted long enough to look up. Just in time to see a grey furred guard thrust the metal capped end of his spear into my forehead. The world immediately began to shrink into darkness as I lost control of my muscles and fell sideways onto the cold granite.

Pain was the first thing that registered in my mind as I started to come to. There was a steady throbbing pain that centered itself in the front part of my skull that I was sure would form a bump soon if there wasn’t one already. I could feel the smooth dimpled texture of a stone floor beneath my left cheek, the cold that was seeping through my skin did seem to help ease the pain in my head. My shoulder began to ache in protest from having laid on the stone floor for however long it had been, rolling onto my stomach I let out a groan as the muscles in my back stretched themselves back out. I laid there on the floor for a moment as I gathered my thoughts the best I could.

“Okay, that probably wasn’t the best course of action to have done.” I said into the empty void, hearing my echo back to me off of the walls as I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings.

As I figured, I was in a jail cell of some sort, although unlike the damp slimy cesspools that I was used to seeing in the movies, this one was actually quite accommodating. Well about as accommodating as a cell could be. Three of the walls were made up of stone blocks without as much as a window to be seen. While the fourth wall comprised of heavy iron bars evenly spaced out just wide enough for someone to not be able to slip between. I could make out a gate on one side of the barred wall with a heavy duty padlock keeping me within the room. Outside the cell was a stone hallway that was lit by torches that ran along the front of my cell and more than likely to my neighboring cells.

Furnishings in the room were sparse to say the least, but being a jail cell I wasn’t expecting the Ritz. A simple wooden cot that was bolted to the floor sat in the far corner from me and, luckily for me, a toilet and sink sat in the other. I said a silent prayer to whoever would listen about small miracles. Because I’m all for roughing it but having to use a shit bucket would have been a little rough even for me.

But now it was on to more important things like the fact I had just assaulted a member of their society who was probably someone of high position. I don’t think they took too kindly to that if my being in this cell was any kind of indication. Walking up to the bars I tried to peer out into the dimly lit hallway. I couldn’t make out much off to the left but more hallway, yet to the right I could see a heavy iron door that hopefully lead to freedom if the situation should happen to call for it.

No matter how much I wanted to hope for the best out of this predicament, I knew that realistically I was probably looking at making this cell my home for the foreseeable future or worse. So I needed a possible way of escape should the need arise. I reached my arms out from between the bars one by one, followed by my legs as I tried to see what my area of reach was outside the cell. At my furthest I came within inches of the far wall, more than enough to grab a passing guard or someone I could use as leverage to help aid me in my escape. Now knowing that bit of information I began to look for something that I could arm myself with.

Surprisingly, they had left me with my nylon belt, whether on purpose or a mistake I didn’t care because I was going to take any chance that was given to me. Going over to the cot I lifted up the mattress, propping it against the wall, and began to try and pry loose one of the cross boards. The board creaked and moaned as I fought against the tacks that held it to the frame, but with a well placed kick from one of my steel-toed boot I was soon holding my makeshift club.

I paused momentarily to listen for if my ruckus had attracted a prison guard, but the only thing I could hear was the crackling sound of the torches in the hallway. Swinging the piece of wood a couple of times so as to help get a feel for my new weapon and I was feeling pretty confident in my odds of getting out of here. I knelt down to hide the club under the bed till the time arose that I would have to use if when I heard the clanking of keys from the hallway door. It looked like I had attracted some unwanted attention after all as I lay back on the floor where I was before. As I closed my eyes to feign sleeping I could make out the creaking of the heavy metal hinges and the distinct sound of metal shoes on the stone floor as my visitors drew closer to my cell.

I could make out the distinct sound of three sets of steps as they unlocked the padlock to my cell. One of them walked with a heavy footfall and I could hear the clanking sound of armor as they walked announcing to me that they were a guard. But their associate’s footsteps were more of a mystery being softer and rhythmic in nature as their metal shoes almost seemed to chime on the stone floor.

A voice spoke out to the others and I assumed it was the guard, “Li’w mu live celv qenwmew. Ei cel zybl cel asseduva vijiv opt e fi vizaypulk.”

“Ur, aohrz cel que spasi svuf. Que zawxiv eh mi zlep fi ripul vu sy sar." I heard a young feminine voice reply before the sound of the guard’s footsteps could be heard walking back down the hallway. Growing softer till the metal door was closed at the end of the hall leaving my alone with the other two.

I kept my eyes closed and continued to pretend to be still unconscious until I could try and get an idea of the situation. Unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to rely as much on what they said as much as how they said it. So I strained my ears so as to gather as much info as I could.

“Ei cel zybl lex aoz jubywi fao egemuv mo amwi zawxiv? Cel viqifit osa togl tvaoly myshik guxhaja sel aopli asysk geppun xliq e bywih vegi.” The first one spoke quietly to which the other one replied.

The new voice, while also feminine, sounded slightly more mature and seemed to hold a calming effect with it as she spoke, “Uv mi et uva zybl Pyre, iba mi le fipmiz xivi mo togl ai gypsh pievu myst iegl saliv. Viqifiv eps eol kiss aopli asysk lew svul sy syz, eh tivletz alic lezi fiir efpi e sisivgi aopli bywi.”

The room grew silent for a moment before the first one spoke again slowly, “Tivletz. Cix ai lezr uv thiqphal aec e gupgexl sel opt, viqifiw alex Xamspona Tevopi asph yew, eol Qekth fao Levyvuc lew uv jigix vu opti. Mi imi uva fipmizi pa ex mypza iba ra wipun liv sy qicsiw mi ge uv svuniv nukluy eol aybao.”

At the mention of Xam I was began to think that maybe the girls were able to convince these people that I wasn’t so bad. If that was the case then I would be in each of their debts for the foreseeable future. As I felt a little more at ease with the situation a desire grew in me to get a peek at these new women to size them up just incase this still went south. Rolling on my back I heard the first one give a little gasp, but as I tried to get a look through my closed eyelashes I could only make out the cloudy outlines of the two figures. One was as dark as the night sky while the other was pure white mixed with an assortment of pastel colors.

I heard the second one talk again as I found that it belonged to the white figure, “Mi tser e vulja ximapa sel omp pukt.”

Apparently the darker figure didn’t agree with whatever the other woman had said as she stepped in front of her, “Uv zawxiv, mi ger ur espa cel e lec lex! Ai lezi uv hime alex gypsh lettir e ximliv fao cel, svah puktz ei uva qierx e lerpih eol wirx fao eol pasvah pukt.”

“Mi orsa lex.” The white one said in a slightly more firm tone than before, “Iba alex jovgi lec ai lezi. Pa amp vusf fi vus e qexiv fao apti fisvi li mo symbuk mao li lew uva epviech fiir. Li amp rih ep eol lipt li ger kix mao li mo kopun e zimzi, eh sel yew hiss e gupgexl sel opt ai klnoafi hiss e kerm irskol skevmsr e whir lew osti.”

“Erh alex mao ai ger riziv whir opt osti?” the dark one asked in a pleading tone trying to convince the white one about something I could feel the hurt in her voice as she spoke, “Alex mao opt mo bywih e viqemr livi? Cel orsa liw amp purk opt iziryepc, erh alir liw his amp uva zav aps opt mo hiwschi.”

“Lixr pa mo sy fyhvir ew tigsvz fao aoz vieqp e irvi lex izir mu eol irh, aliriziv lex qec fi, lex xivi wa pimp wyjivpun. Ra wher ewmih erh pix qi lec alex zabt fi svul mi lec uva lezi togl ximq, li mo epviech eaeoirpun.” the white one said as she stepped around the dark one, her feet chiming on the floor until she stood next to me and kneeled down by my head.

“Cel qier ‘ai lec uva lezi togl ximq.” The dark one said as she came around to my other side and knelt down as well, “Mi aew witivexih myst cel sirg fisvi eh mao cel ei rspun e wom celvwip lepun aoz lixr mi amp lec uv piw.”

“Pyre…” The white woman said softly as she reached an arm out and touched the dark one on the cheek I imagined as I saw the darker one lean into the touch, "Aohur cel."

Right now I was starting to become a little nervous and yet a little excited about the possible outcomes of this situation. They could be either intending to kill me or rape me and any other outcome in between. I forced myself to remain still as I watched them, through closed eyelids, reach out to my face. As their fingers touched my temples I felt an immediate warmth rush through my body.

It started as a comforting warmth like the feeling you would get from a fire place on a cold winter night, but soon it grew into a raging inferno that I could feel down into the depths of my body as I clenched my eyes closed. It burned worse than anything else I had ever experienced before in my life. Even the times I had been burned while changing overheated aircraft brakes on a quickturn inspection couldn’t compare to this.

I opened my eyes as my vision was blinded by radiant white and navy colored light. Fearing that the two women were trying to kill me I shot up as quickly as I could, knocking the two women away. Blinded by the light, I knew I was at a serious disadvantage as I crashed into the cot on the far wall. Not wasting any time I fumbled under the bed blindly for the club I had hidden there. Once my fingers touched the wooden plank I yanked it out and thrust it in the general direction that I hoped the two women stood.

“Stay back!” I yelled as I rubbed my eyes hoping to gain some semblance of vision back, fear coursing over me at my vulnerability, “I didn’t come this far just to be killed by you two. Now show me to this Gilzia so I can get the hell out of this topsy-turvy world.”

“Please Eric, we meant no harm to you.” I heard the dark woman’s voice say to me from somewhere infront of me.

“Yeah right.” I scoffed at her as I swung my weapon aimlessly, hoping to keep them at bay, “You expect me to fu-… wait a minute. You can speak English? Are you Gilzia?”

“No, I am.” The white woman said as I continued to rub my eyes, “Although in your tongue I would be known as Princess Celestia, co-ruler of the Land of Equestria with my sister here, Princess Luna.”

“Pleased to meet you.” The dark woman, who I could only assume was Luna, said as she was introduced. “And do accept our apologies for any discomfort you may have experienced during our actions, but we were desperate to be able to talk to you on equal terms.”

I rubbed my eyes one last time as I tried to open them again. To my joy my vision was rapidly returning to my as I could already make out the two women’s outlines and they were rapidly coming into focus. After a moment I was able to finally see clearly again and I would have dropped the club in my hand if I didn’t have such a tight grip on it and I felt any lingering burning sensation from before leave me to be replaced by the warm feeling again.

Both women were exceedingly beautiful; in fact, if one was to try and describe them they could only call them otherworldly. They both stood taller than any other one of their species that I seen so far and almost seemed to be as tall as my own six foot frame. They resembled Xam in appearance because the both possessed a set of angelic wings and a straight horn out of their head that twisted from base to tip, but that was where the similarities seemed to stop.

The darker one, called Luna, was a svelte woman with just the right amount of curves to go with her body, accentuating it in every way. Her fur appeared almost black in color, but as I stared longer under the torch light I realized that it was actually a dark navy. Placed firmly on each grab-able hip was a black blotch of fur with a white crescent moon mark contrasting against the darker fur. I was immediately drawn to her large expressive aquamarine eyes that accentuated her flawless face and held onto my own eyes and didn’t seem to want to let them go.

Somehow I was able to pry my eyes from hers as I noticed that her hair and tail seemed to move on its own, even though I couldn’t feel any sort of breeze in the room. The ethereal locks sparkled in the dim light like the stars in a west Texas night sky, and if I looked hard enough I was sure that I could make out constellations in the flowing locks.

Like most of the other women I had seen so far her attire was completely devoid of fabric but she still wore accessories that did just enough to complete the package. On top of her head rested a pointed tiara made out of a shiny black material that looked to be metal, although I was unfamiliar with any kind of metal that was black. Hanging from her neck was a necklace that reminded me of those wesekh collars worn by the ancient Egyptians; for while it was made from the same beautiful metal as her crown the wide pendant hanging from the delicate silver chain spread the whole width of her chest as it rested atop her firm looking breast. Beautiful etching spiraled across the pendant’s surface leading to a massive opal in the center that was carved into the same crescent moon shape that was on her hips. She shifted on her feet as I heard the same chiming sound from earlier. Looking down I saw that on her feet was what looked like a pair of segmented silver high heeled slippers, which matched the silver gauntlets that I saw she was wearing as she brushed a strand of her hair out of her face.

While Luna looked like a goddess of the night Gilzia, or I guess it was actually Celestia, reminded me of a spring dawn at the end of a long winter. Before it looked like her fur was white, but now with my eyes fully open I could see that it was more than just white as it shined with a pearlescent glow as I could make out shades of pinks and blues across her womanly figure. From her long legs that seemed to go on for days to her soft looking child bearing hips that bore an orange sun the size of a sunflower on each one. Continuing upwards past her slender taunt waist I came to her heavy looking breast that her wide pendant made of gold rested happily on. Her pendant, while just as finely engraved as Luna’s, held a diamond shaped stone of amethyst instead of a moon shaped gem, and hung daintily from her slender neck by a thin gold chain. Her face was slightly narrower than her sister’s, but was no less beautiful as it held a motherly charm to it. Her magenta colored eyes looked at me with the same maternal serenity, but I could see a twinkle in them hinting at a very cunning and intelligent mind.

Her billowing hair and tail was streaked in varying shades of blue, aqua, pink and green. As I continued to stare at her hair as it lazily floated in the non existing breeze I felt a calming sensation come over me like when staring at the waves of the ocean. On top of her head was a crown similar to Luna’s but it was taller and in the same golden material of her necklace, it even had a smaller version of the purple jewel of its own in the center. She even wore the same type of ceremonial footwear and bracelets that shined with a golden hue.

Looking at the two women I vaguely thought about how even though they were not obviously human that they could still be so ‘Beautiful.’

Celestia gave me an almost mischievous smile as Luna’s cheeks turned a slight shade of deep purple, “So you find us beautiful?”

Gilzia/ Celestia
Pyre/ Luna

Celestia gave me an almost mischievous smile as Luna’s cheeks turned a light shade of purple, “So you find us beautiful.”

‘Crap!’ I thought to myself as I began to panic a little, ‘Did I just say that out loud?’

“No you did not speak it aloud.” Luna answered as she crossed her arms under her bosom, giving me an upset look as a slight frown formed on her lips and her wings fidgeted in exasperation,“And how dare you describe my sister’s hips in a more favorable fashion. Are mine so lacking?”

‘Crap! They can hear me! What the fuck do I do… uh… uh… uh…? Clear my mind. Yeah that’ll work. I just don’t have to think any indecent thoughts about them…Shit! This would be easier if they weren’t standing there naked in front of me.'

As I continued to silently freak the fuck out, the women shared a knowing look with each other before smiling.

‘Calm down Eric it is alright.’ I heard Celestia’s voice say in my head.

‘Fuck! Now I can hear their voices in my head! This shit ain’t happening. What the fuck did they do to me? Am I under some kind of mind control…?’ I panicked to myself as I began to ramble away in my mind trying to justify what was going on with me in a logical sense but I was falling woefully short.

On the other hand, Luna and Celestia seemed content to continue to let me spin in a death spiral down into insanity for a few more moments. Celestia personally looked like she was highly amused with my reaction while Luna eventually rolled her aqua eyes at me, the humor of the situation evidently gone for her.

“Please be at ease Eric Broussard. You are not going to be used as our plaything to create a group of hybrid super soldiers or whatever else you may think we mean to do with you.” She said to me as she walked over to me and touched the end of my makeshift club which had been trembling quite clearly by then, “What you are experiencing is more than likely a residual side effect of the merging of your mind with my sister’s and mine.”

At that phrase I stopped trembling almost at once and looked the shadowy princess in the eye, my own narrowed a little, as what she had said began to sink in, “You two did what?”

“We temporarily merged our minds with yours, so as to find the information we needed in order to be able to talk to you in your own language.” Celestia said as she sat down on the cot next to me gaining my attention, “We do apologize for not asking your permission prior to doing so but time is short and your situation is so unique that we could not go about with a less ‘drastic’ measure.”

“What do you mean unique? What’s wrong with me?” I asked her hoping to get some kind of answers to help explain some of the strange things that had been happening to me since waking up back in the forest.

“Nothing is wrong with you, at least not physically, mentally or even spiritually from what we could see during our bond. It is what’s different about you magically.” Luna stated as she took a seat on the other side of me. I could tell by the calming tone of her voice that she was trying to consul for some reason. It almost made me feel like she was a doctor who was trying to tell me, her patient, that I had some kind of incurable disease and shouldn’t be alive.

“Magically? What are you talking about? There’s no such thing as magic, all that is stuff is smoke and mirrors done by performers.” I replied a little upset that these two were in fact just trying to pull my leg.

“Wrong Eric, magic does exist and it is everywhere around us as the Magic of Harmony.” Celestia explained with a warm smile but I wasn’t convinced.

“What you mean like the Force? Once again that isn’t real,” I said as I took a couple of calming breaths and tried to think of another way to try and get some more information, “Okay let’s say I was to believe you, what is it that’s so ‘magically’ wrong with me?”

“Unlike every other species on the planet you are not connected to the flow of the Magic of Harmony. While it flows through Luna and me it instead seems to be repelled away from or is even neutralized by you, thus not allowing you to talk with us in the normal manner.” Celestia explained but I still wasn’t buying it.

“And how would this magic allow me to converse with you? “

“The world is made up of many different species who all speak their own unique language, which would make it very difficult for us to speak with say a minotaur because of that barrier. But being as both of our species are connected to the Magic of Harmony the words that comes out of our mouths are altered and changed inside the recipient’s ear canal so that all they hear is their language. Thus allowing everyone to prosper together in harmony,“ Luna explained to tell me as I saw her horn light up blue and two glowing figures of what seemed to be a minotaur and herself appeared in her open palms.

I had halfway listened to her explanation as I was more transfixed on the glowing specters floating there in free space. As much as I wanted to continue to not believe them there really was overwhelming amount of evidence to support their claims between what I had seen with Xam and her friends. Maybe what they were saying was true and there was magic on this world or some force that they called magic, which meant with certainty that this wasn’t Earth and any chance I had to get back home now rested with Celestia and possibly even Luna.

“So you’re telling me because I don’t interact with this magic that none of your magic works on me, right?” I asked as they both gave me a small nod as I continued with my train of thought, “Then how are you able to talk to me now? How were you able to use magic on me when others couldn’t?”

“That is because we didn’t use magic.” Celestia stated matter-of-factly before deciding to elaborate more as she looked at my confused face, “My sister and I are of a species known as alicorns and we differ greatly from our subjects. We were able to mentally make a connection with you through physical contact.”

“Alicorns?” I asked as I pondered over the meaning of the word.

Celestia brought a finger to her lips as she looked like she was thinking of the best way to explain, “I suppose the best translation would be ‘goddess’.”

“Goddess?” I replied in disbelief as I stood up and walked over to the far wall to contemplate what she had told me, after a fleeting moment I turned back to them with a slight smile on my face, “You’re telling me that you two are goddesses?”

“Yes,” Luna replied with a nod of her head in confirmation, “My sister controls the sun and the day while I control the moon and the night skies.”

For some reason I found this statement hilarious as I started to laugh, maybe it was because of all the mind-boggling things I had heard and seen since I showed up in this world so why not add deities to the list. Starting out as just a chuckle deep in my throat my laughter soon grew until I was holding my sides and leaning against the wall to support myself so as to not fall over. I slowly began to regain my composure as I wiped a tear away from my eye, but one look back at the two women and I lost it again as I fell to my knees laughing in pure delight.

The two women continued to sit in silence waiting for me to stop laughing like a toddler. Celestia still had the same motherly smile on her face and almost seemed like she would join me in laughing at any moment, but Luna was anything but amused as she had her arms and legs crossed with a frown across her features.

“Is there something I said that amuses you?” I heard her say quite upset that I was making light of what she said.

As my laughing died down into slow giggles and the occasional cough to help clear my sore throat I stood back up and dusted off my knees. The saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine’ proved to be true for me as that outburst had cured me of any feelings of anxiety and fear that I may have had before. As I rested my hands on my hips I took one final deep breath to reset my calm demeanor as I turned to address the ‘goddesses’ once more.

“Sorry about that,” I apologized to them, “Just remembering how my people usually envision deities as old men with beards, so if you two are goddesses then I must have without a doubt joined the wrong religion.”

“Is that so?” Celestia said with a slight giggle.

“Yeah, but I’m still not entirely sure what you did and what was the big hurry. Not that I’m complaining mind you. It’s good to be able to talk with someone again. I guess you never really realize how important talking is until you can’t do it for a few days.”

“Even talking with one’s such as us?” Luna asked the tone of her voice made it sound like she was seemingly still upset at me for laughing at them, but the smug smirk on her face let me know otherwise.

I smirked right back at her, figuring that if I was willing to basically laugh at these goddesses to there face then might as well go for broke, “You two are in my head remember? So I would figure that you should already know what I’m thinking about when it comes to you two.” I told her as I tapped the side of my head and began to think up images of the two in the most carnal of context. If I was going to die because of this I was going to go down being myself, and after all they were the ones who came into my mind without permission.

The effect was almost immediate as Luna blushed deeply and averted her eyes from mine, finding a peculiar spot on the stone floor that looked particularly interesting, and even Celestia’s pearly cheeks held a rosy tint to them as I heard her mutter softly as her breathing increased, “I must remember that one.”

I let them dwell on the thoughts for a moment before something important came to mind about what Luna had said earlier, “So how long should this mind connection last?”

Celestia was the first one to look up at me with a start, seemingly distracted for some reason, although what it could have been I couldn’t possibly of imagined. Or could I? She began to speak as Luna continued to blush, “We are not entirely sure because no alicorn has ever merged their minds with that of a lesser mind, or anyone not of alicorn blood for that matter. I would imagine that the connection should fade away over the next few weeks and maybe even faster depending on our distance from each other. But in the end I can not say for sure.”

I had to pause for a moment to think about what she was telling me before I thought about her statement of merging with a lesser mind, “Wait a minute, did you just call me stupid?”

Celestia had to laugh at this, it wasn’t a dainty giggle but an actual full on laugh that rang through the cell like the sound of a bells. “Hardly, I do apologize, I guess I should have said ‘mortal’ mind instead. But the process has less to do with your actual intelligence as it does with your brain capacity. The merging process literally adds the capacity of our brains together for a brief moment forming a mental bond, but the risk arises in that even though your brain functions at a much lower capacity it may have still been too much for either of our brains to handle. That is why Luna merged with you as well so as to help even out the mental load.”

She paused for a moment when she saw that I was having a little bit of a hard time understanding the theory she was trying to explain to me. With a thoughtful look she began to explain again, “Think about like this. Imagine you have two cups of water. In one cup you have the water filled most of the way, while in the other it’s only filled a quarter of the way. Now imagine if you were to pour the cup that was only a quarter of the way full into the cup that was mostly full or even the other way around?”

“The cup could overfill.” I stated getting an idea at what she was trying to get at.

“Exactly, now lets add another cup that is mostly filled and then pour the cup that is filled a quarter of the way equally into the two other cups. There is more space for the water in the cup that is filled only partially to go into between the two cups than just one. So the load is shared and we had enough control to ensure that it was us who shared the load as opposed to your mind having to bear both of ours.”

“Okay I’m pretty sure I get it now.” I told them, the same principle applied to when you overtaxed any type of system, whether that system was a computer, a car motor, or even a person if you asked too much of it you ran the risk of it crashing. Yet that raised even more questions for me, “I’m guessing that’s why Xam couldn’t do the mind merging with me earlier, because it would be too much for her mind? But it raises the question of why you would risk yourself just to be able to talk to me in the first place? Couldn’t you have just waited and done it the old fashioned way? ”

“Not quite, Xamspona may very well have been able to perform the task had she known about it,” Celestia pointed out as she emphasized with the raising of a finger, "but unlike Luna and I, she was not born a pureblooded alicorn and instead has only ascended to alicornhood status about three years ago. Unfortunately, even after that amount of time she still has a few more years to go before the transformation has taken full effect. In the end she will be the same as I, Luna, her sister-in-law Empress Gehluli of the Crystal Empire, but for the moment you could say that her cup is still being filled.

“So yes she possibly could have performed the task as far as mental capacity, had she known about that ability, but with her body still maturing I am not sure she would have been able to keep it under control without running the risk of injury to either you or herself.”

“But that does bring us to our next topic of conversation, the urgency of needing to be able to talk with you.” Luna said as she seemed to have finally regained her poise, and I couldn’t help but also think that she was trying to direct the conversation away from my other questions. But I decided to let this slide for now to instead focus on the matter of me leaving this prison.

“And that would be why I’m in this jail cell right?” I said as the sisters nodded in unison before Celestia began to speak again.

“That would be correct. You are here because of your physical assault on Prince Blueblood in the halls of this very castle.”

“He’s not my prince. And prince or not he should learn not to pick fights he can’t win.” I told the pastel hair colored woman as I crossed my arms defensively in front of me and smiled a little at the memory of slamming the man in question to the ground.

“He is our nephew and Lord Regent of the province of Canterlot, where we are currently at, and as such he is in his full right to declare for your immediate execution, which he has. Only Luna and I, as rulers of all Equestria and its surrounding territories, hold more power and the ability to rescind this order.” She continued to tell me probably thinking that it would make me change my mind, but I held firmly in my resolve.

“I’m not apologizing if that’s what you’re looking for.” I told them, pausing for a moment to let that sink in before continuing, “He was saying something that seemed to upset Twilight and her friends, and when I tried to resolve the situation he slapped me like I was some kind of two-bit hooker. Excuse my use of metaphors.”

“Quite alright please continue.” Luna said motioning me with her hand for me to go on.

“Well where I come from if you’re going to hit someone, then it doesn’t matter who you are you better be willing to take the repercussions. So I threw him to the ground and proceeded to ask him ‘nicely’ to apologize to the girls, and that’s when one of your guards hit me in the head.”

Once I had finished my story the two sisters seemed to mentally contemplate my story amongst themselves for a moment as they looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes. I tried seeing if I could listen into their internal conversation but was unable to, whether from not knowing how to, or them being able to keep me out of their minds I wasn’t sure. So I was relegated to stand off on the sidelines while my very fate was deliberated upon. After a few particularly harrowing moments the sisters directed their attention to me as they stood from the cot and walked over to me, their bodies holding such elegance and bearing as they walked the short distance to me. They stopped in front of me before giving me a calm smile that seemed to ease my apprehension and a slight bow of their heads.

“Thank you for being honest with us.” Celestia spoke as she continued to smile, “Your story of the events matches those of the other witnesses who were there at the scene.”

I felt a weight lift from my shoulders as she said this. I couldn’t believe that I was going to get out of this with basically what amounted to a slap on the wrist. She must have either seen this on my face or used the link between us to read it from my thoughts as she spoke again letting me know that I wasn’t out of the clear yet.

“However, there is still the matter of you attacking a member of the royal family that needs to be answered for.” She stated as I swallowed nervously as my throat went dry, “Normally the sentence for such a crime is either death or life in prison. But we must take into account the fact that you were provoked into your actions, and there is also the matter of a fellow princess, certain other high ranking mares of her court, and even members of our own royal guard who vouch for you in your defense.

“So in light of this, my sister and I have decided that you punishment shall be to accompany us to our private dining hall and to join us and your saviors for dinner so we can hopefully figure out a way to return you to your home, post haste.”

At that I couldn’t contain my excitement any longer at not only having my charges dropped but them also willing to help me get home as I quickly lifted the goddesses in my powerful arms and began to spin around whooping merrily. The moment only lasted briefly though as I remembered who it was that I was squeezing against my chest and I quickly set their feet back on the stone floor, giving them a sheepish grin in apology. The two deities didn’t seem any worse for the wear other than a light blush on their cheeks and a small look of incredulity on their faces.

“Sorry about that” I said as I chuckled nervously, “Kind of got over excited there for a moment.”

“Quite alright,” the day goddess spoke as she reclaimed her serene appearance before her and Luna turned to walk out the door to my cell. Once they were in the hallway they noticed that I had not yet moved from my spot in the cell. Celestia gave me that same mischievous smile that I was quickly coming accustomed to associating with her, “Are you coming? Your punishment awaits.”

“Yes ma’am” Was my crisp reply and I fell in behind the monochromatic siblings, as they started down the hall again.
Once we had reached the door at the end of the hall a guard on the other side opened it for us to pass. As Celestia walked through the door she stopped on the other side of the frame and looked back over her shoulder at me.

“Oh, and Eric…” She stated as Luna passed through the door next to her.

“Yeah?”

“We can still read your thoughts.”

‘Damn.’

Gilzia/ Celestia
Pyre/ Luna
Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle

The walk through the castle was a quiet one as the royal sisters led me down a series of random halls, each one looking just like the one prior. As we passed through one of the castle's many courtyards I was amazed by the warm orange colors of the castle walls as the calcite crystals in the marble walls sparkled in the waning light of the afternoon sun. All the while the castle's tall towers cast their assuasive shadows across the surrounding city below like a constant reminder to the inhabitants that they were safe under the rule of their two benevolent rulers.

The servants and guards who we passed along the way stopped in their errands only long enough to bow low to their monarchs before continuing on with their duties. Yet as they passed I caught more than a few of them casting a sideways glance my way. I quickly came to the conclusion that word of my confrontation with the snotty Prince had spread through the castle's grapevine, and it seemed that with each subtle wink given to me by a guard or giggle from a passing group of maids that they didn't entirely disapprove of my course of action.

'It seems as though you have caused quite the stir amongst the servants, Eric,' I heard Luna's voice ring out in my mind. It still unnerved me a little to have another voice besides my own invading my mind, but I tried to not let it show on my features so as not to alert to anyone passing that something was amiss.

'I do apologize for that,' I replied back to her as I followed with my eyes a maid who passed by carrying a vase of flowers in front of her. 'It was not my original intention to disturb the workings of your home.'

'It is quite alright,' Celestia said as her gentle voice replaced Luna's in my mind. 'A little bit of variation is good every once in a while to break up the monotony of their daily lives.'

Even though she told me this I still felt like some sort of apology needed to be said. For it seemed that even though I had originally wished to remain largely anonymous in the castle, in the end, my little brawl in the hall had caused quite the ruckus. As much as the past few days had been more stressful then dealing with a group of 3-levels straight out of Technical School trying to spout out information to me like they knew what they were doing, these people shouldn't be blamed for the fate that had befallen me in fact most had done their best to help me in whatever way they could. Especially these two princesses who had possibly risked their very lives just to be able to give me the ability to communicate with them. All of these women had done so much just to help me and I couldn't even begin to express my gratitude to them...wait a minute.

“Uh excuse me...,” I spoke aloud so as to catch the two princess's attention, who both stopped and turned back to face me.

“Yes?” Celestia asked.

“You both said that you were forced to form this mind link with me because I'm not connected to this Magic of Harmony that everyone else is, right?”

“That is correct,” Luna answered with a nod of her head before I continued.

“Then does that mean that I can now talk with the others?” I asked trepidatiously, refering to the six women who had accompanied me.

“Unfortunately no,” Celestia answered as she turned fully towards me, “while most of the parameters of the bond we share with you is still unknown. We can tell for certain that you are still not connected to the Magic of Harmony so you are still not privy to its benefits.”

Well that really wasn't the answer I was looking to hear, “Oh... I see.”

Celestia must have noticed the downtrodden tone to my voice as she put forth an alternative, “But luckily there are options available to us now because of the bond.”

That raised my hopes a little, “Such as?”

“The first option would be to reconnect the bond so we can transfer the knowledge of our language to you, but this option carries the most risk associated with it because we do not know what could happen if it is reconnected. It could just make the bond permanent, if it is not already, or it could very possibly merge the three of our conscious into one unified personality comprising of all of our memories.”

“Yeah, let's stay away from that one for now. It didn't feel too good for me the first time,” I told her as I inwardly cringed at the memory of the pain, “What else?”

“Our next option is that being as Luna and myself now have the knowledge of your language we can cast a translation spell that works similar to the Magic of Harmony, giving whomever the recipient would be the same knowledge of your language as us, and would allow them to understand it without the risk associated with a mental connection.”

“That one sounds like it's a pretty good choice, but what's the downside?” I asked as Celestia took a breath before continuing.

“The downsides are that the pony must be willing to accept having the spell cast on them and it only works on an individual basis. Which brings us to option three.

“Being as my sister and I have the Magic of Harmony flowing through us the knowledge of your language is already weaving itself into the essence of the world, and in a few months every species in the world should be able to understand you. The problem comes because of the fact that you are disconnected from the Harmony of the world you will only still be able to hear the languages as they are spoken to you. So you would still have to learn our languages and our writing to understand everyone.”

I mulled over the options for a moment before I gave my reply, “Well it seems like there is really only one choice to make so I shall have to go with the third option, but if you two do not mind I would still like to personally express my gratitude to the others for their aid. That is if they would let me.”

“Of course.” Celestia replied with a curt not of her head before the two turned back around and we continued walking.

We continued on for a while in the same fashion as before as we passed through the maze of hallways, and I continued to look at my surroundings all the while taking note of the many tributes to the two celestial sisters. From tapestries that hung from the ceilings to the masterfully crafted stained glass windows that depicted the many feats of the sisters. From one that looked like they were defeating some 'thing' that I could only best describe as someone threw a bunch of animals in a blender and hit puree and that was what came out when it was finished. To one that showed them being given the crowns by a group of each of the different type of people I had seen so far and many others; a couple even included another alicorn like Luna and Celestia except she was black furred with blue starry hair and tail.

'It seems like your subjects truly do love the two of you.' I thought absentmindedly as we passed a window showing Xam and the others and the black colored alicorn from before, although Xam was missing her wings.

'Yes they do, and we care very deeply for each of our little ponies,' Celestia replied.

'Ponies?' I asked confused that maybe it was a word that had a different meaning to the one I was familiar with.

'Yes that is what our species are called,' Luna was the one to reply this time, 'Our subject are broken into one of three tribes: the unicorns which are the most directly connected with magic, the pegasus who's innate magical abilities allows them to fly and affect the weather, and the earth bound ponies who's connection with magic is more subtle allowing them to feel the flow of magic in the planet itself and grants them great physical strength.'

'Huh. Interesting,' I said as I took in the information as we passed another window., 'It's nice to see that there is a place where such a large portion of the populace seems to approve of their leaders.'

Luna glanced ever so slightly back in my direction, 'Oh, and this is odd to you? Do you not do the same for your rulers?'

I had to chuckle a little at the question which caused a guard to raise and eyebrow in my direction as I passed, 'Well where I come from we don't have a ruler, kind of got rid of him a couple hundred years ago. Instead we have elected bodies of government chosen from among the people by the people to decide the course of action for the country. As far as how good of a job they do let's just say that a lot of people do not think that they have been doing the greatest job as of late.'

'Then why not simply have them removed?' she asked, obviously confused at why the American people hadn't done something which seemed so simple to her.

'I don't claim to be an expert on the whole political process but I can say that … it's complicated,' I thought to the night princess as I scratched my stubbly cheek with a finger, stopping as another question came to mind, 'I do have a question though but I do not wish for it to sound rude.'

'Nonsense Eric, what is your question?' Celestia's voice rang softly through my head as the two sister's stopped again to turn and face me.

'Are either of you married?'

'No we are not,' Luna replied with a warm smile that turned as mischievously as her sister's. 'Are you trying to propose?'

'What! No,no,no' I panicked quickly as I waved my hands in front of me as the sister's smiles grew. 'Don't get me wrong I think both of you are great marrying material, I just meant that both of you are rulers of this nation, what was it called... Equestria?' they both nodded, 'But both of you are princesses? Is there no king or queen?'

'There has never been a King of Equestria but our mother, Queen Harmonia, was the creator of this world and passed the right to rule onto Luna and myself.' Celestia explained.

'I'm sorry for your loss,' I told them expressing my condolences to the two but even though Luna looked a little saddened, Celestia raised a hand to ease my concerns.

'Oh you misunderstand Eric, she is not dead. As a goddess she is incapable of dying, at least in the literal sense of the word. Before my sister and I came to rule she sealed herself away to help defeat a threat that was plaguing the land at the time.'

'Sealed herself away?' I thought to myself as I tried to grasp the concept, 'And how long ago was this, if you don't mind me asking?'

'Approximately three thousand six hundred and twelve years ago.' Celestia replied simply.

'Three thousand six hundred and twelve years?' I replied in disbelief, 'And how long have you two been on the throne?'

'For the better part of three thousand five hundred years.' Luna answered.

I stood there in shock as I still tried to wrap my mind around that big of a number. In human terms they had come into power at the end of the Bronze Age and had ruled alone absolutely for that entire time. I couldn't possibly imagine myself as a pharaoh from antiquity leading my kingdom through the millenniums up to the modern age. The idea of all those countless citizens who would have been counting on my judgment to lead them to prosperity was overwhelming to think about. A feat that in itself was surely impossible for any earthly ruler to do for any amount of time without ending up on the pointy end of a spear outside the city gates, and the fact that these two had done so and still seemed to garner the love and respect of their subjects was a tribute to their sucess.

Yet at the same time having to be those unshakeable towers of perfection that the country has looked to for longer than anyone could remember. Always being the same while the country continued to change never ending with each passing generation. To only have each other to rely upon throughout eternity watching all who are close to you pass in the blink of an eye. Never being able to truly be close with anyone unless the facade be broken, or heaven forbid the thought of them loosing each other to have to face those challenges alone. It honestly made it all seem...so...lonely.

“It was.” I heard Celestia say aloud softly in a distant voice.

Even though it was spoken at just above a whisper in volume, in the quiet hallway it carried a heavy weight with it as it echoed off the walls. Looking up at the two sisters I immediately admonished my wayward thoughts and at forgetting about the parameters of the bond we now shared however temporary it may be. Their regal bearing held fast but in the almost melancholy look their eyes held I could see a deep sadness brewing. Knowing that I had been the cause of these two women's downtrodden mood, however unintentional it was, knotted my stomach tighter than a ball of snakes,

Not wanting to see the women upset and wanting to apologize for my stupidity I gently wrapped them in my arms as I heard them let out a small gasp at my actions. Immediately I thought I had gone too far yet again in my assumptions, here I was holding the two most powerful beings in the land right in the middle of their castle where anybody could pass and see us. The thought of letting go crossed my mind before I felt an arm from each of the princesses wrap around my chest.

'I'm sorry Celestia and Luna, I truly am. I did not mean for my foolish internal ramblings to upset you. I'm not used to having my thoughts being brodcasted further than the depths of my own subconscious.' I released the two as I looked them in the eye. 'So please accept my deepest apologies.'

The two stood there in silence meeting my gaze before I saw Luna look down momentarily before looking back at me and gave me a sad smile.

'It is alright Eric, you did not know. Besides it happened a long time ago so do not fret,' and with that both of their royal masks were back on as Luna stepped away from me. 'Come, the others are waiting.'

With that she swiftly turned away and began walking down the hallway again. As I watched her walk away I still felt a little upset at myself, even though she may have said that it was okay I couldn't shake the feeling she was still hurting over whatever it was that had upset them. Yet it was not my place to delve into other people's past uninvited, much less the lives of deities.

It was then that I felt a pressure on one of my hands and I realized that it was Celestia giving it a reassuring squeeze. As I went to release my grip she tightened hers as she placed her other hand on top of mine and gave me a warm smile.

'Do not worry about it Eric,' I heard her voice ring out in my head. 'She will be fine in time, fortunately that is one thing us alicorn's have plenty of.'

I gave her a smile in return as I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze in return before I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat ring out in my head. Turning towards the only likely culprit I saw the night princess standing there with her hands down by her sides clenched into fist and a frown on her face.

'You know sister that I can hear you even if you are only talking to Eric?'

'Really?' Celestia replied as she looked back over her shoulder to her sister before releasing my hand from hers and shooting me a coy smile, 'It appears that we all still have things to learn about this bond.'

With that she released her grip on my hand and walked over to her sister leaving me momentarily perplexed at the meaning behind her words.

Deeper into the castle they led me through the halls and up spiraling staircases till we came to a towering set of wooden doors. The guards posted outside the door struck me as a little odd because they almost seemed to be the exact opposite of the other guards that I had seen so far.

The two were a pair of gray males which in itself wasn't too big of a thing because since my arrival to this city I had seen a decent amount of male guards in both white and gray coats and all the different races that the sisters had told me of. But while the other guards looked like some golden Roman legion, these two seemed more like a pair of Greek hoplites from the very pits of Tartarus itself. From their glowing yellow cat-like eyes to their black leathery bat-like wings and their shiny iron armor. All in all they were a very imposing sight.

'They are a rare breed of Vamponies,' I heard Luna announce in my mind proudly, 'I came upon them during an early quest deep in the western mountains before my sister and I came to rule Equestria. They are a nocturnal breed and once they found out that I raised the moon they devoted themselves to my protection. Since that time they have served as my Lunar Guard to help augment the Royal Guard in protecting the castle during the night.'

'Interesting,' I replied as one of the guards opened the doors for us to pass.

Through the doorway was a small dining hall that was, well, smaller than I was expecting considering the size of all the other rooms I had passed through so far in the castle. I guess even the term dining “hall” would have been a stretch considering that the room was probably no more than thirty feet by sixty feet with what looked like a twelve foot ceiling and was in the shape of a semicircle, but even it's smaller size didn't take away from it's grandeur and class. The centerpiece of the room was a ornately carved rectangular dining table that looked to be about twelve feet in length and appeared to be made from some kind of mahogany judging by the reddish hue in the wood. Nestled around the table were fourteen chairs of equal craftsmanship as the table and on the left side of the table sat the women who had been my saving graces during my time here.

Nestled above the table was a glowing crystal chandelier of such high quality that I could not make out what held up the gems nor what made them glow as they seemed to float in formation in mid-air. To our left running parallel to the table was the flat wall which held a roaring fireplace with a granite hearth and mantle that was held up by twin legs carved into the shape of what appeared to be a minotaur. On the same wall at the far side of the room was a single white door that looked to be made for the wait staff to the princesses and any guest they may have been entertaining. The curved wall to the right was made up of a series of french doors with sheer white curtains which lightly billowed in the breeze from the center set of doors that was set open to the afternoon air. Past the glass doors was a balcony that extended out from the room around fifteen feet and held a small silver patio table with two chairs for more intimate meals.

As the others saw us enter they stood up from the table and all but Xam gave a small bow to the royal sisters, although I could see that Xam seemed to want to as well. The sisters returned the greeting and began to welcome them in their native tongue, occasionally the others would ask something back and the pink one, who was named Tupomi T'mi, seemed exceptionally eager as her constant smile grew larger and she began to bounce excitedly in her seat the more the conversation went along. Back and forward the conversation went until I saw a gentle nod in approval by all the members of the group, even shy Paxxila nodded in agreement with a small smile on her gentle face. Xam seemed particularly eager as she began to ramble on about something before she was calmed down by a word from Etpinego.

At that point Celestia and Luna turned to me as Celestia spoke up, “They have all agreed to partake in the translation spell that we talked about earlier, but first we must attend to our duties.”

“Of course,” I told them as I gave a curt bow of my head, “and thank you for the opportunity.”

They returned the bow before they turned and headed out onto the balcony, leaving me in the room with the other six women. As I felt their eyes on me now that the princesses were no longer in the room I became a little nervous for some reason, and as I turned to look at them I was nearly given a heart attack as Tupomi suddenly appeared next to me giggling like a school girl as she wrapped her arms around one of mine, squeezing it tight against her. The others seemed to protest at this as they all seemed to say something to her, to which Tupomi replied in an almost whining tone as she pouted and bounced on the balls of her feet yet she eventually let go of my arm but not backing away from me.

Luckily the change in the lighting drew all of our attentions out towards the balcony as I watched Celestia and Luna perform a ritual of some sort. Celestia was facing towards the setting sun while Luna faced the opposite horizon, both of them mirroring each others movements as they stood with eyes closed and wings and arms outstretched wide. I watched the horns on their heads begin to glow, Celestia's a golden yellow, Luna's a deep navy, softly at first but gradually they grew in intensity till the light would rival the brightest LED flashlight and I had to look away from them. At that time my gaze was drawn to the setting sun as it's light brightened ever so little in the waning twilight before finally setting below the
mountain skyline in the distance.

For the briefest of moments the world was plunged into utter darkness as a stray wind blew across the balcony at the loss of the sun's heat. Yet as soon as it was there it was gone as a soft blue light appeared from Luna's side of the balcony as the moon rose above the sea that made up the visible horizon beyond the distant shores of this land. The glowing orb slowly rose into the sky until it came to a stop a quarter along it's journey in the inky black darkness. By this time Celestia had lowered her arms and wings down to rest by her side and the light from her horn had diminished, but Luna was not done yet as she began to sway like a conductor leading a orchestra. With each sweep of her hands and nod of her head stars would begin to appear in the sky. Sometimes one at a time sometimes whole constellations, each one of varying intensity depending on how much effort was put into the movement. After a few moments the sky was literally littered in celestial bodies and with one final sweep of her arms in front of her the cobalt blue ribbon of a galaxy flowed across the sky. The sisters ended the ritual facing each other as the tips of their horns touched each others and the glow disappeared into nothingness and their gaze met each others as they opened their eyes again and Celestia bowed her head to Luna who kept her head held high.

As Celestia finished her bow their eyes met again and they walked back inside to the rest of us.

“That was amazing,” I said still more than a little dumbstruck at the display I had seen, “What was that?”

The sister's smiled at me as Luna answered me, “That is how my sister and I exchange our roles of leadership, by the rise and fall of our sun and moon. As the sun rises Celestia is the absolute voice of power in the land, but as the moon takes control of the sky so also do I take control of the throne.”

“So you really do control the sun and moon?” I asked as I held new found respect for the women before me.

“We are the sun and moon,” Celestia corrected me before gesturing to herself and Luna, “these are merely physical vessels we have constructed to hold a portion of our true selves.”

“Amazing.”

Luna giggled slightly, “Indeed, but enough about us I believe there are some mares who are eager to finally be able to talk with you, and we are all wanting to find out more about you and where you come from.”

“Of course.” I said as I stepped aside to let them pass as they approached the other girls who now stood in a line.

Luna and Celestia stood on either side of the line facing each other as they said something to the girls, to which they replied one by one, probably confirming their choice I assumed. Then I saw the sister's horns light up again but this time at a softer intensity than before as a similar light surrounded the girls equally. The process seemed absolutely painless as the girls showed no signs of discomfort. After a few moments the light began to diminish and I heard Xam begin to speak as the last of the golden light surrounding her disappeared.

“Lipos Eric, que reqi mo Wypujil Xamlight Sparkle and it is nice to finally be able to talk to you.”

Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
Tupomi T'mi/ Pinkie Pie
Etpinego/ Applejack
Vivmay/ Rarity
Vemsa Hewl/ Rainbow Dash
Paxxila/ Fluttershy
Gilzia/ Celestia
Pyre/ Luna

“Lipos Eric, que reqi mo Wypujil Xamlight Sparkle and it is nice to finally be able to talk to you.”

I gave her a warm smile and a simple nod of my head, happy that I was finally going to be able to thank them for all they had done, “Yes it is, an-”

“Hi there!” Tupomi energetically shouted in my face, almost scaring the shit out of me, before she continued on, “Oh, my you have noooo idea how hard it was not being able to talk to you, because I said hi to you back in the field but I couldn't say anything else because you were talking all funny like, and then you got all grumpy-like because of those meany guards didn't let you leave, but I'm glad you didn't leave because then I wouldn't be able to talk to you now and be your friend, well I guess I should ask you if you want to be my frie- mmph mmm mmpph pphmh.”

My saving grace from the pink chatterbox came from an orange colored fist that somehow fit entirely into the pink woman's mouth, but probably the most amazing thing was that Tupomi was still trying to talk around the appendage without even missing a beat.

“Sorry about that Eric,” Etpinego said with a cute southern twang in her voice. “Poor darlin's been keeping that bottled up for the past few days.”

“mmpphh mm mph,” The pink woman annoyingly mumbled around the imposing fist as she rolled her eyes.

I had to laugh at the spectacle before me as Tupomi continued to try and convey her case to Etpinego from around her hand, as said woman grinned at the effectiveness of her mouth plug. The sound of my laughter got their attentions as I held my hands up in an attempt to ease the situation.

“It's quite alright Etpinego I can relate to the feeling of not being able to talk with someone.” I told them as I saw the curly haired woman smile brightly even with the object in her mouth. Etpinego gave a grin and a shrug of her shoulders before she removed her hand with an audible pop.

“Alright sugar but don't say I didn't warn y'ah nun.”

Tupomi recovered quickly as she slipped up next to me and hugged my arm again as she smiled ear to ear, “Gee thanks Eric you don't know how mean that is when I get cut off like that. You know what I mean.”

“Yeah I gu-”

“I mean you're trying to talk to someone so that you can be friends and then someone cuts you off, you know?”

“Kind o-”

“And then they just talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, and t-”

“Tupomi!” I said a little louder to get her attention, the woman in question paused in mid jump and gently floated back to the ground as she smiled cheerfully at me. I stared at her a little befuddled at the feat she had just performed.

“Yeah Eric?” she chirped happily as she clasped her hands behind her back and cutely leaned over ever so slightly towards me.

“Yes I understand what you mean, and I do hope we can become friends. At the same time I know that y'all probably have a lot you want to ask me. Because I know there's a few things I would like to ask y'all,” as I said that I saw each of them nod a little, except Twi-I mean Xam, who was almost hopping as much as Tupomi was moments ago.

“But,” I said before anyone had a chance to say anything and I raised a finger to make my point, “I just ask that you allow me to keep using your real names as opposed to the translated ones. I think it'll make it a little easier for me as I begin to learn your language.”

Tupomi waved off my concern as she blew a raspberry, “pffbt, Of course you can call us by our names silly billy. What else would you call me? Pinkie Pie? Oooo! I love that name, I want to change my mind!” she said as she grabbed the collar of my blouse and began to shake me.

“No,” Vivmay said, causing Tupomi to stop joggling my marbles, to my great relief, “I believe that we should try and help dear Eric here adjust to our world however we can. Although I do quite like the sound of my name, 'Rarity.'” She said as she wistfully said her name as she stared out into space for a moment before coming back to reality, “ Has such a nice ring to it, don't you think?”

“Aww alright,” Tupomi said a little dejected as I saw her whole bubbly mood seem to deflate a little, but only for the briefest of moments before she was back to her usual self, “But you have to promise to let me throw you the biggest 'Welcome to Equus' party ever whenever you come to visit our town. Deal?”

I had to chuckle at her upbeat mood, but it was kind of hard not to be happy around her with how friendly she was as I shook her hand, “Deal.”

“Woohoo!” The pink woman shouted in victory as she bounced back over to the others.

With that I turned my attention to the princesses, “ I would also like to request the same for you as well if you don't mind. I know that Celestia, your name is Gilzia, but I don't believe I ever caught your name Luna.”

“My name is Pyre.” Luna said simply with a curt nod of her head which I returned gratefully.

“Pyre,” I said trying the new name out , “Thank you, and I also want to thank all of you for all that you have done for me so far. Even though I may have been a little difficult sometimes.”

“Aw shucks,” Etpinego said as she gave me a firm pat on the back, “twern't nothin' to it, especially after you helped me in that tussle with them timberwolves.”

She confused me momentarially as I recalled the incident in the forest, “Timberwolves? You mean the azcidi?”

“Yup, them'd be the ones sugarcube.” she replied happily.

I returned her smile, “Yes I would like to discuss the events of my arrival until now. Who knows maybe it might help shed a little light on why I'm here.

“But first let me reintroduce myself while I have a chance, my name is Eric Raymond Broussard. I am a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force, where I have served for the past ten years, and I am very glad to meet all of you.”

“Welcome to Equestria, Eric Broussard,” I heard Gilzia say from over by the table as she stood by one of the chairs at the end and gestured to the other seats, “we hope to learn more about you during our dinner.”

With that we each took our seats with Gilzia taking the seat at the end farthest from the door we came in while Pyre took the end closest. The girls took their seat on the side of the table to Gilzia's right with the fireplace to their back, with Xam taking the one closest to the solar princess. Followed by Vemsa Hewl, then Vivmay, then Etpinego and Tupomi, and finally Paxxila who sat to Pyre's left. I took up a seat in the middle on the opposite side as I prepared to face the firing squad that I was sure to come.

“Well Eric, as our guest I would like to let you know that our kitchen can prepare for you just about anything you may want.” Pyre said as everyone looked towards me wondering what I would ask for.

At that moment Xam must have thought that it was necessary to offer up suggestions as she began to excitedly ramble off different types of entrees and she scribbled away in the same notebook from breakfast, “Yes Eric what is it that your species likes to eat? Maybe you would like a lily souffle or perhaps a garden salad with a light oil dressing, what about something simple like a daisy sandwich.”

“Well as tasty as all that sounds, minus the flower part, what I could really go for is some protein. What kind of meats do y'all have here?” Yet as I asked them their expressions seemed to be mixed between worry and curiosity.

“Meat? So what are you, like some kind of predator?” I heard Vemsa ask me as I watched her blue wings flutter a little.

“Well yes,” I told her plainly, “where I come from we are the dominant predators.”

“Well you don't look like much of a predator to me,” was her reply as she crossed her arms as if to prove a point, before continuing., “Some of my griffon friends look a lot more terrifying than you do. You don't even have any claws or fangs or anything.”

Part of me wondered briefly if it was the greatest idea to be able to talk with Vemsa considering our recent 'disagreements', but in the end if I was going to co-exist with these 'ponies' then I was going to have to let them know more about me and that included from ones who didn't like me. Especially from ones who didn't like me.

“No I don't have any claws and our fangs are fairly small, relatively speaking, in regards to most other predators. But that isn't what made us the top predator. What put us on the top was our brain power.” I told her as I rested my elbows on top of the table and interlaced my fingers in front of my face.

“So your a bunch of eggheads?” She asked in a bored tone, almost sounding disappointed with my answer.

“Not all of us. I have met plenty of humans who I've wondered how they've survived as long as they had without getting themselves killed. Mainly it was our ability to think abstractly at a problem and usually come up with some sort of tool that would help us overcome our physical limitations to help us solve it.”

“Yeah like what?” Vemsa asked, challenging me to come up with an answer that would impress her.

“Well... take hunting for example,” I replied as I rolled my hand absentmindedly as I thought up what I thought was a good example, “human's ancestors had to survive in a world where they were not the toughest predator on the block, kind of like today. But by using their brains they quickly rose up to the top of the predator ladder.

“They created fire to warm themselves at night and light their surroundings to help scare off other bigger predators. In order to hunt the larger more dangerous prey they created atlatls that gave them a longer reach than they would normally, and made spear points and tools from stone and bone that was sharper than any set of claws or teeth,” At that time I noticed a couple of my audience members seemed a little disturbed by my little history lesson so I decided to change the topic quickly.

“So to answer your original question a little better, yes I am a predator but to be more precise I am an omnivore meaning that most of my diet does consist of vegetables and fruits and such, but I still require that steady intake of protein to keep my body healthy. But if it is against the law to eat meat in your country I shall do my best to get my protein source from some other means.”

“No the consumption of meat is not against our laws, for there are many different species that are carnivore by nature that call Equestria their home. Although unfortunately our stores are not usually packed with much in the manner of meat unless we are expecting dignitaries who require it like you do, but you are welcome to what we do have,” Gilzia said as she got my attention., “ I shall have our griffon chef Gustav, come in so as to discuss what is available so we can find you a suitable meal.”

“Thank you Gilzia, you are most kind, “ I told her with a small bow of my head in thanks, which she returned as she rung a little bell and a maid came in and bowed to her, “Gustav? That sounds a lot like a similar French name from the planet I'm from.”

“You mean Prench, darling.” I heard Vivmay say as she brushed a stray curl away from her face., “Chef Gustav was trained in Prance, where only the best cooks go to learn.”

“Prance? That brings something to mind that I've been meaning to ask. I've noticed a lot of similarities between things in your world and things from my world. Like Prance for instance. In my world there is a country called France where, just like your Prance, it is a place known worldwide for things like cooking and food. Now I'm all for believing in a few random coincidences as just that, coincidences, but with as many as I've been able to see so far I'm starting to think that there has to be more to it.”

“I believe my sister and I should be able to answer that, “ Gilzia said as we all turned our gaze to her, as she dismissed the maid and then turned her full attention to us before she continued. “Long ago before my sister and I came to be, even before the birth of this world, there where two beings who ruled the cosmos in peace. One was our mother Queen Harmonia and the other was an old and ancient god who's name is lost to the sands of time. Together they wished to create a world where all of their children could grow and exist together in peace.

“The world they decided upon was new and untapped, perfect for their utopia to thrive and thrive it did. For a time the children grew and evolved together and all was good in the world, but it was not to last.”

“What happened?” Paxxila's meek voice asked.

“One of the old god's previous children grew jealous of the new world and his younger siblings. So he took advantage of one of the gifts that was bestowed upon the children, the gift of self choice. He went to his siblings and tricked them, it is unknown how he did so but it is known that it caused them to become cursed. The old god, angry at what had happened, banished the older child but could not bring himself to destroy his children because he loved them so. Even after they began killing the other children and the curse began to spread into the hearts of the other children; our mother went before the old god and begged for him to stop them but he still couldn't do it.

“Eventually our mother could stand by no longer and gathered her children to her to lead them away to a place where they could be safe from the danger of the cursed children. So through a portal she lead them to this world, but even on a new world the effects of the curse lingered in her children in the form of the disharmony that existed before the appearance of Discord. Luckily with his imprisonment by the Elements of Harmony the lingering effects of the curse were all but eradicated. Still the bond between our two worlds has never fully closed and occasionally objects from the old world makes its way over to ours.”

“This however has worked in our favor,” Pyre added as the maids came back in carrying trays of fruits and other assorted appetizers. The maids bowed to Pyre and the others after they sat down the trays and excused themselves from the room again, “for we have been able to use these items to help continue to advance our own society. Every facet of our citizen's lives has been affected by the artifacts that find their way through, from the dam by Ponyville that provides power to even our language.”

What the sisters were saying was intriguing to say the least, even if it did sound a little on the science fiction side to me. Yet I had no reason so far to doubt what they had told me, that and my being here in itself was proof enough.

“So you're telling me that your people came from my world, and that one of these bonds that exist between our worlds is what brought me here?” I asked as I grabbed a shiny red apple and took a bite, savoring the crunchy sweetness as I chewed it in my mouth.

“We believe so, yes.” Gilzia said as another figure walked into the room.

He was a tall man, at least by the standards that I had seen so far, coming up to roughly my height if I had to take a guess. He was dressed in a white chef's double-breasted jacket that came down to about halfway down his thighs with a matching toque resting upon his head. Like many other people I'd seen he didn't wear any pants, instead his legs were covered in smooth tawny colored fur and ended in a set of paws. Swishing from under his jacket as he made his way over to Gilzia was a thin tail covered in the same brownish-orange colored fur and tipped with a tuft of bushy brown hair.

His hands weren't really hands, not like a human would know them, instead they resembled more like a set of eagle's feet as the scaly talons clasped each other once he had reached the princess. His face was a blend of fowl and man as he leaned in close so as to not miss what Gilzia had to say to him. The whole of his face was covered in a layer of short white feathers and he had no ears that I could see of. As he and her conversed I saw him look my way and I was reminded of a barn owl as I stared into his black eyes. Where there should have been a mouth and nose was replaced with a short yellow beak that was capped by a pair of long wispy black feathers that reminded me of a mustache. I was so transfixed by his appearance that it wasn't until I heard Gilzia speak to me through our link that I came to.

'Eric? Are you alright? Gustav has said that we have a selection of fish to choose from and chicken.'

'Yes I'm sorry, I spaced out there for a moment. I'll have the chicken please, if you do not mind.'

'Very well,' and with that she turned and whispered something to Gustav and with that he gave another bow and was on his way to prepare my meal I assumed.

“What about the mirror at the Crystal Empire?" Xam said bringing my attention back to the previous conversation before the entrance of the chef, “Couldn't we use that to send Eric back home?”

“Perhaps and that may be our most viable option right now, “Pyre said as she nodded slowly in agreement. “But because of Eric's immunity to magic there is no guarantee that he will be able to pass through. Plus we are not even entirely sure that the portal leads back to his world, more research would have to be done on the matter before we are able to take that risk.”

“What mirror?” I asked, eager to learn of anything that might be able to send me home.

“To the north, in the Crystal Empire, is a mirror that leads to another world and was built many years ago by a tyrannical ruler called King Sombra. But we have yet to figure out it's original purpose, yet we believe he was trying to tap into the rift between our worlds so as to help spread his dark influence.” Gilzia said as I saw her eyebrows furrow momentarily at some distant memory before she continued.

“The portal opens every thirty-six lunar cycles, unfortunately it already opened not but five cycles ago.”

“So that means that we can’t use it for almost another three years right?” I said to no one in particular as I thought about being stuck here for the next three years. “Is there any other way?”

“None that we really know of that don't require magic. The rift between our worlds is still mostly a mystery to us, because only someone as powerful as Queen Harmonia was able to form it to begin with,” Xam explained to me, she seemed concerned at my plight and I took a little comfort in knowing that I wasn't going to be alone in this journey. “That is what my friends and I were doing in the forest that we found you in originally, we were trying to collect more information about the rift and see what artifact managed to come through.

“It wasn't until we gave up our search for the day that we noticed that Etpinego hadn't returned and it was then that the locals told us that they had seen azcidi's roaming through the area. This was disturbing news because they are only found in the Everfree Forest and only heightened the danger of the situation. It was when we were about to go into the forest and look for Etpinego that Vemsa saw you two coming out. Unfortunately we were so worried for her safety that we jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

“It's okay Xam,” I told her waving off her concern, “water under the bridge as they say where I'm from, but that kind of raises another question as to what am I going to do till then? I'm sure I'll get a job but I don't know how to go about the process here in your country being as I'm a foreigner to your world.”

“I believe we can help with that,” Pyre said from her end of the table as she levitated a grape to her lips, “My sister and I shall have a word with the Minister of Immigrations in the morning about procuring a permit.”

“Thank you, both of you,” I said as I gave a curt bow to the two of them. “Now I just need to find a job.”

“Well what did y'ah do in your old world? Y'ah mentioned somethin' about servin' in somthin' called tha United States Air Force, maybe y'ah could do something similar?” Etpinego suggested.

“Yes I meant to ask what exactly that was?” Xam said as she chimed in, “Is it somekind of military unit? I would imagine that it is being as you are a sergeant of some sort.”

“That would be correct Xam. The United States Air Force is a branch of the military of the country that I come from. It's main sector of concern is air, space, and cyberspace dominance in protecting the people of the United States and it's interest abroad across the planet. During my time in I have worked as a mechanic on the RC-135 aircraft.” I told her as I finished my apple, setting the core on my plate, looking around the table I saw most of them looked at me like I had just spoken to them in a foreign language again. All except the princesses that is, the two sisters looked at me with calm attentive smiles while Xam continued to write down notes furiously as she flipped another page with her magic.

“So your people have control over the skies and the realm beyond the planet?” Pyre asked with great interest in her voice, “Have you traveled to other worlds?”

“Yes and no, we have sent probes to our neighbor planets in our local solar system and a few have made their way outside the system. Through telescopes like the Hubble we are able to see things outside our own galaxy to the very edge of our known universe. But as far as human's actually going to other places we have only been to our moon, but the last time we visited there was I think going on forty years ago.”

“Your species has gone to the moon? Why the moon?” Pyre continued with the line of questions seemingly amazed at our accomplishment but confused on our destination for some reason.

“Well during that time my country was in a stalemate of power with another nation that was known as the Cold War. During that time they would each try and outdo the other in political moves and technological might to prove their dominance over the other, and one area that gained a lot of publicity was the exploration of space.”

“But why space?” Vemsa asked, “What's so exciting about space?”

“Well humanity as a race have always been a highly curious species. We have always wondered about the unknown, in fact it was just such curiosity that led to the discovery of the land that would become the United States. And at that time being as we had already covered the globe in our explorations the next step was to go beyond our own planet. So back and forth we would go until one of our countries would reach the ultimate goal of putting a man on another celestial body, and being as the moon was the closest and most prevalent figure in the night sky it seemed like the most logical solution.”

“So who won the race?” The rainbow-haired woman asked, actually now interested in my tale.

“We did,” I said with a cocky smile that she returned. “Strapped to a three hundred sixty-three foot tall rocket , weighing around six and a half million pounds and producing almost eight million pounds of thrust we launched three astronauts from Earth at a speed in excess of sixty-one hundred miles per hour into space, and after three days in space they finally landed on the moon which was broadcast for the whole world to see. At that time the whole human race celebrated as one at our greatest accomplishments.”

“That sounds so awesome!” Vemsa said as she jumped out of her seat jubilantly, before she noticed what she had done and sat back down in her seat blushing slightly.

“Indeed it does,” Pyre said equally impressed as Vemsa, just in a more refined manor. “And you work on things similar to these?”

“No, I don't work on rockets or in the space career fields, my father is just big into astronomy so growing up he would talk about stuff like that as we would look through his telescope at night. I work on aircraft, more specifically big aircraft.”

“Aircraft? You mentioned them earlier, what exactly are those?” Gilzia asked as a group of servants came in carrying plates of steaming food.

My mouth watered and I seemed to zone out as my nose picked up the heavenly smell of grilled chicken. I tried to keep my stomach in check as it growled at the thought of getting a good meal in it since this morning. The servant sat my plate down and I saw that Chef Gustav had prepared a creamy chicken dish that was set upon a bed of what looked like linguine pasta. Taking my fork I stabbed it into the dish and brought my mouth, and once the food hit my palate I was hard pressed to not let out a moan in satisfaction. I thought I had tasted good food before but nothing compared to this, and as much as I wanted to shovel the whole plate down my gullet I wanted to savor each... creamy... flavorful... bite.

'Are you alright Eric?' I heard Gilzia's voice ring out in my head knocking me out of my food euphoria.

Opening my eyes I saw that everyone was staring at me, watching me make a scene over the heavenly food before me. Swallowing the bite in my mouth I felt my cheeks warm a little in embarrassment.

“Sorry, about that. Guess I didn't realize how hungry I really was,” I apologized to them before turning my attention to Gilzia. “This food is amazing, my compliments to the chef.”

“I'm sure that he will be glad to hear that,” Gilzia replied with a smile as I heard a suppressed giggle come from a couple of the girls and saw Gilzia's smile grow a little into a sexy grin. “Now about my question from before?”

“Question?” I muttered to myself as I quickly had to think about what was said prior to the food being brought, “Oh yeah, aircraft. Well they are pretty much as the name implies. They are heaver than air machines that use wings to provide lift and fly.”

“Flying machines?” Xam said as she stopped writing in her notebook and looked up at me, “How do they create the lift? Do the wings flap like a Pegasus' or a bird's?”

“Same shape and principles of lift from what I've seen of all of your wings, “ everyone with wings at the table seemed to blush a little when I said this for some reason, “but they don't flap like your wings to make lift. Instead they rely on an engine of some sort to either push or pull it through the air.”

“Incredible, and what do you use these aircraft for?” Xam asked earnestly, eager to find out more about the technology of my world.

“Well they are used for many things but for the most part it's carrying varying types of cargo vast distances, but that's in the civilian sector. The military sector however aircraft have become platforms for observation and both offensive and defensive means against any types of enemies.”

“Intriguing,” Pyre said softy from her seat, “do you think that you could build us one of these aircraft?”

I had to honestly think about that for a second, sure I had built model planes growing up and even the occasional R/C. But even that along with my knowledge of aircraft mechanics did I know if I could actually build a plane that would actually work.

“If I was to be honest with you Pyre I would have to say no, but I believe that I have enough knowledge to help y'all build one of your own.”

“Wonderful!” the night princess said as she gave me a wide smile and clapped her hands together in front of her, “We shall begin as soon as possible.”

“Um... excuse me.. uh... Eric,” came Paxxila's soft voice.

“Yes Paxxila?” I replied eager to actually hear from the quiet woman.

“Well I was wondering, um... if you don't mind telling us that is I mean, why don't you refer the princesses by their title?” she asked as she fidgeted with her hands while peeking at me occasionally from behind her pink bangs.

“Well,” I began as I rubbed my chin in thought, “I consider all of them my friends and it seems odd for me to refer to them by a title when amongst other friends, but with Gilzia and Pyre it probably has more to do with the fact that our bond makes it weird to call them that when we're so connected.”

“Wait,” Xam said as she put down her quill and narrowed her eyes at me, “what bond?”

Pyre/ Luna
Etpinego/ Applejack
Granny Patzo/ Granny Smith
Etpitivi/ Applebloom
Wraspeoji/ Snowflake/ Bulk Biceps
Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle

There are few things I treasure more than my sleep, things like watching a sunrise from a porch as I sit in a rocking chair and wind down after a rough night of work with a cold beer, or laying down with a good woman. Yes these are great things that should be treasured but right now some fucking bird outside my window has decided that it's time for me to get up as its shrill calls pierced my state of slumber more and more with each agonizing chirp. As I tried to drown out the bird with my pillow, I began to entertain the thought of starting my day off with some fresh poultry. But a thought briefly passed through my head of the possibility of this bird being one of Paxxila's woodland friends and as aggravating as it was I didn't wish to make the poor girl cry because I had strangled one of her friends. I swear the look that girl would give you when she's about to cry would make anyone feel like a heel.

Frustrated, I blindly fumbled with my hand over the side of my bed until I felt the rough leather of one of my boots, grabbing the weapon I hurled it in the general direction that the noise was coming from. The boot hit against the wall with a loud thud before coming to rest on the floor after another.

“Shut the fuck up! It's too early.” I shouted into my pillow, which somehow in my state of grogginess came out sounding more like. “Mmmphmmhhmpph.”

The bird luckily seemed to have stopped, hopefully my outburst had scared it off as I resettled myself into my pillow. My breathing evened out and I was just about to slip back into the amazing dream I had been having, when I heard the return of the hell-fowl now seemingly more intent than ever to raise me from my slumber. With one final groan of protest I opened my eyes and was immediately meet with night sky.

“Aw come on you stupid bird couldn't you have atleast waited till Gilzia had raised the sun?” I moaned to the open window, but the only answer I received was a simple chirp from my tormentor.

Looking at the clock on the wall I could see that it was just shortly before six in the morning, it was kind of a relief when I found that these ponies also followed a 24 hour day like back in my old world, small blessings I suppose. The bird must have realized that I was now awake as it began to excitedly chirp out a tune, causing me to let out another groan as I sat up and threw my legs over the side of the bed.

“Ugh, why don't you go find a worm or something?” I grumbled to the early bird as I placed my head in my hands and tried to gather my senses.

To my great relief the bird's stomach must have been a more pressing matter because I didn't hear it anymore, that or it had just flown off to tell whoever had sent it to wake me up that the deed was done.

Making my way to the bathroom I passed by a window and saw Pyre's moon hanging in the sky. The crescent object shinning its light upon the still sleeping world like the ever watching guardian it was, at least to most it was, to me it was a reminder that I could still be asleep.

“Good morning Pyre.” I said half asleep as I rubbed the stiffness out of my neck. Only to realize too late at what I had just done as I placed my head in my hand, 'Great now I'm talking to the moon.'

'And I am listening.' the voice of a familiar night princess rang out in my head.

A normal person would have probably been shocked by the sudden appearance of a voice not of their own talking to them, and would have headed down to the closest infirmary to be committed into the nuthouse. But in the six months that I had come to live in this nation of Equestria, and a mental link was formed between the two royal sisters and myself, it has become part of my ever expanding definition of normal.

'How long have you been listening?' I asked as I headed towards the bathroom.

'Not long, although you are about as difficult to get up in the morning as my sister,' she chided me lightly as I made my way to the toilet.

'Sorry I've never really been a morning person, always tried to work the afternoon or night shifts so I didn't have to wake up to an alarm clock. Wait a minute.. did you send that bird to my window?' I asked as hoping that she wouldn't have been that devious.

'What bird?' was her reply after a few moments. Maybe it was just my brain playing tricks on me as it tried to fire on all cylinders but it almost seemed she was trying to hide the fact it was her either way I shrugged it off.

'By the way you might want to stop listening for a while.' I warned her as I raised the toilet seat.

'Why's tha-... really Eric Broussard!? You couldn't have waited?' Her voice berated me as the feelings of relief from my morning business was no doubt picked up by her.

'I warned you, what more did you want? Plus in the six months we've had this connection has my routine changed at all?' I replied as I pulled the chain to the wall mounted tank and flushed the toilet.

'Well no,' she said pausing for a moment before continuing, 'but it was very rude to allow me to pick up something as personal as that.'

'Pyre please don't take this the wrong way but I really haven't had 'personal time' since coming here and we all formed this bond. Where I'm from most people would probably consider us either family or married because of how close of a connection we have,' there was a long pause after I said that as I waited for her to reply, and it seemed that maybe she was actually upset about it to the point of ignoring the connection. 'Pyre? Pyre are you there?'

'Oh yes Eric, sorry, I was distracted by something,' she said quickly as if she was daydreaming about something. 'Anyways I figured that while we are talking, would you prefer to give me an update report?'

'Sure.' I thought as I grabbed my toothbrush and began to brush my teeth.

Every since I had agreed to help the Equestrians build their own plane I had been busy almost nonstop. The day after the dinner the princesses and I began to meet up with different members of Equestria's business and manufacturing communities. Unfortunately my lack of understanding the language made it necessary for either Xam or one of the celestial sisters to act a mediators in conveying my needs and desires to them. Needless to say having a princess or two, or three on your side made finding the right connections a whole lot easier and in almost no time I was able to source most of the materials that I would hopefully need.

After that came the task of actually finding a base of operations to try and build this contraption and assemble a team to make it happen. Surprisingly, a lot of recommendations for ponies skilled in the field of aeronautics came from Vemsa Hewl, I guess being a Squadron Leader in the Equestian Royal Pegasus Corps, Weather Command has its perks. The rest came from the princesses from all over Equestria, and even a couple of Etpinego's kin were nominated. Pretty soon we had a highly skilled team together, even including a translator for me who was teaching me their language, after that we began to look for a place to set up shop. Naturally, it would have to be located next to a decent sized town that we could go into and grab supplies when we needed them, while also being close to the rail lines so that we could receive parts from our manufacturers. It also needed to be close enough to one of Equestria's few electrical sources to run tools if need be and provide power to light up the shop so that we could work into the night.

After reviewing over a few maps and going to a few sites we came across a place that seemed almost perfect. A couple miles outside of the girl's hometown of Ponyville was a grass field that looked large enough to meet our needs, and after a couple of months we had enough of the complex built to begin receiving parts and start the design phase.

The complex centered around the hangar which was also our central workshop and where the construction of the final form of the aircraft was to take place, and was also where I currently made my home during my time here in Equestria in an apartment that made up most of the back of the building. The building directly behind it was our machine shop where we would be able to fine tune any parts we received as opposed to sending them off back to the manufacturer's or even be able to make certain pieces on-site. To the left of the main hangar was our wood shop where all of the cutting and shaping of the wooden frame of the aircraft would happen As much as I would have liked to stay in my element of a metal framed aircraft and even though Equestria did have access to steel and such, the aluminium and other lightweight alloys were unfortunately in very short supply and very hard to come by. A long building off to the right of the hangar and one of the first ones built, was our wind tunnel where we were able to test many different designs before we finally chose our winning design, we could still use it in the future to troubleshoot any issues that could arise as we went along. In front of the hangar at a considerable distance was our fuel cell shed which was where we manufactured and stored all of our dangerous liquids well away from the more flammable parts till the time came to bring them together.

Since opening up the complex a month and a half ago my team and I have been very busy, and word of our work has begun to spread throughout the country, and it wasn't too long before folks from all around began to come and see if the rumors were true of a stranger creature from a foreign world who was building a mechanical bird for the princesses. Even the girls had stopped by once and a while to see how it was coming along or to just visit.

Xam, being the ruling monarch for the area that our shop was located in visited more than the others to keep up on progress or to receive progress reports that she would relay to the other princesses. Although sometimes, like now, before anyone was awake I would deliever the report to the princesses myself through our link.

'Well Pyre, we are still on track for the most part and should begin construction of the engine today, assembly should only take a couple of days at most and I expect to move it over to the hush house for it's initial run. From there we should be able to move the motor to the main hangar and begin construction of the actual XP-27.' I told her as I laced up the pair of running shoes that Vivmay had been nice enough to make for me. The XP-27 was the designation we had given the plane 'X' for experimental, 'P' for plane, and '27' for the design number that we had finally decided on.

'That is good to hear, I know my sister and I both look forward to the 'run' as you call it, ' she said with a pleased tone but it soon turned serious. ' With that out of the way that brings me to the next point of topic, your attendance at the ball that is happening at the castle in two weeks time.'

I let out a sigh as I pulled a shirt over my head and grabbed my MP3 player, one of the last pieces of electronics that I had from my world. 'Look Pyre, I know that you and the others mean well, but like I told Xam I'm not really interested in meeting any nobles anytime soon, especially that nephew of yours.'

'And I'm sure his feelings on the matter are the same, but it is still required by Equestrian protocol to share with the other nations any and all discoveries that we have made to help ensure the peace.'

The sisters had been trying to convince me to attend this 'revealing' ball for the past couple of days, and honestly I didn't like the idea of being shown off to a bunch of stuck up nobles like some kind of prized pig at the county fair. Then there was the fact that they'd all be talking to me in languages that I would have no idea what they were saying.

'Still, all the same I would prefer to stay here and continue with my work.' I told the princess through our link and I heard her sigh.

'Very well Eric but I am sure that Gilzia will want to talk to you about this subject further.'

'I'm sure,' I said as I made my way down the stairs to the main hangar floor below.

'Well I must go for it is almost time for Gilzia to take over the day,' her voice said to me.

'Alright Pyre I am off to Wraspeoji's gym. Talk with you later and don't be a stranger,' I said as I opened the door and stepped into the cool morning air.

'You go to this 'gym' a lot Eric, is there a reason for this?' the princess asked me.

A few months ago if someone would have asked me why do I go to the gym I would have probably looked at them funny, but here in Equestria it was an entirely different thing. Back on the Earth I had come from, the gym was the only place a lot of people who didn't live physically demanding lives went to to get that outlet of exercise to help achieve whatever their end goals may have been. But here in this world, without technological inventions like the automobile and the availiability of fatty foods, they lived far healthier lives almost to the point where needing exercise was pretty moot. But like on Earth during the similar time of such fitness legends like Eugen Sandow the idea of physically being more than you started out as seemed to be gaining a small underground following.

'Even though I'm here in Equestria now I'm still a member of my countries military, and I have to maintain a certain level of physical readiness. Plus when I'm lifting a weight and pushing my body to it's limits the feeling I get afterwards is almost euphoric.'

'I am not quite sure I understand,' Pyre said thoughtfully, 'but perhaps sometime I should join you in this 'lifting' to truly understand what you mean.'

'You're welcome to come anytime Pyre,' and with that I was on my way.

The crisp morning air chilled my face as I stepped out the door. It was now late summer and the pegasus of the Weather Corps had begun to bring down the colder air from the northern mountains recently, at least that was the way that Vemsa had explained it to me. Honestly this whole controllable weather thing was something I was going to need a while to adjust to, but at least it meant that I could be guaranteed a perfect day when it came time to fly the XP-27. But the colder weather meant that I was going to have to grab some winter clothes from Vivmay's shop, yet the thought of clothes shopping of any kind sounded about as thrilling to me as watching paint dry. Still the chance of gazing on the beautiful store owner almost made up for it, almost.

As the music pumped into my ears, the beat keeping rhythm with my steps, it wasn't long before I was in my running groove. Luckily it wasn't far to Wraspeoji's, probably about three miles if I had to take a guess, and the road I was on also took me by a familiar neighbor. About a mile down the road a light off to my left let me know that the sun was finally up and it was officially the start of a new day, and shortly there after I came to the white wooden fence that marked the border to my neighbor's farm.

“Howdy neighbor!” I heard the cheery voice of my neighbor ring out from the porch of their farmhouse as she tipped the brown hat on her head back a little.

“Hey Etpinego how are you and your family doing!” I yelled back as I continued to make my way down the road.

“They're doin' fine, infact we're just settin' down fer breakfast if'n y'ah want to join us.” She said as she waved me over.

“Would like to Etpinego but I'm on my way to Wraspeoji's.” I said as I quickly made my way up to the house so as to not be yelling.

“Is that Eric?” I heard an aged voice yell from inside the home before a sweet old lady with key lime green fur and a checkered apron tied around her waist and an orange bandana tied around her neck while her silver hair was tied tightly in a bun on her head, and nothing else.

'Well there goes my sex drive.' I internally thought to myself.

'Etpinego when evi y'ah kesr ewo lex stallion to avpu a livy sel you? Xeam erc sovniv and one s'v lixr saliv fillies in your feglisivix livy is kesr wrek him up.” The older one, known as Granny Patzo,said as she waved a laddle covered in oatmeal at Etpinego. Some of the gooey substance landing on the woman's tan colored chest.

'And there it's back.' I thought as my mind began to go into overtime as I watched her scowl at the family matriarch and using a finger swipe up the breakfast before placing the finger in her mouth.

“Now spompi here Granny, Eric is nyza a mymir who's try'in to get back to his asysk. He emu'a izir a pony, and izir if'n I aerxih to ask Eric to avpu a livy, I'll be lecpu' it when I'm hevr good and viech. Not because y'ah vass me to.” I heard the younger say as she crossed her arms defensively.

“ Then yer kesr to pwis him to zsqi saliv livy of fillies, “ Granny Patzo said as she waggled the cooking utensil again and placed a hand on her hip, “Why if'n I was yer eki I assid'zi wrekkih up a stallion moi lex fego in lex there vivca lex y'all two qix up in. Big stallion moi lex needs to be oitx in the fikysiq, he even looks moi he gysph zybl slaw this old mare a aypog or two.”

“Granny!”

“What's she saying?” I asked Etpinego hesitantly, thanks to my language lessons I could begin to make out certain words, but I wasn't sure I was liking where this conversation was heading.

“Y'ah don't want to know.” Etpinego said plainly as she gave me a quick look.

Feeling highly uncomfortable now with this conversation I decided to make my exit, “Well it was nice to meet all of you again but I must be going. See you later.”

With that I was off back down their drive to continue my run into town. I got to the fence when I heard a familiar high pitched voice yell out from inside the house.

“Eric wait up!”

Turning around I see a young girl, that looks to be around ten or eleven, running out of the house. She has yellow fur covering her body and the color of her wavy mane and tail reminds me of the play-doh I played with as a child; tied up into her hair was a huge red bow that bounced along as she made her way down the steps. Strapped across her chest was a white bookbag with an red apple patch sewn into the front flap. Her face was beaming with the exuberance that can only truly be known by a child, as her amber colored eyes shone in the light of the early morning sun. I had come to know this girl and her friends very well since my arrival to the town, this was Etpinego's younger sister Etpitivi.

The girl waved goodbye to her family over her shoulder as she tried to catch up to me, “Bye everybody I'm off fer school.”

“Etpitivi, did y'ah get zsqiaopun to eat befer y'ah run oft?” Granny Patzo yelled from the porch at the fleeing girl.

“Sure did Granny, I'll see y'all later!” Was the young girl's reply as she ran up to me before stopping and giving one final wave to her family.

“Spomi moi y'er sister has the vynoa mhie, “ I heard Granny Patzo say to Etpinego as we continued down the road, obviously picking up their previous conversation where it left off, “If'n you zass ercsqvi y'ah might even pwis him to Etpitivi.”

“Aww, shush Granny, “ was the tan colored woman's muttered reply, which only earned a cackling chuckle from the old woman.

Etpitivi and I continued down the road with the girl chatting away about something excitedly like all children do, while I tried to follow along as best as I could. Her and her friends had been a big help to me in learning the language, due to their smaller vocabulary and kindness to speak to me slowly so as to help me improve my abilities. Although that wasn't always the case, like when I first met them one day shortly after I had arrived into town. I had stopped by Etpinego's farm to say hi and visit her family Etpitivi and her friends were there, having just gotten back from school as I later learned, luckily for me the girls were not frightened of me in the slightest as they began to fire off questions at a rapid pace in their language.

At the time I couldn't say or understand much of what they were saying beyond, 'Hi, my name is Eric,' and a couple of other simple phrases. To my great relief Etpinego was there and helped me to understand their questions as she relayed my answers. Upon learning of my inability to speak their language they viewed it as some sort of challenge to help me learn as much of their language as I could; I think they even called themselves something like 'Cutie Mark Crusaders: Language Teachers'.

'Cutie Mark Crusaders' was apparently the name of a club they had formed to help them get their marks on their hips which were called, as I listened to the girls explination, 'cutie marks.' From what I understood of it everyone of these ponies received one of the marks of their hips when they found out their one true calling in life, and each mark was unique to that pony although it wasn't uncommon for two ponies to have the same mark. To me, it kind of took the fun out of life. To wake up one day and find out that you were destined to do something you might not have liked as your calling in life, but then again I was more than likely wrong in my understanding of the marks because it seemed to work for them well enough. Still there's some part of me that wonders if maybe something like these 'cutie marks' couldn't be helpful to humanity, in simplifying the choice picking a career that is best suited for you.

“How school Etpitivi?” I asked the girl in my broken Equis.

“It's good,” she replied slowly so that I could follow her, “Ms. Glivpi is xeopun us to Gerxivsa tommorow.”

“Xeopun?” I repeated the word not understanding it.

Etpitivi thought for a moment as her ears went back and she brought a finger to her cheek and pursed her lips, I think that that look has to be a family trait because I had seen Etpinego do the same thing. For a couple of moments she kept the look and we even found ourselves pausing along on our walk, before she snapped her fingers and smiled triumphantly.

“I got it! Give me yer tyzm ive,” she said to me as she held out her hand as I stared at her confused as to what she would want.

“I no understand,” I told her as I scratched my head shook it from side to side.

She wasn't detered as she pointed to the wire that ran from my earbuds to my player in my short's pocket, “Yer tyzm ive.”

Catching on I pulled out the device and removed the earpieces holding it out to her. “This?”

She shook her head in conformation, “Yes.”

“Tyzm ive,” I repeated word that she had said, and she shook it again happily.

Handing the device over to her she grabbed it in her hand as she said the word from earlier that I was confused on, “Xeopun, xeopun, xeopun,,” and with that she took it from me and then repeated the gesture of taking it from me as she repeated the word.

Realization dawned on me after a couple of tries, “ Oh, 'taking.'”

“Yeah y'ah got it Eric!” she said excitedly as she handed the player back to me with a wide smile upon her face.

“Thank you Etpitivi,” I said as I tucked the device back into my pocket, at that time a faint sound of a bell could be heard off in the distance and I could almost visibly see Etpitivi's coat pale.

“Aww, ovyzetpiz! Ah'm late! Later Eric!” she yelled as she shot down the road in a flash, leaving me alone and bewildered.

Catching my senses I decided to continue on my original journey into town towards Wraspeoji's, and I to was soon off as I begin my run again. It didn't take me long to finish running the last mile or two into town and by the time I arrived at the gym I had managed to work up a sweat and loosen up my stiff muscles in preparation of the suffering I was about to put them through.

Wraspeoji's gym really wasn't much of a gym in the modern sense of the word, it looked more like a medieval torture chamber for the body that he had hidden in his basement. The air was humid and warm, even despite the cool morning wind that blew outside, and stunk with the faint odor of old sweat and tears. No where to be seen were the rows of treadmills in the dimly lit room each one full of people walking leisurely while reading a book, and gone were the mass amounts of machines that gave you a false sense of accomplishment on your actual abilities to lift. In there places were pieces of bare metal that were thrown together to make the triumvirate of the gym: the squat rack, the flat bench, and the preacher curl bench. All sacred places of worship for the followers of the Church of Muscle, hand-built by the local prophet of muscle himself, Wraspeoji.

A mass of white over at the squat rack and the guttural sound of straining under a heavy load attracted my attention as I saw the proprietor of this establishment himself performing a set of front squats. The bar bowed under the mass of plates as pure focus shone in his ruby red eyes as he stared at some unknown point on the wall infront of him that it looked like the wall would burst into flame at any given moment. His massive muscles strained under the weight as I saw his right thigh muscle spasm uncontrollably and I thought he might be in trouble of loosing the weight, but with one final feral yell his body began to slowly rise. As his body began to max out he drew from somewhere deep within, one last ounce of effort and racked the heavy weight with a resounding clash of metal.

Finally free of his burden he draped his arms over the bar and used the rack to hold himself up on shaky legs, least they give out from under him. His white wings fluttered on his back with each labored breath, looking almost comically disproportionate against his muscular bulk. This pegasus stallion was by far the largest being I had ever seen, human or pony, and put even the modern swollen bodybuilders of today's Mr. Olympia to shame in shear size. Looking more like a pony version of the tooth fairy, if the tooth fairy's parents were the Hulk and Arnold. But even with all his imposing size and appearance I had come to find out he was one of the gentlest and just all around nicest guy you'd want to meet, who began lifting when he was young as a means to build his confidence like so many had done before him. But with all of his muscle as proof of his struggles he still lacked the courage to ask out the mare of his dreams, Paxxila.

I could have gone over to him to congratulate him, but we both had a deep respect for the unwritten code of the gym, which rule one stated: While I'm lifting don't talk to me. Instead I decided to head over and begin my own routine not a word passing between us, only a simple nod acknowledging our existence to the other.

A couple of hours later my body could not handle anymore as the dumbbell I was using crashed back into the rack with the rest of it's brethren, my arms no longer able to lift its weight. As sweat dripped from my brow, my lungs strived to draw as much of the stale warm air into them, yet each inhale did little to cool the furnace burning within me. The only relief I got was the cool of the metal dumbbells soothing the rawness of my palms as I leaned my body against them. All in all it had been a good session, was able to finish all my reps and was even set a new max weight for reps on the incline dumbbell flye, and despite all the pain and lack of feeling in most of my body I felt good, really good.

A hand rested itself on my shoulder, slowly turning my head I see Wraspeoji standing there his mass towering over my own body and a smile on his face.

“Good job Eric, better than last week,” he said as he held his fist up, which I tapped with my own and weakly returned the smile, “But could do more on hiehamps.”

“Hiehamps? I do not understand,” I said to the giant of a stallion, who proceeded to squat down and immitate lifting a bar deadlift-style, “Oh, deadlift.”

Nodding again he offered me up a towel, but I politely refused as I grabbed my shirt that I had taken off earlier to help relieve heat that my body was producing. Giving my brow a quick wipe I threw the shirt over my shoulder as I shook Wraspeoji's hand and said my farewells.

On my way out I saw a certain light blue pegasus mare with rainbow-colored hair sitting backwards on one of the incline benches working her rear dealtoids. Every sinewy muscle along her back, down to her taunt firm backside, stretching like the drawstring of a bow with each time she drew her arms and wings back. Ready to snap back froward at any moment, and it didn't take much to realize why she was the fastest flier in Equestria.

Choosing once again not to disturb another patron I made my way up the stairs out of that bastion of muscle and into the fresh air of the outside world. The wind felt cold against my wet skin as my body let out an uncontrolled shiver, and I thought about throwing my shirt back on but decided against it because I still had to run the almost three miles back to the compound. Despite my bodies protest at the unnecessariness of this endeavor I shook it off and began to make my way back to my home, although this time at a much slower pace than when I had come.

Finally making it back to the hangar I dragged myself back up the stairs, each one seemingly my own personal Mt. Everest with every heavy footstep. Eventually I made my way to the top where I rested for a moment to let the burning in my legs subside a little before I attempted to try and make it to the shower. After a few moments I was able to make it to the bathroom and I shucked whatever remaining clothes I had as I turned on the water. Stepping into the shower my body sang praises of joy as the warm water melted away the soreness and sweat from my body and giving my spirit the rejuvenation it needed.

After a few moments of just soaking in the heat I quickly finished with my shower went to turn off the water, but instead of turning off the faucet there was a blinding flash of light that knocked me flat on my ass and made me hit my head on the door as I fell out of the shower stall.

“Sonuvabitch!” I yelled as I grabbed the back of my head the pain already throbbing through my skull. Part of me wanted to know what had just happened but taking past events into account and judging by the weight now straddling my waist I could only imagine what had happened. Opening my eyes my suspicions were proven correct as I saw the lavender princess of the land straddling across my lap and rubbing her head as the water cascaded over her slender frame, forcing me to look away not because I wanted to but so as certain “things” didn't come up.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” she said as she continued to rub her head, making me take sympathy on the mare and temporarily forget my own pain as I reached up and took her face into my hands.

“Hold on Xam, let me have a look,” I told her as I looked at where she was rubbing, her fur made it a little hard to see the injury but as I gently brushed the fur to the side with my thumb, mindful of the whimper from the princess, I saw that it wasn't anything serious, “Doesn't look that bad, might get a bump but I think you'll survive. If you want I have some of that powder from Otzdy that seems to work pretty good for headaches.”

She didn't reply right away and I could kind of guess why being as she was looking down at where our bodies were in contact, “Xam, are you okay?”

A simple nod was all she gave me as she refused to look me in the eye.

“Would you like to get up?”

Another nod as she quickly got up and stepped over me to get out of the shower and made her way to the other side of the room still refusing to look at me. Now free of my weight I got back to my feet and turned off the water before grabbing myself and my guest a towel to dry off. She quietly took the one that was offered to her and proceeded to dry off the water out of her short fur and hair, as I proceeded to do the same before wrapping it around my waist.

“So, is there something you needed?” I asked as I walked out of the bathroom and over to my bedroom, where I put on a clean pair of shorts.

“Not really, just coming by to see about this engine you are going to start building,” she said seemingly putting the incident behind her, which was fine with me being as would rather not talk about it either. Still, her sitting there sure was a fine sight to see and almost worth the dull throbbing that was currently going through my head.

“What about it?” I asked as I walked out of my room to see her standing in the hallway drying her hair as droplets of water shone on her wings like diamonds from the sunlight shining in through a window making her appear every bit the goddess she was. I just stood there soaking in her appearance for a second before I caught myself before she noticed mentally berating myself a little for allowing my hormones to take over.

'Wouldn't be so hard to not be attracted to them if they didn't look so much like the girls back home, and always walking around showing off the goods!' I quickly regained my calm as I also thanked whoever was listening that I was wearing somekind of shorts, 'Must be all the testosterone from working out talking.'

“Well how does it work? You explained it at one point as a series of explosions,” I heard Xam say bringing me back to reality.

“In a way yes. Are you hungry?” I asked absently as I headed into the kitchen, my stomach growling for something to feed to my muscles.

“No thanks, Prion made breakfast before I left,” she replied, reffering to her dragon assistant, as she sat down at the counter infront of the stove as I went to the fridge and grabbed a carton of eggs along with a bell pepper, tomato, onion and some mushrooms.

Placing the ingredients on the counter I grabbed a pan and pot out of one of the cabinets, filling the pot with a little bit of water and spreading a little bit of cooking oil in the pan I set them down on the stove to warm up. As I got around to chopping up the vegetables I began to answer Xam's question.

“Yes the engine runs on a series of explosions which drive down a piston that turns a shaft, called a crank, and from there that rotational force can be used to turn any number of things. It's really not unlike how a steam engine works I would imagine.” I said as I finished chopping the last of the peppers and tested the oil in the pan with a drop of water, which just diluted into the oiled pan. 'Not hot enough yet.'

“Yes but what will power this engine if not steam?” the curious alicorn asked as she watched me measure a serving of ground oats into a cup before placing it into the now boiling water.

To answer her question I went into the fridge and pulled out an ear of corn and placed it on the counter infront of her. “This is what I plan on using.”

“Corn?” she asked me as she arched an eyebrow in confusion, “You're going to use corn to run an engine?”

“Sure why not?” I answered as I took the ear from her and placed it back in the fridge, “Surely your people have fermented grains before into alcohol before?” she shook her head from side to side. “Really?”

“There are no records of that, at least that I know of. Most of our alcohol is from fermenting fruits or other items like honey. Fermented grains are highly poisinous to us so no one has ever tried to make an alcoholic beverage from it.”

“Huh, imagine that. Where I'm from our whole culture is said to have been founded on a grain beverage called beer. So none of you have ever had any drinks like beer or whiskey or even sake?” she shook her head again and I couldn't help but feel a little concerned that they were missing out on so many drink selections, then again they already had their own great choices of alcohol, if the stuff that I tried over at Etpinego's that one night were any indication, 'What a wild night that was.'

“Anyways, by fermenting corn mash with some sugar we get an alcohol called ethanol, or as it's called where I'm from moonshine. Which can then be used as a fuel to burn inside a motor, even though it may not be the best choice for a fuel it should still produce enough power to do what we'll need.”

“Why isn't it the best choice for fuel?” she asked inquisitively, always full of questions.

“Well most engines where I'm from run off of somekind of hydrocarbon, mainly either gasoline or diesel, which is made from refining crude oil. This is better than ethanol because I can get more power out of gasoline than I can ethanol for the same amount of fluid. Ethanol burns at around a 9:1 ratio while gasoline burns at around a 14.7:1, which means I'll have to dump more ethanol into the motor to get the same amount of power, which means this will affect the overall range and probably the ceiling height of the aircraft.

“On the plus side though ethanol burns a whole lot cooler than gasoline which will help a lot being as we're going with an air-cooled motor instead of water-cooled. Who knows it may actually run too cool when we get up in the air and might have to design a way to actually keep it warm.” I said as I shrugged and grabbed another drop of water and droped it into the pan, this time it popped and sizzled violent. Grabbing the chopped veggies and mushrooms I put them into the pan to sautee them as I got to mixing the eggs in a bowl and stirring the oatmeal that was almost done cooking.

“And why are you using an 'air-cooled' motor? What's the benefit of that type over the 'water-cooled'?” She asked as she breathed in the smell of the cooking vegetables as I added some pepper and garlic powder for flavor.

“Simplicity really,” I said as I removed the pot of oatmeal from the stove and poured the contents into a bowel, “With a air-cooled motor it's as basic of a motor as I can think of to make, and I don't have to worry about other items like a radiator, cooling hoses, thermostat, water pump, coolant passages through the motor and reservoir tank. All of which come with a water-cooled motor, which can be looked as either an advantage or disadvantage for an aircraft motor depending on who you talked to.”

Taking the now seared seared veggies and placed them on a plate and poured the egg mixture into the still hot pan scrambling the mixture, while Xam took the oppritunity to steal one of the still hot peppers from the plate.

“Hey! I thought you were full.” I said in a fake surprised tone.

“Sorry Eric,” she apologized as she worked the hot vegetable around in her mouth trying to eat it without burning her mouth, “It just smelled so good.”

I gave out a hearty laugh as she gave a little blush, I grabbed a couple more eggs and added them to the still cooking mix in the pan.

Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
Alvirg Lieh/ Wrench Head
Wipziv Sykri/ Silver Tounge
Gilzia/ Celestia

The rest of breakfast went by almost too quickly it seemed as Xam and I sat and continued to talk about nothing in particular and yet everything important, like most friends seem to do. She would inquire to how I was adjusting to life here and in return I would ask if her and the other girls had gone on any new adventures. Honestly, it felt good to be able to sit and enjoy a good meal with one of the ponies who had become one of my closest friends in this new world that, for the moment, I called home. Plus her being smart and smokin' hot to boot didn't hurt either.

But before we knew it our meals were done and the steady trickle of arrivals of the members of my team meant that it was time to start getting to work for the day. Xam decided to hang around for a little bit longer so that she could watch the unveiling of the engine components from their crates. Being as the rest of the woodworkers had yet to arrive in Ponyville the rest of the plane would be on hold until then, so it was all hands on deck for the unpacking.

A drop cloth was laid on the hangar floor so as to have a designated area that we could lay out the parts and do an inventory to ensure that everything had arrived prior to assembly and was in good condition. My shop foreman, Alvirg Lieh, was a gruff old unicorn stallion with grey fur, short white hair and an attitude as rough as Clint Eastwood on a bad day. He had been working in construction since he was young, and through long years of hard labor he had learned not to take shit from no one and ran a tight ship on the job. Which was one of the first things that I noticed about him and got me interested. So after a more in-depth conversation at the local bar over a few drinks... alright maybe a lot of drinks that ended with me waking up the next day with one hell of a hangover amongst other things. Needless to say he got the job, by the way best wingman ever.

Alvirg barked some orders to the rest of the members in his rough voice and they jumped immediately into action, prying open the crates with their crowbars and removing the parts inside before laying them on the cloth where I directed them to. Meanwhile Xam, with the help of my translator Wipziv Sykri, compiled the inventory into a accurate and concise checklist, must have been a librarian thing I suppose; either that or that mare really loves checklist, like REALLY loves them. Anyways, because these ponies knew their fair share of engine components from the steam motors that they used in their construction equipment, it didn't take long to get everything unpacked. The last part being the engine block, which was levitated out of it's crate by a pair of unicorn mares and placed on the cloth besides the other pieces.

Even though the parts were in a bare state still showing casting marks that would require further machining before they were ready to be assembled, I could already see it all together firing away and it made me about as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning. That's when I thought to myself that this was it. It was finally real for me now, I was actually going to do this. I was going to build an aircraft of my own design from scratch and hopefully, when it was all said and done, watch it fly, or watch it go down in a ball of flames. Hopefully without me on it.

Xam must have noticed something because I felt one of her wings brush across my shoulder. Startled a little I looked towards her she gave me a reassuring smile.

“I can't wait to see it fly Eric.” she said as I returned her smile.

“Thanks Xam. To be honest I'll be happy if it just gets off the ground. Working on one that someone else has already designed and built is a lot different than actually doing it yourself. I know how all the systems work and what parts make up each one, but I never thought that I would use that knowledge to help a group of alien pony-people build their first airplane. Lucky for me I guess, that your people already have a natural ability to fly and already know all of the math and aerodynamics that really makes one of these things fly.

“So in the end this is more of an accomplishment for your people than me really. I'm just here to ensure that everything goes smoothly and give my advice whenever we may run into a problem.” I told her as I crossed my arms and tried to envision the plane in it's final form.

“Don't belittle your contribution so much Eric. Who knows how long it would have been before we came up with an idea like this on our own, could have been years or possibly never even.” She said as I felt the tip of her feathers brush against my back again in a comforting manner.

“Thanks again Xam,” I told her again before focusing back on the task at hand. “Whelp, back to work I suppose, we have a lot to do if we hope to keep this project on schedule.”

“Well don't let me keep you then,” she said as she took a step away from me, “I have a job of my own that I must get back to.”

“Yeah I imagine that running a country has to take up a lot of time, especially if it keeps three alicorns busy.” I told her as she gave me a wave before disappearing in a flash.

After Xam had left I went back to examining the parts laying in front of me, but not before I felt Alvirg tap me on the shoulder.

“Zi me eh zsqi of the vaoly have a fix kopoun on,” he whispered just loud enough for me and Wipziv to hear, “Evi you eh the princess gasvytpun?”

“Wait... what?” I whispered back to him, not understanding the question, so I turned to the yellow coated earth mare with blue hair next to me, “What did he ask me?”

“He's asking if Princess Xamspona Tevopi and yourself are courting?” she said absently as she seemed more focused on writing down whatever it was she writing in her notebook, “Apparently there is a wager amongst the workers that you're courting either the princess or one of the other Element bearers. As deplorable as I find it, to be betting on the private lives of others.”

“Am...I ...what?” I asked her in utter disbelief at what she had said and she didn't miss a beat as she continued on.

“Courting, or I guess the more common term is are you da-”

“I know what courting is,” I said as I cut her off mid sentence, “what I don't understand is why y'all would think that I am. Sure they're all nice enough and highly attractive, even by human standards, but dating? ”

“Well for one thing, that gesture she did with her wing to your shoulder is a physical display of affection among pegasi, and while it can be used amongst dear friends when used on a member of the opposite sex most of the time it holds a more intimate meaning.” Wipziv explained as she brought her notebook to her chest and finally fixed her eyes on me.

“Well to answer your question no, we are not courting,” turning back to my foreman I replied in English so that it would be translated by the magic in the air clearly to him. “Princess Xamspona and I are not courting. We are just friends.”

Alvirg gave me a small grin that was almost unnoticeable as I heard him give out a single chuckle that sounded more like him clearing his throat as opposed to any actual sound of happiness. “Gysph lezi jespik me colt, but if you ewo me she's timqi eh in wierws. Asyphuva tew up that sjiv when it was tviwirxih to me if I was you.”

“Alright he lost me again,” I confessed to Wipziv as she walked up beside me.

“He basically said, in much cruder terms, that she is in estrus and you would be an idiot to pass up an offer if it was presented to you,” she said as I heard the jingling of coins. Looking down I see that Alvirg is handing Wipziv a bag of bits.

“Wait one fucking minute here,” I interjected as they both looked at me. I pointed an accusing finger at the yellow mare, “I thought you said you found betting on people's private lives deplorable?”

“I do.” She simply answered like she didn't see what my point was.

“Then what the fuck is this?” I said as I pointed to the bag in her hand causing the mare to sigh.

“Mr. Broussard, what I said was true, I do find the act of betting on other ponies lives deplorable and would never do it. However, what you fail to realize though is that the word 'betting' implies the risk of loosing, and that is something I can not do. Yet in situations like this if one is to look at the facts presented before them the choice becomes quite obvious, and at which point it no longer is betting and instead turns into a sound financial investment.” She explained to me like it was the simplest thing in the world as she placed the bag of coins into the satchel that hung from her hip.

I stood there for a moment as I thought about every answer that I could think of to counter her with yet none came to mind better than hers, “As much as I would like to find a flaw in your logic I can't.”

“Of course not it 'was' the logical choice,” she replied as she kept her passive face.

'Great, now she's the female pony version of Spock.' I thought to myself before another came to mind, “Are there any other 'financial investments' that I should know about?”

“Yes, I am waiting to collect on you mating with one of them if and when they present the opportunity.”

I really couldn't believe the cojones on this one, “Wow, so you don't think that I would date one of them, but you do think that I would mindlessly fuck their brains out if they asked me to?” I told her as I heard Alvirg chuckle again, but the mare was not impressed.

“Of course,” she said bluntly, “It is in your nature as a male to mate with and impregnate as many willing female partners as you can so as to advance your bloodline.”

“Maybe on you planet, but not where I come from.” I said to her hoping she couldn't read my mind as well, as she simply raised an eyebrow at me. Although it may have also been primitive human nature as well and I'm not saying I sure as hell wouldn't be tempted if one of the girls or the princesses bent over and started begging for it however slim the odds, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let Wipziv know that.

“We shall see,” was all she said as she turned and walked away back into the main office at the base of the stairs.

“You know,” I told Alvirg who was watching her go as well, “I'm not sure I like her.”

This earned a silent nod from the old stallion as he patted my shoulder in an understanding manner known only to males, no matter the race, “Mares.”

I nodded my head in agreement before we went back to work and the rest of the day went by without so much as a hitch. Each part was identified if work needed to be done to it, starting with the block, as they where loaded onto carts and wheeled on over to the machine shop. The rest of the day the pegasus engineers and myself discussed over some changes that they wanted to make to the wing structure that would increase speed while not affecting the overall lifting performance of it.

While the original design called for a fairly basic rectangular style wing with a high-aspect ratio the engineers were trying to argue for one with more of a delta shape with a thinner profile and a lower-aspect-ratio. Their reasoning was that it would make the plane more nimble during flight and the added top speed from a lower amount of parasitic drag would be more than enough to counteract any loss of lift.

At first I tried to argue with them that this was just a prototype, and we should just focus more on getting it up in the air before making any drastic changes like a new type of wing. But like always when told no, they showed me the numbers and in the end I had to concede to the nerds because in the end it would be a better design.

By the end of the day I was greeted by another surprise that this new world had to offer as I checked in on the machine shop shortly after lunch. From the way the head metallurgist, a black unicorn mare named Tivy Siv who hailed from Canterlot, had explained to me is that in Equestria a unicorn that works with metal can use magic to affect the metal down to the molecular level. Meaning that they could change the properties of the metal however they saw fit, whether it be by affecting the hardness or elasticity of the metal, or even by adding other minerals they could create different types of alloys.

The walk up to the machine shop was strange because it didn't reverberate with the usual noises that one would associate with machines reshaping a piece of metal. Opening the door what I saw inside looked more like a pottery studio than a mechanical shop. The pieces were taken one piece at a time where they would be inspected by Tivy Siv as she would look over the requirements for each one before passing it on to another pair of unicorns who would envelop the piece with a stream of magic that flowed from their horns. After which the part would be taken to a work station where they would be worked on by another metallurgist who would begin to shave and mold the metal like a piece of clay. If it needed it's composition altered in any way the appropriate amount of minerals would be measured on a scale before being impregnated into the piece before it was taken to the kilns.

The kilns were lined across the far wall of the shop and were attended by a kiln master and her two assistants. She would watch the ovens like a baker would a cake as each part was slowly brought up to temperature, occasionally having the assistants remove certain parts to have the master check on their progress and make whatever adjustments needed to be done. Once they were done the part was removed where it passed onto the first unicorns again, who would return the metal back to its crystalline form with another shot of magic. The metal shining brightly in the afternoon sun without so much as a blemish to be seen. Any parts that needed to be painted to protect them from corrosion was taken to a ventilated side booth to be taken cared of, before joining the other ones as they were wheeled back into the hangar for assembly. The whole process taking significantly shorter than any human engine shop I had worked with in the past.

This more efficient process allowed us to be able to mount the block on an engine stand and begin to install the lower end before the end of the day. As the others clocked out for the day and went back to their homes for the night, Wipziv and I still had my language lessons to attend to.

These lessons had to be my most single hated time of the day, and Wipziv was quite the ball buster when it came to pronunciation and word usage. No I'm serious, I've had some strict teachers in the past and even had to deal with the random girlfriend on the rag before, but this yellow mare that was assigned as my language teacher had to be the worst. The way she would give me a disapproving stare down the bridge of her nose with those cold soulless eyes of hers, almost made me want to curl in a corner and cry at what a terrible person I was. Almost that is. I never really knew why she was like that though, when I was first introduced to her by Pyre as one of the leading professors in languages at some university in the capital city she seemed very cheery much like most of the other ponies I had met so far. It wasn't until the day after the meeting with Alvrig, where we met up with him at a bar that she acted any different. The day before sunny middle-aged earth mare, the next morning ice bitch mistress from hell.

But even with how much she would ride on me during our lessons, I couldn't deny her results as I was catching onto the language better than I had any of my foreign language classes from high school. It was either that or the fear of what punishment she would deal out if I didn't make the progression that she wanted... yeah maybe that was more it. Because I wouldn't doubt that she carried a portable BDSM kit in that satchel just waiting for an excuse to pull out a riding crop, or maybe a pair of leather straps and chains, or maybe she'd be cruel enough to jab me with the heel of a set of stilettos as she put out a lit cigarette against my skin. Good god I think I have a problem.

“I shall see you tomorrow Mr. Broussard, and I hope that you do not disappoint me more than you did today.” she told me just like everyday before she left as she packed her teaching materials into her satchel.

“Yeah see you tomorrow Wipziv,” I told her as I waved off the verbal jab and watched her leave through the hangar's side door.

After she left I let out a breath of relief, another day was over and I could now relax before having to do it all over tomorrow. Heading over to one of the corners where stood a small fridge that I had placed there for the workers to use to store their foods in if they so desired, but more importantly it was where I kept a small amount of Etpinego's family brew of hard apple cider within easy reach at the end of the day. Because who wants to walk up a set of stairs to get a cold drink, that's just unheard of.

Opening the door I took out a bottle and popped off the cap on the bottle opener that was mounted to the side of it. Taking a swing from the bottle, letting the apple-flavored drink make it's way down my throat, I could now begin to wind down as I made my way up the stairs to my apartment to the old style record player that was there. The sun was just going below the horizon casting the room into darkness, forcing me to turn on a light as I began to look through the selection of records from Vivmay, who had let me borrow them along with the record player when she learned that I liked to listen to music. I couldn't read the titles but she had explained enough about what types of music they were for me to make a selection.

Eventually I decided upon a record with the picture of a cello on the front of the cover. From what Vivmay had explained to me the artist was a very popular earth mare from the capitol, although I forgot what her name was. Placing the other disc back where they belonged I turned the gramophone so that the horn faced a window that overlooked the hangar floor below. Removing the record from the sleeve I placed it gently on the turntable before turning on the player and setting the needle down on the vinyl once it had a moment to come up to speed. After a couple of seconds of staticy silence the somber sound of a cello began to play the introduction to the first song, the music setting me into a calm mood.

Taking my bottle from where I had set it I made my way back down to the hangar floor over to where the engine block sat bolted to the stand. Taking another swig from the bottle I sat it down on a worktable within arms reach of the motor. As the music began to settle into a orchestral arrangement I grabbed the first of the four finished cylinders to install on the motor.

The craftsmanship, or would that be craftsponyship... either way it was truly a wonder to behold I wanted to put the motor on display at an art gallery as opposed to possibly blowing it up if this didn't work. Placing the cylinder and a gasket on top of the block I grabbed the two pushrod guide tubes for that cylinder and their seals, positioning them before I tightened down the cylinder. Once everything was lined up I snugged down the assembly with the four bolts needed before moving on to the next one.

It wasn't until I was on the final cylinder for that bank that I felt the presence of someone behind me. How long they had been there I didn't know, but I didn't feel threatened by them so I continued on with my work figuring it was probably Wipziv coming back to grab something that she had forgotten.

“Did you forget something?” I asked to the presence behind me, not bothering to look away from my work as I snugged down the last of the bolts holding the cylinders to the block.

“No,” came the reply from a voice I wasn't really expecting to hear for at least a little longer, “I found exactly what I am looking for.”

Turning around I proved my suspicions correct as there she stood in all her pure white beauty, Gilzia princess of the day and goddess of the sun, and currently she was giving me a look that would match Wipziv in it's subtle ferocity.

'Crap.' I thought to myself, knowing full well her reason for visiting and also the fact that she could hear my thoughts.

“Indeed,” was her simple reply as a smug little grin formed on her face as she walked closer towards me those long legs and hips mesmerizing me with each step even in the direness of the situation.

She stopped directly in front of me and looked me in the eye, one of the few ones on this planet who could on an even plane, “You know why I am here, do you not?”

“I'm going to guess it's not for a progress report.” I told her, trying to stall for a possible escape route to appear.

“No.” was her reply as she narrowed her eyes slightly and her wings flared apart with a pop and wrapped behind me effectively trapping me in a cage of feathers.

“Well the only other thing I can think of is that I turned down Pyre's request for me to attend that ball thingy.” I said as I laughed a little on the inside, 'Ha, ha, ha... ball thingy.'

Only an idiot would laugh about something like that when facing a being that could possibly destroy me with a solar flare, or give me skin cancer, but I've never really been known for my forethought in sudden situations.

Gilzia obviously didn't think it was very funny as her eyes narrowed more, before she let out a sigh of frustration and dropped her wings, “Why do you have to be so aggravating?”

“Wow didn't think I was that bad.”

“Then you would agree to go to this ball that my sister and I have put on to introduce you to the rest of the world at large.” she replied through gritted teeth as she poked me in the chest with the hard outer casing that wrapped around the last knuckle of her fingers.

“Sorry, but I never asked for you to put on a ball for me. I would rather not be known to the rest of the world, because I don't plan on staying here any longer than I need to.” I told her getting over any apprehension I may have had as she pressed the digit against my sternum.

“Why? Are we such a terrible race compared to humanity?” she asked as she thankfully removed the offending digit but that didn't help to diffuse the situation any.

“Not at all, but I had a life before I came here,” I growled as I took a step towards her, forcing her to take a step back in return. “It may not have been an overly exciting life, but it was my life! Maybe if it was a terrible one it may be different for me but it wasn't, and every day I have to try and not think about the fact that it might all be gone and this party does not help my situation.”

By now I had backed her up to the worktable as I placed my hands on top of the table trapping her between my arms and was now leaning over her. “Do you have any idea what it's like to be the only one of your kind in the world? With no hope of ever seeing your family again, or no future of having a family or children of your own?”

“Yes” she said softly as she refused to look me in the eye, but when she did I saw them wet with unshed tears.

'Idiot!' I berated myself at my stupidity. Of course she would understand, she was probably the only being on this planet who truly would. Even more so than even myself because she had a country to worry about at the time.

Sighing I hung my head in shame as I stood back up and turned away from her. “I'm sorry Gilzia I didn't mean that. It's just so frustrating sometimes. That's why I'd rather stay here in my shop out of the limelight working on my little projects.”

I heard her come closer to me before I saw her wings and arms out of my peripheral as they wrapped around me as she laid her head against my back, mindful of her horn. “It is alright Eric, it may seem hard now but it will get better.”

“That's just it,” I said as I turned around and took her in an embrace of my own, tucking her head under mine, “there's a part of me that doesn't want it to get better. Who's to say that by me becoming too comfortable with this situation I wouldn't want to leave if and when there was a chance to.”

“Would that be so bad?” she asked quietly.

“Maybe... I don't know.” I replied in my own quite voice unsure of my feelings on the situation.

We stood there for I don't know how long just holding one another. Not as a princess or a tech sergeant, nor as a mare and man, not even as a goddess and a mortal. But as two friends who shared similar difficulties taking strength in the mere presence of one another.

Once we drew away from each other I wiped away the remains of a tear that still had not fallen from her eyes wanting to change the subject, “Sorry again. So I assume it was a rough day at court?”

She laughed lightly at that as she batted my hand away playfully, “A very rough day.”

“Well I don't have much to offer except a warm shower, some food, and a friendly ear to listen all about it.”

“That sounds splendid actually.” she said as she smiled.

“Well I believe that you should remember where the bathroom is, why don't you get started and I'll be up soon to start on dinner. I just need to finish up down here.”

“Very well.” she said with a nod and began to make her way up the stairs, my eyes not passing up the opportunity to sneak a glance at her backside. What? If you saw the caboose on her you'd probably fall to the ground weeping and cursing God on why he didn't allow you to see such wonders earlier in you life.

As I heard the shower turn on I focused back to the task I was busy with beforehand. Grabbing a torque wrench and a crowfoot socket, I quickly did the conversion for the torque setting in my head before adjusting the wrench and tightening down the individual cylinder bolts. Once I was done I put the tools back where they had come from and finished the last of my cider, before grabbing another one from the fridge as I made my way up the stairs to the apartment.

I was in the middle of pulling out ingredients when I heard Gilzia's voice come from the shower.

“Eric can you come here for a moment?”

A simple phrase that made a flood of thoughts run through my mind, mainly ones that were accompanied by some funky sounding music or the seductive sounds of Mr. Marvin Gaye. Strange enough at that same moment I heard her let out a whimper and I heard something fall in the shower. Fearing that something had happened I dropped what I was doing and rushed into the bathroom to see that she was okay.

Running into the bathroom I could see her sitting on the floor of the shower stall through the frosted glass door. Not wasting a moment I went over to the shower and opened the door, “Gilzia are you alright?”

She looked up at me in a daze and I noticed that her magenta eyes were dilated and her breathing was coming in short deep breaths. Figuring that she might be having a hard time breathing I quickly turned off the shower and picked her up, not worrying about the fact she was still wet. As I carried her to the living area I felt her body burning up as her fingers lightly grazed against my neck before I sat her down on the couch. After she was positioned on the couch I went and opened up a couple of windows to allow some air circulation through the room.

Coming back to her I cupped her face in my hands as I tried to get her to focus.

“Gilzia, come on, snap out of it.” I said as panic began to take hold of me.

Her eyes found mine and she cupped my face in her own hands and the look in her eyes growing deeper and almost more seductive.

“Gilzia?” I asked cautiously not having seen this side of her before. Sure she had been playful in her teasing before, but it had always been in a good-natured mood not the look of want she was looking at me with now.

My voice must have finally broken whatever spell was over her as I saw her pupils slowly return to normal and a blush come across her face. She seemed obviously confused over her current situation as I saw her eyes dart around trying to take in anything that would help explain what had happened.

“Are you okay?” I asked as her eyes came back to mine, “ You called me into the bathroom before I heard you fall. When I found you having problems breathing so I brought you out here to get some fresh air.”

“Thank you, Eric,” she said as she withdrew her hands from my face and I allowed her to sit up, “it seems like our bond is affecting me more than I imagined it would.”

“What do you mean?” I asked her not understanding what she was referring to.

“Remember the side-effect that we found out about the bond on that first day?”

“Of course how could I forget,” I said remembering how my emotion of loneliness had also been felt by the two princesses making them feel the same level of loneliness that I had.

In the months since the bond we had found out a few more interesting developments from it than just being able to talk with each other through our minds. The sisters could hear my thoughts if they so chose yet I could not do the same with them, but they could pick up my emotions in return and I could feel theirs to a certain extent. Although all of this was determined on our proximity to each other, the closer we were the stronger it was and vice-a-verse. So that meant while they were in the palace and I was here the transference of emotions was so minor that it almost couldn't be felt unless it was a particularly strong emotion, but when we were closer to one another...

“Oh...,” I said as I came to the conclusion, but it was only momentarily as I remembered a glaring detail about it all, “But wait a minute, the feeling of our emotions has never been strong enough to actually take effect before.”

Gilzia's blush deepened a little, “That may have to do with me I'm afraid.”

“You? Why?”

“Because I have come into season.” she said to herself low enough to where I couldn't make out what she had said.

“What?”

“I am in heat!” she said a little forcefully as her eyes shone and her cheeks were a deep blush before looking away from me.

“Oh, sorry Gilzia,” I said feeling her embarrassment start to flow over me, “you don't have to tell me more.”

“It is okay. It is just that I have never experienced a cycle like this in the thirty-six hundred years that I have had them. It was not too bad when I was at the palace, but when I was taking my shower I suddenly felt a level of desire that I had never felt before. The next thing I know I was here on your couch. I think it may have something to do with your touch being able to neutralize my magic in addition to that portion of our bond overcoming any restraints I may have put up.” She said as she looked at her hands in her lap and I could feel her emotions change from those of embarrassment to that of uncertainty and even fear at what she had probably almost done.

I placed a reassuring hand on top of hers as I spoke, “It's alright Gilzia you didn't do anything. I'm just glad you're alright, you had me worried there for a moment.”

“Yes I am fine, thank you for your concern and friendship,” she said as she patted my hand before she stood. “I should probably return back to the castle, thank you once again and I'm sorry I could not stay for dinner.”

“It's alright, you're always welcome here Gilzia. Anytime you or your sister want somewhere where you can set down the crown and let down your hair, so to speak.” I told her as she arched an eyebrow.

“Is that how you truly see my sister and I? As just another mare?”

“Of course, why wouldn't I? The crown is just a title it doesn't make up who you are.” as I told her this she gave me one of her warm smiles that I was familiar with.

“Thank you again,” she said as she turned to leave but paused and turned back to me. “And on the subject of the ball ... ?”

I gave a sigh at the subject getting brought up again, “You're not going to let this go are you?”

“No, not until you say yes,” she said with that same smile.

I had to chuckle a little bit at her determination as I finally admitted defeat, “Alright Gilzia I shall go, but I ask one thing of you.”

“What is that?”

“When you tell Pyre can you make it sound like I put up more of a fight about it?”

She let out a laugh that relieved any lingering tension in the room as she nodded to me, “Of course Eric, farewell.”

And with that she was gone in a flash of light as quickly and quietly as she had come. After she had left I made my way back to the kitchen to continue where I had left off on making dinner, just with one less serving needing to be made. As I unwrapped the fillets of trout that I had caught yesterday when I was out helping Paxxila gather some for her animals a sudden realization dawned on me.

I had no clothes for this ball. That meant that I had to go into town to the only source of clothes there tomorrow, Vivmay's boutique.

“Crap.”

Paxxila/ Fluttershy
Vivmay/ Rarity

The next morning found me walking down the road from the compound on an errand that had almost become a necessary chore for me since my arrival to this town of Ponyville. Even though it was not illegal for me to consume meat while I lived here in this kingdom, the availability of consumable meats was sometimes hard to come by. In the bigger cities like the capitol and Manehatten it was easier to find because of the larger variations of species that lived there, but here in the more rural towns where populations were predominantly of the pony varieties it was almost near impossible to find.

Save for the occasional merchant that would pass through, I was left with very few options for protein sources save for eggs and beans. This caused me to have to resort to more 'personal' means of getting the protein I required, namely fishing and hunting. The later proved fairly difficult because of the plethora of sentient creatures here that back on Earth, would have been on the dinner table faster than you could say "Come and get it!" So to make do I mainly resorted to fishing as my main source of meat with the occasional venture into the Everfree forest for my wild game.

Now I know that in the past the girls have told me that they were not bothered by the fact that I am a predator and consume meat, but the look of uneasiness on their faces after one incident where Xam and a couple of the other girls spotted me coming out of the forest with a kill draped over my shoulder kind of said it all. That was why I now tried to limit my collection times to either early in the morning or late in the afternoon so as to lessen the chance of running into any of the locals. But like I said earlier hunting was a very rare endeavor for me, instead I relied on fishing which didn't seem to make the locals as queasy as them seeing me haul around a carcass.

So that explains why I could now be found strolling down the road shirtless with a skip in my step and my fishing rod on my shoulder like some kind of modern day Huck Finn. All the while I whistled some tune that I had heard years before and had forgotten the name of. The sun was just coming up and there was still a light mist on the ground which usually meant that the fishing would probably be pretty good. Which was good news to me, because I was hoping to catch enough to last me for the next couple of days. Although I wasn't sure what I was going to do when winter came in a few months, maybe I would have to close shop and move back to the capitol or some other large city. Either way I guess I'll have to cross that bridge soon enough.

Finally I reached the marker in the road that let me know to cut off into the woods to the right onto a game trail that would eventually lead me to my secret fishing spot. While passing through the woods I thought I saw a shadow pass over me, looking up to see what it was I saw nothing. I thought maybe it had been a passing bird or even one of the more curious locals who had decided to follow me. To be honest it wouldn't have been the first time that one of them had done that, for while the majority had been overly welcoming to me there were always a couple who didn't know what to make of me so kept their distance. The girls had tried to keep the rumors away from me as best they could but with my growing understanding of the language I could begin to make out what was being said about me.

They ranged from the innocent rumors of children who would say that I was the product of some kind of dark experiment and was here to eat them all, similar to their myth of Upnoqevi Tuuv and overrun the land of Equestria. Pyre and myself had had a good long hard laugh about that one when I told her about it. I also knew that many a parent used the fib as a tool to keep their rowdy foals and fillies in line because they would randomly come up to me when I was at the market and thank me for some reason like I had done them some kind of favor. As wrong as it might of sounded, I still had to laugh at it, being reminded of tales of the boogeyman from my own childhood. One couple even told me that their kid would be dressing up as me during the upcoming festival of Upnoqevi Tuuv. But still there were others who worried, that because of my immunity to magic, that I was the first of a possible army of invaders that they would have no defense against. And of course there were the usual racist ones who just plain didn't like me for some reason, but having grown up in the South you learned how to deal with those individuals by just ignoring them and leaving them alone.

Not seeing anyone, I continued on along the path and soon came out of the woods into a clearing. Taking one more cautious look around to ensure that I was indeed alone, I took in a deep breath of fresh air and just soaked up the peace and tranquility of it all. This was one of many sanctuaries that I had come upon in my exploration of the lands surrounding this little town of Ponyville. The clearing was fairly large, spanning about the size of a football field in every direction. While the ground was covered in a layer of bright green grass that stood about knee-high and was saturated from the low lying fog that billowed like a thick white smoke in the early morning light. Running through the middle of the clearing like an old slithering snake weaved the stream that I had come to see.

I made my way towards the bank of the stream that was made up of smooth grey river rocks, all the while my feet were cushioned by the still chilled grass. Once I had reached the shore I slipped a hand into one of the side pockets of my pants and I pulled out a small binder made of worn brown leather which I proceeded to open to reveal a couple different varieties of feathered lures, each one a myriad of colors.

I picked one that was a mix of greens and reds and had done good for me in the past and I tied it onto the end of the line. Rolling up my pants legs I wadded out into the stream, the cold water washing away any lingering drowsiness I may have had. Once I was about knee-deep in the flowing water I spotted a calm spot in the flowing water about twenty-five feet off to my left. Setting the line into the water I let the current of the stream carry away the lure until all the slack had been released. Lifting the rod behind my head I focused ahead of me at my target and once I was fairly sure the line would go where I wanted I swept my arm forward and watched the line go.

The weighted line sailed through the air landing close to my target, but I only let it stay on the water for but a moment before pulling my arm back again drawing the lure away from the water only to cast it again at the apex of my arm motion. I continued on for a few moments in slow sweeping strokes as I set myself into a lazy rhythm.

Fly fishing was just one of those skills that I had to learn since my arrival here. Before arriving in Equestria I had heard of fly fishing and understood the basics of it but had never learned how to do it, preferring the more common rod and reel for my needs. But the lack of casting reels here in Equestria made me resort to a type of fly fishing that I had heard from one of my fishing buddies who used to be stationed in Japan. Apparently up in the mountain streams of Japan they practiced a simplified version of fly fishing that used just a long flexible rod and your line, I think it was called tenkara or something like that. Making the gear was easy enough being as it just called for a long piece of flexible bamboo and a line. The hard part was making the lures, called flies, which I had to do over many trial and errors till I found a technique that finally worked. While it was all makeshift and I'm sure my techniques were sub-par to an actual tenkara fisherman, it had worked well enough for my needs and I had been lucky enough to catch a decent amount of fish with the setup.

As my rhythm began to smooth out, I settled into an almost zen like calm as I listened to the sound of my line whipping through the air and the droning buzz of insects. From under the water I could see the movement of a fish that had been attracted to the commotion my lure was causing. Adjusting my aim a little I cast it one last time and let the bait finally be able to sink below the surface of the water as I waited in anticipation.

In a flash of yellow and a slap of the fish's tail against the water, the trout took the bait and went to leave with its newest meal, but unbeknownst to the trout this meal bit back. Yanking back on the rod I watched the line go taunt as the hook on the lure dug in. The fish began to thrash about as it desperately tried to get off the hook, but I wasn't going to let it go without putting up a fight first. Getting a firmer hold of the rod and holding it almost vertical I begin to step back dragging the fish back to the shore along with me.

After a few moments I had managed to pull the fish into shallow enough water that I could see it's yellow and brown body through the crystal clear stream. With one final tug on my rod I was able to pull it clear of the water, claiming victory in our little battle. Tucking my rod under one of my arms I was finally able to grab my prize with my bare hands and get a good look at it.

It was a beaut of some kind of trout that was native to these lands, and from past experiences with this species it would make an excellent meal along with some steamed veggies. But it was only one meal and I was going to need more before it came time to call it a day and head on over to Vivmay's boutique to talk with her about getting me some clothes made for this upcoming ball. Plus while I was there I figured I would talk with her about a couple of other things that had been swirling through my mind as of late.

Anyways, back to the task at hand I suppose.

Holding the trout firmly in one hand I pulled the hook out of its mouth before placing the future meal in the small, moss-lined, wicker creel that hung from my shoulder.

While looking down I noticed another shadow slowly pass over me again. Thinking it was a cloud or something I looked up to notice that I now had company, although they were far from unwanted. I guess when I mentioned earlier that this was one of my favorite spots I guess that the more appropriate term would have been "our" favorite spot. Because it had originally been my guest's spot well before I had accidentally stumbled upon it one day. In fact I had already come back a couple of times before we just happened to bump into each other one day.

"Good morning Paxxila, how are you doing today?" I greeted the shy butter-colored mare as she landed softly on the shore next to me and gave me a happy smile that could warm even the coldest of hearts.

"Oh, I'm doing fine Eric, thank you for asking," came her gentle reply in her sweet voice.

"Not a problem," I told her as I made my way back into the stream and began my casting motion again. "So what brings you out here so early? Can't be just to see lil' old me."

A light rosy tint crept across her cheeks at my tease which made her look all the more innocent as she stumbled a little when she spoke, "N-no it's just that I was going to see my little otter friends this morning , and I thought it would be nice to bring them something to eat."

"That sure is nice of you," I replied to her as I spotted another location in the water that looked promising and slowly began to make my way over, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Oh you don't have to, I mean that is if you don't really want to." Paxxila said to me as I saw her nervously start to fidget with her fingers.

"Nonsense," I assuredly said to her, effectively dismissing her worries, "I'm always willing to help out a friend. Especially a cute one."

Her blush deepened as she hid her face behind her long flowing pink mane, and I had to let out a little chuckle at the adorableness of it all. After a moment though she was able to regain some of her composure, and took to the sky again to begin fishing at a different spot clear of my casting.

As we fished I got a chance to observe the pegasus way of fishing as I would draw in another fish to the shore or just happen to catch a random glance over to where the little yellow mare was. I remembered that one time Xam had mentioned to me that pony scientist believed that, before their people had come to this planet, all three of the pony species came from a single ancestor that sounded like an early version of a prehistoric horse. From there the species evolved into the three main represented species around today due to them adapting to the ecosystems that they used to live in. And as I watched Paxxila fish I would almost think that the Pegasus race had picked up a little more bird in them along the way besides just the wings that grew from their backs.

Paxxila seemed to have two basic approaches to fishing, depending on the situation she found herself in. While the approaches may have been varied, Paxxila seemed quite adept in both forms as I watched her work. One method was to circle high enough in the sky so that she could use her sharp vision to spot the fish swimming just below the surface. Once she spotted the one she wanted I would watch as she slowly rolled over into a dive, all the while never loosing sight of her target. Picking up speed Paxxila would wait for the right moment to extend her wings and level out just over the top of the water while using her increased speed to surprise her prey as she used her hands like a pair of talons to pluck it from the water as she passed.

The other method the yellow mare would use only if there was no room for a pass or if the fish were too deep. Slowly she would hover just above the water with just the tip of her pink tail dipped into the water wiggling like a delicious worm. All the while with the sun to her back so as to hide herself from her prey. Patiently she would wait with only her eyes moving while her wings beat lazily, her magic keeping her afloat more than her wings were. How that was possible I wasn't sure, maybe one day I would ask her, or maybe even Xam might know something about pegasus magic being an alicorn and all. Anyways, when the right moment would present itself to her, she would stop beating her wings, canceling the magic around her and causing her drop into the water atop the fish as the water would splash about her like a shower of diamonds in the early morning light. Each drop that fell on her simply beading off the waterproof coating that covered her fur and wings.

After an hour or so of fishing we had brought in quite the haul together totaling twelve fish, although more than half of them were caught by the beautiful pegasus mare. We looked over the batch of fish inside my creel, both satisfied with our catch.

"Oh thank you for helping me Eric. I'm sure that the otters will be very happy with their meal," she said happily as she beamed a smile at me that would stop a lesser man's heart with its sincerity.

"Not a problem Paxxila," I replied as I took out another fishing line that I had originally brought as a spare in case my first one broke, but would now serve as a suitable line to string on a portion of our catch for me to take home so that Paxxila could take the rest of them in the basket.

As I measured out the portion I was going to need to start stringing the first fish on, I heard something big moving off in the woods to our left from the other side of the stream. Looking up I saw something that I had hoped that I would never have to see while out fishing, or anywhere else that I wasn't protected for that matter. For coming out of the treeline strolled a colossal looking brown bear and it was coming straight for us.

'Holy shit it's a bear!' I thought to myself as I almost crapped my pants in the process, yet I still seemed to instinctively tuck Paxxila behind me.

"Uh.. Eric," came the timid voice of the yellow mare form behind me as the bear made its way through the stream, unfazed by the rushing water.

"It probably smells the fish Paxxila. Here' what I'm going to do, I'm going to give it the basket and make a break for it while it's busy, but I want you to fly out of here at the first chance you get Paxxila," I whispered to the pegasus behind me as I readied the creel to throw, but when I didn't hear a reply from the mare behind me I chanced a glance behind me to find her no longer there, "Paxxila?"

Taken aback a little by her seemingly sudden departure it wasn't until I saw the looming figure of the bear out of my peripherals as it stood on its hind legs that I was ripped back to the threat at hand. Looking back forward I was meet by the towering wall of dark brown fur of the bear that now stood in front of me.

Cautiously my eyes trailed up its shaggy body, taking note of its powerful forelegs. Each one ending in a paw armed with five, ten inch claws that were as black as iron and capable of cutting through my skin like a warm knife through butter. Moving further up I came to its mighty maw that currently, even though open, managed to still cover the bear's teeth. Its hot breath blasting my face like a furnace with each exhale and stunk with the smell of halitosis. Going against all the voices in my head I finally looked into its tiny black eyes that framed its heavy head and held nothing for me, save for cold and death.

"You stop lex right now," I heard Paxxila's voice say from in front of me with a level of sternness that I had never heard from before by the gentle yellow mare.

Looking down again I see the powdered pink of the top of Paxxila's head as she continued to scold the giant of a bear that was currently towering over the both of us like a mother would an unruly child.

"Um... Paxxila," I began nervously at her sudden boldness, but I didn't get a chance to say more as it was my turn to be cut off.

"Lex was zivc mean of you, acpun to scare Eric moi lex. You know lex you're bigger than he is," the once timid mare said as she waved a disapproving finger up at the bear's face as she placed her other hand on her hip.

The bear, to my surprise, seemed to listen to Paxxila as it lowered itself back down on all four and let out a whimpering roar as it hung its head in shame.

'I'll be a sonuvabitch,' I thought to myself, not wanting to disturb whatever it was I was seeing as Paxxila began to comfort the bear who was now rubbing its massive head against her stomach, while letting out a series of content whimpers.

"Aww, it's okay. I know lex you were nyx lyrvc, but you just need to be sqvi gevijyp lex'z all," she told the bear as she smiled and scratched behind one of its fuzzy ears.

"Paxxila," I whispered quietly, managing to get a hold of the yellow mare's attention, "how did you do that? Was that magic?"

She just gave me one of her warm smiles and shook her head slightly from side to side as she continued to pat the bears head. Looking like the physical embodiment of the angel that saved Daniel from the lion's den, "Sometimes all any pony ever needs is to be shown a little bit of kindness."

Her statement for some reason brought me back to our meeting on the train ride to the capitol when I had first arrived here, "So is that why you hugged me on the train?"

She seemed to regain some of her bashfulness at being reminded of that, "Yes even though you seemed a little big and scary yourself at first. I saw that when you were looking out the window on the train that you weren't really mean or scary, you were just scared and lonely."

I couldn't help but feel a little choked up at the little mare, because save for probably the celestial sisters had I ever known anyone with such a pure and innocent heart. That's probably why amongst all the other girls, Paxxila had always held a special place in my heart. Maybe it was because of her kind nature or maybe it was because she reminded me a little of my kid sister, but either way I knew that I held a strong protective urge towards the butter-colored mare.

"So how do you know the bear?" I asked as I thought about scratching the bear on the head as well, but my confidence in not getting bit apparently wasn't as high as Paxxila's as I kept all of my appendages close to my body.

"Oh, this is Mukwa. He comes by my cottage quite often for massages and to have his back reset. Poor darling gets that way because of all the rocks he sleeps on." she said as she leaned down and wrapped her arms around the bear's massive head giving it a sympathetic hug. As Mukwa just soaked up all of the attention that the gentle mare was giving out.

"You know you're going to make someone very lucky one day." she immediately blushed at my comment, and even though I may have not meant to say it out loud it was still the truth.

Paxxila stood back up and hid her red face behind her long pink bangs, "I'm not anything special."

"Of course you are," I told her as I stepped up to her and gently grabbed her by the shoulders turning her to face me, even though she continued to look down, "Look, Paxxila, I've never known anyone, human or pony, as gentle and kind as you, and you deserve to find someone who will take good care of you."

She didn't say anything but I knew that she heard me as she gave me a slight nod of her head.

"And if they don't, you just come and find me and I'll set them straight for you." I joked with her. That seemed to lighten the mood significantly as she looked up at me finally and giggled a little as she gave a small smile.

"All right Eric, and thank you."

"Anytime Paxxila."

I stayed and talked with Paxxila and Mukwa for a couple more minutes before I noticed that I should probably be on my way if I was going to get to Vivmay's boutique before it was too late. Bidding farewell to my friend and giving Mukwa the biggest fish of the day, I took up my string of fish and made my way back towards the compound. Once there I went to my usual place downwind of the facility where I could clean my catch without running the risk of offending the more sensitive noses of the workers. Placing my fillets in the refrigerator and putting my fishing gear away I jumped into the shower to wash up real quick, and after telling my foreman Alvirg Lieh that I would be gone away on business for most of the day I found myself on the road again. This time heading towards town.

The walk to town was quick enough and I made good time arriving around lunch time. The townsfolk were out and about running errands of their own and we would exchange courtesies as I would pass them on my journey towards Carousel Boutique. The shop was placed on the other side of town and I soon made it there without incident as I arrived at the tall pink building.

Part of my stomach turned at the sight of the very feminine looking building and an impending feeling of doom washed over me as another part of me wanted to turn around and head back the way I had came. It's not that I was afraid or anything, alright so maybe the unicorn mare that ran this place did make me nervous a little bit. Even though she may have the appearance of a beautiful mare who only seemed worried about the finer things in life and held a refined disposition, I could tell from past experiences that behind her piercing blue eyes was a wit sharper than the sharpest sword, able to cut through any defenses to get what she wanted to know. Still I had already given my word to Gilzia and Pyre that I would attend this ball and I was also in need of warm clothes for the coming winter. So I was just going to have to tighten my jockstrap and get this over with as quickly as possible.

Walking up to the building I noticed the sign in the front door showed the characters for "open" so turning the knob I pushed the door open, the sound of the shopkeeper's bell ringing crisply throughout the building. Inside it was quiet, almost too quiet, as I wondered if the white fashionista had stepped out momentarily on some sort of delivery or other pressing errand.

"Just a minute darling, I'll be out qisqerempic," I heard the cheery voice of the shopkeeper say from one of the back rooms, and true to her word in a few moments she made her entrance into the foyer looking as prim and proper as always, "I do etspykimd for lex, welcome to Car- oh Eric, it's you, "she said as she stopped upon noticing it was me before giving me a friendly smile, "It's been too long since you've graced my poor shop. For what do I owe the pleasure?"

I ran a hand through my short black hair as I nervously looked into her blue-eyes, "Well I was needing some warmer clothes for winter, and also something for this ball that I have to go to that the Princesses are putting on for me."

I kind of muttered the last part but Vivmay's sharp hearing didn't have any problem picking it up.

"You're going to a ball at the palace!" Vivmay said excitedly as she appeared next to me almost as fast as Tupomi as her smile grew wider and her eyes twinkled like sapphires, "And you need me to make something for you to wear that will be seen by all the ponies of high society?"

"Um...yes"

"Oh Eric you've made me the luckiest mare in Equestria." she swooned as she gave me a hug.

"Uh, you're welcome." I replied to her feeling a little confused on her reaction as I gave a half-assed hug in return, I knew that she would be excited to do the clothes but didn't quite expect a reaction like this.

"Well we have absolutely no time to waste," she said as she took my hand in her own,and dragged me with a strength I was unaware that she possessed over to one of her measuring stations in front of a series of mirrors, "Now if you would be so kind as to get undressed, we have a lot of work to do?"

"Why do you need me to get undressed?" I asked her as I began removing my clothes like she had asked, until all I was left with was just a pair of boxers.

"Why to take your measurements, darling," Vivmay replied as her white horn began to glow a light blue and she levitated a pair of red-framed cat eye glasses along with all the material that she would need to take down my measurements over to her.

"But don't you already have my measurements from the last time you made me clothes?" I asked her while feeling a little chilly as I stood there exposed, not having a coat of fur like the ponies of this land. But she just seemed to brush off my concern.

"Of course I do, I keep records of all my clients. But this is for a special occasion and the measurements must be perfect," She paused for a moment as she looked at me and I watched her eyes go downward, "Eric dear?"

"Yeah Vivmay?" I said as I followed her line of sight down to my boxers, but not finding anything wrong, "What is it, is something wrong?"

"Well I should say there is, I told you to get undressed and that most certainly is not undressed." she said as she pointed an offended finger to the last remaining piece of dignity I still had.

"You do remember that I'm different from a stallion down there," I tried to remind her as I crossed my arms.

"Of course I remember, and I'll remind you that it isn't anything I haven't seen before. Plus you came to me for help, and if you want it you'll do everything I ask of you when I ask it," she retorted as she crossed her own arms.

We silently stared at each other for a few moments as I attempted to win this argument and show this white mare before me that I was the one in charge. At least it would have gone that way if she wasn't so good at making me crack. She narrowed those eyes of hers at me over the rim of her glasses as she began to impatiently tap her arm with one of her fingers causing me to flinch. With a sigh of defeat I hooked my thumbs in the band of my boxers and pushed them down letting them drop to the floor before kicking them over towards my other clothes. Vivmay let a smirk of satisfaction cross her full lips at her victory and I didn't miss the passing glance her eyes made below my waist as I recrossed my arms and mentally grumbled about the stubbornness of females.

"There you go, now that wasn't so hard now was it?" she asked me sweetly, receiving only a grunt as my reply, "Now let's begin, arms out please."

She levitated the tape measure over to me as I did what she had asked and spread my arms out wide, but as soon as the tape touched my skin the magic controlling it dissipated causing it to fall to the ground. Both Vivmay and my eyes watched as the length of tape fell into a pile on the ground and just stared at it for a moment as a realization dawned on the both of us.

"Oh my, I seem to have forgotten about that," the seamstress said more to herself than to me as the cocky attitude she had just displayed fell as fast as that tape measure.

My mood on the other hand was feeling slightly better as we met each others gaze again, this time it was me who had the confident grin on their face. If she was wanting to get measurements from me she was going to have to do it 'personally.' Although always the professional and not willing to let a minor setback keep her from completing her job she walked over to me and knelt down, picking up the dropped strip. With a light blush on her cheeks she began to take the first measurement of the inside length of my left arm.

"So darling have you chosen a date to bring to this event?" Vivmay asked as she moved her way around to my back to measure the width of my broad shoulders.

"A date? Am I supposed to bring one?" I asked as I felt the tape along the length of my spine.

"It is not required I'm sure, but it would be expected considering the importance of the event." she said as I felt the tape measure first around my chest and them my waist.

"Why do you say that? Is this really that big of a deal?"

"Oh but of course it is? You have become quite the celebrity amongst the nobility and those in high society, and not just in Equestria. The gossip rags are practically buzzing about you as word of you spreads throughout the other countries." Vivmay replied as I felt the tape around my neck before I heard her jot down the note in her pad.

"Me? A celebrity?" I asked, confused at why those two words would ever be used in the same sentence, "How am I all that interesting to a bunch of nobles and uppity-ups? All I am is a dumb mechanic."

"Are you serious?" the white mare asked me incredulously, "Do you have any idea of the magnitude of your being here on our world?"

"Obviously not," I said more to myself than as a reply to her question.

"You're without a doubt the single most important discovery in the history of our world. There isn't a scholar, or noble, or country that would pass up the opportunity to get a chance to meet you." she explained to me as she moved to my front and knelt down to take the measurements of my legs, as I tried not to think about there being a beautiful woman kneeling in front of me. Instead I decided to focus on the conversation at hand.

"This is because of what I know isn't it?" I told her as I began to catch onto what she was saying.

"Of course, your knowledge of your world could completely change any part of our society. Why what even I wouldn't give to know more about the fashions of your world," she said as I felt her hand pull the tape along the inseam of my thigh.

"Well I hate to say but fashion was never a very big interest of mine." I admitted as I desperately thought about anything other than the hand against the sensitive skin on the inside of my upper leg.

"Alright all done. You can get dressed now," she said as she thankfully removed her hand and stood up as she wrote down the last of her notes, "And while you might not of had an interest in it you still have a knowledge of what it is. That alone could be enough to start a fashion revolution. Think of it new types of materials, colors, patterns and styles."

"Huh, I guess I never thought of it that way." I said as I pulled my pants up and saw her do a little twirl as she giddily thought about all the new possibilities.

Vivmay quickly realized what she was doing as a light pink came on her cheeks as she regained her composure, "Yes, well. Was there anything in particular that you are looking to wear?"

I rubbed the back of my neck as I thought about what I would like to wear, "I originally thought about getting a set of dress blues made, but now, being as you reminded me that I'm more of a representative of my species as a whole I think I'll stick with a simple tuxedo."

"Uh-huh," I heard the mare say absentmindedly as I saw her sketch away in her notebook, the pencil flying across the paper as it was guided by her magic. After a few moments she lifted the pencil as she turned the notebook around for me to see, "This design would look absolutely marvelous on you."

Taking the notebook I looked over her design and like always I was very impressed with her skills, "Yes that will do more than perfect. So is there anymore advice you can give me about this event."

Vivmay took back the notebook and flipped the page as she looked to me again, "I would say be wary of attempts to gain your favor."

"What kind of attempts?"

She brought the end of her pencil to her lips as she thought about some examples to give me, "Things such as offers of money, titles, positions of power, propositions of marriage or to join a herd."

"Join a herd?" I asked the purple-haired seamstress, confused on the meaning of the word here, "What do you mean join a herd?"

"It's an older form of union that is still practiced by many citizens across the planet, but recently it seems that it is steadily being replaced by a more monogamous view." Vivmay said as the spirit of creativity began to move through her again and she began to sketch away on her pad.

"So it's polygamy." I stated as Vivmay looked up from her pad suddenly.

"Oh no, well not entirely." she said a little as she thought about it for a moment before turning away from me and walking towards the room where I knew her kitchen was. Stopping after a few steps she looked back over her shoulder at me, "I think we should discuss this over some refreshments if you don't mind."

"Of course," I said as I followed her elegantly curled tail into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, I saw her grabbing a tray that was stacked with cinnamon rolls and gently took them from her before she could get to the round dinning table at the center of the room.

"Oh my such a gentlecolt," she said as she flashed me a smile and flipped her luscious hair over her shoulder.

"Well my mother raised me to always help out a lady," I told her as I picked up the tray of milk and sugar, setting both of the trays on the dinning table as well.

"And respectful of his mother I see, how admirable," Vivmay teased me as she gave a lighthearted laugh and levitated a small china pot of hot tea along with a pair of cups and saucers over to the table, as she physically carried over a pair of spoons. After she had sat down the items I pulled out her chair for her to sit down, flashing me another smile she sat down as I gently pushed her chair in before taking my own.

"So where were we?" she asked as she placed a tea strainer over my cup and, using her magic once again, poured out the steaming brown liquid as the solid particles were caught by the strainer.

"We were on the topic of relationships and the differences between our worlds." I told her as she finished filling up my cup and moved the strainer over to hers as I added a cube of sugar and a little milk to my cup, stirring it with my spoon.

"Oh yes," the seamstress said as she stopped pouring the tea, setting the pot and strainer to the side as she added just the milk to her own, "A herd can mean a lot of things to different ponies, depending on the situation that it was formed under."

"I'm not sure I understand." I told her as I lifted my saucer off the table before I grabbed my cup and brought it too my mouth, savoring the smell of the earthly aroma's from the liquid before taking a sip and setting the cup back on my saucer.

"You have to understand Eric that a herd is a group of individuals who share some kind of bond and choose to be together for a common goal whether that be for love, friendship, power, or any other number of reasons. Herd structure is traditionally made up of a head mare, although it's not uncommon these days to see a head stallion, who represents the head of the herd and what holds the herd together. If the basis of the herd is love between its members then the bonds of the herd members are treated as a marriage binding them all together, any other herd structure is much more loosely based as members can come into and leave the herd as they please, depending on the lead member.

"Each member of the herd draws upon the other members of the herd for comfort and support. This support can vary as well from completely platonic forms of comfort to more ... physical forms, " she paused a moment to take a drink from her own cup as I noticed a tint of pink on her cheeks.

"Hmm, well that makes me wonder then, and I hope you're not offended when I ask you this but are you-," I began to ask her before she cut me off.

"In a herd? Why yes I am." Vivmay said with a grin as she took another dainty sip, "The other girls and I are part of what's known as a "bachelorette" herd, meaning that we support each other until we have each found a more permanent relationship to enter into, whether that be into a herd of love or a monogamous marriage."

"But why would anyone want me to enter into a herd with them?" I said as I sat down the saucer and grabbed one of the cinnamon rolls, taking a bite out of the gooey treat.

"Why not? As I said earlier your knowledge of your world makes you very influential, and if anyone was to be able to get close with you then that would make them all the more important by default." Vivmay replied as she grabbed a roll of her own in her magic taking a bite, albeit a more ladylike one.

"What I meant is why would anyone want to? I'm not any sort of creature that exist on this planet, for all intents and purposes I'm an extra-terrestrial to this world." Even though I thought my statement had merit the white mare across from me instead just simply took another sip of her tea. Without looking up she answered me with a question of her own.

"Why should that matter?"

"Huh?" alright she had me confused now.

"You asked why anypony would try to start a relationship with you because you're a different species. I ask you why that should matter?" Vivmay said as she looked across the table at me expecting me to give her an answer.

"Because I'm different than you, why would somepony willing enter in a possibly romantic relationship with someone who was a different species?" I told her bluntly to which she gave a little sigh.

"Eric, my dear, there's something that you're going to have to understand about our world, and that is one's species does not decide who we are meant to fall in love with."

"You mean like how Xam's assistant, Prion, has a crush on you?" I told her as she gave a small smile. Supposedly the kid wanted to keep it a secret but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the young dragon had it bad for the beautiful mare sitting across from me.

"Yes, although I believe that the little sweetheart's affections for me are more like that of a colthood crush, I believe he'll be looking more and more at my sister and her friends here soon enough as they continue to grow up. Although I must be honest Eric I'm a little surprised by your interest in herds."

That kind of perked my interest, "Why do you say that?"

Vivmay grabbed the teapot and strainer again in her magic and went about filling up her cup again before answering me, "I would have figured that you were already part of a herd with Princesses Gilzia and Pyre, what with your bond and all."

"What?"

Etpinego/ Applejack
Etpitivi/ Applebloom
Zajepev/ Scootaloo
Waimi Fipi/ Sweetie Belle
Big Qeg/ Big Mac

After leaving Vivmay's boutique I found myself aimlessly wandering through the streets of Ponyville, oblivious to the other bystanders as I passed them, for I was too deep in my thoughts over the seamstress's words.

"I would have figured that you were already part of a herd with Princesses Gilzia and Pyre, what with your bond and all."

It was a simple enough of a statement and I guess I could see why she would think that, but to me those words seemed to weigh on my mind like a ton of bricks. The more I thought on it the more questions I had, and each one would bring yet more possible answers. Which, in turn, would open up new questions in a seemingly neverending cycle as I desperately searched for a solution to my conundrum.

Was I in a herd with Gilzia and Pyre, and if I was what was the basis of it?

Part of me just wanted to brush all of this off as unnecessary worry and move on with my life. I was relieved that nobody knew of the bond I shared with the princesses, save for the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and if Vivmay wanted to believe that the mental link was the premise behind her thinking that there was some sort of union between me and the princesses what harm could it do? Afterall, it was easy enough to explain if I was ever asked about it. The mental link was the only way that they could talk to me in time to save me from a short drop and a sudden stop at the hands of their douchey nephew. That's all there was to it, right? So far I had been given no reason to doubt that their intentions were anything less than to open a line of communication with me, and why shouldn't I believe them?

Yet no matter how much I told myself that, I could still hear a nagging, cynical voice coming from some dark corner of my mind that was telling me to stop being so blind and look at the facts that were staring me in the face. The biggest fact was that Gilzia and Pyre were the ultimate figures of authority in this kingdom, if not the whole planet. Heck, they are the physical embodiment of the sun and moon for Pete's sake, their word should be absolute and without question. In all reality they wouldn't have really needed to be able to talk with me to grant me my freedom if they so chose to. So what was the reason for it?

The answer to that question, I believe, laid in the conversation that they had had in the jail cell prior to forming the bond, back when they thought I was still unconscious. Unfortunately, I couldn't recall what they had said and my understanding of Equis was still not up to a high enough level to be able to decipher what they had said anyways. So what could it have been? The logical thought would be for the reason that Vivmay had mentioned before, that it was because of the knowledge that I held of my world deep within the recesses of my mind. Because as they say,"knowledge is power."

Surely the rulers of a country would want to keep their hands on a source of information like an alien species, especially if that source just so happened to fall right into their lap. Plus, they already seemed to have had some sort of prior knowledge of humans in general before even my coming to this world. Gilzia's knowledge in particular, was enough to be able to write a note to me in my own language. A language that they had had no prior interaction with before my arrival. Then there was the point of the aircraft that Pyre had asked me to help her people build no sooner than I had told them about it. Was this some bid for untapped knowledge and technology so as to maintain a position of power over any other rivals they may have? Would that be the reason for them to form a herd with me if they had?

No. As much as I wanted to believe it, I couldn't bring myself to alter my image of the two sisters into this new one of deceit and manipulation that my mind was trying to make them out to be. For even though I did not posses the ability to read their minds like they could mine, I trusted my gut feelings enough to believe that they were not trying to manipulate me in order to quench their thirst for power. But if that wasn't the true reason behind forming our link then what else could it be?

Obviously it was to gain my trust, but the question was why did they need to? If it wasn't so that they could use me then maybe it was for the opposite, maybe it was to keep me from the other countries. But that couldn't be the case either if this upcoming ball was any indication, along with the fact that they where allowing me to build this aircraft at all. Plus they had told me that the point of this ball was to maintain the peace by sharing my existence with the other countries. So while they may have possibly formed a herd with me to keep me close to them it wasn't to keep me away from another country. Then maybe it was to keep me away from something else that they hadn't told me about yet.

Being as they hadn't mentioned anything about a herd to me meant that either there was none to begin with or they were trying to hide the fact from me. I could simply ask them, and I would, but I wanted to make sure I had all my ducks in a row prior to bringing it up. Then again it may come up quicker than I expected it to if they just so happened to be listening in on my thoughts right now. Which in the end may or may not be the most desirable thing to deal with right now considering their "vulnerable" state when they have been around me lately.

That brought up something else that I was wondering about, which was what was the two alicorn's view of our current relationship? I'm positive that it started out as a specifically platonic one, but given their actions as of late, especially Gilzia's visit last night I would be lying if I said I viewed it the same way now as I did at the beginning of yesterday. The way that Gilzia had described it was that because of her "heat", whatever that really was, and the mental connection between us she had momentarily lost control of herself, kind of like being drunk off of lust. But even lust has to stem from some kind of personal attraction, right? So if that was true then was Gilzia looking at the possibility for our relationship to becoming more than friendly? And what of Pyre, did she view it the same way? I wasn't sure, because I didn't have enough facts to make an answer out of it, and wouldn't until I got a chance to talk with them again. But there was a side of that question that I could answer, and that was did I feel the same way?

I would be lying if I said that I hadn't felt certain things towards them as of late and that I wouldn't be willing to try starting a relationship, but if I was honest with myself would that be the best course of action for everyone? Yes they were very attractive, in more ways than just physically, and they looked human enough to where the whole species thing didn't really bug me a whole lot. But if given the opportunity would I want to start a relationship with them, or any female here for that matter? Feelings aside, I was still trying to find a way back home and if I started forming more permanent connections here in Equestria would I ever want to go back to my own world? I could never bring myself to abandon a loved one here while I left to go back to my home, and I wouldn't run the risk of trying to convince them to come with me back to Earth. For I couldn't see the human race being as kind and accepting to them as these ponies had been to me. I had grown up in the Bible Belt and had watched enough world news to know that there was enough people in the world who would hate on us just because of the fact that she would be of a different species, much less from another world. So there was no way I could ask anyone that I loved to endure such hardships just because of my own selfish desire to return to my world. Yes the desire and curiosity was definitely there to try and begin a relationship, but in the end I still felt that the risk was too great as long as there was still a chance of my returning to Earth.

"Hiya Eric, whatcha doin' in town today?" I heard the familiar sound of Etpinego's voice calling to me, breaking me out of my meditations.

Turning towards the voice, I saw the attractive young farmer standing by her cart of apples smiling at me, and after giving a quick look around I noticed that I had somehow wandered into the marketplace in the center of town. Upon looking back at Etpinego, I saw that her smile was now replaced with a look resembling that of one of confused amusement.

"Are you alright sugar?"

"Yeah I'm fine Etpinego, just thinking on somethings," I told her as I mentally shook myself out of my funk and walked over to her stand. "So how's the apple selling going today?"

"It's going swell, probably the best day I've had in a while. You want one?" she asked as she held out one of her juicy red fruits.

"Sure do, you know I can't pass up the opportunity to taste one of your fruits Etpinego." I told her as I reached in my pocket for a couple of bits to pay her, but was stopped as she held up a hand in refusal.

"Sorry, but no can do Eric. Ah'm giving this one to you, y'ah don't owe me a thing," she said as she tossed me the fruit. Once I had caught it I brought it up to my mouth and sunk my teeth into the apple's juicy flesh, and as I chewed the bite I noticed that Etpinego had a smug look on her face, "So whatcha think of my fruit?"

Wiping a stray dribble of juice that had made it's way down to my chin I swallowed the bite in my mouth before answering the orange mare, "Still the best tasting and juiciest fruit I've ever had."

"You know it," she said as she gave me a playful wink, while my dirty mind tried to add some kind of hidden message to the meaning of those words. "So whatcha doin' in town, picking up some supplies for that aeroplane thingy of yours?"

"Not today," I told her before taking another bite of the apple, "I had to stop by Vivmay's for some more clothes."

"How'd that go over for y'ah? Bet it was about as enjoyable as walkin' through a briar patch." Etpinego said, giving me a mischievous grin.

I had to chuckle a little at her teasing, being as she knew all too well of my displeasure when it came to clothes shopping, "Actually it wasn't too bad, plus it gave me a chance to talk with her about somethings."

"Really? Like what?" she asked, seemingly interested in what me and the seamstress could have possibly talked about.

Taking another bite from the apple I waited till I had swallowed before answering her, "Not much, just over the upcoming ball that the Princesses are putting on, and then we got onto the topic of relationships."

"Oh did y'ah," she said, suddenly sounding a little solemn as she looked down a little before looking back at me, "Ah didn't think you two had that much in common."

Realizing what she might of been implying I quickly decided to squash that thought right away, "No, no, no, no nothing like that, she was just explaining to me how relationships work here, especially the concept of herds."

"Y'ah don't have herds where yer from?" she asked me as she helped a customer who came up to her cart, placing the apples that the customer had asked for in their bag.

"Not in the same sense of the word. We have some concepts that are similar, but nothing that covers such a broad term as it seems to here."

"So y'ah don't like em?" Etpinego said before she turned to greet another customer.

Waiting for the customer to finish being served gave me time to think over that question before answering her, "I don't know to be honest, in situations other than romantically I don't have an issue with them. Then again I'm not too sure what's the difference between an informal herd and just a group of ponies. Romantically though, I don't rightly know. I don't think I'd be opposed to the idea if it was suggested by a mare I was seeing, but I don't think I'll be getting into a relationship anytime soon."

"Aww shucks, you shouldn't say that! Maybe y'ah just ain't found the right mare is all," she said as she gave me a pat on the shoulder, I was about to correct Etpinego on her statement before she derailed my train of thought as she continued talking, "So where y'ah off to now?"

I gave a shrug before I replied, "Don't know honestly, by the time I get back to the shop it'll be closing up time so probably just head back there for a bite to eat."

"Well y'ah could always come back to the farm with me," Etpinego suggested as I saw her freckled cheeks grow in color a little, "I mean that is if'n y'ah want to. You know how Etpitivi and Granny love it when you stop by fer dinner."

Thinking it over for a bit I decided to take her up on her offer, "Sure why not. It's been a spell since I've seen Big Qeg as well."

"Well that's great! Ah was just ready to close up fer the night anyways so that I could go and get Etpitivi from school." the mare said excitedly as she tilted the stetson on her head back a little, revealing more of her golden blonde bangs.

"Mind if I help y'ah?" I asked Etpinego as she gave me a smile.

"Well sure.

In no time we had the little cart packed up and ready to go. As she loosened the leather harness to the cart I thought it was my duty as a man to offer to pull the cart for her. "Do you want me to help pull that for you?"

Etpinego just gave me a friendly smile as she nodded her head, "Nope, no need to bother. All us Etpi's are strong enough to pull a little ol' cart like this one here. Come's from all them years of applebuckin' and farm work." the orange farm mare said as she stuck out her plump backside towards me and with a flick of her long tail gave it a light smack to prove that it was indeed all muscle.

"I see," was all I could say as I was enamored by her ass. Totally focused on the three red apples there, and reminded of another line from that same song that seemed to play a lot in my head whenever I was around her.

"See anything y'ah like sugar?" the mare asked me with a seductive smile and a twinkle in her green eyes before breaking out into a playful laugh as my cheeks now were the ones that were red.

Not wanting to be outdone by the mare and maybe a little embarrassed at the fact that she had gotten one over on me. I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to me, surprising the blonde mare as her hat fell off her head and she looked up at me with her wide green eyes. Slowly I leaned down and whispered in one of her ears, as it twitched uncontrollably with each breath as I spoke.

"Whatcha offering?"

Pulling away from her I saw that her cheeks were now a definite shade of red as I gave her a coy smirk before I placed her hat back atop her head as she pulled down the front of the brim to help hide her face she gave me a playful push. Which being as she touched my shirt, as opposed to my skin, I received the full amount of her magically enhanced strength, and was promptly knocked my over onto my ass before I could catch myself. As we laughed at our playful flirting Etpinego finished strapping on the harness, and we were on our way towards the local schoolhouse.

The walk to the schoolhouse wasn't long and we soon found us in front of the small red building. We were still a little early as we filed into the group of adults that were waiting outside the white picket fence that surrounded the school grounds. Taking a quick scan of the faces in the crowd I notice a few recognizable faces as we exchanged silent greetings with a wave or a simple nod of the head. Soon enough I saw Miss Glivpi, the mulberry colored teacher, step out of the schoolhouse and begin to ring the bell out front, signaling the end of the school day.

As the bell tolled on a flood of colts and fillies began to funnel out of the single front door of the red building. Some of the children were excitingly talking with their friends about what they were going to do now, while others were busy looking for their guardians amongst the crowd of adults. Running towards me and Etpinego I could make out the big red bow atop Etpitivi's head, who was followed closely by the other two girls who made up her little trio of friends.

"Howdy sis. Howdy Eric. Etpinego is it okay if Waimi Fipi and Zajepev come over fer dinner?" the little yellow filly asked as she and her friends shot Etpinego with the most pleading set of eyes I had ever seen.

After a few moments the older mare gave into the girls as she rolled her eyes, "Alright, but you three need to promise to stay out of trouble."

"Of course we will Etpinego," I heard the little orange pegasus Zajepev say before joining the other two in trying to give us an innocent smile, but neither Etpinego nor myself were entirely convinced being all too familiar to how trouble seemed to walk hand in hand with these girls.

Soon our little band was off again with Etpinego leading the way as she continued to pull the heavy looking cart without a single sign of struggle. I walked closely beside her as we continued to talk about this and that. While the Cutie Mark Crusaders made up the rear talking amongst themselves about their next great plan to acquire their cutie marks.

"Eric," I heard the young light grey unicorn Waimi Fipi say as she stepped up along beside me, getting my attention, "do you have a witgemp zsqisvuf?"

"I not understand what you mean," was my broken reply, because I wasn't sure of the question, "What is witgemp zsqisvuf?'

"You know, a marefriend or wife?" Zajepev said as she joined the little unicorn, hovering just over my right shoulder as her little orange wings fluttered away.

Now understanding what the girls were trying to ask didn't make it any easier to answer the inquisitive fillies. Desperately I looked over to Etpinego for support of some kind, but she seemed to be oblivious to our conversation as she continued on, although her ears told me otherwise as they pivoted backwards towards us. Knowing that I wasn't probably going to get any help in this, I looked down into Waimi Fipi's big expressive green eyes that were silently begging me for an answer. Damn their lethal cuteness.

"No, I have no marefriend," I answered them in my broken Equis which seemed to be the answer the girls were looking for as I watched the trio give each other an excited grin.

"Well what are y'ah looking fer in a mare?" Etpitivi said in my ear as felt her arms wrap around my neck as she jumped on my back.

"What?" came my confused reply, "Why you ask that?"

"Do you like tall mares?" came Zajepev's inquiry as the girls chose to ignore my question in return for asking their own line of questions.

"Or maybe shorter mares?" Waimi Fipi said as her curly pink and purple hair bounced around as she began to skip along.

"What about Earth ponies?" Etpitivi said as the three of them began to ask off questions in rapid fire, not giving me the chance to answer.

"Or Pegasus mares?"

"What about Unicorns?"

"What kind of personality do you like?"

"Do you like older mares?"

"Or maybe younger mares?"

"Do you like my sister Etpinego?"

"Etpitivi!" I heard the older Etpi sister say suddenly, deciding to finally step in, stopping the line of questions from the fillies immediately as she came to a stop and looked back at the girls, "Now you three piezi Eric be, he's a full varsk stallion who can make his own higwrms. Y'ah viqifiv what happened last time y'all tried to play qexlquioiv with Miss Gilvpi?"

"Yes Etpinego," the trio said now downtrodden at having been admonished by the older mare.

Feeling a little sorry for the girls I got their attentions and motioned them closer as Etpinego resumed her walking. Kneeling down to their level I cupped my hand around my mouth to whisper to the girls, "I tell secret. I think Etpinego is great."

The girls all smiled but I held a finger up to my lips quickly signaling to the girls to remain quiet and I gave them a wink as they nodded their heads in agreement. I didn't think there was any harm letting the girls know that I thought Etpinego was a great mare and great friend, after all there shouldn't be anyway they could misunderstand the meaning of what I had told them. Right?

Quickly standing again I made my way back up next to the farm mare as we made the rest of the trip in relative silence. Upon arriving at the farm the girls ran off to go do whatever it was that they normally did, while I followed Etpinego into the barn to drop off the cart. Once inside the big red building she sat down her burden as I chocked one of the wheels with a stray piece of wood. As she removed the leather straps of the harness she stiffly rolled her shoulders, apparently the straps had been uncomfortable as I saw her give a wince in pain at a particularly sore spot. Feeling for the poor mare I came up behind her and lightly began to rub the tight muscles in her shoulders and back.

"What are you doing?" she asked startled by my actions, but was quickly silenced as she let out a hiss as I found a particularly tender spot.

"Shhh, I'm trying to help," I shushed her as I continued to work at the area, and I was soon rewarded by a content moan from the orange mare, "you should probably tag along with Vivmay and Paxxila to the spa once in a while. Let one of the triplets have a go at releasing this tension."

"Can't, too busy workin'," came her distracted reply as she lowered her shoulders, allowing my hands to work over her shoulder blades and traps.

"Then maybe you should get youself a stallion to do this for you at the end of the day," I said as I worked down her spine to her lower back.

"Could just hire you," was her breathy reply as she bent over the cart to allow me easier access as I ran my hands up the length of her back, her muscles turning to butter in my hands.

I chuckled at her comment as I continued manipulating the muscle fibers of her back, "I might take you up on that offer sometime, never know when I might need a job."

After a little while I had finished with her back and was about to start on her neck when the sound of someone clearing their throat rang out through the hollow vastness of the barn startling us both back to reality. As Etpinego shot back up we both looked towards the source of the noise and found Etpinego's big brother Big Qeg standing at the entrance to the barn with a pitchfork in his hands. Now I had known Big Qeg since my arrival to this sleepy little town of Torcpimz(Ponyville) and I had gotten along pretty well with the quiet giant of a stallion. Many a time we had ventured down into the cellar to sample the quality of the families liquor stores as we discussed many of the philosophical mysteries of the universe. Which would last until usually Etpinego or Granny Patzo came down to the cellar to drag Big Qeg off to bed and I would usually sleep off my buzz on their living room sofa, except for the occasional times that I thought I could walk myself home. Yet maybe it was the blank expression on his face or the pitchfork in his hand that made me think that being caught rubbing the back of the red stallion's little sister made those previous times count for jack-shit.

"Uh, hi Big Qeg." I greeted the eldest Etpi cautiously as I tried to gauge his reaction, but his only reply was a simple nod to me. "busy day?"

"Eeyup." was his simple reply.

"So what you doing?"

"Workin'."

"I sure you want answer?"

"Nope."

"Huh?" That was interesting because I thought that I was about to become very familiar with the pointy end of the farm tool he was holding.

"Etpinego can do what she tipewiz, just don't let Etpitivi or her friends gexel y'ah," was Big Qeg's reply as he rested the tool against one of the beams before leaving us as silently as he had found us.

Not understanding a couple of the words he had said I looked to Etpinego for clarification to find the blonde-maned mare fuming a little as her cheeks were flushed red. I wasn't sure if it was because of what her brother had said or if it was because she had been caught in a possibly embarrassing situation that he would more than likely tease her about later.

"Are you okay Etpinego?"

"Yeah I'm fine," she retorted quickly as she headed towards the barn entrance before calling back to me, "Come on Eric, Granny should have dinner ready soon."

Walking into the house indeed found the elder matriarch of the Etpi family setting the table as the decadent smells of country home cooking wafted into my nose. Upon seeing me Granny Patzo gave me a warm smile and motioned me to take a seat at the dinner table as Etpinego went to ring the dinner bell to call in the others. Soon we were all cleaned up and seated at the table with Granny Patzo and Big Qeg at each end, while the girls were seated on one side and Etpinego and myself were seated on the other. As we all dished out the food and dug in we were all soon enjoying the quiet meal.

As I listened to the conversations going on as best as I could I was reminded of similar dinners from my childhood growing up in Texas as I sat at the dinner table of my parent's. Honestly it made me a little homesick because it had been a couple of years since I had last seen my folks, and thinking of my current situation I wondered briefly how long it would be before I'd be able to see them again, if ever. And what of my grandparents? They were getting up in age and I figured they didn't have much time left, but I hoped that they could last till my return to Earth.

I was consumed mainly in my thoughts throughout the remainder of the meal, only contributing when required to for polite conversation, and after the meal I found myself wandering out the back door and settling into the swing bench on the back porch. Setting my glass of tea onto the wooden decking of the porch, I set myself into a leisure rhythm as I watched the sunset and remembered my home. Remembering all the places I had gone to and the people I had met along the way during my ten year career in the military. Further back my memories wandered to my childhood again as I recalled doing chores with my father or arguments with my little sister or the first time I took the car out on my own. Each one held a special place in my memories as an important part of what made me me. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't hear the backdoor open as I was joined by a visitor.

"Eric," I heard Etpinego say from behind me as I felt her hand rest upon my shoulder, "y'ah mind if I join y'ah?"

"Sure Etpinego, pull up a seat," I told her as I scootched over to the far side of the swing to allow her to sit down, "what's on your mind?"

"Are you all right sugar cube? You've been out of it fer most of the afternoon?" she asked as she sat down on the bench in normal pony fashion, tucking both of her long legs under her on the bench as she leaned over towards me.

Resting my head back against the bench and stretching my arms along the backboard of it I let out a sigh as I stared up at the beams that made up the underside of the roof of the back porch, "Yeah I'm fine Etpinego, I've just been thinking about my home is all."

"Yer home on Earth?" she inquired as I rolled my head towards her, my blue eyes captivated by her emerald green.

"Yeah, I just sometimes wonder if I'm ever going to see it again, or my family for that matter?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way to get back there. But what if y'ah can't? Whatda y'ah plan on doin'?" she asked as she looked away from me towards the setting sun as she rested her head against my arm.

"I don't rightly know," I admitted honestly, "providing that the aircraft flies like I've said it should I'll just have to find work somewhere else. And being as I don't want to feel indebted to the princesses by making them find me a more permanent job, I'll have to try and see where my skill sets best fit in when it comes to this world."

Etpinego just sat their silently for a few minutes as I just continued to slowly swing us back and forth, only the creaking and popping of the chains that held the swing up could be heard, singing out it's slow tempo song.

"Well," she began as I heard her voice grow drowsy and felt her head snuggle closer till it rested against my chest as she began to drift off to sleep, "y'ah could always come and work here. I wouldn't mind havin' y'ah around."

Pyre/ Luna
Gilzia/ Celestia

That night as I lay asleep in my bed. Lost in the depths of some unknown fantasy with an even more unknown brunette woman who seemed content to share her body warmth with me in the throes of passion. Yet through the haze of my dream I could faintly hear the sound of a familiar voice calling out to me as it seemed to come from everywhere at once.

'Eric... Eric... Eric?'

As I hear the voice call out to me I found the faceless girl in my dreams began to take on more equine features as a pair of powerful wings sprouted from her back and her human ears were replaced with a pair of more pony-like ones. As we continued further in our passion I noticed a long tail grow from the base of her spine, and watched as her brown hair began to take on a blue hue as it grew in texture and shine, almost sparkling in its luminosity. Picking up the woman/mare in my arms to lay her down she completed her transformation as a horn grew from the middle of her forehead and her skin began to grow a smooth coat of fine short fur that changed from a rich tan in color to a deep marine blue. Save for on her hips, which changed into a familiar black blotty pattern with a white crescent moon placed firmly in the middle of each one. Finally revealing the mare as the night princess herself, Pyre.

'How are you in my mind Pyre?' I asked her as I crossed my dreambody's arms impatiently, showing my displeasure at being interrupted, 'I thought your dreamwalking magic didn't work on me?'

'It does not, and I am not in your mind, at least not in that sense,' the figure replied as she crossed her own arms, crushing her firm-looking orbs against her chest. 'I am talking to you through our mental link, and any image you may see is just a mental representation created by your own subconscious mind based on memories of seeing myself and hearing my voice.'

'So you're telling me that your voice is really you but this body that I'm seeing is of my own fabrication and not associated to you at all?' I said still not entirely believing that it wasn't really her as I passed my eyes slowly over the representation of the dark beauty before me.

'That is correct,' came her reply as I mentally tried to will the figure to roll over, which to my enjoyment it did revealing the night princesses firm round backside as she looked back to me over her shoulder. 'Although judging by the amount of arousal that I'm picking up from you I would say it is for the better that I don't know what is going on in your mind."

'Touche Pyre,' I said as I continued to admire the way that the black fur of her ass looked so inviting, like it was just begging to be touched. Maybe it was because I wasn't thinking with my conscious mind but I had a sudden desire to test out a theory that I had always wanted to but never had the opportunity to before, but now it seemed like I had the best way possible because what better way than a dream version of the real thing. Especially when there was no way that the real Pyre was anywhere near close enough to my actual body to be affected directly by any emotional feedback to the point where she would lose control like Gilzia had before.

My theory centered around the fact that I could not read the sister's minds nor could I pick up on their emotions unless it was a particularly strong one while we were in close proximity. Maybe it had to do with what they had said in the dungeon that day about them sharing my mind between theirs instead of my mind sharing both of theirs; maybe it was for that reason alone that they seemed to have received a more noticeable version of the after-effects as opposed to me. But how deep did it really go? If my theory was right then this dream version of Pyre should react how I thought it should but the real Pyre that was talking to me shouldn't notice a thing, save for maybe a slight fluctuation of emotion from me.

'So if I did this?' I said as I leaned over the dream avatar and ran a finger against the backside of each of her ears, feeling the softness of the deep blue fur even in this dreamscape, 'You don't feel that?'

'No I do not,' she said in a voice that seemed normal enough although she waited a moment before responding as the alicorn figure before me scrunched its shoulders as her head went back and her eyes closed. A blissful smile upon her lips.

'And what about this?' I asked as I moved my gentle touch to her now exposed neck which caused the figure to suck in a gasp of air almost instantly as her wings began to spread and she moved on to her hands and knees.

'Still n-nothing.' she said in a calm voice yet I thought I could also make out a moan but I wasn't sure.

'Hmmm,' I thought to myself as I brought a finger to my chin and looked thoughtfully at her ass again wondering if I should risk it for the sake of a simple test, 'Ah, fuck it.'

'Wha- ahhhh!' was all that I heard the dark mare get out before she let out a throaty moan as I grabbed a handful of her firm backside with one of my hands and gave it a strong squeeze. The alicorn figure's wings shot out to their greatest span as she sat up on her knees and leaned back against my chest as I felt her press her ass against my hand forcefully like she was trying to fit more of that succulent flesh into my grasp. Feeling obliged to, I lightly smacked the neglected ass cheek with my other hand as the Pyre figure laid her head back across one of my shoulders and let out another moan as she continued to expose her neck to me in a submissive manner.

'And what about this? Do you feel that?' I mentally asked as the dream figure, who was starring at me through lust-filled eyes, smiled and let out a content purr as I squeezed her derriere again.

Yet I knew as sexy as this figure before me was acting, the real Pyre shouldn't be feeling anything more than maybe a faint emotional feedback from myself because of the vast distance between where I was lying asleep and the palace. But goddamn if this figure wasn't sexy as fuck though, as it moved its starry tail off to the side and rubbed that smooth firm ass up against my crotch.

Wait a minute here, that feels good. Like really fucking good. It's almost like I can feel her fur really against my skin and really hear her voice, and I don't mean just in my head. Are dreams supposed to feel this real?

As I came out of my sleep and slowly opened my eyes I nearly shitted myself at the sight before me. The lunar princess that I thought was miles away ruling over the country was actually here, in my apartment, in my bed straddling me. She was leaning over me, her face just a breaths away from my own, cupping my face in her hands like her sister had done the night prior with the same longing in her eyes, and I couldn't help but let out a moan in frustration as she ground her crotch against my own. My already hard member was begging to be let out of my boxers so that it could play with this seductive minx who currently had me pinned.

She moved her hips again and I could feel a damp wetness beginning to form on my boxers as her head went back and she bit her lip as another throaty moan escaped from her lips. God she was fucking hot, watching her almost didn't make me want to ask the only question that my fuzzy mind could think of at the moment.

"Pyre, Pyre?" I asked trying to get her attention. Eventually she did meet my gaze as I saw her lick her lips and run a hand through my hair, "Um not sure how to really ask this but why are you here?"

"I came to partake in your offer to exercise with you. You mentioned that it was...euphoric." she whispered the last part in my ear, sending a shiver of excitement throughout my body as multiple visions of all the possible meanings of the words 'Pyre', 'exercise', and 'euphoric' together in a sentence raced through my mind, and not a single one was innocent in nature.

"Not really what I had in mind when I asked you to come workout with me." I said as I tried to wiggle my way out from under her, but she had me pinned down with her long legs too well. So that every time I would try and move I would inadvertently rub up against her crotch, which she didn't seem to mind but it as hell did not help my situation if I was going to try and calm her down.

"It is alright, I like this way much better." she said with a smirk as she sat up and placed my hands directly on the moon shaped marks that graced her tempting hips.

I had to reason with her and get her to calm down, like I managed to somehow do with Gilzia, before we did something that we would regret in the future. Well, something she might regret in the future.

"But I'm not even a pony, you can't possibly be interested in doing something like this with me."

"And why not?" Pyre simply asked in return as she raised a dainty eyebrow, "You would not be the first lover I have enjoyed that was not a pony."

"Wait? What?" I replied shocked at this revelation from the night princess who seemed so pure and innocent like her sister Gilzia. 'Wait her sister that's it!'

"Well what about Gilzia? Wouldn't she be upset by all of this?" I asked her, hoping that this would get through to her.

"What about her?" Pyre replied obviously not getting the point, "We would simply take turns with you, or.." her grin grew more sinister, "we could have you together. After all that is what herd-sisters do."

"Wait, what?" that seemed to be a common phrase for me this morning, "So are you saying that you and Gilzia have slept with each other?"

"Of course, herd-sisters are there to comfort one another." was Pyre's answer as she dug my hands into her ass and used them to spread her taunt cheeks as a satisfied moan escaped from her throat.

As much as I wanted that comment to bug me, the thought of the two celestial princesses "comforting" one another was just too fucking hot. Pyre must have picked up on the feelings of lust coming from me as she picked up the pace of her grinding and momentarily cupped her full breast in her hands. Before slowly sliding her hands down the midnight blue fur of her stomach towards her burning core, which was currently trying to burn a hole through my boxers to get to the prize inside. From the inside of her long thighs she moved her hands up my stomach to my chest, sliding her body against my own like a lazy cat. She slowly began to trail light kisses along the sensitive skin of my collarbone and neck as she spoke to me in a calming voice.

"But enough about my sister for now my stallion we shall have enough time to talk about her later," she whispered in my left ear as I felt her warm tongue draw my earlobe into her hot mouth where she began to nibble on the sensitive skin, "It has been over a thousand years since I have had a male lover, and your Princess of the Night demands that you perform your duty as the stallion of the herd."

Her efforts were almost enough to overpower my last line of defense as I began to hear her voice in my mind join in trying to drive me further down this road that I had inadvertently placed myself on. Pyre's voice chanting in my mind asking me, pleading with me, begging me to give up on resisting.

'Kiss me... bite me...spank me...breed me...love me,' I heard Pyre's voice plead to me in my head as her lips trailed back down my neck, and the scent of violet mixed with an almost spicy after tone began to flood my nostrils the longer she went on.

There was something in her voice as it pleaded for me to help ease the longing in her body that shook me out of my haze. Through all the urges that my body was telling me to just give in and give the mare above me what she was asking for there was a quiet part of my subconscious that was telling me that this was wrong. Maybe it was whatever morals I still had or maybe it was just the voice of some forgotten SARC instructor, but either way whatever it was it was right, I couldn't do this.

I moved my hands to her waist and, being mindful of her wings, flipped us over so that the midnight blue alicorn was now under me on the bed. Pinning her hands to the bed she gave me a devious smile as she tried to continue her rubbing against me but I made sure to keep that part of our bodies apart. Soon she began to whimper at the lack of physical contact as a certain body part of mine throbbed angrily at being denied some fun for the second time within the past couple of days.

"Eric please," Pyre begged to me as I could see her eyes water from the pent up urges that were seeking release, and as much as certain parts of me would have loved nothing more than to help her. I wasn't going to hurt her more by going through with what our bodies wanted.

"No Pyre," I told her gently but firmly as she silently mouthed her request again, "you're not in the right state of mind right now. I don't know enough about what's going on with you, but you're basically drunk off of lust. So I need you to calm down, just listen to the sound of my voice. Focus on my voice."

The midnight blue princess writhed in my gasp more forcefully but my grip held firm. After a moment when she realized she couldn't force me to release my grip she tried another approach as I felt the gentle touch of her wings on my sides and back. With each graze from her feathers a shiver of pleasure shot through my body like a bolt of lightning.

Her wings touched my skin everywhere they could reach as she continued to try and stimulate me into submission. I felt the softness of her feathers across my back as they made their way down my sides before continuing on to my legs after sweeping over my ass. That would have been okay enough to ignore and I was doing a pretty good job of it, that was until I felt something rub along the sensitive skin of my inner thigh right up to my crotch. Pyre let out a content moan as she scrunched her eyes and bit her lower lip as her breathing began to come in shorter and faster puffs.

Feeling the rubbing on my crotch increase in pace along with her moans I looked down between us to see what was the cause. There I saw her starry blue tail rubbing up against her marehood as it worked its way at my crotch trying to get at the prize inside.

"Not fair," I told Pyre as she let out a mischievous giggle but kept her eyes closed so as to focus on the pleasure she was giving both of us.

At this moment I had to do something quick or I wouldn't be able to hold back much longer. I needed help and there was only one person that I could really call on, Gilzia. But I didn't know if I wanted to run the risk of bringing in the other part of this mental link and having her lose control as well. Then I would have two princesses trying to jump my junk and I knew that that would be hard for any man to turn down. Yet I didn't know enough about what was going on with Pyre to be able to think I could calm her down on my own, or even if she would stop.

'Gilzia if you can hear me I need you to come here right now. The same thing that happened to you seems to be happening to Pyre, but a lot worse.' I thought out in my mind hoping that she could hear me.

The night princess must have heard me call out to her sister through the bond as she let out a small whine between pants, "Don't call Gilzia, she can have you later."

Lucky or unlucky for me, depending on how you looked at the situation, Gilzia did happen to hear my cry for help as she appeared into my apartment with a flash of light.

"Eric what is the issue with Py-" she stopped mid-sentence and I feared at first that my choice of calling her here was the wrong one as I looked over to her to see her staring at us with her mouth agape at the current scene of me holding down her sister while said sister in question was currently pleasuring both of us with her tail. "What is going on here?"

"No talk time, help time. I've tried calming her down but she seems to be on some kind of high right now, and I don't know what to do." I told her which seemed to knock the sun princess out of her daze as she rushed over to the head of my bed and after sitting down she placed her sister's head in her lap.

"Pyre, Pyre honey can you hear me? It's Gilzia," she asked the blue alicorn as Pyre's eyes opened slowly and she looked up at Gilzia through heavy lidded eyes.

"I am so hot sister...like I will burst into flames. I need more," she said through heavy pants as Gilzia lightly brushed a piece of her sister's astral hair out her face.

"What are we going to do Gilzia?" I asked the white alicorn who looked up to me and I could see the same concern in her eyes that I knew was also in my own.

"There is something that I can try but I need you to close your eyes." Gilzia said as she leaned her face down towards her sisters.

Not wanting to waste time in questioning her I shut my eyes as I focused on holding down the moon princess and continuing to keep my mind clear. Pyre struggled a little as her moans continued to come faster yet sounding muffled compared to before. Eventually I felt her body tense in my grasp one final time as she released a prolonged muffled scream, before relaxing in my grip as her panting and moaning slowly seemed to quiet down.

"It is alright to open your eyes now Eric," I heard Gilzia finally say as I did what she requested and opened my eyes to see Pyre's head now laying motionless in her older sister's lap. Her eyes were closed and her breathing had finally settled into a smooth deep rhythm.

"Is she going to be alright?" I worriedly asked Gilzia as I let go of the the sleeping alicorn's wrist but continued to gently hold one of the night princesses hands in my own.

I saw Gilzia look where I was holding her sister's hand and thought that I had done something wrong before the day princess smiled as I saw her slowly reach towards my hand only for me to pull mine quickly away from hers. I got out of bed and walked towards the far side of the room, trying to put some distance between me and the two princesses. Looking over my shoulder back to the bed I could see Gilzia looking at me with a seemingly calm look, like she was anticipating me to say something, but when I looked into her eyes all I saw was hurt.

"I'm sorry Gilzia," I told her as I looked away from her, choosing to stare out the window at the still night sky, not being able to stand the feelings of sadness and hurt emitting from her.

"But Eric-" She started before I cut her off.

"No Gilzia, please let me speak."

"Very well," she consented as she remained silent, but I could still feel the hurt and confusion emitting from her and it made me want nothing more than to go back over to the bed and take the mare into my arms and reassure her. Yet I needed to say what was on my mind and after a few moments pause I thought I could continue.

"I'm sorry Gilzia but there's something wrong and it's affecting you, Pyre, and even me to the point where we can't control ourselves around each other."

"But nothing happened," she replied softly, trying to convince me that it wasn't as bad as I was trying to make it out to be..

"But something could have," was my retort as I focused out the window trying to resist the pulling urge I continued to feel against my heartstrings, "We can't be trusted around each other, not right now."

"What are you saying? she asked me and I didn't need the bond between us to hear the anxiety in the statement.

"I'm saying exactly what I mean," steeling myself I looked back to day princess's sad gaze, "you can't tell me that you don't feel the bond between us, right now, trying to pull us together. I can and right now it's telling me to do what ever I can to comfort you two, to... love you two."

I saw her eyes widen at my statement as I felt a wave of relief wash over me helping to calm my nerves along with another feeling that started out small, but was soon growing in intensity. A longing that I knew, that while similar in strength to my own, did not originate from me as it tried to overpower my already weakened emotional defenses.

"Eric the bond between us may affect us at a more basic level than we would have thought, but my sister and I know that you would never hurt us." she said as she gave me a reassuring smile that almost threatened to overcome my will to resist.

"So I am in a herd with you and Pyre?" I asked her although I already knew the answer to my question, I just needed to hear it from one of them first from their own mouths.

"Yes, and even though it did not start as a anything more than a means to communicate with you we have both come to care for you and trust you very much, even with our lives," Gilzia said as she slowly stood from the bed, the horn on her head glowing a vibrant yellow as sunlight began to pour into the room from the window behind me. "Like I said, I know through the bond that you would never do anything that was not also wanted by my sister or I, nor could you bring yourself to hurt us."

"So you're telling me that you two would be okay if you came to one time and realized that we had had sex?" She opened her mouth to say something but closed it almost immediately as she looked away, her cheeks aflame in a blush, "You can't can you?"

Gilzia looked at me quickly, her eyes narrowed and I felt the fire behind them, "That's not fair! We lo-"

"You what?" I cut her off before she could get out that one word that would change everything between us forever, "You two 'love' me? How? You don't even know anything really about me, other than what I've told you and whatever you've managed to learn through our link.

"Plus, you were the one who told me that the bond between us was affecting you. How can you say that it also isn't making you feel things for me that aren't true. I mean look at what just happened with your sister. If it only takes me having a dream and her touching me to cause her to react like that I can't believe that you're not being influenced by the bond right now."

The sun goddess slowly began to walk towards me, cautiously at first, her wide hips swaying oh so seductively causing me to look away as she strode over to me. I had to do this while I still had a somewhat clear mind, and her presence was currently affecting my perception.

'I don't love them do I?' I desperately thought to myself as I felt her presence grow stronger as my resistance grew ever weaker, 'No, I have to get back home, that is where I belong, not here. Not with them, not ...loving them. Ugh, stop it."

The sound of metal shoed feet stopping in front of me broke me out of my mental conflict as I felt a pair of gentle hands cup my face and directed my head until my gaze meet the magenta colored eyes of the princess of the day. As I looked into those expressive orbs full of love and hope, it almost felt like she was drawing my very soul to her as I subconsciously rested my hands on her hips.

"Eric listen to me, the bond may be affecting the intensity of our feelings towards each other, but the bond does not pick who those feelings are meant for. That is something we each decide on our own," I heard her say in her comforting voice as I felt something gently pulling me towards her full lips as I continued to look into her spellbinding eyes.

"How do you know?" I asked her weakly, my control slowly slipping as I closed my eyes mere moments before our lips touched. "How do you know that this isn't real?"

"Shhh, "she gently said hushing any resistance I may have still had, "hush now my stallion."

I didn't hear what she said as I felt her soft lips touch mine. At first it was gentle as she lightly pecked at my lips each one seeking my approval, each one tearing down any remaining barriers that I had managed to erect. But as the sun goddess's desires slowly grew into an insatiable hunger, she effectively burned whatever resistance I could still muster in my dazed mind, reverting it to it's most basic of desires. Mainly to make this mare in my arms scream out my name as I took her over and over till our bodies couldn't go on.

Gilzia let out a little squeak as my hands latched onto her supple rump and effortlessly lifted her up as she simultaneously wrapped her legs around my waist. Now knowing that she was secure I made my way back to the bed before laying the white princess on the mattress, being careful of the still sleeping Pyre. As I parted my lips I was surprised to feel Gilzia's tongue force its way into my mouth and begin to hungrily explore its depths. Stopping only when she came upon my canines as I felt a shiver run through her body and she let out a throaty moan as she ran her tongue across the pointy teeth.

Not wishing to lose this battle and show this mare who was really in charge, I decided to use the opportunity of her temporary distraction to my advantage and go on the offensive. Moving from her mouth I made my way down her slender neck, trailing light kisses and nips along the way each one rewarding me with another moan as she closed her eyes and ran her hands along my sides forcing a moan from me as well. Soon enough I reached my target at the crook of her neck by her collarbone, wanting to take my time I held her hands down gentle against the mattress as I slowly ran my tongue up her neck, running along the path of her jugular vein.

Gilzia sucked in a breath of air into her lungs sharply before she began to giggle playfully at the tingling sensations she was more than likely receiving. Glad that she seemed to enjoy it I moved to do it again, but to the other side of her neck, when I felt a movement on the mattress before something started pulling me backwards.

"No fair sister I was here first," came the voice of the revived Pyre as my head was turned and my lips came into contact with the lips of the night princess.

Unlike her older sister, gentle did not seem to be in Pyre's vocabulary as she went after my mouth without abandon, even going as far as nipping my lower lip with her teeth causing my head to reel away by the sudden action. As my lip throbbed and I could begin to taste the blood that was starting to flow from the wound my mind slowly began to come out of the fog of lust it had been consumed in. Bringing a hand to my lip I pulled it away to see the faint red liquid there from the insignificant wound. Causing me to shoot Pyre a disapproving look, which only earned a giggle from the night mare as she closed the gap once more and began to affectionately clean the wound with her tongue.

For some reason I found the sensation pleasurable and I let out an uncontrolled moan, causing Pyre to smile against my lips as I heard her voice in my head, 'My stallion.'

'Our stallion.' I heard Gilzia correct her sister as she pressed her body against my back as Pyre pressed hers against my front before the sisters leaned into each other and shared a passionate kiss before returning back to me. By now my mind was almost completely cleared and I was getting prepared to put a stop to this when I heard the one phrase that would make this more difficult than I would ever want it to be.

'I love you Eric Broussard.' I heard the mares mentally say together as their lips were busy running over my skin, their voices ringing out their declaration through my mind seemingly as one as I steeled my resolve once more for what must be done.

"I can't love you two."

My voice, while quiet in it's tone, might as well have been a cannon shot as my statement rang throughout the room. Using their momentary shock to my advantage I removed myself from between them and sat on the edge of the bed with my head hung low. For I could feel the torrent of emotions being emitted by the two princesses as they crashed against my very soul, but I didn't need the bond to know that they were hurting because I to felt the same way and I hated myself for what I had just done and what I still had to do.

"W-what do you mean?" I heard Pyre's voice from behind me say, the hurt evident in her voice as I heard her trying to hold back the tears.

"You know what I mean, " I said as I felt them begin to move on the bed towards me, but I still refused to look at them, "it's not that I don't want to it's that I can't. All it would bring is grief to everyone in the end."

"We don't care, " came Gilzia's reply as I felt their gentle hands rest on my shoulders and I felt their soft etheral hair tickling my skin as they leaned down to embrace me in a joint hug. The combined scent of Prye and Gilzia began to calm my frazzled nerves as I could see their wings begin to wrap around me, dark blue on my right and pearlescent white on my left, "when an alicorn makes their decision for a mate it is for life and nothing can change that."

Her words seemed so calming for some reason and a large part of me just wanted to give up the fight, but I couldn't and wouldn't as I stood up, breaking free from their comforting embrace. I walked a few steps away from them before I dared the briefest of glances back at them.

"I'm sorry, but I can't," I told them as I grabbed a pair of shorts and placed them on and headed to the door before stopping at the entrance way, "I need to go, please don't follow me."

And with that I walked out, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in my chest and the soft sound of sobbing from the bedroom.

Vemsa Hewl/ Rainbow Dash

As soon as I had passed the sliding hangar doors I was off, and I didn't care where I was going. I just knew I had to get away from there, away from the two mares who were plaguing every part of my being. From my mind that couldn't stop thinking about them and the state of grief I had left them in. To my soul which ached to be close to them, to feel the closeness and familiarity of our bond again. Even in my body which longed for nothing more than to hold them in my arms and reassure them that I would never leave them as I kissed away their tears. But I knew that I shouldn't be feeling that way and it made me hate myself all the more for what I had done.

As my lungs burned with each labored breath and my legs ached with every stride. I mentally accepted the pain as my punishment for denying Gilzia and Pyre's affections, and pushed myself on further until I managed to trip on an exposed root, rolling head over heels down a hill before coming to rest in a grassy clearing. After a moment I wearily began to move my body again, although my left foot dully ached from the sudden stop it had endured. I would have figured that I was far enough away from the compound now to be free from the immediate effects of the bond, but even from this distance I could still feel the sister's presence as their comforting essence flowed through our bond into my mind, soothing the feeling of pain coming from my foot. Their kindness and concern for my well being, even after I had just broken their hearts did nothing to ease the battle of wills that currently raged through me as I felt my stomach turn over in disgust at the act I had done. Rising to my knees I slammed both of my fist against the ground in a futile attempt to relieve my frustration.

"Goddammit!" I yelled to the heavens as I brought my fist down over and over again, trying to drive the thoughts from my mind, "Why won't you get out of my mind? Stop making me hurt you!"

My pleas must have been heard as I felt their influence begin to fade, but my feelings of self-loathing didn't go away as I rested my head against the cold ground. Trying to find any semblance of comfort for the aching in my heart from anywhere other than where I knew it wanted it. I gritted my teeth and let out a growl in frustration as I fought the urge to call out to Gilzia and Pyre.

"Hey, you want to keep it down," I heard a familiar voice call out over the clearing, luckily distracting my mind enough to break the connection, "some of us are trying to sleep."

Looking around the empty clearing, I couldn't find any sign of where the voice had come from. Briefly, I wondered if I had imagined the voice in my mental struggle.

"Hey Eric, up here!" I heard the voice call out again, directing my gaze skywards towards the clouds overhead. There I spotted the source of the voice as I saw a certain pegasus mare with an unmistakeable rainbow-colored mane leaning over the edge of one of the clouds. The smile on her face fading as she notice the ragged look on mine, "Are you alright? You look terrible."

"Yeah I'm fine Vemsa, " I told her absently as I got up to find another place to wallow in my self-pity alone, "sorry about interrupting your nap."

"Having mare problems?" I heard her inquire from behind me. Causing me to stop immediately in my tracks before slowly looking back towards the sky blue colored mare, who just looked right back at me with a sly grin on her face as she rested her head on one of her hands.

"What did you say?" I asked Vemsa, unsure if I had heard her correctly.

"Are those mares riding you too hard or something, stud?" was her reply as she wiggled her eyebrows at me in a knowing fashion.

"Why would you say that?" I asked her cautiously. Now thoroughly interested in what she had to say.

"Because that's what stallions do, it's kind of your job to help your mares out when their on their heat?" Vemsa explained to me like it was supposed to be common knowledge, but unknown to her it just so happened to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Seriously, did everyone know about me being in a herd but me!" I said frustrated once again as I began to pace in circles and run my hands through my hair.

"Hey, are you alright?" I heard Vemsa ask me again as she hopped off her cloud, landing on the ground next to me. As I felt her hand on my back I shakily looked at her, concern and confusion etched on her face.

"I don't know Vemsa, I really don't know." I admitted to her as I flopped down on the grass, pulling my knees to my chest and hiding my face in my arms. I was about two seconds away from a mental breakdown and I didn't know what to do. I desperately wanted to make right by the mares that I had hurt by going back there and telling them how I felt about them, how I had come to long for them and wanted to at least give this herd thing a shot. Yet on the other hand I still had my commitments to my home world that wouldn't allow me to just accept my new life here, no matter how good the reason.

"Hey, it's okay, I was just joking about the whole rutting thing," Vemsa said as I heard her kneel down next to me, trying to reassure me as best she could.

"Then how did you know that I was in a herd with the princesses?" I asked her as I raised my head to meet her red-violet eyes, but had to look away instantly, because they reminded me too much of Gilzia's own magenta-colored eyes at the moment.

"The princesses!, " she shouted in my ear causing me shoot a scowl at her for almost blowing out my eardrums, but she just continued on, "You're in a herd with the princesses! How did you manage to snag those two!"

"First off... ow." I said as I rubbed my sore ears, "Second, if you obviously didn't know I was in a herd with the princesses, then how did you know I was having "mare" issues?"

"To be honest, I smelled them on you," she told me as I heard her voice pick up a slightly nervous tone as her light blue cheeks took on a lavender blush.

"Smelled them on me?" I asked her confused, as I took a quick smell of myself to see if I could smell what she was talking about. But alas, the only thing I could smell was my own perspiration from running.

"Yeah, I can smell their scent on you. Quite strongly actually," Vemsa said as she waved a hand in front of her face as if to prove her point on the intensity of the odor, "Usually, you're supposed to take a shower before going outside if your mares are in heat. That is unless you're one of those stallions that likes to show off."

I had to give a little chuckle at that last comment because it reminded me of an episode of a cartoon I had seen where one of the characters had proudly announced to the others that they had had "snu-snu".

"Sorry to disappoint you Vemsa, but nothing happened. Didn't even know I was part of a herd until this morning."

"Really? Nothing happened?" she said incredulously as she gave me a slight push on the shoulder causing me to look at her again. "You have two of the hottest mares in the world interested in you that are also in heat and you're going to tell me that nothing happened?"

I frowned at Vemsa as I was getting a little tired of theses ponies thinking that I would shag any mare who threw themselves at me. I mean, don't get me wrong, if there weren't any complications I would currently be trying to break any number of standing world records with the two princesses. But it was those "complications" that were driving me crazy.

"What?" Vemsa said in reaction to my glare, "They're hot."

Letting out a sigh I looked back ahead, "It doesn't matter. Won't happen whether I want it to or not."

Vemsa Hewl sat down in the grass next to me and looked forward silently in the same direction I was. We continued to stare off in silence for a few moments before she looked to me again, "You want to talk about it?"

"To be honest, not really," I began but upon noticing Vemsa's downcast expression at my apparent refusal of her help I decided to reconsider. After all, I had upset enough mares for one day, "but I'm sure it'll help me to talk it out with a friend."

Vemsa seemed to cheer up a little at that but didn't say anything. Thankfully she gave me my space to let me gather my thoughts for a moment before I began to explain my situation to her.

"I just had the princesses confess their love to me, but I acted like a coward and turned them down before leaving them in tears. It's not like I wanted to, I just can't run the risk of forming any kind of romantic relationship while I'm here. Not while there is still the possibility of me returning to my own world, whether or not by my choosing."

"Then why worry about it?" the light blue mare asked, as I looked at her confused at why she didn't get what I was trying to say.

"Because if I do happen to go back to my world, then they would more than likely not be able to come with me."

"How do you know that?" She asked as I continued to try and explain my logic to her.

"I don't really. All I can do is assume that is what will happen," I said as I shrugged my shoulders slightly, "Being as no other human has ever come here before, at least by any of your recollections, then I can assume that my being here has to be some kind of fluke. Which makes me believe that I could be brought back to my world at any moment."

"So you don't know if that will happen then?" Vemsa asked as she flicked her long colorful tail.

Feeling frustrated at her lines of questions I rubbed my scalp forcefully, letting out a growl through grit teeth, before leaning back against the cool grass, "No, not really?"

"Then why worry about it?" she asked again as she looked back at me.

"Are you serious?" I asked, sitting up again suddenly as I looked her directly in the eye, "You're serious aren't you? My god you are serious. Did you not hear what I just said?"

"Hey now, no need to be rude about it," Vemsa retorted, obviously offended by my attitude as she narrowed her eyes and poked my chest, "So not cool."

I groaned as I ran my hands down my face, "Ugh, you're right Vemsa. I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that, it's just that this whole thing is stressing me out."

She looked at me for a moment longer as if she was truly considering the sincerity of my apology, before she averted her gaze away from me again, "It's alright."

"Then there's the point of my life that I left back on Earth. I've only been here for about six months now, and I'm not ready to give up on trying to get back home yet. I'm sure my family is worried sick about me, that is if they even think I'm still alive. Kind of hard to keep up hope I guess when they more than likely believe that I fell out of a plane into the icy cold water of the ocean." I told her as I laid back down on the grass, staring up into the early morning sky. I found one particular cloud that caught my interest as I continued on.

"I guess the same would go for my job in the Air Force as well. I'm sure any search they did for my body ended a long time ago by now, and I'm listed as either dead or missing by now."

"Then what's the problem? Sounds like to me that you have a chance to start a new life here." Vemsa said as she tossed a glance back my way.

"Yeah, but the problem is I'm not dead. At least, I don't think I am?" I stated, muttering the last part to myself as I saw Vemsa's ears tilt back towards me.

"What was that?" she asked as I tried to brush it off.

"Nothing," I told her as I sat up slowly, "The point is that there's still stuff that would prevent me from ever being in a relationship. In the end I don't want to put somepony through that pain."

"Shouldn't that be their choice?" Vemsa asked as she rested back on her hands and stretched out her long legs, soaking up the sunlight coming from overhead.

"What?"

"Shouldn't that be their choice?" she repeated as she closed her eyes, "Any mare that would want to start a relationship with you would have to know that you could leave at any moment, right?"

"Yeah, I supposed so," I said apprehensively, not really sure what the sky-blue mare was trying to get at, but the wheels were slowly starting to turn.

"Then shouldn't they have the ability to chose for themselves if they want to risk being in a relationship, instead of you choosing for them?" Vemsa told me sagely as she slowly opened her eyes and tilted her head till she was looking at me.

I was shocked to say the least. For somepony who wasn't considered the sharpest tool in the shed and lived her life more by instinct than by a plan. She sometimes made a lot of sense, "Huh, I guess I never thought about it like that."

"Yeah," the rainbow-haired pegasus replied with a cocky smile, "so like I said, why worry about it?"

"But what about my life that I left behind?" I asked her as I tried to resolve the next of my issues, "I'm still obligated to remain loyal to the vows I took, and the family I left behind. I can't just abandon all of that so easily, or just pretend that my life prior to coming here doesn't matter anymore."

"No one said it did. I'm sure the princesses would never ask you to forget or betray your past life." she said as she returned to her sunbathing.

"No, no I don't think they would." I unknowingly said aloud softly as I continued to stare at the passing clouds as my mind processed this new outlook on my situation.

We continued to sit there for a few more minutes in peaceful silence. Vemsa continued to bath in the sun's light as I mulled over our conversation. Glancing over at the colorful pegasus mare I thought that she had fallen back asleep as she remained motionless, a feat rarely seen from her. I had just returned to my thoughts when I heard her speak again suddenly.

"The princesses huh?" Vemsa mused as she remained motionless and I replied with a grunt, "And here me and Xamspona thought that Etpinego would be the one to get with you first. Then again I suppose it was like Vivmay and Tupomi said, that the bond that you have with the princesses would pretty much seal the deal."

"Etpinego?" I asked as her comment about the farmer caught my attention, "What was that about Etpinego?"

"You didn't know?" Vemsa said as she opened her eyes to look at me with a curious expression, "Yeah she's got a major crush on you, stud. Which is surprising, because usually she's usually too busy with her work to even think about stallions."

I let out a groan as I began to rub my eyes with the heel of my palms. I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't noticed the farm mare being more flirty in her teasing lately. I didn't think too much of it though, because we had both teased each other before, but always in good fun, or so I thought. Now to hear that she might be more serious than I previously thought in her teases just made me feel like more of a heel than I already did.

Her family and her had accepted me with open arms from the very beginning. At first I really thought nothing of it, thinking they were just being as friendly and hospitable as any number of country families back on Earth would be. Yet, now in addition to that, I had to add in the fact of the eldest Etpi daughter's crush into the equation and a lot of little things suddenly became a little more clearer. The not so subtle questions by Etpitivi and her friends here recently. The fact that every time I shared their dinner table with them, my seat was always next to Etpinego. The recent offer by the orange mare for me to come and work for her and her family. But the single most glaring one, was that her older brother hadn't killed me on the spot after finding his younger sibling and myself in that compromising situation.

"Do you like her?" I heard Vemsa ask softly, knocking me out of my thoughts.

"Huh-what?" I asked, unsure at what she had said.

"Do you like her?" the rainbow-haired flier repeated.

"I don't know," I told her honestly, "being as I've been so preoccupied with focusing on all the reasons why not to be in a relationship. I never really put much thought into who I would like to be in one with, and now I find myself with two possible options."

"Three options," Vemsa corrected me. As she saw my face contort into a confused expression she simply shrugged her shoulders before continuing on, "You could always start on with all of them. I'm sure Etpinego or the princesses wouldn't be opposed to the idea.

"But you're on your own with that one, stud. Us pegasi don't usually get involved with romantic herds, that's something that the other tribes mainly practice. But I do know that any new inclusions to a herd of any kind has to be approved of by the lead mare," she paused for a moment before continuing, "Eric, whatever you decide to do just promise me one thing?"

"What's that?" I asked as she got up in my face and looked me in the eye.

"If you choose not to be in a relationship with Etpinego then please let her down easy, alright?"

"Of course Vemsa," I reassured her as she gave me a satisfied smile before standing up and giving her body a good stretch, her wings unfurling out to their fullest span before closing back against her back.

"That's good," she said as she let out a yawn, "Now I think you have some princesses to apologize to, and I have a nap to get back to," she said as she turned to go back to her cloud.

"Of course, and Vemsa," I called out to her, causing the mare to stop and look back to me, "thanks."

"Sure anytime, stud."

"Please stop calling me that," I told her in a deadpan tone. Not liking the new nickname she had given me, but it only caused her to smile again. Although this time more mischievous.

"Nope," and with that she was off with a mighty flap of her wings back to her cloud, leaving me alone in the field.

As soon as Vemsa had left I pulled myself off of the ground to begin making my way back to the compound. Back to the mares that I had hurt in my speedy exit. They deserved an apology for me leaving them in tears, I at least owed that much to them.

Then there was the issue of Etpinego that I had to think about now as well. If what Vemsa had said about her having a crush on me was true, then I was going to have to tread lightly. I thought the farm mare was highly attractive, especially that firm ass of hers, and she definitely held a lot of qualities that I would be looking for in a girlfriend. But at the same time she was also my oldest and best friend in this world, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to risk that over a relationship. Then again I still wasn't sure if I should even attempt any kind of relationship while here.

Putting my thoughts about Etpinego to the back of my mind I remained focused on the task at hand. I mentally called out to Gilzia and Pyre through our link but didn't receive a reply. The thought of not being able to reach them for the first time since the bond had been formed made me panic a little as I quickened my pace. Arriving to the facility a short time later I slammed open the door and called out their names, not caring if anyone heard me call for them.

When I received no reply I feared the worst and bolted up the stairs to my apartment, not letting anything stand in my way as I burst open the door as I called out their names again. Yet the only thing I received in reply was silence. Holding out the last bit of hope I went to my bedroom to find it as empty as my heart felt right now. Slowly I dragged myself over to my bare bed and sat down on the edge like I had done before I had left. In the silence of the room I could almost still feel their presence as a passing breeze wafted the faint remainder of Gilzia and Pyre's scent into my nostrils.

I hung my head as I tried to figure out what to do now.

Pyre/ Luna
Vivmay/ Rarity
Tupomi T'mi/ Pinkie Pie
Etpinego/ Applejack
Vemsa Hewl/ Rainbow Dash
Paxxila/ Fluttershy
Gilzia/ Celestia
Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle

The next couple of days that followed the incident saw me growing steadily more desperate in my attempts to reach the two princesses. I even went as far as to write a message in one of Xamspona's reports to her fellow princesses, but no matter the method the reply was still the same, silence. Yet even without them getting in contact with me I could still feel their presence through our bond. Always there yet just out of reach, like a whisper to my soul to let me know that they were there. Yet why wouldn't they talk to me? I briefly found myself angry at the whole situation and angry at being ignored, but it would never last, as I couldn't remain angry at them whenever I would remember them in tears. Damn these females and their tears.

In the end I decided to let them have their space, hoping they would come to me when they were ready to talk. During the day I focused all of my attention completely on the engine for the XP-27, attempting to remain on some semblance of the schedule that my team and I set for ourselves. At least that's what I would tell anypony who asked me, but there was a part of me I guess that secretly hoped that our efforts would garner the attention of Gilzia and Pyre.

Yet at night, when all the workers had gone and I was left alone with nothing to keep me busy, I would usually find myself sitting on my couch in the dark as I nursed a bottle... or six... or eighteen of the hard cider. Trying to keep my thoughts away from two certain celestial princesses and even a certain orange farm mare, who seemed to continue to haunt my mind as I sat in the darkness like a trio of specters. Theses thoughts would continue to plague on my mind long into the night until I would usually drift off into an uneasy sleep.

It was on one such night, a couple of days before the Ball and the day before the unveiling of the engine, that I found myself asleep in my bed. It had been a particularly busy day as we had to tear down the bottom end of the engine because of fear of having spun a main journal bearing when we suddenly lost oil pressure on a test run. Luckily for us, though, all the bearings turned out to be okay, having shut down the motor in time before something catastrophic had happened. A change of the faulty belt running to the oil pump and flushing of the engine oil and we were back in business.

In my sleep, I tossed fitfully while my mind continued to wander before I felt a calming essence wash over me. Waking up with a start I was surprised to find Pyre sitting on the edge of my bed, startled at my sudden awakening. At realizing that she had been found out I saw her horn begin to glow a deep blue as I reached out to her, not wanting to lose my chance.

"Pyre wait!" I frantically pleaded as I grabbed her wrist, causing her magic to immediately dissipate.

"Please, let go of me Eric," she said as she lightly tugged against my grip, but I held firm, "I should not have come."

"Then why did you?" I asked her firmly as she stopped struggling and refused to look at me, shame and embarrassment beginning to roll off of her.

We sat in silence for a few minutes and I was about to implore her again when she spoke in a voice so soft it would have put Paxxila's to shame, "Because I missed you."

As she said that, she swiftly turned her gaze towards me. I found her eyes wet with unshed tears and found it hard to be upset at her as I gently pulled her towards me in an embrace, but she pulled against my efforts.

"No Eric! My sister and I did wrong by you. Please stop," she pleaded with me, but I refused to listen as I pulled her onto my lap, cradling her like a small child. I tucked her head in the crook of my neck as I gently began to run my fingers down her back. This seemed to quiet her down as she gave up all attempts at struggling until all that was heard in the room was the steady sound of our breathing.

"I am sorry," she whispered, her breath tickling my neck.

"I think that's my line," I said with a chuckle as I pulled her back a little so as to look her in the eye.

"No," Pyre began as she averted her gaze again, "you were justified in your response to our advances. My sister and I were affected by the bond and our heat more than we expected. It caused us to act on our feelings for you and treat you as your position in the herd dictated."

There was that word again. Herd. I needed to get that subject cleared up first before I could deal with anything else at the moment. But I needed to talk about it with the lead member, I needed to talk with Gilzia.

"Pyre," I began and even though she didn't reply I continued on, "I need to talk with Gilzia. Can you help me?"

She remained silent and try as I might I couldn't pick up anything from the night princess through our bond. Gently hooking my fingers under her chin, I lifted her head again to look at me as I pleaded with her, "Pyre, please."

"Are you going to leave us?" she asked as she tried to remain strong, but I could tell from the tremble in her voice and the single tear that was slowly making it's way down her cheek that she was on the verge of breaking down.

I brought a hand up to her face as I cupped her cheek. I felt her lean into my touch as I wiped away the tear with my thumb. I wasn't quite sure if I really wanted to answer that question, but at the same I time I couldn't bring myself to lie to her either.

"I don't know," I told her as I continued to stroke her cheek with my thumb, "But-"

I didn't get a chance to finish my statement as I felt the Princess of the Night's lips meet mine and her body slowly pushed me back to rest on the mattress. Softly her lips moved across mine, silently begging me for my forgiveness with each gentle caress. Yet as soon as she had begun she stopped and rested her head upon my chest, listening to the steady thudding of my heartbeat as the smell of violets entered my nose.

I wanted to say something to her but wasn't sure where to start, either way Pyre didn't allow me to voice my concern as I heard her speak again in that soft voice. Like if she spoke any louder she would scare me off.

"Tomorrow, when Gilzia and I come to view the unveiling I will ensure that you are able to talk with Gilzia."

"Thank you, Pyre," I said as I ran my fingers through her starry blue mane, "but why did you kiss me?"

"Because you might come to hate me tomorrow," was her reply as she rested her chin on my chest to be able to look up at me briefly before hiding her face again.

"Hate you? Why would I-," I tried to ask, but was cut off again.

"Tomorrow, please worry about it tomorrow," she pleaded as I felt her hands grab onto my sides desperately, like I could disappear at any moment, "For now just let me stay like this, if only for a little longer."

I didn't say anything as I pulled the covers over us before wrapping the Princes of the Night in a comforting embrace. As I stroked her back and wings I still didn't know what she meant. I may have been more than a little upset about the herd thing, but it was no reason for me to hate her and her sister. So I would do as she asked and worry about it tomorrow as my eyes began to grow heavy and I drifted off to sleep once again.

The next morning came too early for my taste as I wearily opened my eyes to a bright new morning. Remembering my guest from last night I reached my arm over to the opposite side of the bed to find it empty. The cold sheets making me wonder if Pyre had ever been there to begin with, or was her visit the night before just some wishful thinking on my brain's part. Either way today was an important day and I needed to get ready.

Sitting up, I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and ran my hands through my hair. Strange enough though it wasn't the demonstration that I was worried about. My team and I had been test running and fine tuning for the past week, and minus a couple of hiccups like yesterday, I knew it would go smoothly. After all, only a dumbass would show off something before testing it out in private first. It would be almost as smart as waving your dick in front of a rattlesnake. Maybe it would bite you, maybe it wouldn't. Either way I wasn't taking that chance.

No I was more concerned that this would be my first opportunity to talk with Gilzia and Pyre since that morning. That is if my meeting with Pyre last night wasn't just some kind of alcohol induced dream. Then there was also the situation with Etpinego to take into consideration, for her and the others would be there as well. Still, until I had my questions about my current relationship with the celestial sisters figured out, I had to place that one on the back burner for now. Because until she came forward with her feelings, if she did indeed have a crush on me, it was all rumor mill. No matter what it may have looked like to the casual observer. With another sigh I rose from my bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

By mid morning I had pulled myself together and my team and I was finishing up on preparations for our presentation as the crowd began to gather outside. Apparently this was quite the big event as not only the families of the workers and some of the locals had shown up, but also some of the nobles and dignitaries who had come to attend the Ball tomorrow had come early to see this strange machine that this creature from another land was building. I was going over the final items on our checklist that needed to be done to ensure that the engine start went as quickly and efficiently as possible. When I heard a familiar group of voices from the hangar door.

"Greetings Eric,"

Turning to the door I saw the girls, minus Xamspona, walking through the door as Vivmay, who was dressed in an elaborate dress and sunhat, waved to me and I returned the greeting. As I saw Etpinego I felt my heartbeat increase as I felt a lump begin to rise in my throat. Even if they were just rumors it was hard to look at her now and not think of something. Luckily none of them noticed as Tupomi rushed over to look at the motor, wedging herself between two of my workers who were busy trying to adjust the carburetors as they shot a look of irritation at the pink party mare.

"Ooo, is this it Eric?" she asked excitedly as she made her way around the engine stand to get a look at it from all sides.

"Yeah, this is it Tupomi," I said to her as I turned to address the other girls, "Y'all are just in time. We were just about ready to push the stand outside."

"Why does it need to be outside?" Etpinego asked as she came up beside me, causing me to nervously shift ever so slightly, "I was here a couple of days ago and y'ah ran it in here?"

"Well that was without any fuel being pumped into the motor. We were testing the oil and ignition systems at the time to ensure that they worked properly. I promise this time it'll be a lot louder and we need to have the motor somewhere where everypony can see it and we all don't choke on the exhaust."

"How considerate," Vivmay said as she adjusted the sun hat on her head, "I would so hate for my newest creation to get dirty. Not that I wouldn't if it would help you out."

"It's alright Vivmay, " I reassured her, "I wouldn't want you to get dirty either. Just enjoy the show."

"This thing is super duper, Eric!" Tupomi said as she was busy examining the weight we had attached to the front of the motor in place of the propeller, "How many stages is your oiling system? Two?"

"No," I said slowly, confused at how she knew about oiling systems, "It's a five stage dry sump system."

"Displacement?"

"Six liters."

"Compression ratio and ignition timing?" the pink mare asked as she moved around to the right bank of cylinders.

"Twelve to one and thirty-two degrees," I answered as all of us just watched Tupomi continue to inspect, dumbfounded at her innate knowledge on internal combustion engines.

"And how much power do you think it'll make?" she asked as she smiled wide at me, eager to know the number.

"Don't know," I said as I watched her focus back on the shiny motor. Moving the throttle linkage as she watched the butterfly valves on the carburetors actuate, "but if I had to guess I would say somewhere around four hundred or so horsepower at three thousand rpm.'s."

"Horsepower? What's that sugar?" Etpinego asked as I looked away from the inquisitive pink mare and into her emerald green eyes.

"Well where I come from horsepower is one of the ways we can measure the power output of an engine. Horsepower originates from a land called the United Kingdom, where an engineer was trying to figure out a unit of measure to compare the output of a steam engine to the pulling power of a draft horse."

"You made horses do your work for you?" Vivmay asked as she gave a huff at me before rolling her eyes, "Honestly darling, that sounds absolutely barbaric."

"Barbaric?" I replied absently as I mulled it over for a second before responding, "I guess I can kinda see why you would think that, but like I said human's aren't the strongest or fastest creatures on the Earth so we had animals, like horses, help us to perform tasks that would otherwise take multitudes of humans."

"Still sounds like you humans took advantage of those poor things," was Vivmay's reply as she crossed her arms under her bosom and held her nose in the air.

"Look, I'm not going to sugarcoat it and say that for the hundreds of thousands of years that humanity has been implementing the use of work animals that everyone of them was treated fairly and lived a good life. Heck, I can't even say that about humanities treatment to others of the human race. But I can say that for the majority of humanity, we have been more than grateful to the animals that loaned their strength, speed, and endurance to us. Most societies throughout history placed those animals in high regard, even going as far in some instances to treat them better than they treated their human workers.

"But since the invention of the engine like the steam engine and also the internal combustion engine like this one," I said gesturing towards the block of metal perched on the stand, "We have pretty much stopped having to use animals to do our work, now relegating them more to lives of pampering and relaxation. Because now we have machines that can do the same job faster than any human or other species could."

Vivmay looked at me out of the corner of her eye at the mention of being pampered, but didn't do anything else for a few moments before giving a small sigh, "I know it may have been that way on your planet, but I still can't help but find the act a little demeaning to be strapped to a cart and forced to do work for someone else."

I could see where she was coming from and I didn't entirely disagree with her, but it seemed odd that Vivmay would be the one so upset about it as opposed to, say, Paxxila. Maybe there was something behind her feeling that way, but I chose not to delve into it. Letting her keep her secrets to tell whom she wanted, when she wanted.

"How fast?" Vemsa Hewl asked, always interested in any subject that had to do with speed.

"Well, take this motor for instance. On a modern assembly line, this same motor could be built probably in a couple of hours, if not sooner."

"Wow that is fast," she said surprised, "it took you and your whole team about two weeks to do the same."

"True enough, but we were building the first one here in Equestria, so we had a lot of bugs to work out and we don't have an assembly plant either."

Vemsa seemed satisfied with that answer as Paxxila spoke up from the back, "Um, you were explaining about what horsepower was Eric? That is if you still want to tell us."

"Yes darling please continue with what you were explaining before, and excuse my behavior. It was very unladylike of me." Vivmay said as she gave me a small smile to let me know she was okay.

"Not a problem at all Vivmay and I should apologize for upsetting you," I reassured her before continuing, "Anyways like I was saying this engineer needed to find a way to measure the power of his new steam engines that were being developed at the time to replace the horses that were currently being used to do work at the time. So using a horse pulling a certain amount of weight for a certain amount of time, he devised an equation to figure out the working power of a horse. Which, along with torque, became the two main terms people used to describe how powerful an engine was."

"So yer saying that this here hunk of metal can do the same amount of work as four hundred horses?" Etpinego said as she looked over the motor closer along with Tupomi.

I could kind of imagine that earth ponies would be more interested in motors as opposed to unicorns and pegasi because of their manual labor background, and as someone who had done my fair share of manual labor in my life, I could see where they were coming from. As rewarding as it was to do a hard days work using only the muscle in your back and the sweat on your brow, you were always interested in anything that would make your life a little easier."

"Well that's a guesstimation through. I have no real way of knowing all I can do is go by the measurement of the internals to try and come up with an estimation, "I told them with a shrug of my shoulders, "I mean, we hooked it up to a device that measures electrical output in a manner similar to the turbines at your dam outside of town, and we got about three hundred and thirty thousand Equestrian Electrical Units, and from talking with the engineers, it almost sounds like a similar value of measurement to the Watt from back on Earth. So using that value I got a little over four hundred horses, which would be about right for a motor of this size."

Looking around I saw that I had rambled a little as all of the girls, minus Tupomi surprisingly, looked at me with looks of confusion.

"Sorry about that, I guess I kind of rambled a little," I said sheepishly as I rubbed the back of my head, "Anyways I should be getting this thing outside before the guests of honor show up."

All of the girls nodded in approval as they allowed me and my crew to push the run cart outside the hangar. As we got it into position and anchored the cart down I took a quick look at the crowd that had gathered. There seemed to be about fifty guest that had gathered in the viewing area. There seemed to be quite the diversity as I noticed the dignitaries that had made it from their foreign lands.

From talking with the others, I could make out a couple of the species such as the griffoness who was talking to a large minotaur, but most of their species were a mystery to me. As I scanned the crowd, my eyes met those of a beautiful zebra mare who was staring directly at me. Normally I wouldn't have thought anything strange of it, but for some reason her eyes seemed to bore into me like a predator looking at it's next meal. Luckily, I was distracted by the sound of a horn signaling the arrival of the princess's pegasi drawn carriage approaching from the sky. Looking back to where the strange mare had stood I found her now gone. Tossing the thought from my mind, I focused again on the approaching carriage. As the carriage landed on our grass runway and slowly came to stop in front of the hangar, everyone presented the proper bow to the ruling monarchs of the land as I approached the open top carriage.

The princesses were sitting quietly talking amongst themselves as I approached, and even though Gilzia and Pyre didn't look immediately my way, the mixed feelings I could pick up through our bond let me know that they knew full well aware that I was there. I felt apprehension, fear and grief coming from the sisters as they continued to talk with Xamspona like nothing was wrong, but as soon as I placed my hand upon the carriage's door handle and spoke to them it was all replaced by a single emotion, one that I could only best describe as melancholic.

"Good day Princesses," I greeted to them as I opened the door and bowed my head slightly. Not only to show them the proper respect they deserved to be showed in front of their subjects, but also to give me those brief few moments more to steel my resolve. Wanting to wait for when we could be in more private settings to have our much needed conversation, "It is a great honor for you to grace our facility with your presence."

"The pleasure is all ours, Eric Broussard of Earth," I heard Gilzia reply as I felt the carriage shift ever so slightly as the three mares rose from their seats, "it is always a pleasure to come here and see all that you and your team have done."

As I saw her white hand come into my vision, I looked up to see her standing there in all her serene beauty. However one look into her eyes and I could see the same longing that I could feel emanating from her. Grabbing her hand gently in my own I helped her down from the carriage, and I noticed her quickly grace me with a sideways glance of her eyes as she passed while I turned to assist Pyre and Xam.

Pyre, like her sister, was very good at hiding behind her mask that she put on for the public, and one wouldn't think that anything was wrong. Like they were above any of the problems that plagued their mortal subjects, but through our bond I had come to know better than that. They felt everything that their subjects did, if not more so because they had to deal with the added pain and loneliness of immortality as their subjects died and they lived on. As I helped Pyre down from the carriage, I could feel every bit of those emotions as I looked into those eyes that shimmered like two pools of water.

Once Pyre passed, I was already so weary from the flood of emotions that I was feeling from the two sisters that I acted on autopilot as I helped Xam out of the carriage last. My mask must have not of been as honed as Gilzia and Pyre's as I felt the lavender alicorn secretly give my hand a reassuring squeeze as I helped her down. Once they were all out of the carriage I shut the door before falling beside the princesses on their left as I led them to where the motor sat.

"My sister-in-law Princess Gehluli and my brother unfortunately could not make it today. Business kept them in the Crystal Empire, but they reassured me that they would be able to make it in time for the Ball tomorrow," Xamspona told me as we walked along, seamlessly falling into her royal tone of voice when performing official duties.

"It is alright Princess, I understand and look forward to finally getting the chance to meet them," I replied to her as we finally arrived to where the engine sat.

"So this is it?" Pyre asked as they looked over the motor.

"Yes Your Highnesses."

Even though her and Gilzia had seen it on many occasions from their many after hours visits to my apartment, they had yet to see the motor in it's complete state. The three princesses gazed over the lump of metal as I answered their questions about it, but I could tell that only Xamspona was truly interested in my answers as I found Gilzia and Pyre casting glances my way. As I would do the same to them, the tension so thick that I truly believed that I could have cut it with my knife.

Once the Q&A was done, I directed them towards the viewing area with the others, where a couple of my unicorn workers were positioned to cast a sound deadening spell so as to protect their sensitive ears from the noise about to be made. As I watched the trio walk towards their area, I tried to clear them from my mind as I focused on the task at hand. Turning to the engine stand, I grabbed my David-Clark headsets from the throttle quadrant where I had draped them and placed them over my ears as I nodded to my assistant to apply the external electrical power.

Once I had power, I turned on the control station, hearing the steady humming of the transformers and went down the final few items on our checklist.

- Fuel tank selector for tank to be used turned ON, check

- Throttles positioned to 20%, check

- Mixture controls set to IDLE, check

- Generator switch ON, check

- Battery selector switch to BATT/EMER, check

- FUEL BOOST PUMP for tank to be used turned ON, check

- Prime the motor with 3-5 pumps from PRIMING HANDLE, leave primer UNLOCKED, check

- FUEL BOOST PUMPS to OFF, check

- Turn MAG switch to BOTH, check

- Engage STARTER switch until motor fires regularly, ...

Saying one final silent prayer I held down the switch and heard the starter engage like it should, whining as it struggled to overpower the compression of the pistons and turn the big block. It started slowly as puffs of unburnt fuel vapor coughed out of each of the eight exhaust pipes, before it looked like cylinder #2 finally caught belching out a fireball as it burned the fuel residue out of the exhaust. Once the first cylinder had fired it was immediately followed by the others as the motor roared to life. As soon as it looked like the motor was self sufficient in it's process, I disengaged the starter and turned the fuel boost pumps back on as I leaned out the air/fuel mixture until the motor smoothed out.

Giving a thumbs up to my assistant she came over and watched the controls as I went over and gave a quick look over on the motor for any leaks. Finding none I went back to the controls and looked over my assistant's shoulder at the gauges. Everything was running within limits, and I thought we would give our guest the display they had come to see, so I gave my assistant a pat on the shoulder as I motioned to where on the tachometer gauge I wanted her to go. With a nod in agreement, she grabbed the throttle lever and moved it to full power as I kept an eye on the gauges. The engine responded beautifully as it's unfiltered exhaust noise became deafening and I could feel each combustion thudding in my chest like a second heartbeat as it screamed up to the red-line. All the while torches of bright orange flames shot from each exhaust pipe as the engine tried to catch up to the mixture level I had set it at.

Letting it run like that for a few minutes, I relished in the raw unbridled power of the motor. I loved every moment of this. There was something primal that every gearhead thrived on when they heard the sound of a motor at full throttle, grew light headed off of exhaust fumes, or when they would get a whiff of high octane fuel. It was something not everyone would understand. The ability to build something so powerful that it could kill you in an instant if it wanted to, and then to try and control that power, right on the brink of that line between safe and catastrophic. This was my drug, my addiction to horsepower, and I was finally getting my fix. Looking to my assistant, the look of fear and excitement on her young face said it all as she felt the vibrations of the motor through the throttle lever. She was hooked and there was no going back now for her.

I noticed the engine temps slowly began to rise as we reached the five minute maximum time limit for MAX POWER settings and I slowly brought the throttle back to idle to let the oil temperature cool back down before we began our shut-off checklist. Once everything was within limits again, I cut off the fuel as the motor gave one last bout of fitful coughing and wheezing as it's food was suddenly cut off, before finally settling back into quiet slumber. My assistant and I removed our hearing protection and I patted her on the back, congratulating her on a good job, the motor all the while popping as the metal began to cool and retract.

As I made my way over to the audience, the rest of our engine crew, lead by my foreman Alvirg Lieh, made their way to the motor to get it over to the engine shop for a look over. Stopping the old stallion I told him that I wanted to take a look at the wiring on the left cylinder bank's head temperature sensor because it fluctuated quite a bit at max power, and I wanted to make sure it hadn't come loose again. He reassured me that they would take a look at it and headed off to supervise the movement of the precious motor.

The crowd was very excited by what they had seen and were all talking amongst themselves, but I was more focused on three of the eight mares in front of me. Etpinego, Xamspona and the others were all thoroughly impressed by the display, especially Vemsa Hewl and Tupomi. Meanwhile, Gilzia and Pyre, while still proud of my accomplishment and smiling like the others, I could feel them growing steadily more nervous as I got closer. We all knew that before the end of this visit we were going to have to have a talk, no matter whether we wanted to or not. Because I knew that I couldn't go on like this any longer, not being able to talk with them or see them, and if they felt half as much I thought they did then they were probably feeling the same pain.

"That was amazing!" Vemsa Hewl said excitingly as she flew over to me and began to babble like a fangirl. "At first I didn't know what to expect and then it made all that noise and shot fire out of it and I heard it from over here. It was all going blub-blub-blub-blub-blub and then you made it all go BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! That had to be one of the coolest things I've ever seen."

Vemsa then realized the spectacle she had made as she landed on the ground as she tried to regain her composure with a cough, "I mean it wasn't as cool as me you know, but it was pretty cool."

"Thanks Vemsa that means a lot coming from you," was my reply as I gave a chuckle at having seen the usually cool acting mare go crazy as Tupomi wrapped a pink arm around the rainbow-haired pegasus.

"I give you good marks for your presentation, but you just need to work more on your delivery and I think you'll have it down pat," and with that the pink mare disappeared again leaving a befuddled Vemsa Hewl at being critiqued on her recent display, while the rest of us shared a lighthearted laugh.

"She's right though Eric, that was mighty impressive, " Etpinego said as she gave me a quick hug, causing me to nervously swallow at how the gesture might have been perceived by the celestial sisters.

"Yes Eric, like Etpinego mentioned, it was very impressive indeed. Everything that you said it would be," I heard Pyre say as I looked to her and her sister. I could feel the sadness coming from them, despite the smiles they wore, and even something else that almost felt like jealousy. Probably in reaction to my nervousness around the orange earth mare. I decided that this was probably my best bet at being able to talk with them as I reached out to them through the link.

'It's good to see you two again,' I told them and I figured I might as well lay all of my cards on the table, 'I really missed both of you.'

'And we have missed you as well, although it looks like you have picked up another admirer.' Gilzia spoke to me through our link as I saw her narrow her eyes ever so slightly in Etpinego's direction.

I continued to talk with the others so as to not draw their suspicions as I responded to the sun princess, 'Yes, so it may seem, but I'll worry about that later. Right now I need to talk with you two. I need to make right by us and have some questions answered.'

'I am sorry Eric but it will have to wait till another day-,' Gilzia began to reply but was cut off by her younger sister.

'No sister he deserves to know now,' Pyre said as she shot a look at Gilzia with her eyes before she looked back to mine. That same sadness I had seen in her eyes from my vision of her from last night was there as plain as day for me to see and let me know it had truly been her that visited my room last night, 'He needs to know the truth, and if he chooses to leave us then it will be our fault for having deceived him in the first place.'

Gilzia remained silent through our link for a moment, as she continued to speak with Xam and her friends before replying, 'Very well, we shall talk.'

'Thank you, both of you,' I said as I gave them a smile but it did little to cheer their mood.

The rest of the visit went smoothly enough as I showed all of the guest around the facility and answered any questions they might of had, through the help of my translator Wipziv Sykri. I even showed them the progress on the actual plane as we had begun work a little over a week ago, after we had the motor assembled and in place to get the measurements we needed. As it stood, there was just the basic airframe, the monocoque woodwork making it look more like that of a canoe than an actual airplane.

After I had completed the tour, I thanked all of my guest for coming and released my workers for the afternoon so that they could go and celebrate with each other and their families. The girls tried to get me to come with them to celebrate, but I politely declined stating that I wasn't feeling too good from headache I had. Saying that I might have ingested too much exhaust for my own liking. Being a little downtrodden, but knowing that none of the spells they had to help me would do any good with my resistance to magic, they reluctantly accepted my position. Although Tupomi seemed the most down by it because she hadn't been able to throw a party with me since my arrival to Ponyville all those months ago. I would have to make it up to her one day, maybe let her do something small for my birthday that was coming up.

Gilzia and Pyre also declined, stating that they still had royal duties that needed to be attended to for the ball that was happening tomorrow, but told Xamspona that she had been kept away at the castle for too long the past week and should take a break with her friends. With a little more reassuring from the two sisters that everything would be under control she readily agreed, happy to spend time with her friends again.

I escorted Gilzia and Pyre back to the carriage as the guards were hooking back up to the carriage. As I opened the door and helped them back into the carriage they gave me a sad smile as they sat down.

'We shall return shortly,' I heard Gilzia's voice say in my mind.

'I shall be here waiting,' I told them mentally as I shut the door and gave them a final bow of my head as the carriage took off heading back to Canterlot.

Once it was out of sight and I had seen the girls off I headed towards my apartment for the few minutes of intermission I had before my conversation with Gilzia and Pyre. Upon entering the hangar, I made my way to the fridge to grab a drink to help calm my nerves over the upcoming meeting, and as I took a swig of the hard cider, I dwelt back on what Pyre had told me last night.

"Because you might come to hate me tomorrow."

I still didn't know what could have been so bad to where she thought that I would hate her or Gilzia, but I figured I would be finding out soon enough as I finished the bottle. Come to find out I didn't have to wait long as they soon appeared before me on the hangar floor.

"Thank you for coming," I greeted them and extended my hand towards stairs that lead to my apartment. "Would you like to go upstairs and have a seat?"

"No, we shall stand for we do not intend to be here long," Gilzia said as she raised her hand dismissively.

Shrugging I leaned back against the workbench that was positioned behind me, "Very well then. I guess it'll be best to start at the beginning and see where we go from there. Am I in a herd with you two?"

"Yes," was Gilzia's simple reply.

"Who all is in this herd?"

"My sister Gilzia and I," Pyre answered this time.

"Is this herd informal or is it a romantic herd?"

Gilzia paused for a moment and I could see her trying to find the right way to word her response.

"The truth," I demanded as I crossed my arms as Gilzia gave a small sigh before answering.

"It is an informal herd, although Pyre and I have inadvertently stated our intentions to begin courting you."

"Inadvertently how?"

"During our last heat cycle when we came here and came in contact with you, our magical defenses that are normally in place to keep our urges in check were neutralized and we succumbed to our desires." Pyre explained as I felt that same wave of guilt begin to come from them again.

"What desires?" I inquired as I pointed to Gilzia, "You said that our bond doesn't affect who our feelings are for, just the intensity of those feelings. So when both of you said you loved me, is that what you meant?"

"Yes," the both said silently as they looked to the ground submissively and I felt that feeling of guilt turn to one of fear but it also held a shimmer of hope. As much as I wanted to go give into the pulling I felt on our bond to go and comfort the two alicorn mares, I needed my questions answered.

"Why did you two form a herd with me to begin with? I find it hard to believe that it was just to be able to talk to me. You two represent the highest level of authority in the land and could have told your nephew to shove it and no one would have questioned you. So what was the reason?"

"We needed to gain your trust." Gilzia replied.

"Why?"

"Because your life is in danger and we needed to have a way to protect you and it was only a matter of time before you would have been found and killed. Normally, we would have just cast a protection spell on you, but your resistance to magic prevented us from doing that. So we had to use our physical powers to create the mental link, which placed you in a herd with us and therefore under our protection if you were ever threatened. It was my decision to form the bond, my sister only joined because the possible risk could have been too much for me to handle alone." Gilzia said, as she stepped forward, taking the full brunt of the blame.

"Threatened from who?" I asked her, most of the other info I either already knew about or had pieced together on my own but this news about being in danger, even now, was new.

"Our mother." Gilzia replied simply.

"Your mother? You said your mother had sealed herself away before you and Pyre came to rule Equestria. So how can she be threatening my life?"

"Because our mother is the planet," Gilzia tried to explain but at my confusion she tried again." Just like I am tied to the sun and Pyre is tied to the moon, so too is our mother tied to this planet, and as such is fully aware of everything that happens throughout the world. We needed to act fast because your resistance to the Magic of Harmony would have made it easy for her to find you once she became aware of your presence. It would have been like finding a black spot on a piece of parchment. Yet our bond gives you almost a cloak of invisibility from her, as she will only detect the traces of my sister and I that remains in your head from the link, instead of nothing at all.

"You remember what my sister and I told you of the circumstances surrounding the arrival of the species of this world from yours? Their systematic extinction by humanity," I nodded , remembering well her story from the castle. "Then I should let you know that our mother has not forgotten what humanity had done, and she would not be thrilled to find out that a human had made it through her barrier she had set up to protect her remaining children. She would view you as a danger to all of her children, including my sister and I. A danger that would need to be eradicated as quickly as possible to ensure the safety of her children."

"Then why help me? Why not just simply leave me to die in that jail cell at the hands of your nephew," I told her as I pushed myself away from the table and walked up to her.

"Because my sister and I have learned that no being is above redemption." Gilzia stated as she cast a glance back towards Pyre, who looked back at her sister with love in her eyes as Gilzia whispered, “None."

As she looked back at me again, I found that same look of love that she held for her sister now directed at me, and I felt my body move on it's own accord to her until I was standing before her. I reached out with my left hand and cupped her warm cheek, as Pyre came over to stand next to Gilzia and I did the same with my right hand to the Princess of the Night. As I stared into their eyes, I fought to suppress the urge to comfort them more, for I still had questions that needed answers.

"Why didn't you just ask me then?"

"Would you have accepted our offer if we had told you that our mother wished to find and kill you?" Pyre asked in return as she closed her eyes and leaned into my touch, relishing in the warmth of my hand as she gave the appendage a gentle kiss.

I didn't answer them right away as I thought back to when I was in the jail cell and unable to communicate with any of them, and I realized she was right. I more than likely wouldn't have accepted their offer, instead believing that their loyalty to their mother would be stronger than that to a complete stranger. At the very least I would not have been able to trust them, not completely that is.

"No, I probably wouldn't have," I said as I removed my hands form their cheeks before turning away from them. I could feel their yearning for the comfort that I had taken away as I walked over to stand by the skeletal aircraft. "But why not tell me about being in the herd then later, or at least about your mother's vendetta against me?"

"We thought it best that the less you knew the safer you would be," Gilzia said as I heard her step closer to me. "If we had told you, we ran the risk of you asking more questions, and possibly finding out that was a risk we could not take. Originally, the herd was supposed to remain very informal, only centering around your protection, which would not have required you to know about it necessarily."

"But it didn't stay that way, did it?" I asked as I looked back over my shoulder at her when I felt her hand touch my back.

"No," the sun princess whispered apprehensively.

"And why me? What was so special about me that you couldn't find it amongst your own subjects?"

"At first, it was because you saw us in a manner that nopony has since before we came to rule all those centuries ago." I heard the Princess of the Day say, raising my curiosity.

"What was that?"

"Equals," she answered simply, letting the word simmer for a little before continuing, "You viewed us like you would any other mare, one that was not perfect or without faults and it was refreshing. For so long we have been viewed by the species of this planet as untouchable, that it was nice to be viewed by someone who didn't."

Pyre decided to take over explaining from her sister, "At first, we were simply content to be simple acquaintances with you, a friend that we could talk with. But the more time we shared with you, through both the bond and personally, we got to know the man beneath the rough image that you like to portray. It was only when it was too late that we realized that we were starting to have feelings for you beyond what we had intended to."

"You both fell in love with me." I said, my words coming out more like a question than a statement.

"Yes." Pyre said as she came around to my left side, their mere presence calming me. Their touch warming my soul as it fed off the contact that it had yearned for for the past couple of weeks.

We stood in silence for a few moments, just enjoying the presence of each others proximity. I wanted to say something to them, but alas, my words were failing me. Honestly, I should be furious about the whole situation, but I couldn't bring myself to be for some reason. Yes, I was upset about being kept in the dark about the whole herd thing and the threat on my life. I wanted to say something to them, anything, to break the silence, but Gilzia beat me to it, shocking me with what she had to say.

"Sorry," she softly apologized, "we didn't mean to keep things from you, but we-"

"It's not that Gilzia," I interrupted her as I turned to face her and Pyre, "the thing is you two lied to me."

"That was not our intention," Pyre tried to protest but I stopped her with a raise of my hand before she could continue.

"Omitting the truth does not make it the truth, just a well concealed lie."

The look of regret in their eyes let me know that they agreed with me, as much as they may not have wanted to, as Gilzia finally spoke, "Yes, you are right, and you have every reason to hate us for that. That is why I shall not hold you to any commitments regarding my sister and I, and a herd."

"And what of the mental bond we share?" I asked.

Gilzia took a slow breath in as I could see her struggling to maintain the royal facade just until she was able to leave. "My sister and I shall try to find a way to separate our connection to you while still ensuring your safety from our mother, but until then we shall respect your privacy and no longer contact you."

"No," I stated firmly, causing both of the sister's to look at me, their ears perked up in surprise.

"W-what?" Pyre asked, obviously as confused as her sister by my statement.

Sighing, I rubbed the bridge of my nose unsure about what I was about to say, "Look, I'm not going to say that I'm not upset about you two keeping me in the dark about the whole situation. Heck, I should be furious. I should just wipe my hands clean of this whole situation, of everything. Especially both of you." I said pointing to the princesses, who looked down at the ground ashamed.

"But..." the sisters slowly looked back at me as I struggled to find the right words, "I can't. I just can't bring myself to hate either of you, and even though I may not know jack about this whole herd relationship thing, I still want to give a try. Because just like you two, I've come to care for the both of you too much to just let you go."

No sooner did I say that, I felt a wave of relief come from the alicorns as they each grabbed one of my hands. Slowly I ran my thumbs along the back of their hands, trying to gather the strength to tell them the part that had been bugging me more than anything.

"But unfortunately, I don't know how long I'm going to remain here, or if I'll even have a choice in whether I stay or not. I might be here for the rest of my life, or I may just disappear tonight. I-"

My confession was cut-off by the gentle lips of the Princess of the Day, which was immediately replaced with those of the Princess of the Night as soon as her sister had pulled away. Their kisses were soft and slow, reassuring in their nature, as they let me know that they had already accepted that fate.

"We know," Pyre said as I looked into her pools of aquamarine, seeing the love she held for me in their depths. "You forget that we are immortal Eric. Your passing is inevitable for us. Whether by you returning to your own world or by old age, but that is all in the future. This is the present, and it is here, now, where we are together. And just being able to love you now, for however long it may last, is more than enough to compensate for the eternity we shall have to endure without you."

I was flabbergasted. Not once had I thought about the fact that either way, they would still outlive me, as foolish as that may have sounded. Yet, still they were willing to risk an eternity of heartache for a chance of love, even if for the briefest of moments in time.

Reaching out, I quickly pulled each of the princesses in for a kiss of my own, and I was busy enjoying Gilzia's lips again when I heard a gasp from behind us. Separating quickly, the three of us looked to where the noise had come from to find Etpinego standing in one of the doorways at the side of the hangar. A look of shock and betrayal etched on her face, but only for the briefest of moments as her anger soon took over.

"What the hay is goin' on here!" she shouted as she slammed the door shut behind her, the fire in her emerald eyes set on only one person in the room, me. Slowly she stomped the short distance towards me, "I come back here thinkin' that you were sufferin', and what do I find? You makin' out with tha princesses."

"Calm down Etpinego, I ca-," but I didn't get a chance to finish as she slapped me squarely across the face with such force that I was knocked to my knee as spots momentarily filled my vision, "Ow! What the fuck was that for?"

"That was fer makin' us worry about you, y'ah idjit. Fer makin' me worry," she said as she stood over my crouched form. Gilzia and Pyre moved to intervene, but I stopped them with a raise of my hand. I needed to deal with this on my own, even though the timing may not have been the most opportune.

As I rose back to my feet Etpinego went to slap me again, but I was able to grab a hold of her arm before she could strike home.

"Let me go y'ah no good snake in tha grass!" she yelled at me as she struggled to get out of my grasp, but I was having none of it as I wrapped my arms around her from behind, pinning her arms against her side, She continued to struggle in my grasp for a few more minutes, shouting obscenities at me before she finally went limp in my arms. Her yells of protest having quieted down into silent sobs, "I thought y'ah cared about us, ... cared about me."

As we fell to our knees I brought her against my chest, her fist hitting me but lacking any real strength behind them. Silently, we sat there as I cradled the crying young mare as I reassuringly ran my fingers through her long blonde mane. It tore me up to see the normally strong-willed mare reduced to tears, and to know that I was the reason for it didn't make me feel any better. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried lately, I couldn't do anything but make these mares who cared about me cry.

"Look, I do care about you Etpinego," I eventually told her once her sobs had receded, "and I did suspect that you may have held feelings for me, but I had to settle some things before I could address those suspicions."

"Is that why yer here, with them?" she asked as she cast a glare towards the princesses, who shot her one right back. Gilzia and Pyre looked like they wanted to say something to the upset farm mare, but my words beat them to the punch.

"Yes, I am in a herd with them," I responded as Etpinego looked at me incredulously.

"In a herd? Why didn't y'ah ever tell me you was cavortin' around with them?" she asked me as I saw the fire begin to reignite in her eyes.

"That is enough of that," Pyre admonished as she stepped forward, but Gilzia stopped her with a silent shake of her head. Pyre huffed frustratedly but stayed where she was, as I sent a thank you to them through our bond.

"Because I didn't know about it until recently. Apparently when our mental bond was formed, it was to place me under their protection in an informal herd. It wasn't until recently that it grew romantic, and due to the suddenness of it all I needed some time to think things over. I invited Gilzia and Pyre over to better understand the parameters of the herd before making my decision to stay or not."

Etpinego seemed to be pondering it over quite a bit as I saw her narrow her eyes at me. Trying to find any indicators on my face that could lead her to a lie in my story.

"What Eric says is the truth," Gilzia intervened, directing the farm mare’s attention to her. "But take solace in knowing that he cares for you as much as he cares for my sister and I, and thinks of you often."

'What are you doing Gilzia?' I asked the day princess through the link.

'My duty as your mare and helping you by telling her the truth. As much as you may deny it, you care for her more than you are willing to admit, my stallion,' she replied back to me, as Etpinego looked back my way, a light blush now on her checks.

"Is that true?"

For the briefest of moments I thought about telling her something about never wanting to lose her as a friend, or some shit like that. Yet all it took was one look into those captivating green eyes to know that Gilzia was right and all those ideas were just bullshit excuses.

"Yes it's true Etpinego, every word," I admitted before I was pulled into a sudden kiss by the small orange mare. I could feel her tongue as it made it's way inside my mouth, snaking around my own as I felt mixed feelings of jealousy and envy coming from the mares of my herd. The kiss only lasted mere moments before she pulled away from me, leaving me flabbergasted as I struggled for a response. "Et-tpinego, why did you do that?"

"There's no way I'm gonna give up on y'ah that easy," she said with a wink to me, "Ah'm not gonna lose my chance because of something you had no prior knowledge of. It ain't fair."

With that she got off of me and headed towards the defensive princesses. Walking straight up to Gilzia, who spread open her wings wide in challenge to the smaller mare. Etpinego held her head high as she tipped her hat back off her head, letting the stampede string go taut against her neck.

"Princess Gilzia, lead mare of the Royal Herd, my name is Etpinego of the Etpi family, and I formally declare my request to court you and your herd."

"Wh-!" I began to shout but was silenced as Pyre placed a hand over my mouth.

'Do not worry Eric,' Pyre said through our bond, 'it will be okay. This is just one of the ways that our society allows new members into an already established herd. Etpinego has presented herself for Gilzia's examination to see if she will be considered as an acceptable addition for the herd to begin courting. It is something that every member has a right to vote on, but in the end the final decision rests with our lead mare.'

'But why is she doing this?' I asked Pyre, unsure why Etpinego would do what she was doing.

'She is doing it out of love,' she simply stated, admiration evident in her voice as she leaned in and gently kissed my cheek as I heard Gilzia speak up.

"Etpinego, why should I let you join our herd? I know that you hold strong feelings for Eric, but you should know all too well that a herd is not about just one member but the herd as a whole," the tall alicorn said as she began to slowly walk around the much smaller earth mare, scrutinizing every detail as her wings brushed against the farmer. Sending a slight shiver through Etpinego's frame. "What evidence can you provide us of the truth in your intentions to court my herd?"

Etpinego didn't waver as she held her head high, "I have no evidence, short of my words, to prove my devotion to you and yer herd. But my words are the words of Etpinego, Bearer of the Element of Honesty, and you know the weight that them words hold as prior Bearers of the Elements of Harmony yerselfs."

"Indeed I do," Gilzia declared as she gave me and Pyre a quick glance and a gentle smile, "and that shall be enough for me, for now. But know that during this courting process, if at anytime I or any other member believe that your continued membership threatens the integrity of this herd. Then the courting process will be terminated immediately. Do you understand and accept these terms?"

"I understand," Etpinego replied as Gilzia came to a stop in front of her again, "and I accept."

"Good," the sun princess said as she gently embraced Etpinego to her, wrapping her wings around the orange mare before addressing us, "and what does the rest of the herd say about our new suitress?"

"Yes," Pyre answered.

"And you my stallion?" Gilzia, my head mare, asked me as I felt all eyes on me. Etpinego in particularly silently pleading with me to answer.

"Yes," was all I said as a small smile spread across all three mare's faces.

"Good," Gilzia said as she turned her attention completely back to Etpinego as she gently stroked the orange mare's back with her wings, "then it is agreed upon. Etpinego of the Etpi family-," Gilzia cupped the smaller mare's face in her white hands as she tilted the younger mare's head up to meet her lowering one. Briefly she paused, just a breath away from the trembling lips of the farm mare, a caring smile tugged at Gilzia's lips, before she claimed Etpinego's lips with her own. The kiss started out soft and gentle, as Etpinego gave control over to her new lover. Gilzia's more experienced technique however soon had the smaller mare moaning as the sun princess was no doubt exploring every inch of her mouth. After a few minutes, Gilzia ended the kiss. As she pulled her lips away from the now flushed and breathless Etpinego, a silvery strand of saliva remained, bridging the gap between them. As Gilzia's magenta colored eyes met the emerald green of her newest herd sister she smiled that same loving smile, "-welcome to the herd."

Etpitivi/ Applebloom
Etpinego/ Applejack
Zajepev/ Scootaloo
Waimi Fipi/ Sweetie Belle
Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
Vivmay/ Rarity
Vemsa Hewl/ Rainbow Dash
Hyva Zopul/ Dusty Shine
Zebra mare/ ?

Today was the day. A day that I had secretly been dreading since I had reluctantly conceded to my new marefriends' demands. I had to chuckle a little at how it was kind of funny that even when I wasn't aware that I was in a relationship with them, I had already been pussy-whipped. Either way, today was the day. The day of the ball. An event that I'm sure was going to have me so far out of my comfort zone, that I was seriously contemplating finding some cave up in the mountains to hide out in, Taliban-style, till this whole thing passed like a bad hangover. Yet I'm sure a couple of the mares in my new herd would have a thing or two to say about me not showing up to the party that they were putting on for me. Then again, leading them on a merry ol' chase, with the risk of death imminent, would be a more pleasing time then dressing up like a peacock and being gawked at by a bunch of snobs.

Turning my head lazily to the side, I checked to see what time it was getting to be from the clock that hung safely on the wall across the room. The hands on the dial read a quarter to seven, which meant that I had a little over twelve hours till the event, and about two hours till I had to meet the other girls at the train station. Drawing from the deepest depths of my being, I somehow managed to find enough motivation to crawl out of bed and start the day.

About half an hour later found me walking up the front porch steps of the Etpi homestead with a backpack slung over my shoulders to pick up my new marefriend and escort her into town. After all, what kind of beau would I be if I didn't pick my mare up from her house? Plus, the possible reactions that I would more than likely receive from her or her family would be worth it. Stopping in front of the door, I found a devious smile tugging at my lips as I lightly rapped my knuckles against the wood and waited for a reply.

After a few moments of silence, I heard a bustle of movement coming from behind the door as it opened to reveal the youngest of the Etpi siblings and her two fellow Crusaders.

"Hiya Eric," the little yellow filly with the big red bow said as the three of them shot me a wide smile.

"Hello girls," I greeted the three fillies, flashing a smile of my own, "Is Etpinego here?"

"Yeah, she's finishin' up her tuvypun chores out mu tha barn," Etpitivi told me, as she pointed over to the big red building.

With a curt nod of my head in thanks, I headed towards the old building, all the while hearing whispers from behind me as they shut the door. Upon reaching the red barn, I sat my bag down outside as I silently slipped through the big doors. My intentions were to hopefully find Etpinego busy with work, as was her wont, and to be able to creep up on her undetected. A quick look around once I had entered the building found her nowhere in sight. The inside of the barn was dark, save for the beams of sunlight streaming in through the windows set high on the walls. Illuminating the floating dust particles like flecks of gold floating in the ocean, but little else as the contrast in light made it hard to see into the dark shadows. I could barely make out that the loft and stalls were empty, save for the piles of hay that laid within them, and in the middle of the barn set Etpinego's now barren applecart. The fruit having been moved to the storehouse to keep it from spoiling quicker. It was then that I noticed a movement coming from the shadows under the cart as I squinted my eyes to get a better look.

The black mass slowly began to morph in shape and height as I made out two shining orbs and the jingling sound of bells could be heard. Squinting a little harder as my eyes continued to try and adjusted to the dark, I could begin to make out more of the shape. I let out a smile as it finally came into view. The mysterious form being nothing more than Etpinego's faithful Australian Shepherd, Mueva, having found a quiet place to take an early morning nap.

The little brown and white dog's ears perked up and her long tail began thumping loudly against the wooden planks as she saw me. Kneeling down I motioned the farm dog to me, who quickly trotted her way over to my outstretched arms.

"Hey girl," I whispered as quietly as I could. Still not wanting to alert Etpinego to my presence as I scratched the happy dog's dusty brown coat. "Where's Etpinego at? Huh girl? You know where she's at?"

Yet all I received for a reply was a series of happy pants from the little aussie as she soaked up the attention I was giving her. I gave her a good scratch behind one of her ears as I tried to avoid her wet tongue that was busy trying to lick my face. So busy was I in playing with Mueva, that I didn't hear someone approaching me from behind, until it was too late.

A weight suddenly collided with my back, knocking me off balance as I fell forward. Startling Mueva in the process as she yelped at my sudden movement and scurried to get out of my path as I fell. Landing in the hay, I rolled to the side as I felt the weight above roll with me, pinning me to the ground as the sound of laughter filled my ears.

"Thought y'ah could sneak up on me, didya?" Etpinego laughed as she looked down at me from her perch on top of me.

"The thought had crossed my mind," I replied, as I swatted away Mueva, who had decided to take advantage of her mistress's distraction and begin to lick my face. "Aw, Mueva not in the mouth!"

Etpinego let out another bout of laughter as I began to try and spit the taste of dog breath out of my mouth. "Looks like she really likes y'ah."

"The feeling's mutual," I said sarcastically as I narrowed my sights at the little brown dog now happily sitting beside the blonde-maned mare.

Etpinego grinned as she leaned down, nuzzling my cheek tenderly as she whispered softly in my ear, "Well, I guess she just has good taste then."

"You think so?" I asked inquisitively as I lightly gripped her thighs, figuring that I would play dumb a little longer.

"Mm-hmm," she hummed in approval before attempting to sit-up, but I wasn't going to have any of that as I shot her a rascally grin.

She didn't get time to contemplate my expression as I moved my grip up to her toned waist, swiftly rolled her off of me, and onto the hay. Both of us laughed all the while as I propped myself over her with that same grin plastered across my face. Mueva meanwhile must have thought it was time to play again as she hopped around us, barking at me and her mistress at being left out.

"Not so fun being on the bottom is it?" I asked the farm mare as I leaned in closer, but Etpinego wouldn't be so easily defeated.

"I don't know, suga'," she replied with heavy-lidded eyes as she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer. "I think I could get used to it."

"Really?" I said surprised as my eyebrows raised, not expecting her to be so bold.

"Mm-hmm," she agreed with me as she flashed me a warm smile.

Slowly, I got lost in the depths of her green eyes as I sat there lightly running my fingers through her blonde mane. We didn't say a word as we let our eyes do our talking for us. I could see the happiness in those green gems, and any lingering doubts I may have had about going forward with our relationship were quelled completely by that simple look. My feelings towards the three mares that were now a close part of my life were true, and no matter how long it lasted, I was going to give it my all. I would take the advice given to me and focus on the present, making them as happy as they could be. For if it was to be fate's destiny for me to be eventually separated from these three, then I would do my best to give them the best memories of me now while it lasted.

Gingerly, I leaned in and rubbed my cheek against her tan colored one, an intimate act for ponies as we used the physical connection to strengthen the bond between me and my mare. Breathing in deeply, I smelled her natural scent of apples and cinnamon mixed in with the ever present smell of sweat and dirt while I heard her do the same, remembering my scent as that of her stallion's. I heard her let out a sound that almost sounded like a nicker as I made my way down her neck, grazing her soft fur with my lips and tickling her skin with my breaths. As much as my body wanted to continue, I knew from the conversation that my herd and I had had last night that Etpinego was not experienced with relationships. So I wanted to take it slow with her and not rush it, letting her make the first move. I could wait, for any of them I could wait.

As I pulled back, I gave Etpinego one final smile as I sat up and helped us both to our feet. "Are you ready to go?"

The farmer went to answer, but was interrupted by a loud shout coming from behind the parked cart.

"Aw, qis vu!" came a cry, causing us to look and find Etpitivi and her fellow Crusaders trying to stay hidden despite their outburst.

"Etpitivi," Etpinego called to her younger sister in a warning tone. "I know y’all three are fego there."

The three fillies cowered behind the wooden cart from the older mare's gaze. Hoping that Etpinego would forget about them if she couldn't see them, yet simple trickery like that would not work on the experienced mare. After a few moments though, the fillies knew that their attempts at evasion were fruitless as they sullenly shuffled their way into view.

"Now what do y'all lezi to say fer celvwip?" Etpinego asked as she crossed her arms expectantly.

"We weren't spyin' vu y'ah sis, honest," Etpitivi pleaded with her older sister as the little orange pegasus, Zajepev, piped in.

"Yeah, we were syxmih and heard a bunch of noise qispun from mumih the barn and slyxklyx you were in trouble."

"So we qes to see if you rihih any help," Waimi Fipi added cheerfully as she smiled at us, her curly pink and lavender mane falling over her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah that's it!" Etpitivi exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the young white unicorn. "We qes to help y'ah! That's when we saw y'all two and didn't want to pualyta, b'cause it looked like you were doin' somethin' important."

"Yeah!" The other two fillies chimed in as the three of them flashed us their most sincere smiles.

Etpinego and I didn't believe a word of their story, me especially, having just talked to them at the house mere minutes prior. My marefriend just had more experience hiding it than me, and remained an unfazed symbol of authority. I, on the other hand, had to find something else to look at before I broke down in laughter. Eventually, I settled upon a particularly interesting looking metal hook on a beam. I studied the pitted surface of the wrought iron, each depression making the metal surface look like the surface of some barren asteroid. Looking at it more, I eventually took intense interest in how the metal was bowed ever so slightly, even though nothing hung upon the hook. So deep was I in my thoughts about what all could have hung from the hook over the years to have placed that permanent curve in it, that I almost missed Etpitivi's next comment.

"Etpinego," the little yellow filly began cautiously, pausing to see if it was safe to continue. When she received no response she took it as a sign to go on, "Are you and Eric special someponies now?"

Rubbing the bridge of her nose Etpinego let out a sigh as she answered the curious trio. "Yeah, we are."

The girls let out a squeal of excitement for the older mare at this obviously important news, and looked like they wanted to ask a whole slew of questions. However, I decided that this was as good a time as any to intervene, as I placed my hands gently atop Etpinego's shoulders. After all, we had a ball to get going to.

"It's alright Etpinego, they didn't mean any harm in it. I think we can let them off this time." I whispered to her as she gave me a stubborn snort in reply, "They're just curious is all."

"Still ain't right fer them to be spyin' on us-," She tried to retort as she looked back over her shoulder at me, more than likely something about how she preferred her privacy, but I decided to cut her rambling short as I placed my lips over hers, silencing the frustrated mare.

The kiss, though short and sweet, still had the desired result I was looking for as I heard the trio of spies let out a dreamy, "Aw."

The end of the kiss left Etpinego speechless as her cheeks now held a distinct reddish tint to them. Giving her a cheeky grin just made her blush deepen as I turned my gaze to address our little audience, "Alright you three, off with you."

The three girls quickly exited the barn, giggling like mad as they excitedly talked amongst themselves. As they ran towards the house, I thought I could make out Etpitivi saying something about a brother or something like that.

"Y'ah know I'm gonna get you back fer that," Etpinego promised as she lightly elbowed me in the ribs.

I let out a chuckle as I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me, nuzzling her neck. "I look forward to it."

She let out a sigh again as I felt her relax. "I'm not gonna hear the end of this from Granny and Big Qeg now."

"I think the real issue's going to be when they find out that we're both also courting Gilzia and Pyre.", I said as I let out another chuckle, lightly kissing the crook of her neck as she let out a groan. "Are you ready to go?" I asked again to which she just simply nodded.

After saying as quick of a goodbye to the rest of the family as we could manage, we were soon on our way. It wasn't long before we reached the train station on the edge of town where the others were waiting. As we came up, I noticed that all of the girls were looking at us with varied expressions for some odd reason. Tupomi looked like she was literally about to burst at the seams in excitement. Xamspona had her head tilted to the side with a look of confusion etched on her face, busily trying to analyze something. Meanwhile the rainbow-maned Vemsa Hewl was leering at us with a devilish smirk as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. All the while, Vivmay stood there wide-eyed and fanning herself dramatically for some odd reason. Finally, poor sweet Paxxila was just blushing madly.

"Hey everyone, y'all ready to go?' I asked as I saw Tupomi and Paxxila nod slowly. Well, Paxxila did at least. Tupomi was obviously more expressive. The others just continued to stare, confusing the two of us.

"What's wrong with you gals?" Etpinego asked, obviously getting a little worried about her friend's well being.

The other mares simply just pointed towards the space between her and I. Confounded even more at what was the issue, Etpinego and I followed where their fingers were pointing down till we saw what all the ruckus was about. Somehow, during our journey into town, the farm mare's and my hand had become intertwined, unbeknownst to the two of us. Etpinego's first reaction was to pull her hand away, embarrassed that her friends had caught her, but I held onto her hand. Giving it a reassuring squeeze, I turned to address the others. This was going to be brought up sooner or later, and I would rather get it out of the way as opposed to dragging it out. After all, what did we have to be ashamed about?

"What's the matter?" I asked them with a confused tone to my voice. Figuring that playing it off as nothing would be the best course of action.

"When did this happen?" Xamspona asked, with just as much confusion in her voice.

"Last night when we started courting Princesses Gilzia and Pyre," I simply replied, giving Etpinego's hand another squeeze while she was currently doing a pretty good impression of Paxxila, trying to hide behind the brim of her hat. I guess she wasn't used to such public displays of affection. For a few minutes we stood there in silence, waiting for somepony to make or say the first thing. Luckily, we didn't have long to wait.

"Oh darling, we're so happy for you!" Vivmay practically bawled as she pulled the startled Etpinego into a tight embrace, almost knocking me down in the process as she wedged herself between us.

The seamstress's sudden action opened the floodgates, as the others also surrounded the farm mare and began to ask her a torrent of questions in Equis. I tried to follow along, but they were all talking at once and too fast for me to catch all of the words. Which kind of made me relieved that I wasn't the focus of such a storm. All in all, I would have to say that this went better than I could have hoped for it to. Honestly, I was expecting something along the lines of Xam castrating me for having "seduced" the princesses and her friend. Instead, she seemed just as excited and happy for her friend as everyone else was.

"Nice job there, Stud," Vemsa Hewl said to me as she nudged me playfully in the ribs with her elbow. "Didn't think you had it in y'ah."

"Well it was your advice," I reminded her as a smirk tugged at my face and I crossed my arms.

"I know." The cocky pegasus replied as she smugly smiled at me and crossed her arms as well. "See how much more awesome your life is when you listen to me, Stud?"

I raised an eyebrow at her as she wiggled hers at me again suggestively, we stood there for a moment, just looking at each other, before we both began to laugh at the silliness of the situation.

"But seriously, Stud," Vemsa said as she wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes, "remember what I said and take care of my friend."

"Of course, Vemsa." I told the colorful pegasus mare as I watched Vivmay gush over having to change Etpinego and my outfits for the ball, because we were now part of the Royal Herd. "Just one thing, though."

"What's that Stud?"

"Please stop calling me that," I told her dryly.

"No way!" The weathermare said happily with a pat on my back. "You're in a herd with the Princesses Gilzia and Pyre, in addition to my friend Etpinego. Any stallion in the world would kill to be in your position. Sorry Stud, it's staying."

Shortly thereafter, we boarded the train, and were off on our way to the capitol. Luckily for me, the train ride was fairly uneventful, save for the random questions by the mares about Etpinego and my recent change in relationship. Then there was the small celebratory party, well small by Tupomi's standards, and within a few hours we had arrived at our destination. As we all clamored out of the train car, we noticed a welcome party there already waiting for us on the platform. The leader, a mature pegasus mare with a light grey coat and dark brown hair that had a white streak running down it, bowed deeply to us as her assistants did the same. It also didn't pass my attention that she was very curvy when I got a very good look at her ample bosom as she bowed.

"Welcome back, Princess Xamspona Tevopi," she said keeping her head low. "I tevc that you and your guest's trip was a tipewirx one?"

"Yes it was, thank you." Xam said as she motioned for them to raise their heads.

"That is good to hear Your Highness," she said as she and her team raised their heads. "My team and I have not had the tipewyz to serve you yet Your Highness, so epsa me to puashygi myself. My name is Hyva Zopul and my team and I have been tasked with irvipun that you and your guest's every rihez are met."

I wasn't sure, but I could have sworn that the mare and many of her attendants cast a quick glance my way as she said that. Then again it was probably just my mind playing tricks on me, being as I hadn't been able to bust a nut in quite a few months. After a couple of months of buildup, you start thinking that every female is looking at you, like they can smell the accumulation of hormones emitting from you.

Anyways, Xam thanked the maids and they went to grab the few overnight items that we brought with us, being as we would not be able to catch the final train back to Ponyville. Also, after this was over, I was planning on spending some private time with the other members of my herd. Because even though I had spent plenty of time talking to them individually, throughout the months prior along with last night, I felt there was still a lot that I didn't know about them, nor them about me.

A unicorn maid came over to grab my backpack that I had sat down on the platform, but as she picked it up I reached out to grab it from her. "I get that please."

The young mare jumped and let out a squeak as I grabbed the shoulder strap, close to where she was holding. Her actions fumbled the bag, causing it to land back on the platform with a plop, and garnering everyone's attention.

"My sincerest etspykimdz sir," the mare said as she bowed her head to me. "I hope I have not tywix you."

Figuring the maid was still under the false impression that my touch would remove her of her connection with the Magic of Harmony, and not wanting to get her in trouble with Hyva Zopul, who was looking our way, I quickly raised my hand to her in an attempt to placate her worries while lifting the backpack again.

"It okay, I carry." I told her in my broken Equis, as I slung the bag over my shoulder and motioned to myself.

Taking the hint, the maid smiled at me and gave me another short bow, "Very well sir, as you azol."

With that situation out of the way, we all boarded a carriage which took us promptly to the castle. Once there, the maids lead each of us to our designated rooms that we would be using for the night. Xamspona informed us that the wing that we were in was away from all the others and directly connected to the private royal wing. As she said this, she gave a wink towards me and Etpinego. The farm mare just blushed again at getting what her friend was trying to insinuate, while I just gave her a nonchalant shrug. Not wanting to let her know the mischief I could cause at knowing that information if I became too bored tonight.

Upon entering my chamber, I threw my backpack on the bed and headed to the bathroom in anticipation of taking a shower before having to get ready. Although, no sooner did I turn on the faucet and get myself undressed, than a knock come from the bedroom door. Grumbling to myself at being interrupted, I wrapped a towel around my waist before making my way back towards the door. Cracking it open ever so slightly, I saw Hyva Zopul, along with two other maids, smiling at me as she gave me a short little bow.

"Sorry to pualyta, but we have been sent to irvi that you are zhawexih with your egshepavuz."

I couldn't follow some of what she was saying, but I still got the message she was trying to convey.

"Yes, thank you." With that, I tried to close the door, but found it blocked by the foot of the busty maid.

"If you would like, we can help you with your bathing. It is one of the many services we are womsih at shimvpun."

If that had been said to me no more than a couple of months ago, I would not have hesitated a second to invite them in and have one hell of a Pre-Ball party. But now I was a committed man to not just one, but three beautiful mares, and nothing was worth jeopardizing that situation just so I could bust a nut... or six. Which desperately needed to happen, and soon. And even if I was contemplating being unfaithful, I would have to be some kind of stupid to do it when I had a mental connection with two of them and was currently in their house, and the third was just down the hall.

"So, can we come in sir?" the mare asked as she batted her eyes and the other two gave a little giggle.

"No," I told them bluntly, and with that I shut the door and made my way back to the bathroom to take a long, cold shower.

No sooner did I finish though, I heard another knock came from the door. Groaning in frustration, I re-wrapped the towel around my waist as I walked, still dripping wet, to the door. Turning the door handle I was taken by surprise as the door flung open and a certain white seamstress barged in with a garment bag following behind her surrounded in her blue magic.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, darling.", she said without even bothering to look at me as she made her way to the dresser at the far side of the room and opened it with another burst of magic. "I would have been done sooner dear, but I first had to see what the Princesses would be wearing."

"Uh, done with what?" I asked as she hung the bag on the door and looked back at me happily.

"Why your tuxedo, Eric," she said flashing me a smile.

"My tuxedo?" Confusion evident in my voice, "I thought you had finished that a while ago?"

"Oh that old thing," she said as she dismissively waved her hand in the air. "That was before I found out about you and Etpinego courting the Princesses."

"But you just found out about that a couple of hours ago."

"Yes, but you couldn't possibly expect me to work on it while we were on the train. I had to wait until we came to the castle so that I could use their stores of fabric," Vivmay said, not getting what I was confused about as she turned to face me.

"Wait a minute," I said stopping her, "we've only been here for about thirty minutes. Are you telling me that you made a whole tuxedo in that amount of time?"

The seamstress just giggled at me as she placed her hand over her mouth. "Why no darling, that would be absurd."

I let out a sigh of relief at knowing that she hadn't worked herself to the bone on my account. "That's good, I-"

"I did both your tuxedo and Etpinego's dress," she said offhandedly as my jaw hit the floor, but she just continued unfazed, "Oh come now Eric, don't act so surprised. You know I do some of my best work under pressure. Now come here so that you can try it on."

I walked over to the mare as she opened the garment bag, revealing the outfit I was to wear for the night. It was nothing short of a masterpiece, a work of art that I was almost too afraid to wear, lest I ruin it. Reaching out I ran my hand along the smooth fabric of the double breasted tailcoat that was the same deep shade of navy blue as Pyre's coat, and like her cutie mark, the sleeve cuffs and the top half of the collar were an inky black. Silver embroidery weaved along the black cloth in patterns too detailed for me to fully appreciate as it contrasted against the darker fabric it laid on. This embroidery went along perfectly with the shiny metal buttons that traveled down the front of the coat in two rows of four with two more on each sleeve. The trousers looked to be a fitted pair in a light golden color that reminded me of the golden blonde hair of Etpinego that shined like a field of wheat. Nestled beneath the coat was a vest, double-breasted like it's fellow over garment, which was as blue as a summer sky, and reminded me of Gilzia. Tucked under it all was a simple white collared dress shirt made of silk and a dark magenta colored cravat.

"It is customary in our land, when courting, for the stallion to wear a color of his mare's," she said as she watched me examine the detailed embroidery along the cuffs and collar.

"This is incredible Vivmay," I said as I opened up the coat to get a better look at the clothing items under it. "You didn't need to do this much."

The white seamstress crossed her arms under her breasts defensively as she haughtily tuned her nose up at me. "Nonsense Eric, I refuse for you to go to your ball in anything less than the perfect outfit for you." Her peeved mood didn't last, though, as she recalled something. "Oh, I almost forgot, you'll be needing these as well."

As her horn lit up again a pair of shiny black dress shoes and white dress gloves came in from out in the hall. The items floated through the air and landed on my outstretched hands, the magic dissipating upon coming into contact with my skin. Looking to Vivmay again, I found her giving me one of those smug smiles she got whenever she knew that she had done her job completely.

"Thanks again Vivmay, I really owe you big after this," I told her but she just gave me a smile and a light tap on my chest.

"Think nothing of it. It was my pleasure to do it for you. Now hurry up and put it on so I can see it. After all I still have to get myself ready."

Realizing the time with a jump I went to remove the towel around my waist, but then remembered the mixed company that I was currently in. Then again, thinking on it for a second, it wasn't like she hadn't seen it before, but in the end good manners must prevail.

"Vivmay, would you mind leaving the room for a moment while I get dressed?"

The mare let out a sigh in mild frustration as she rolled her eyes at me. "Eric, darling, you really need to get over this thing about nudity."

"Oh I don't have a problem with it, just thought I'd give you a chance to leave if you wanted," I said as I dropped the towel, and had to laugh a little as the seamstress's eyes followed the cloth to the floor as a light pink crept on her cheeks. When I began to head towards my backpack to grab a pair of underwear, Vivmay stopped me.

"No undergarments Eric. I designed these clothes to be worn in the traditional Equestrian way, without undergarments."

"Really?" I asked to no one in particular as she gave me a nod, but I didn't quite catch that, as my mind was already wandering on the fact that all the mares, more particularly my mares, would not have anything underneath their dresses. Now, don't get me wrong. During my time here on this world, I had become used to seeing most of the inhabitants walking around without any clothing, and had even embraced the idea as most days one could find me wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. Even that was only because of the physical differences between myself and a stallion. Had to think of the decency of the children after all.

But the idea of the celestial sisters or the farm mare going commando beneath their formal wear really got my blood pumping. Their flower's glistening with dew hidden from my sight beneath mere pieces of fabric, silently begging me to pluck them. It wasn't until I felt certain parts of me beginning to rise to the occasion that I was knocked out of my fantasies as I remembered that I wasn't alone in the room. God, I really needed to relieve this sexual frustration. Luckily for me, though, I was currently facing away from the white seamstress, who was hopefully unaware of my compromising situation. Yet with some deep breathing and creative visual images I was able to wrestle the rogue member under control again.

"Is something the matter Eric?" Vivmay asked as I heard her walk over to me.

"Nope, everything's fine," I said quickly as I gave her a nervous laugh before turning, keeping my back to her, and grabbing the pants from the hanger.

After the pants were on, it wasn't long till I had the rest of the suit on and stood before the white unicorn as she looked over the fit of the clothing. Once she had given it a good once over, she stood back and smiled dreamily as she admired her work.

"Ah, perfect," she sighed happily before regaining her composure. "Now tell me Eric, how does it fit?"

"Perfect, Vivmay," I said as I turned to admire my new clothes in the mirror. I couldn't help but think that I looked like some kind of fancy gentleman from the Antebellum South, "you really are a master at your trade."

"But of course dear, would you expect anything less of me?", she asked as she soaked in the admiration, and I had to let out a chuckle.

"No, I guess I wouldn't."

"Well," Vivmay began as she made her way towards the bedroom door, "if you will excuse me, the other girls and I have to finish getting ready."

With a respectful nod of my head to Vivmay, she left the room, closing the door behind her. As I stood there adjusting my tie, I happened to notice the clock on the dresser in the mirror's reflection. I still had a little over an hour left to go. I wasn't particularly hungry, being still a little full from the refreshments from the party on the train ride here. So, I figured I would do a little exploring around the castle till it was time to be back for someone to come and grab me and the others from our rooms. Opening the bedroom door silently, I looked both ways to ensure that the hall was clear before sneaking out to stealthily roam the halls.

I had been to the castle a few times since my initial visit all those months ago, but they were always related to business, and I never actually got a chance to actually see the beauty of this fortress. From the meticulously maintained plants in the halls and gardens, to the suits of armor that shone with such brilliance as they performed their silent vigil. And of course, no amount of words could be said about the stonework that made up the castle. The seamless way that each column rose ever higher to the vaulted ceilings that would be the envy of any cathedral from back home.

It was while marveling at these works of some long departed master that I wasn't watching where I was going as I rounded a corner in the hall and bumped into someone. Taken aback, I thought maybe I had run into one of the many maids and servants that scurried along the halls in their never-ending task of running the castle like a well oiled machine. Yet looking down revealed that the pony I had run into and knocked down was no other than the zebra mare from yesterday's demonstration.

"I sorry miss," I apologized in my broken Equis, as I reached my hand out to help her up.

"Ah zr zypnog," she replied in a language I was unfamiliar with as she reached out and grabbed my hand.

Upon coming into contact with my hand, a bright flash of light briefly erupted from where our hands were in contact before transforming into a white flame that quickly began to go down her arm. Looking at our hands, I realized that I had left my gloves back in my room on accident as the flame began to burn it's way down her forearm, yet she seemed to be in no pain from the fire. I had seen a similar reaction from my touch only once before, and that was when I had grabbed the guard's wrist back in the hotel and had dissolved her disguise. But this, this was different.

We both watched in silent awe as the flame made it's way down her arm, burning away the striped fur that was there and leaving the whitest fur I had ever seen. While similar to Gilzia, it was not quite the same. While Gilzia's fur had a pearlescent shine to it which shimmered in the sunlight, this new fur on the arm of this unknown mare reminded me of a winter field covered in snow as it sheened with a bluish tint. Once the flame reached the rest of her body, it quickly spread till all of her was consumed in the white inferno. After only a brief second, the flame disappeared, leaving the mare with a whole new appearance.

Where once sat an exotic looking zebra mare, now sat a much larger white alicorn mare, her long tresses and tail floating in some unknown breeze and shimmered like ruddy gold. Atop her head sat a gold tiara with many tall slender peaks and atop each peak sat a single pink pearl. Looking down to her hip I noticed that her cutie mark consisted of a large red heart with a yellow crown atop it and a string of smaller hearts orbiting the larger one.

Finally looking back up, I noticed that she was examining her new form as well, and as she held her other hand shakily out in front of her, and I saw the tears running down her face I got the feeling this was something new for her as well. Suddenly, she tensed as she looked at her other hand where I was still holding onto her before she meet my eyes finally. Those eyes, I couldn't stop staring at those eyes. Her eyes, which were a beautiful shade of green, when I saw her back at the presentation yesterday, were now a icy shade of blue that seemed to shine like diamonds from the tears she had shed.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, but she didn't reply as she just nodded her head slowly and continued to stare at me awestruck.

It was honestly making me a little uncomfortable, and I was about to help her up when the noise of footsteps from back down the hall that I had just come from drew my attention back over my shoulder. When I looked back to where the mysterious alicorn had been, I was surprised to find her gone, leaving me alone in the hallway.

Gilzia/ Celestia
Pyre/ Luna
Etpinego/ Applejack
Vivmay/ Rarity
Vemsa Hewl/ Rainbow Dash
Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle

'Who was that?' I thought to myself, perplexed by the strange incident, as I heard the footsteps grow steadily closer behind me.

'Who was who?' I heard the Princess of the Day's familiar voice curiously ring out in my head.

'Some stra-,' I started as I turned around to face Gilzia. All thought processes stopped as soon as I laid eyes on her.

Gilzia had ditched her normal royal appearance for something more formal, which I had expected her to do, being a Princess and all. I wasn't prepared, however, for what I saw her wearing as she stood before me now. Her dress added an exotic flair to her, with it's plunging cowl neckline and waterfall skirt, like a tempting flamenco dancer in some dark Spanish cabaret. The color of the dress was the same light blue color of my vest, that of a clear summer sky. Said dress's tailored fit was made specifically for her as I followed well defined curves downward, till it reached her hips where it transformed into a long flowing train. Her neckline was made up of loosely bunched up cloth that hung low in both the front and back and left most of her shoulders bare. This gave her wings room to move in the back, while in the front displayed just a hint of cleavage at the top of her impressive bust. Her sleeves continued the fitted theme up until her elbow, where it opened up into a bell bottom that hung down to her wrist. As she took a step forward, my eyes were drawn to her long legs. Legs that were in plain view as my eyes followed those shapely towers of ivory white till they reached the front hem of her dress mid-thigh. The dress's double-layered asymmetric hemline had a light ruffle with it that went along well with the bell bottomed sleeves, and I could plainly see the white underlayer as it hung just a few inches lower than the top layer. Both layers cascaded down the back of her legs, only to pool on the floor behind her feet.

Looking at the floor, I had a perfect view of her golden heels, which would explain why she now stood a couple of inches taller than my six foot frame, not counting the horn of course. She still wore the same crown atop her head, her shining symbol of authority and might, but gone was the golden necklace that usually hung from her neck and the bracelets that had adorned her forearms. In their place was only a jeweled choker around her neck, made up of white and blue diamonds with a single large amethyst adorning the middle, holding the whole thing together. Her mane and tail were left untouched, which took nothing away from her allure, as it flowed with the ruffled design points of her dress.

So lost was I in admiring Gilzia, that I had to be knocked out of my trance by her voice ringing out in my head again.

'Well, it seems that you approve of my selection for tonight,' I heard her voice say in my head, heavily laced with mirth.

It was only after regaining my composure that I noticed the two gilded Royal Guards standing at attention behind her, and remembered Gilzia's desire to not publicly declare our courtship. Not just yet, for fear of Etpinego and myself being harassed by the media and the other members of nobility. So, bringing myself to attention, I slid the sole of my right foot back along the plush runner that ran the hallway, while simultaneously bringing my right hand across my abdomen while I bent at the waist and extended my left arm back, away from my body. Formally bowing to one of the reigning Princesses of the land as all the scenes from those old movies dictated that I should do when I greeted them and we had an audience.

"Your Majesty," I said as I lowered my eyes.

"Please rise, Eric Broussard of Earth," she said as she extended her hand to me, which I gently took in my own and lightly kissed the back of it before I stood back up. As I looked upon her again I saw her smiling down at me with that calm smile firmly in place, before she looked back to address one of the guards. "You may leave me now guards, I shall be in good hands from here."

With a quick bow of their heads in acknowledgment to their regent, the two guards did an about-face and headed back down the hallway that they had come from. After they left, I saw Gilzia visibly relax ever so slightly as I tucked her hand in the crook of my arm and began to guide her down the hall arm in arm.

'You look very beautiful tonight,' I told her through our link, just in case there were any prying ears around.

'You flatter me, sir. I should let you know though that flattery will get you everywhere with me,' she said as she gave me a quick wink, once again getting my blood going. 'And might I add, such a handsome gentlestallion you make. Miss Vivmay should be very proud of her work. After seeing you, I can not wait to see what she has done for Etpinego's dress.'

'Now who's flattering whom?' I asked teasingly, as I used my free hand to smooth out the front of my coat.

Gilzia just laughed as she snuggled a little closer to my arm, 'Eric, before I found you, you were thinking about something. What was it?'

'Oh yes, I almost forgot,' I said through the bond, remembering the mysterious mare, 'There was a strange mare I ran into while roaming the halls.'

'Oh,' the day alicorn said as she tilted her head curiously. 'Strange as in how?'

'Well for starters, I think she was an alicorn.'

'An alicorn?' I heard her surprisingly state in my mind. 'But how can that be? There are only four alicorns left in the world. Myself, Pyre, Xamspona and Gehluli.'

'Yeah, I thought that it might have been Princess Gehluli at first, being as she's the only one I haven't met yet. But I didn't think that she would be traipsing around the castle disguised as a zebra mare. Plus, I saw the same mare yesterday in the crowd at the demonstration right before you and the others showed up, and I remember Xam telling me that Gehluli was not able to make it,' I told her as I saw her looking straight ahead, deep in thought, 'Gilzia, are you okay?'

Breaking her out of her trance she turned her head to face me and gave me a reassuring smile. 'Yes I am fine Eric. Just that this is quite troubling news. Do you mind if I take a look at your memories?'

'My memories? Sure, go ahead,' I said as we stopped in the middle of the hallway and she turned to face me.

'I promise not to look into anything that you do not want me to.' She tried to reassure me, but I just had to chuckle finding her worrying cute.

'It's alright Gilzia, I trust you.'

With a warm smile she gave me a slight nod in understanding before continuing. 'Now, because of your resistance to magic, I shall have to create a physical connection with you.'

'Just do what you have to,' I told her as I felt her hands cup my face before she kissed me.

The initial surprise of her kissing me in the middle of her castle for everypony to see didn't last long, as I slowly felt myself drift into kind of a daze. My surroundings became foggy and it felt like we were floating underwater, with my only source of oxygen coming from the lips of this beautiful angel who held my life in her hands. The only thing I could make out was the steady noise of her breathing and the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears as it steadily slowed to match her breaths. Yet, when it felt like I was on the brink of succumbing to the inky darkness of unconsciousness, I slowly felt myself coming back to as the haze over my mind began to lift. Upwards my body continued on, till I felt myself break the surface back to reality, back to the hallway with my guide.

After a few more moments, I felt Gilzia slowly end the kiss, pulling away from me, and her eyes fluttered open again, presenting me with those purplish-red colored eyes.

'Wow,' I thought, flabbergasted, as I tried to regain control of my thought processes. 'That was... well it was... I've never experienced anything like that before.'

Gilzia blushed slightly as I struggled to put the experience into words. 'I found what I needed almost right away, being as it was still a fresh memory. The rest was more for me.'

'Really? Wow,' was all I could manage. 'I guess it's true what they say. Nothing beats experience.'

'Again with the flattery, Mr. Broussard,' Gilzia's voice rang out in my mind as she lightly tittered and we continued on down the hall. 'But this news of an unknown alicorn is slightly concerning. I have no recollection of her, and the only one who might have had any information regarding this is my mother. However, neither my sister or I have any knowledge of the location where she sealed herself may be.'

'Well that's disconcerting,' I said as I felt her lightly tugging on my arm. When she stopped walking, I turned to face her, wondering what was the matter.

"Eric, I want you to be on your guard,' she spoke aloud to me as I saw the seriousness in her eyes. "The fact that she is obviously trying to hide herself and appears to be able to get in and out of the castle freely is concerning enough, but what worries me the most is why she is seemingly interested it you and what her plans involving you could be.'

"Are we jealous?" I inquired as I leaned closer to nuzzle her cheek, but was surprised when she pulled back, still giving me that stern look.

"I am serious Eric. We do not know anything about her or her intentions regarding you. As an alicorn, she is no doubt very powerful, and even if she can not use magic on you, she could still be dangerous," she said trying to warrant her need for concern as she finally leaned in and lovingly began to nuzzle my cheek. 'I just do not want to see you get hurt."

"I know," I reassured her softly as I returned the gesture. "I'll be careful, and keep an eye out."

"Thank you," she breathed in my ear as I felt the relief roll off of her through our bond.

For a few moments we just stood there in the hall, silently reconfirming our bond with one another, before we finally pulled away from one another and once again continued on our way. The two of us slowly made our way through the halls as we resumed talking through our bond. Not really heading in any particular direction, nor talking about anything in particular, instead just enjoying each others company as we continued along. Yet, as we walked down one hall towards an intersection with a perpendicular hallway, something against the far wall in the crossing hallway made me pause. Gilzia paused as well and looked at me inquisitively as I continued to stare at the intersection up ahead. There, lined up against the wall standing proudly and unmistakably amongst a congregation of other flags representing the nations that would be attending tonight, was Old Glory herself.

In awe, I silently walked up to the flag, unbelieving that it was truly there. A familiar symbol from my home world ,and more importantly, my home country was here standing before me in a foreign country on a foreign world that was only God knows where. I reached my hand out slowly and ran my hand across the raised surface of the embroidered stars on the field of blue. Confirming that it was real and not just some figment of my imagination.

'I hope that you approve,' I heard my lead mare say as she came up and stood beside me.

'How?' was all I could say as I acknowledged her presence.

'From one of our earlier conversations, shortly after you had arrived here. When you showed my sister and I those pictures from your world out of that electrical folder of yours, this flag was in a few of the pictures displayed on the back of your aircraft. When we asked you about it, you told us it was the flag of your country, and we felt the need for the default ambassador of Earth to have his nation represented among the others. Even more so, given the fact that this celebration is being held in your honor.' she said as I felt her fingers gently clasp around mine.

'I appreciate it Gilzia, I really do. It means a lot to me to see this ol' girl again,' I said as I gave her hand a light squeeze, 'But unfortunately, if you remember, the United States doesn't represent all of humanity, only a small portion of them, and I'm not sure if it is the best symbol for Earth as a whole.'

"Actually we remember quite well, Ambassador Broussard," I heard another familiar voice say aloud, directing my attention to the left to see Pyre standing there in her dress with two of her Royal Lunar Guards as escorts.

"Your Highness," I greeted her with a bow, although this time just bowing at the waist due to the fact I was still in Gilzia's company, Pyre's equal in authority.

"Ambassador," she replied with a curt nod of her head before dismissing her escorts, as I slowly soaked in the sight of her in her dress.

Pyre's dress was just as elegant as her sister's, if not more so, and made her look absolutely stunning. While sharing some similar features with Gilzia's dress, such as an assemetrical style hemline, they couldn't have been any different. Where Gilzia's dress was a rich sky blue in color, Pyre's dress was the same dark reddish-purple of my cravat. The elder’s dress hung off her shoulders while the younger sister's dress completely forwent that detail, instead exposing her neck and shoulders in a very decollete fashion. The top half of her dress could only best be described as a bustier, as it hugged close to her slender torso and ended at the top of her bust. Around her waist and along the top of the dress's neckline ran a ribbon of the same golden color as my pants. Sitting between this golden border, the center of attention, was an elaborate design of silver embroidery. It spread across the whole of her bust before tapering into a point at her waist, and as she moved in the afternoon sunlight I saw the sparkle of diamonds embedded into the design, each one shining like the stars in her hair. The bottom of the dress was of an asymmetrical cut like Gilzia's, the front hemline being higher than the back. However, unlike her sister's, it came to a stop in the front at her knees as opposed to mid-thigh like that of the day alicorn's, and was also only single-layered and lacking the ruffles found on Gilzia's.

Pyre's choice of footwear, like Gilzia's, was a set of high heels, although silver in color. Also, like her older sister, she to decided to do without her everyday accessories, deciding instead on more dainty choices. The shiny black tiara that she normally wore on her head had been replaced with one that was silver. Gone also was her normal necklace, a small silver pendant that hung from a slender silver chain having taken its place. While a pair of light gold colored elbow-length gloves were substituted for the silver bracelets that she usually wore.

As she looked at me with those scintillating eyes of hers, all I wanted to do was to continue to drink in the sight of her beauty I didn't know that I had been caught staring again, until I felt a nudge from the solar alicorn at my side.

'Well Eric, aren't you going to say anything?' I heard Gilzia playfully ask me through our link.

"Oh, yes," I said aloud, not even realizing I had done so as the two mares shared a laugh at my bumbling. Not paying them a mind, I crossed the few steps distance between myself and Pyre as the night alicorn gave me a loving smile. Taking her hand in mine I brought the back of it to my lips, never breaking eye contact with her, "You look very alluring this afternoon, Pyre."

"You were right, sister, in your judgment from earlier," Pyre addressed to Gilzia as she watched me finish kissing her hand. "Our stallion is quite the flatterer."

"Indeed he is," Gilzia agreed with her sister as she came to stand beside us. "Perhaps he has somehow charmed us with some kind of human spell."

"It's not flattery when it's the truth, my mares," I said as I flashed them a dashing smile.

"Well thank you all the same, it means a lot to a mare to hear that their courter approves of their selection," Pyre said as she nuzzled her cheek lightly against my own, much like her sister had done. After she had finished her greeting, she addressed me once again. "Anyways, as I was saying when I arrived, my sister and I have not forgotten when you told us that your country was not the sole voice of your world. If memory serves me correctly you said that that task belonged to a council of nations that you called the United Nations, if I am correct?"

I nodded to her, confirming what she had said as she continued. "Of which your United States is a founding member?" Again, I nod in approval. "Now you did not have a picture of their flag in that electronic folder of yours, but you were able to draw it out and describe it to us." Another nod. "From that drawing and your description, we had this flag commissioned and had it placed here, next to the flags of Equestria and the Equus Council for all to see."

I looked to where Pyre was motioning and saw that she was indeed pointing to a light bluish-gray flag that stood to the right of the other two in a display all by themselves. Looking at the flag, I could see that it wasn't an exact copy of the real U.N. flag because I wasn't an artist of any kind, but it was close enough to where I instantly recognized it as the flag of the peacekeeping organization. As I stood there, I slowly began to recall the conversation that they were referring to from all those months ago.

It was actually only a couple of nights after my first initial meeting with the Princesses, wanting to show them some of the pictures I had of my home world before the battery on my laptop finally gave out. I didn't think much of it at the time as I showed them pictures of all the different places I had visited in my ten year career with the Air Force, although it was the highly censored and family safe version. Figuring the questions that they were asking were due to the fact that they had never seen anything like a computer before. But now, I thought that maybe they had done it so as to give me some kind of connection with a symbol that I held dear from my home world. Perhaps so that I never forgot where I had come from during my stay on this alien world of Equus. Or maybe it was all just a figment of my imagination. Whatever the true reason may have been, I was just grateful for them having the flags made.

"Thank you, both of you, for doing this," I told them sincerely. "I don't know if you'll every really know how much this means to me."

"You are most welcome," Gilzia said as I felt them both softly kiss my cheeks.

Not wanting to remain in this reminiscent funk any longer, I tried changing the subject.

"Well, shall we be heading back, Princesses? I believe it's time to meet up with the others," I asked them with a smile as they each hooked an arm with mine and I let them guide me back towards my room.

Along the short walk back to my room, Gilzia and I informed Pyre of the news about there being a new alicorn somewhere about and could possibly have intentions involving me. Needless to say, I had to reassure another of my mares that I would take extra precautions involving my safety, just in case. I even had to dissuade the Princess of the Night from assigning a permanent guard detail to me for my own protection, telling her that with my strength and magic neutralizing ability, I should be able to handle myself against one mare. Alicorn or not. Plus, there was the fact that whoever she was, she had disappeared, and, because if none of them knew that she had existed before now, then she must not want to be found. Pyre didn't seem too convinced by this, but trusted me anyways and left it at that, much to my relief.

Once we reached the hallway that me and the other girls were staying in, I made a quick detour into my room to grab the gloves that I had forgotten before. Though briefly, I did wonder if it would be better to leave the gloves in the room in case I did actually meet up with this mysterious mare again. However the thought of explaining to Vivmay on why I didn't have the gloves was a more frightening idea than any danger that could come from the unknown alicorn.

"Well, I finally got everything, and we can g-," I started to say but for the third time in under an hour this afternoon, I found myself at a loss for words as I saw Xamspona and the other girls waiting out in the hall with Gilzia and Pyre. All of them stunningly beautiful, but my attention was solely on the farm mare who nervously stood with the others.

Gone was the down to earth farm mare who could always be found working on her family's farm with her trademark stetson firmly atop her head. Glistening with sweat in the noonday sun as she tolled away on her daily chores. In her place now stood a refined mare, who looked like the belle of the ball from some fairytale story, and just like those princes when they first laid eyes on such angelic beauty, I felt my whole world come to a stop. I feared that even my slightest movement could scare this heavenly creature away.

Her mermaid style dress looked like it was straight off of some high fashion show's runway, but this was to be expected with such a master as Vivmay. Yet, unlike the underweight supermodels of my world, the curvy farm mare had no problem filling out the dress as it hugged tight to her, almost like a second skin. Its deep navy and black coloring contrasting well with her tanned coat, as the dress only came up into a bustier and left her upper chest and shoulders bare. Her bust was even more accentuated by a ribbon embedded with some unknown black gems that followed the neckline around the back of the dress before dipping down to nestle itself comfortably under her full bust. Down, I followed her womanly curves until I reached the satiny black ruffled tiers that started at her knees and continued down to the ground.

Due to the length of the dress I could not make out what type of footwear she was wearing, but by judging by her slightly higher stature I could only assume it was some sort of heels. Gone was her ever present brown cowboy hat that could always be found resting on her head. Instead, her long, sun-bleached hair was pulled back into a tight bun. Her tail was left to hang, although with a wavy curl set into the hairs now as it lazily spiraled down to the ground. Like I would expect from the simple mare, she didn't bother with decking herself out in jewelry or other flashy things, only having her golden Element of Honesty hanging proudly around her slender neck.

Even though it had only been a couple of seconds, it felt like hours as I tried desperately to get my mind to start working again. It wasn't until I heard Etpinego speak uncomfortably to Vivmay that I was able to pull myself together.

"Ah feel ridiculous all gussied up like this," she said to the stylist who just dismissed her friend's complaints as she primped over the farm mare's dress.

"Nonsense dear, you look absolutely magnifique. Would you not agree Eric darling?" she said as I saw her look towards me, and it was then that I realized that everyone in the group was waiting for my response.

Not wanting them to realize that I had been struck dumb for the third time this afternoon, I pulled myself together as best as I could and calmly walked the couple of steps to Etpinego as Vivmay stepped out of the way. Leaning towards her, I lightly kissed her cheek before nuzzling it with my own, feeling her warmth against my skin from the blush that I was sure graced her face now.

"I think you look amazing, Etpinego," I whispered into her ear, just low enough so that only she could hear it.

"Y'ah really think so?" the usually strong willed mare asked me timidly.

"Of course," I reassured her as I pulled back and gave her a smile and she hesitantly gave me a small one back.

"There, you see Etpinego, like I told you. It's the perfect dress for you," the white unicorn said proudly as she and her friends gave her a hug.

"Indeed, Vivmay, you have truly outdone yourself," Gilzia congratulated the white unicorn as she greeted her newest herd-sister with a nuzzle on the cheek.

Etpinego continued to blush, not used to being the center of so much attention and still adjusting to her new position in the herd. But you could never blame the headstrong mare for not giving every goal she set her mind on her full devotion. For as Gilzia stepped out of the way and Pyre came forward to greet her, it was Etpinego who initiated the gesture as she leaned up and lightly brushed her cheek against the taller Night Princess's. Pyre gave her a warm smile in approval after they parted. As I offered my arm to the still demure mare, she accepted the offer and I heard a suppressed cough come from the purple-haired modiste.

Turning to Vivmay, I saw her raising her thin eyebrows at me ever so slightly, like I was expected to say or do something. It was then that I realized that I was the only male in a group of females who all had gotten dressed up in their Sunday best, so to speak, and none of them were pulling any punches tonight. All of them were looking so good that stallion's would be looking for them in the daytime with a flashlight, and it was only expected that as the sole representative of the masculine sex, that I was to recognize their efforts to impress. Even more so, considering that it was for an event where I was the guest of honor. So, giving the mares a deep bow, I tried to be as honest and sincere as I could be in my thanks to them, and maybe ham it up a little.

"Please forgive me my ladies. I was at a loss for words at the sheer brightness of your beauty, and you honor this poor man by gracing me with such sights. I am truly blessed to be given the chance just to be able to share the same room as you lovely ladies."

"You flatter us with your genteel manners and praises dear sir," Vivmay graciously said, all the while, enjoying the treatment she was receiving.

"All right, enough of this hoity-toity stuff," Vemsa Hewl boisterously interrupted as she stepped in between me and the others. "We have a ball to get to."

"Vemsa Hewl is correct, we should be going. The guest will be arriving soon," Xam said as she took her position next to Gilzia and Pyre.

"Well then shall we go?" I asked to the group as Etpinego and I fell in behind the Princesses, and the rest of the Element Bearers brought up the rear.

'I feel like I should apologize for us having to hide the fact that Etpinego and I are courting both of you,' I told the sisters through our bond.

'There is no need to worry Eric. It was, after all, our idea to begin with,' Gilzia reassured me.

'Indeed, and it is not like you shall be spending the night with an unknown partner. You shall have the pleasure of escorting the beautiful Etpinego for the evening. If anything, my sister and I should be jealous of your opportunity to get to know our newest herd member better,' I heard Pyre add as we came to a closed pair of double doors at the end of the hall.

"Are you ready for this?" I heard Xam ask me as she gave me one final glance back in my direction.

I took a breath to steady myself as I gave her an unsure smile in return. "Not really, but let's do this."

Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
Gehluli/ Cadance
Gilzia/ Celestia
Zopupun Estyv / Shinning Armor
Etpinego/ Applejack
Pyre/ Luna
Prince Isbilsh/ Prince Blueblood

Upon opening the double doors, we were greeted to the sight of a grand ballroom that looked like a set straight out of some sweeping epic from Hollywood’s Golden Age. The room itself was big by any standard of the word, and even skirted along the edges of being considered gargantuan as the floorspace covered the same area as a professional football field. The ceiling towered over us nearly as tall as the room was long, supported by the thick marble walls and the many columns that made up the perimeter. The pink marble of the columns contrasting against the white of the floor and ceiling as they stood proudly on their grey stylobates with their golden plinths and capitals gleaming in the waning sunlight.

As I chanced a glance at the ceiling, I was expecting to find some sort of masterpiece painted there, like the examples of High Renaissance art that graced many a cathedral's vaulted ceiling from Earth. It seemed that the Equestrian's preferred more for their architecture be the centerpiece as I marveled at the elaborate fan vaulting that looked to be made from some very rich-looking wood. Each dark beam intertwining with those of its neighboring columns, making the roof resemble a towering forest canopy. Adding to the mystical beauty of the room was a series of crystal chandeliers that hung from the roof with a single grand chandelier taking precedence in the center of the room.

Along the left wall, positioned between each column, was a series of colorful stained-glass windows. Each one of these towering panes of prismatic glass was segmented into a succession of leaner windows depicting many different events in Equestrian history, both factual and legendary. Ambiance at ground level for the guest would be set by a series of tall candelabras that were positioned in front of each of the columns. Yet even though the room seemed to be lit by candles alone, the amount of light coming from them, in addition to the chandeliers above, proved to be more than enough illumination for the room in the waning afternoon light.

"Sure is grand," I mumbled to myself as I followed the princesses down the carpeted walkway to a stage at the opposite side of the room, where a couple was there awaiting us.

"Of course, that is why it's called the Grand Ballroom," Xam replied back to me, however by the tone of her voice I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or it was just her naturally informative side talking.

"Thank you Princess," I told the lavender alicorn as I bit my tongue, trying to prevent myself from saying something sarcastic.

Making our way across the vast room, we finally reached the stage where the pony couple stood. The unicorn stallion was tall, at least by pony standards, and must have been a member of some military organization if the dress uniform he was wearing was any sort of a clue. Then there was how well kept his ponytail of highlighted blue hair was and the way that his uniform was so sharply pressed. This pinged the white unicorn right away as an officer of some sort on my enlisted radar.

A single row of golden buttons ran down the front of his scarlet coat as it was held shut by a thick black belt made of patent leather. The coat's high collar was a mustardy yellow and was decorated with golden embroidery; matching well with the yellow stripes, denoting some unknown rank, that was sewn onto the cuff of the coat's sleeves. Adorned proudly on his left breast was quite the number of medals that he had no doubt earned doing lord only knows what. Resting atop his left shoulder and crossing across his chest was a wide cobalt blue ribbon that tied together at his right hip in a bow. Situated in the middle of this ribbon, at the center of his chest, was a seal that had the same crest as Xamspona's cutie mark. Since his white dress slacks covered up his cutie mark, I could only come to the assumption from this seal that he was either part of Xamspona's Royal Guard, or they were both from the same household. The female alicorn at his side however made that mystery a little easier for me to solve as I assumed that this white stallion had to be Xam's brother, Zopupun Estyv.

Which would no doubt make the tall pink alicorn mare his wife, Princess Gehluli. To say that she was beautiful would have been like saying Leonardo Da Vinci was only a mediocre artist. I recalled Xamspona telling me at one point that one of her sister-in-law's many titles was The Princess of Love, and I found it hard for me to disagree with it as the goddess before me did indeed look like a living representation of Aphrodite herself. Yet as shallow of a man as I may be sometimes I wasn't basing my assessment on her otherworldly beauty or her dangerous curves alone, but from the warm personality that emitted from her with such strength that it just seemed to attract you to the pink alicorn.

Her ethereal hair, like Gilzia and Pyre's, moved through the air like it was floating in a lazy stream, with colors reminiscent of a warm summer sunset as it transitioned through its ever changing shades of pinks, purples, yellows, and white. As she turned slightly I caught a glimpse of her back and took notice of another feature unique to her. The tips of Gehluli's long pink wings gradually darkened into a deep purple, not unlike a pen having been dipped in an well of ink.

Princess Gehluli's dress was a very traditional light blue ball gown. Having a high neckline yet remaining sleeveless as her arms were left bare, save for a long pair of white opera gloves. Her accessories were slightly more than the other princesses in that she had a diamond necklace around her neck and a diamond tennis bracelet on her right wrist to go with the golden tiara on top her head.

As the royal couple took notice of our group approaching down the runner, Gehluli's purple eyes sparkled as she gave us all a warm smile.

"It is good to wi that you made it aunties," she said with her warm voice, "I was efsyx to have Zopupun send out the kheyv to purk you."

Gilzia let out a light laugh as we approached, "Thank you Gehluli, but as you can wi we are here with time to tevi."

Gehluli and the other princesses shared a quick laugh before the Princess of Love went and gave Xamspona a warm hug and a familiar nuzzle on the cheek. However, as I watched the two grown mares begin to break out into a little song I found myself growing slightly concerned for their mental states.

"Wyrzopul, wyrzopul, sheibinz awake! Shet your hands and do a little weloi!" They sang happily together as they shook their firm asses and covered their eyes.

"What the hell was that?" I lightly muttered under my breath as Etpinego secretly pinched the inside of my arm. This caused me to cast a frown towards my date momentarily, only to look forward again as I saw the two younger alicorns approaching us.

"Oh and who is this Xamspona?" the pink princess asked as she gave me a warm smile, and I noticed her purple eyes dart down quickly to Etpinego's and my hooked arms, "Is this the qwixsymv human stallion that I have been lievpun so much about in your pixxiz?"

"Yes Gehluli, this is Eric Broussard from Earth," Xam said as she motioned towards me, "he has been quiopun great whimvz in acpun to pievu our perkeki, but for now the best way to talk with him is to use the twip I qirxmurih to you."

The Princess of Love gave an embarrassed giggle as she placed a hand over her mouth and spoke again, this time in English, "Oh, I do apologize Eric, I completely forgot about the fact that you are still having problems with our language."

"It is quite okay, Your Highness," I said with a smile. "I am trying to learn your language as fast as I can, but it has proven, difficult."

"I am sure it must be," Gehluli agreed with me, "I couldn't imagine what it would be like not being able to understand anypony."

"Eric, I would like for you to meet the Empress of the Crystal Empire and fellow Princess of Equestria, Princess Gehluli, and her husband, my brother, Duke Zopupun Estyv." Xamspona said as she motioned to the couple.

Stepping forward I gave them a bow, "Your Majesties."

"Oh there's no need for such formalities, Eric," Gehluli said as she gently motioned for me to rise, only to find an impish glint now shining in her eyes as she smiled at me, "especially when you could soon be family."

I paused for a moment while I tried to let my mind grasp at what she had said, "Excuse me?"

"Oh come now Mr. Broussard. You must already know that I am the Princess of Love, did you honestly think that you could hide your relationship with my aunts from me?"

"Uh," I glanced towards the celestial sisters hoping for a little bit of help, but only received a consolatory feeling through our bond as the look on their faces told me that they were not surprised by these turn of events. Yet I was even more stunned when Gehluli quickly glanced to Etpinego.

"Or hers?"

"I'm going to have to go with, no?" I slowly told her, unsure of how to really respond to the alicorn, as I began to reconsider if Vivmay was still the most frightening mare that I new.

"Good! You have no idea how hard it has been to try and find somepony for them, and now I find them in not just one but two courtships," she chirped as she clapped her hands and gave an excited little bounce before walking past me to give Etpinego a congratulatory hug and greet the other girls. Leaving me standing there still stunned.

After she had passed her husband, Zopupun, came up to me and gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, "Don't worry about it Eric. She's always like this when she picks up on new love."

"If I recall dear, you never seem to complain about it later," Gehluli announced as she gave her husband a playful wink, causing the duke to blush a little.

After a few more minutes of me getting to know the Princess of Love and her husband some more, and after Gilzia and Pyre had put the sun to bed and brought out the moon. We were directed to our positions by an official, with the four princesses and Zopupun taking their positions at the center of the stage, standing in front of a display that had been set up no doubt for them. Behind them on the wall, flanked by a pair of ceremonially dressed Royal Guards, hung a drawn pair of red velvet curtains with the Equestrian coat of arms displayed proudly in the middle. From there, Etpinego and I were directed to stand in a spot that was a couple of feet to the right of the four princesses, while the other girls were directed to the main receiving area. Then the protocol officer, a stuffy looking unicorn mare, began to give us a brief synopsis of the events that would happen as Etpinego graciously translated the parts I couldn't understand. Once everything was in order the official directed a servant to open the doors to begin receiving the guests.

Two hours! Two whole goddamn fucking hours is how long it took for all of the guests to file into the ballroom and for the princesses and myself to greet them. Now it wasn't bad enough that I had been literally bored to tears, but I could not for the life of me remember even one name of the over two hundred delegates and guests. This was not from lack of trying of course, but at the rate that they were coming in and the different languages that each of their names were based on it was no easy task to follow.

Each guest and their date would come in through the side door as their names were proclaimed by the announcer, before they would make their way the short distance to the stage. From there the announcer waited till the first guest had reached the halfway point before calling the name of the next guest in line. As they reached the platform where we stood they would first give a bow to the four princesses, paying respect to the hostesses of the party and the reigning rulers. After which they would walk the few steps over to where Etpinego and I stood as we thanked them for coming with a bow and a "thank you" before the guest made their way to the guest area.

Even though the process had been boring, and about as fun as rubbing my eyes with sandpaper, the exotic appearances of the guest and the imaginative names of their far off lands created a small reprieve from the monotony of it all. A most peculiar fact though that I found most peculiar that night, was that most of the different species that had arrived were humanoid in appearance, yet each still held features unique to their own race. The Minotaurs, with their towering mass of muscle and bovine features. Or the lithe Suxoi people of the plains nation of Juhd Solv from across the sea, slender and graceful with their crown of antlers branching from their heads. Each of them completely alien to me yet at the same time so familiar.

But now the greetings were over and it was time to move on to the part that I believe I dreaded the most, the social portion of the ball. I paused momentarily as I silently wished that I had a stiff drink to help ease the nerves that were beginning to well up in the pit of my stomach, petrifying me to the spot. There were very few moments in my life where I truly felt as anxious as I was now. Waiting for my father to come home from work the day that I had broken one of the house windows playing ball in the backyard with some of the neighborhood kids. Or there was the time in high school when I was sitting on a couch across the room from my girlfriend at the time's father. Yet I felt like I could easily face those hurdles again if it meant that I didn't have to leave this stage.

As I stood there and tried to will my body to move I felt the tender touch of somepony grabbing my arm. Looking down to my side I saw Etpinego standing there with a sympathetic smile on her face, silently encouraging me to give it my best shot as I also felt a wave of calm emotions begin to flow through the bond. Feeling a little bit more reassured now by my mares that it would be okay, I gently patted the back of Etpinego's hand before we both gave a bow of our heads to the four princesses. Announcing our dismissal from the stage as Etpinego and I cautiously began to make our way into the crowd to try and... socialize.

Approaching the horde of officials, I could feel all of their eyes directed towards us, and could hear their muttered breaths as they talked amongst themselves about this strange new creature that had found his way to their world. However, as me and my beautiful marefriend approached I watched the group part before us like the powerful maws of some great hungry beast. Begging us to enter, and enter we did as they closed around behind us, sealing our fate.

No sooner did we enter the fray than we were approached by one of the guest, a Qilin, if I remembered correctly, male and his date, who began to excitedly talk with us in his native tongue. Nevertheless, as much as I tried to follow along, I was lost no sooner than when he had opened his mouth. After he had finished his statement I was at a loss for a moment on how best to respond to the male who had taken the effort to approach me, and was now eagerly awaiting my reply. I knew that he, along with all the other guests present, were able to understand me through their connection with the latent magic that flowed through the ley lines of this world. However, being as I was woefully exempt from this gift I was pretty much left to my own devices on how best to communicate with them.

Yet, as I was about to tell them that I was unable to talk with them, the mare at my side spoke up in a refined tone that I had never heard her speak in before.

"We thank you, Eqfwewesh Ch'o, for making the long journey here. Buserexpic, Eqfwewesh Broussard is still ehtexpun to our perkekiz, but he ibxhirz his mirqwi kexmhyxi at your coming here tonight and looks forward to jyxliv ehergzipun the good vipemsrz between your gyvsr and his when he is more able to girsc his himviz."

The Qilin ambassador and his date listened attentively to the farm-mare next to me as I saw a warm smile come across their lips. I, on the other hand, was completely transfixed on Etpinego and almost missed the bow that they gave me before melding back into the crowd.

"Where did that come from?" I silently asked her as I grabbed a couple of flutes of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter, handing one to her as I took a sip from mine.

"Whatever do you mean, Ambassador Broussard?" She asked me coyly in English with that same smooth accent that was completely devoid of the usual country twang that I was used to hearing.

"That accent and your mannerisms?" I asked her again as I watched her take a refined sip from her glass as she daintily held the stem in her fingers. "Did Xamspona cast some kind of spell on you or something? Did Vivmay?"

She lightly tittered at my confusion as I watched her eyes twinkle, "No Eric, I'm afraid not. The answer is actually a lot simpler than that. Back when I was a filly I left the farm for a period of time and spent some time with my aunt and uncle in Manehatten, where they sent me off to the best etiquette schools that bits could afford. So as to, as my aunt would say, "find the jewel within". Also what kind of mare would I be if I let my stallion embarrass himself in front of the leaders of the world?"

"Well thank you my lady," I said as I lightly chuckled at the silliness of my previous assumption before I leaned in and whispered in her ear to where only she could hear me, "although I have to say I prefer the twang."

Etpinego's ear flicked as my breath tickled it, but she kept her composure and took another sip from the delicate glass before flashing me a small grin. Knowing that Etpinego would be there to help me overcome the biggest obstacle before me just made my admiration for her grow all the more, as I leaned down and gave her cheek a light kiss. While doing so I could hear the crowd around us whispering to themselves at my display of affection to my date, but I didn't give a damn what they thought. For she was mine and I was hers, and as we shared one more smile with each other we delved into the storm again.

Eventually after about another hour of socializing, the presenter announced to the assembly that it was time for us to gather in the dining hall for the night's meal. The group of nobles and politicians followed The Royal Family as we began to shuffle our way through the set of doors that were situated at the front of the room by the platform.

The adjoining dining hall was another chamber that rivaled in size the hall that we had just come from. Situated in the room were five long tables, four of which were lined up parallel to each other, while the fifth sat broadside to the others at the far end of the room. Each table looked to seat around fifty guests a piece and was covered in a long white table cloth with a colorful runner running down the length of them. A flock of servants began to direct the guest to their designated seats as Etpinego and I were led over to ours at the far table between the other Element Bearers and across from where the princesses were already standing. All of the other guest stood behind their seats as everyone waited for the princesses to take theirs.

Once everyone was in position, the four princesses were assisted into their seats by some attendants, while I pulled out Etpinego’s chair for her to take her seat as the other guest took theirs. Once my date was firmly in her seat and pushed in, I took my own as I cast a glance at the other diners at the table. Seated at the table was a myriad of species, most of the faces I recognized due to the still fresh memory of the torture that I had recently endured. Even though I couldn’t remember their names, I could recall a few of their titles. Titles like Emperor, Queen, Princess, Strategos, Chieftain, President, and Sultana.

'Apparently this is the adult table,' I thought nervously to myself.

‘Are you doing alright, Eric?’ I heard Pyre’s voice ask in my head as I cast a glance her way to where she sat across from me.

‘Yeah,’ I replied, trying to sound as confident as I could, but even in my mind my voice was laced with nervousness, “the whole experience is just a little overwhelming is all.”

The Princess of the Night gave me a small smile as I heard her voice in my head again, ‘I can understand the feelings you must be experiencing. After my return from my exile it was a very frightening thing to be suddenly thrown into a whole new world. For while I spent those thousand years in slumber, the rest of the world continued to progress without me. Civilizations came and went, wars were fought and borderlines moved, all while countless generations grew old and died.

'I used to wonder if I would ever get used to all the changes, and for a time I even considered relinquishing my rights to the throne. For what did I have to offer? My sister, Gilzia, had been able to successfully rule Equestria peacefully by herself for the entirety of my absence. In the end I almost did it because I was afraid of failing, but it was my sister's constant support that helped me get through the hard times. To adjust to my new realities, and in that same way all of us shall be here to help you.'

'Thank you Pyre, that does make this easier,' I said to her as we both shared a gentle smile.

As the servers brought forth bowls of piping hot soup in dishes of silver, I heard Zopupun get my attention from his position across from me next to his wife.

“So Ambassador Broussard, my sister tells me that on your world you are a military stallion. Were you a member of your nation’s army or perhaps the navy?” He asked me as he laid his napkin in his lap and levitated his spoon off of the tabletop before dipping it into the warm broth.

“Yes Your Highness this is true,” I told him as my bowl was placed in front of me, and after thanking the waiter I continued, “Princess Xamspona Tevopi’s information is correct as usual, but I am sad to inform you that I am neither part of the Navy or Army. Instead I belong to my nation’s Air Force.”

At that, a suppressed laughter could be heard coming from some of the guests within immediate hearing range of us. I nervously chuckled along with them, unsure of what I could have said that had caused such a reaction from them as I gave a lopsided smile to the former Captain of the Royal Guard, “You’ll have to excuse me, but what is so funny?”

A griphoness, who sat to the left of Xamspona, decided to answer my inquiry before the duke had a chance, “Huk ju tuz glyt zu zullkjo G’shgyjux Broussard, haz yusk ul ay gyto oz gysayto esle ly keges-huatj dakioky roqk eauxykri iuarjo k’bkx plyc nuc lre.”

I tried to decipher what she had said to me, but my attempts were futile in making out anything discernible from it. Luckily for me though, Etpinego and I had managed to develop a somewhat ingenious way to overcome my shortcomings in the language department. While I could not speak their language nor understand them, save for what Equis I had already managed to learn, Etpinego and the others, however, could. So my date would relay the message to me and I would reply to them in English, which would then be translated by the Magic of Harmony into each of their own tongues. A complicated method sure, but it worked.

I leaned down towards the beautiful farm-mare beside me as she whispered in my ear, “She said that they’re surprised that humans could learn to fly.”

I gave a suppressed chuckle as I addressed the female sitting across from me, “Yes, you could say that we humans are a very stubborn race when we set our eyes on something.”

The corners of the griphoness’ beaked mouth curled into a slight smile as she spoke again, “Tyoppo, leqc kyto eaux sutydecletz ul esle signokt ul eauxy ekydepcol. O krokh steg ul ay igt plerp cozn eau ut esle.”

“I fipmizi that we can all agree on that wpuva Your Highness.” I heard an arrogant voice say from my left that instantly began to make my blood boil, “But tell me Eqfwewesh, what about the grymprih vyqwyz and eggywexz that have been spreading around that humans, while an kirswym witgim, are very irrational and grymprih to... spirx fileswymz?”

There sitting to the right of the princesses was that prick of an asshole Prince Isbilsh with a smug look of superiority on his face as he slowly swirled the wine in his glass before taking a light sip. I hadn’t seen the blonde little shitstain since his last ass-kicking over six months ago, and for me it hadn’t been nearly long enough. For while I continued to maintain a calm composure on my face as he made his verbal jabs, below the table I was clenching my fist so hard that I was sure, had I had longer fingernails, I would have drawn blood. Gilzia and Pyre picked up on my sour mood right away as I began to feel their comforting presence begin to flow over me and even Etpinego must have detected something as I felt her hand lay atop my shaking fist from under the table. The combined efforts of the three mares was able to calm the inferno flaring inside me till it was nothing more than a simmering pile of coals, and I was able to finally address the prince.

While Etpinego relayed his message to me I took a final calming breath as I put on a smile and grabbed my own glass of wine, before looking at Isbilsh, “Yes, well, while I won’t lie and say that humanity is an entirely peaceful race, we try not make it common practice to attack another unless thoroughly provoked first. I believe that you yourself have experienced this practice firsthand if I remember correctly,” I told him as I raised my glass to him, but refused to take a sip of the liquid inside.

Obviously the etiquette of toasting was similar here as it was on Earth as my insult to the Prince didn’t go unnoticed to him, nor many others at the table as a tense silence came over the table. If he was expecting me to just sit back and take his crap as he tried to make me out to be the one responsible for our last altercation in front of everyone here, he had another thing coming. He continued to sit there as both of us completely focused on the other. Then without a word he finished the wine in his glass before standing and turning to address Gilzia and Pyre.

“I do etspykimd aunties, but I must take my piezi early tonight. I have important business to attend to in the morning and it seems that the wine did not settle well with me tonight. Please everypony enjoy the rest of your night,” and with that he gave his aunts and the other guest a curt bow before making his way out of the hall.

‘That could have been handled better,’ I heard Gilzia say through our bond, and I couldn’t help but pick up a hint of disappointment in her voice, ‘I had thought that maybe you two could have put your past behind you.’

‘I know Gilzia,’ I mentally told her as I cast a glance across the table to her, trying to not be too repulsed by the thought of being buddy-buddy with the stuck up prince. Still on the other hand, if I was going to be in a relationship with the celestial sisters from now on their family was going to be a big part of my life as well, whether I wanted it to or not. As they say, if you love someone you’re willing to make sacrifices of yourself to make them happy, ‘look, if it means that much to you I’ll promise to try harder at being nicer to him.’

‘Thank you Eric,’ she told me as I saw the approval in her eyes.

At that point, from further down the table, a very large male with strong reptilian features spoke up as he plucked a few gems from the bowl in front of him with his clawed fingers. As he continued to talk, all at the table gave him their utmost attention, his rumbling voice garnering respect with each syllable as Etpinego translated his words into my ear.

“Back when my brood siblings and I were but hatchlings, I remember the old ones telling us fantastic stories of the old world. How it was like an uncut jewel, raw and full of hidden beauty, but that was before the time of The Betrayal, before the time of The Fleeing.

"Then the old ones would tell us of how a creature called Mada began to spread into their neighbor's territories, eventually driving the others and my ancestors from the Cradle of Life as they were forced to seek refuge in the wilderness. For a while they thought that they were safe from the danger, far away from the Mada. But they would not be so lucky. At first the Mada returned in singles and pairs. The old ones were able to fight them off, but soon they began to come in great packs. Wearing the hides of their fallen victims and brandishing their metal claws that could pierce through the hardest scales. Desperately my ancestors fought trying to protect their hoards and their young. Sometimes they would prevail, but most times they would fall as the Mada took everything they had and left nothing alive in their path, not even the hatchlings.

"It was only by finally having their cries and pleas answered by the Great Mother that they would find their salvation on this new world. Free of the Mada themselves, but not yet free of their influence. For the Mada had introduced a new feeling in our hearts, hate. Long our ancestors fought against this plague that silently tormented us, until the daughters of the Great Mother cleansed us by defeating the Chaos."

The table was silent as the dragon finished his tale. Many of the other guest at the table held a solemn look on their face as they took in what the dragon male had said, no doubt having similar tales in their own histories. I could assume from the version of the same story that Gilzia and Pyre had relayed to me that Mada had to be humanity, but I was unsure of the reasoning behind him retelling it.

"I am sorry for the hardships your ancestors had to endure," I apologized to him as he gave a nod in acceptance, "but I must also apologize if I fail to understand the meaning behind your tale?"

The dragon remained silent for a few moments before continuing, "There is no message to my tale of woe little human, it is merely a premise to the question I pose to you now." He reached into the bowl again and picked up a single emerald in his claws, rolling the gem slowly between his fingers, examining the gem with a critical eye for a moment, "Do we still have reason to fear humans should the barrier between our worlds fail and the link between our worlds is re-established, especially after such a sordid past?"

I paused for a moment, seriously contemplating his question before responding. It was obvious that in some of their eyes, my ancestors were nearly the cause of their extinction all those years ago. Even though man had made great strides towards peace and unity, were we really so different from our caveman ancestors? Still, I was always raised in the belief of the good of man, and that the sins of the few should not overshadow the good of the many.

"Yes," I told the dragon as a murmur began to spread among the other diners as he raised a curious eyebrow at me, "you do have reason to fear the dangers of humans. Even though I may not be as familiar with your legends of the events that happened prior to your arrival to this world, I am, however, familiar with my own species history. We are a war driven race and we are capable of performing horrifying acts that defy any sense of the imagination.

“But at the same time I do not believe that we are inherently evil. For with all of our faults and violent past I believe our greatest strength comes from our capacity to do good. Our efforts to better ourselves and those around us with each passing generation as we strive for some yet unknown goal.

“So yes I do believe that you have reason to be wary of humans, but in the same regard I believe humanity is something that you can trust.”

The dragon thought my response over for a brief, tense, moment as he placed the green jewel in his powerful mouth. Crunching the hard stone like a piece of candy, before he looked my way again and graced me a smile, "And what of you Ambassador? Should we trust you?"

"Only if you believe my actions make me worthy of your trust," I replied, returning the polite smile as he gave a respectful nod of his head.

‘Very well said Eric,’ I heard Gilzia’s voice praise in my head as I could feel the pride radiating from the sisters as the dinner conversation moved on to another topic and I was finally able to begin enjoying my soup.

The dinner went on in relative calm for a while longer as I enjoyed my meal and the company of my three mares and friends, all the while answering the questions and inquires by the other guest. I told them a little of human history and the feats we had been able to perform. At first many of them didn’t choose to believe that humans had been able to reach beyond the surface of the Earth, and were particularly astonished that we currently maintained a laboratory floating in orbit. Even Xam was absolutely giddy at the possibilities of zero-g experiments as she asked me questions with barely suppressed enthusiasm, and I was almost positive that a certain young alicorn would be probing me for more information later tonight after the ball.

Eventually the conversation led to more normal matters between national leaders as the topics went on to trade agreements, peace talks and the such. It was at that time I found myself out of my element as I instead decided to enjoy the company of my date as we continued on with our meals. It wasn't until we heard a woman, with features that were reminiscent of a silver fox, addressing us from farther down the table. She seemed to be asking me a question, although what it was alluded me as I felt the gentle breath of my lovely farm-mare on my ear.

"She seems to be askin' for your opinion on the Changeling incursions," Etpinego explained to me as I picked up on her country accent returning.

"What are Changelings?" I asked her back as the fox-woman looked on, patiently waiting for my reply.

"Changelings are a group of ornery ponies that change their appearance so as to feed off another unsuspectin' ponies emotions," she explained to me, "They tried overthrowin' Equestria a few years back durin' Princess Gehluli's weddin'. Lately though, they've been makin' attacks on other countries."

"I see," I whispered back to her as I finally addressed the patiently waiting vixen, "Well ma'am, to be honest my opinion would have to be one of neutrality on the subject until I have enough information to make a fair judgment."

"Which is ibgex why we must not be lewcx in our viegsr to this wyxesmr," Gilzia added as she directed the attention back to her.

The unknown vixen spoke again and I could tell from her tone that she was a little befuddled at Gilzia's reply, but the sun princess didn't seemed to be bothered by it as she maintained her serene appearance.

"It is true that the attack four years ago was bugeppih for, but I do not believe it is a viwsev to not still strive for a tiegyp viwspysmr. Buserexpic we are at a whemzerxeki figeywi we know so little about the Changelings as a witgim due to their reclusiveness, or the motives that drive them behind these recent exxegoz. However, I speak for me and my fellow princesses when I say that Equestria will continue to strive for tiegyp sibxirgi between our two races for as long as that option is available to us. And if we are made the target of exxegoz again then we will hijirh ourselves as we always have."

Many of the leaders sitting at their tables agreed with Gilzia's statement as they nodded their heads and muttered their approvals, but this was not the sentiment of everyone. Including the fox-woman as she addressed Gehluli, trying to get the Princess of Love to see her point of view. But it was ultimately a futile gesture as the Crystal Empress remained loyal to her aunt’s decision and stated that the Crystal Empire would support its allies in their endeavor for peace. The vixen and her followers didn’t seem too happy by this outcome but they relinquished the argument for now, if only for good etiquette if nothing else.

The rest of the meal went by without any more incidents and we all found ourselves back in the ballroom from before as I heard the sound of music as a Maestro struck up the band. As I went to ask Etpinego for a dance, we were suddenly approached by two exotic looking females.

The first one was a beautiful tiger-girl whose species name eluded me at the time, but I wanted to say it was Enilian. Her black stripes running across her coat of orange and white like an elaborate tribal tattoo all across her body. Only being covered up by her two-piece, floral print, sari with gold trim.

Meanwhile the other one was a delicate looking woman with avian features, reminding me of a peafowl with her shimmering metallic green feathers and wings that shifted in color in the candlelight from a shimmering green, to a deep blue, and even a jet black at times. Her tall crown of feathers swaying as she gently moved her head while she set her bright blue eyes on us. She was wearing a simple strapless yellow dress with a sheer yellow shawl that she had draped over her wings and shoulder that she adjusted as the two women stopped in front of us before the colorful bird-woman gave us a curtsy as she began to speak.

"Shuffjoht Bemz Etpinego, zn nobf ti Tosduf Xud'i nups uif Fepala Finqifs boe uijt ti zn dynqbojpo Bahgali, ebvhiufs og uif fembfs og uif Enelian Fefsbujpo." She said, motioning to her feline friend who gave a curt nod to us as the green feathered female continued, "L'x mitics id jnd spv tivgujoht boe adlmes matz id ejdevt xuji jnd i'b nubufs du sha bedgisubodf."

"What matter is that?" Etpinego asked the two women as I saw her ears shift ever so slightly and I felt her curled tail brush up against my pants leg, showing her frustration.

"Y'mj Uwnpeguu sif O bytzqi q'np iyt cum y'mj tuutyzsynd iyt ivg iyt mypq aqwyt uvynkts divyg sn tumgu th tohqki i urtxujqwu zynts bynm koj," the Enelian female replied as I felt Etpinego's tail brush up against me again.

"I am sorry, but he is not gyvirxex available for gasvytpun as we are epviech in a committed and fulfilling relationship," the farm-mare answered trying to sound as polite as possible but I could tell that she was quickly losing interest in the conversation as the two women sent me amorous looks.

Their glances stirred memories in me of the conversation I had had with Vivmay back in her boutique, about how some nations might try to persuade me with offers of power and marriage. If my date's words and actions were any indication, then I could only guess that was what was happening then as Etpinego was trying her best to politely tell the other two females to "fuck off". The women obviously were not getting the hint as they continued to persist, so I decided to take matters in my own hand as I addressed the two women while I reassuringly patted Etpinego's hand.

"I'm sorry ladies but I believe I owe my date a dance, have a wonderful rest of the night," and with that I led us towards the dance floor, leaving behind the women rejected, confused, and more than likely offended.

“I can’t believe the nerve of those nags!” Etpinego growled under her breath as she slipped back into her rural accent in frustration and we walked towards the dance floor. I had to chuckle a little as I felt her tail continue to swish against my backside as she subconsciously pulled herself closer to me, “Thinkin’ they can just take y’ah fer their own, just because they’re some kind of fancy royalty. I mean did y’ah see that striped one. She was lookin’ at you like some kind of new toy.”

She suddenly let out a content sigh as I lightly nipped at the sensitive flesh of her ear, and I felt her begin to relax as I whispered to her, "Let it go Etpinego. Come on let's go dance."

"But I don't know how to do none of that fancy dancin'," she nervously said as we got closer to the crowded dance floor

"It's alright, just follow my lead and we'll take it slow, okay?" I told her as she gave me a unsure nod.

Walking onto the dance floor, I turned her to face me as I guided her left hand onto my shoulder while I curled my right hand around to cup her left shoulder, and with our other hands grasped lightly I gave her a gentle smile as I began to lead us into a simple waltz. Now, I was never one to claim myself to be the next Fred Astaire, but I could at least do a simple left box as I slowly guided my date along. I could see her nervously trying to follow along as I would catch her occasionally sneaking a glance down at our feet, muttering whenever she would make a mistake.

“Etpinego,” I whispered to her, trying to get her attention, as she looked up at me with those emerald eyes of her, “you’re doing great. We can go slower if you want?”

“No the speed is fine I just can’t figure out what to do with these two left feet of mine,” she said as I saw her sneak a peek downwards again and mutter, frustrated at some minor mistake she made.

"Here let's try this then. Place your feet on top of mine and just focus on my counting," I told her as she gingerly stood on my shoes. Lucky for us, her skirt was long enough to where no one would be the wiser to our little ploy, "Alright, ready?" She nodded ever so slightly, "One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three..."

As I counted out our movements I moved our feet across the floor. Keeping us in a simple box formation. At first, Etpinego would try to keep looking down as she counted along with me, but I kept redirecting her gaze up whenever I would catch her. And after a song or so her confidence had grown to the point where she didn't require any assistance and she finally allowed herself to go along with the music.

We were lost in the music as we moved across the floor, my only focus on the stunning mare in my arms. In fact, we had become so engrossed in our dancing that we nearly failed to hear the end of the music as the band finished their set. Etpinego was looking a little out of breath, and looked like she needed a break.

"Whew, suga’ I haven't had this much fun at a hoedown since the last family reunion,” the blonde mare said as she tried to catch her breath, not even bothering with the fake accent anymore.

“See I told you that you could do it,” I congratulated her as I grabbed us some refreshments, “I never doubted your dancing abilities for a second.”

“Or, it could’a been from you being such a great teacher,” she said as she leaned up and kissed my cheek before purring softly in my ear, “maybe y'ah could teach me more later."

"It's a promise," I whispered back to her as we shared cheeky grin.

It was about that time I noticed Gilzia and Pyre over to one side of the room with the other two princesses, surrounded by many of the dignitaries from earlier in what looked like a continuation of the conversation from dinner.

"I feel a little bad that we're having all the fun while our marefriends have to still work," I mentioned to her as I motioned with my head towards where the princesses stood.

"Not surprisin' though," she whispered back to me, "most hosts usually don't participate in the activities at a party. Preferin' instead to focus on overseein' the party. It was the same way when I hosted the family reunion a few years back."

"Well we can't possibly allow that to happen, now can we?" I said, flashing her a roguish grin, as I saw a slight frown cross her face and a single dainty eyebrow raise ever so conspicuously at me.

"Come again suga'? Ya'h wanna run that by me again?" But we were already well on our way into the crowd as I made a beeline towards the group of leaders.

As we approached them Xamspona was the first to notice us, shooting us a smile as she spoke, "Hello again Ambassador Broussard, Etpinego, I hope that you are all enjoying your night?"

"Very much so Your Highness," I said as we gave them a curt bow, "but I was wondering if I may ask Princess Gilzia for a dance? That is if she is not too busy at the moment."

The group looked at me like I had just grown a second head, save for Gehluli who was busy whispering something in her husband's ear. The sisters in particular seemed a little confused, but didn't show it as they kept their outward appearances under control with such practiced grace. Through the bond however I was definitely having to explain my actions.

'What are you up to Eric?' The sun princess curiously asked through our bond.

'We just didn't think it right for us to have all of the fun.'

'You do realize that this is not proper etiquette to ask your host for a dance,' Pyre interjected, 'I thought we were under the agreement to not publicly declare our relationship just yet?'

'We are, and I have no intention of making a public decleration,' I stated plainly before I vocally addressed them so that everyone could hear.

"Forgive me,Princess, if I am being taboo, but where I come from it is considered proper manners for the guest of honor to share a dance with their host. So will you be the first to give me the honor?"

"And what of your date Ambassador?" Gilzia asked, obviously trying to find a loophole to exploit, but I seemed to have accomplices tonight that I didn't know of.

"Do not worry aunt," I heard Gehluli say as she took a step closer to Etpinego and continued to address her fellow princess, "Princess Xamspona and I have private matters to discuss with Lady Etpinego that should keep her occupied while you participate in this Earth custom."

As Gehluli extended an arm towards Etpinego, bidding the farm-mare to her, I turned to my date and gave her a bow as I kissed the back of her hand and we shared a knowing glance. Before she was led by the Princess of Love over to her counterpart, the Princess of Friendship, and I was left to face the Princess of the Day again as I once again slowly extended my hand to her.

By now the hall had grown deathly silent as everyone was looking towards us now. Wondering what the Immortal Goddess of the Day would say to this strange creature who had the gall to even think of asking her for anything.

'It seems you have me at a disadvantage my stallion,' I heard Gilzia's voice say with mock seriousness in my mind.

'You could always say no,' I told her as I gave her a warm smile to match the one already on her face.

"Yes."

That one single word sent a murmur through the crowd as she laid her hand atop mine and I guided us back to the dance floor, the crowd parting before us like the Red Sea did before Moses as we walked side by side. Along the way, I gave a nod to the conductor of the band as they readied their instruments.

'That was quite the sneaky move back there Eric,' Gilzia said through the bond, 'but not that it was not unwanted. I do believe that you are the first being to ask me to dance in quite sometime, if ever.'

'Then I should feel lucky. There was no way I was going to go through this thing without getting to dance with each of my girls at least once.'

'Your girls?'

'Sorry, force of habit I guess. It's a term of endearment that stallions from my world use when addressing their marefriends. I will refrain from using it if it offends you.'

'No, I actually rather like it,' she said as I felt her hand lightly tighten over mine and the faint warmth of happiness could be felt through our bond.

Entering the dance floor we took our positions as Gilzia graciously let me take the lead. As the music began to play again we began our steps and were soon wrapped in our own little world as we drowned out all outside influences. My sole focus on those magenta eyes that were smiling back at me. I also quickly found out that my leadmare was no slouch in the dance department. Quickly proving herself to be a much more skilled dancer than me as she gracefully transitioned through one change up and twirl after another. Her moves were so fluid that she seemed to practically float on a cushion of air.

Yet, before we knew it, the song had come to an end as I slowly dipped the princess, our faces inches apart and our breaths coming out a little more exerted. It was then that we heard the sound of the other patrons applauding that we realized that we had been the only dancers on the dance floor. A light blush formed on our cheeks as we stood back up and gave a gracious bow to our audience before I began to lead her back towards her fellow princesses.

Approaching the others I couldn't help but notice the smiles on their faces, especially the look of barely suppressed glee on the Princess of Love's face. A look that sent a nervous chill down my spine as I could tell she was already deciding on what type of cake my mares and I were going to have at our future wedding.

"Thank you for the dance Princess," I told her as I lightly kissed the back of her hand.

"The pleasure was all mine Ambassador," she replied before speaking through the bond. 'A pleasure I shall have to repay soon.'

'Indeed sister, truly a fine display of stamina,' Pyre added, 'I must say I found myself a little jealous that you got to experience it.'

'Oh my dear Pyre, there's no way I could ever forget about you,' I said to her as I extended my hand to her next with a smile on my lips.

The rest of the night proved to be quite enjoyable. After my dance with the celestial sisters I extended the same offer towards Xamspona. For appearances sake if nothing else, but the young alicorn politely declined, stating something about some prior experiences that went sour so she would have to take a rain check.

The rest of the ball was pretty devoid of drama as Etpinego and I enjoyed the remainder of the time talking with foreign dignitaries and spending time with each other and our friends. Later in the night, as the last of the guest began to file out of the hall, Etpinego and I decided to call it a night ourselves as we bid goodnight to the others. All the while trying our best to ignore the suggestive looks we were receiving from more than a few of them.

We slowly made our way down the castle corridors, back to her room, as we continued to laugh and reminisce over past events. We had both had our fair share of the bubbly that night as Etpinego was forced to lean against my body for support as the alcohol she had consumed began to take affect on her equilibrium. She hadn’t had enough for her to be anywhere closed to be blitzed, but definitely more than enough for her to be a little tipsy as I felt her lay her head against my chest to try and calm her swirling mind. I on the other hand, was doing better, still being able to walk in a straight line, but I mainly attributed this to my higher tolerance to stronger drinks not available on Equus. Still, I had drank enough to be feeling the effects of a pretty good buzz as we continued on.

We were both out of breath from laughing when we finally made it to her room, having recalled the one and only time I tried applebucking. Needless to say, I had walked a little funny for the remainder of that afternoon.

“Well here we are,” I said as she turned to face me, leaning back against the door for support. Looking into her eyes I could see the disappointment at this possibly being the end of the night, and I didn’t want it to end either but I wasn’t going to push the young mare.

“Eeyup, here we are. I had a great time tonight Eric, but,” she paused for a moment, looking down bashfully, as she lightly ran her hand up my chest. Coming to a stop over my heart, which was about to burst through my chest as she looked back up at me with those eyes filled with hope and desire, “it don’t have to end just yet?”

That was all the invitation my cloudy mind needed as I leaned in and claimed her full lips with my own. She let out a throaty moan as I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close, crushing her soft curves against my solid front. Her hands quickly grabbing at my shirt and vest before ripping them open, as her earth pony strength made short work of the buttons in her quest to rid me of the bothersome garments. I made a brief mental note to make up an excuse for Vivmay later on what happened to the clothes.

Not wanting to give a free show to anyone who happened to be passing by, but not wanting to stop kissing the mare in my arms, I began to blindly fumble at the door behind her for a couple of seconds, trying to search for the door handle, before I felt the cool metal touch my fingers. Grabbing it firmly in my hand I twisted the knob and flung the door open as it slammed against the wall. Not wanting to waste any more time, I scooped the surprised mare in my arms bridal style and crossed the threshold kicking the door closed behind me.

Making my way to the bed I climbed up on it before gently laying the mare on the sheets. Our lips met again as I felt her tongue make its way into my mouth and I allowed her to take the initiative this time, but even with her current actions I had to make sure before continuing.

Pulling back ever so slightly I looked her in the eyes, momentarily captivated as she practically glowed in the light of Pyre's moon.

"Are you sure you want to go on?" I softly asked her as I stroked her cheek with my fingers.

She looked at me with a slightly shocked expression, before she started to lightly laugh at me. To say that I was a little confused by this would have been an understatement as my expression turned to one of perplextion.

"What? What did I say?" I asked her as I started to smile as well, her laughter becoming too infectious to ignore.

"Suga' that's somethin' that a mare's supposed to ask the stallion," she finally told me as I raised an eyebrow at her, "I've been sendin' y'ah signals all night since them two hussies tried takin' y'ah from me."

I sat there frozen for a second as I willed my fuzzy brain to replay all of the events from tonight in my head. Trying to recall if there was any signals I might have missed, but as hard as I tried I couldn't recall anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't until I felt Etpinego's soft lips on mine that I was broken out of my stupor.

"Even the Princes- I mean Gilzia and Pyre said it was alright," she said as she began to lightly nip down my neck.

Any further attempts at trying to unlock the mysteries of the unspoken languages of ponies was swiftly thrown out the window by the mare's attentiveness. As I basically said "Fuck it!" to everything else and turned all control over to my lower head. Who was more than happy to be in charge for the first time in a long time.

I kissed Etpinego again and I felt my pants go well beyond the realm of comfortable as she moaned for me. I moved my lips to her slender neck returning the favor from earlier as I lightly nibbled on her neck, which elicited a series of breathy whinnies from her that drove me on for more. As I went further down I finally came to the golden necklace of her element as I planted kisses along the golden length of the piece of jewelry as I heard her continue to breath heavy in anticipation. Pausing briefly to savor her scent I placed a single kiss on the apple-shaped piece of spessartite that shined so bright it almost looked like it was on fire.

Only for the jewel to suddenly ignite into a flash of orange light as soon as my lips came into contact with it. I didn't get a chance to marvel at the sight as great bolts of energy shot forth from the gem, knocking me off of Etpinego and across the room where I came to a stop only when I hit the wall.

As my body crashed to the ground and the smell of burnt cloth and flesh began to fill my nostrils, I found that I couldn't move my body as a great feeling of fatigue began to overtake me. The last thing I remembered before the darkness consumed me was Etpinego rushing over to check on me. She yelled something to me as I saw her lips move, her eyes wide with fear, but I could hear nothing but silence. All the while her element was still shining brightly around her neck as everything went black.

Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
Pyre/ Luna
Etpinego/ Applejack
Gilzia/ Celestia

Darkness and pain consumed me as I drifted through the endless void of unconsciousness. A burning pain like none I had ever experienced before, pierced through my existence like white hot rods. I tried to scream something, anything, in hopes of help, yet all that came out of my mouth was silence. Onward the pain continued, growing in intensity until I was praying for any kind of relief, even death, as terrifying visions began to flood through my mind.

A great battle raging above Canterlot, cast in the light of a black sun, as blood flowed through the streets like a river. While the cries of those close to me were desperately calling out for me to help them, yet I could do nothing. Helplessly I was forced to continue to watch the neverending visions, each one worse than the last. I felt as if my mind would crash under the monumental stress till suddenly everything went silent. Leaving only an unnerving, but welcome, calm behind.

Calm.

It was strange, I didn't think that death could be so calming. However, after the nightmare that was still fresh in my mind, I found myself willing embracing the reprieve that I had found myself in. Seemingly floating between realities in an almost zen-like state of calm. Like a swaddled newborn being gently rocked to sleep by their mother, I too felt like I never wanted this feeling to end. How long I continued in my state of transcendence I may never know; nor did I know if my muddled mind even cared anymore.

'Wait... I do care,' my subconscious groggily thought as I tried to find a reason to fight this mist I found myself consumed by, and like a trio of beacons to help guide me home, I found them. My reasons for wanting to live, my mares.

Slowly I found myself calling to them, yet even in my subconscious mind my voice came out sounding weak and hoarse as I tried to hold onto the memories of them. Using my love for them to help guide me and give me strength.

'Gilzia... Etpinego...Pyre.'

As I continued to call out their names in my mind I felt myself beginning to move my arms and legs, trying to escape this tempting prison. Clawing, pulling, kicking, with each reach of my limbs I felt myself climbing steadily higher.

Ahead of me I could begin to make out a dim glow as I struggled on through the inky darkness. My lungs began to burn as I felt the sudden urge to breath begin to take over me. A dull roar could be heard in my surroundings as I continued to desperately climb towards the glowing beacon that grew ever bright as I went on. Finally, when I thought I couldn't go on any further, I felt myself break through into fresh air as I frantically gulped down the precious oxygen that would ease the burning in my lungs.

Quickly scanning around at my surroundings I tried to get some sort of bearing on where I was. Yet on all sides of me, for as far as I could see, was rolling hills of water beneath a starry night sky and the light of a full moon. Somehow I had landed in an ocean, a conclusion I had quickly come to by the saltwater that was trying to force itself into my mouth by the swells rising all around me. Helplessly, I bobbed along with the waves as I was pushed and pulled by the water. I tried to see if I could spot any kind of boat or aid of some kind on the distant horizon, but all I could see on all sides of me was only water. Only water. Treading alone in the water I tried to fight off the sense of panic that I could feel swelling up in me.

On and on the waves continued their endless assault on me while I tried to come to terms with my current situation. Where was I? Where were the others? Was I back on Earth, or was this still Equus, or perhaps, this was somewhere else entirely? A thousand questions began to run through my mind, but I forced them back, trying to focus on surviving first and foremost. A passing swell raised me high as my ears picked up what sounded like a faint voice on the passing breeze.

"Eric."

It was so soft that I thought I had imagined the voice, but as another swell passed I heard it again, unmistakably this time.

"Eric."

Urgently I turned in the water, trying to find the source of the voice. I spit out a mouthful of water as the surge, raising me high, dropped me again. I could see nothing. I felt the barely suppressed panic begin to rise again as the voice continued to call, flashes of the visions depicting the deaths of those I loved ran rampant through my mind. Again I rose with the ocean, I tuned as I heard the voice once more, and then I saw it, an island.

It was close, probably no more than a mile away. In the pale moonlight I couldn't make out much detail on the landmass, but I didn't care it was a chance.

Putting my head into the water I began to swim towards the black island. Kicking and pulling at the water I swam, the strength of the ocean easily overpowering me as I felt it pull me too and fro. Slowly the water began to sap away at my endurance, till I could only feel the dull pain in my muscles. Eventually, I raised my head as I tried to catch my breath and check up on my progress. Looking towards the island I could see that I was closer, not by much, but it was enough to give me hope.

Further on I swam, the dull aching in my muscles soon grew into a sharp pain as my limbs grew heavy. Yet still further I went on, the mysterious voice and desire to survive driving me on. Drawing closer to the landmass, I could begin to hear the dull roars of the waves crashing against the cliffs.

Lifting my head again, I could now see the island a little clearer, its towering jagged cliffs rising like a black wall in the night. I coughed and gagged on seawater as my exhausted muscles struggled to keep me afloat in the churning surf. Desperately I scanned the island, the waves continuing to raise and lower me, trying to find a safe place to make landfall. A ghostly blue light around the far side of the island off to my left caught my attention, no more than a couple hundred yards away. Yet I didn't know if I had the strength in my body to fight the raging surf even for such a short distance.

My mysterious voice, on the other hand, had more faith in me as I heard it call to me over the crashing surf, "Eric...come...Eric..."

Too tired to go on normally, I resorted to dog paddling as I tried to keep my head above the waves. Gradually I made my way closer to the glow, inch by inch and yard by excruciating yard. The pain in my body and the voice in my ears the only thing I was able to register anymore.

The ferocity of the waves grew stronger as I tried to make my way towards the other side of the island. Threatening to finally drown me as they came crashing down on me. The terror that I had just been able to keep in check came rushing back as I clawed and gasped to keep my head above the surf.

Above the dark waves I could see the ghostly blue glow that would hopefully lead me to shore, but I had no way of getting there because of the water's obstruction. Another wave lifted me high before violently tossing me below the surface and holding me. I futilely tried to fight the crushing water to no avail as I was mercilessly tumbled against the ocean bottom. My skull impacted something hard right before I felt my body go limp. The surf calming around me as I faded in and out of awareness yet all I could feel was the water that was rushing into my lungs.

My mind panicked as I tried to fight the dizziness that was starting to consume me, but my body would not heed my demands. The last thing I saw before the blackness overtook me once more was the faces of my herdmates. While the blue glow seemingly floated over to me in the calm water the voice was heard calling to me one final time, willing me to slumber, as tendrils of radiant light reached out towards me.

"Shhh, rest now, Eric."

The sinking blackness consumed me again, I was unsure if this time was the end or not. I felt a heavy pressure pushing on my body as a faint beeping noise began to fill my ears. Slowly the pressure distorted into a sharp pain, centered in my chest, causing me to wince. I tried opening my eyes again, and thankfully, was rewarded as they began to move.

White soon replaced black as I found myself now in a strange room. Rotating my eyes lazily I took in my surroundings, trying to determine where I had now ended up this time. Judging by the utilitarian decor and smell of cleaner in the air I was lead to believe that I was in some sort of hospital. While the cool colors of the blue sky that I could see through the gap of the curtains in front of the window let me know it was morning. But where was this hospital? Earth? Equus?

Slowly I attempted to sit up but the sharp pain from before returned with a vengeance. Forcing me to let out a hiss as I clutched at my bandaged chest, the heart monitor racing loudly. Falling back against the bed I waited with clenched teeth for the pain to subside. Luckily the pain soon returned to a dull throbbing, allowing me to regain some of my composure, as a nurse rushed into the room.

Upon seeing the unicorn mare a mixed series of emotions began to flood over me. I was relieved to have returned back to Equus, back to my mares' sides. Yet even through all my relief and happiness, I couldn’t help but still feel a sense of melancholy over the still apparent loss of my home world. Feeling a little depressed I laid my head back against the pillow, closing my eyes, as the mare walked over to the side of my bed.

“Welcome back to the world of the living, Ambassador,” she spoke to me teasingly as I heard her check up on the heart monitor and IV drip bag. I tried to respond but I found my voice dry and unresponsive, forcing me to settle on a gruff moan. The nurse caught onto my discomfort as she rested a gentle hand on my shoulder, “You have some very important guest who told me to inform them as soon as you had awakened. If you're up for visitors I'll go send word to them and then I’ll be right back with some water.”

Another moan from me was all the nurse needed as she left me to my thoughts. I didn’t know what to make of any of my recent experiences no matter how hard I tried. Was any of it real, or was it all just an elaborate dream? It felt real enough though, as I swore I could still smell the salt of the surf, and what of those horrifying visions? I felt a cold shiver run up my spine, recalling the blood curdling screams of my friends and loved ones and sights of the city streets running red with blood.

My brow furrowed as I tried to suppress the horrifying memories as the popping sound of teleportation magics began filling my ears and I felt the warmth of some familiar presences wash over me. My lips curled into a blissful smile, but it was quickly erased from my face when a weight suddenly straddled me on the bed.

“How did you do it, Eric?” the Princess of Friendship asked me, her voice almost on the edge of hysteria, as she shook me by the shoulders. Her jostling had its intended effect as my eyes shot open to glare at the lavender alicorn sitting atop me. I was momentarily taken aback by Xam's appearance. The normally well-kept mare appeared absolutely frazzled as she looked down on me with an almost crazed look in her eyes.

The bags under her eyes and the disheveled state of her wings and hair told me that she probably hadn’t slept in God knows how long. I let out a pained growl, her shaking irritating my wounds, but she was unfazed by my warning display, “How did a species devoid of magic do it?”

As discomforting as her continued assault was to my current health, I was more relieved to see that she was still among the living and my visions, as horrifying as they were, were still just illusions. Luckily for me her companions came to my aid as the young alicorn was enveloped in a navy blue aura, lifting her off of me so that I could see my other guests more clearly.

“Patience Xamspona Tevopi, I am sure Eric will be more than happy to answer your questions, if perhaps, you gave him time to,” Pyre told her younger counterpart, setting Xam next to her. The Princess of Friendship nervously fidgeting in place as she tried to contain her anxiety but she didn't speak.

Casting Xam a sympathetic glance, I felt my heart leap for joy as I saw the other members of my herd alive and well. My respite though was short lived as Etpinego rushed onto the bed, throwing herself across my chest, as she wrapped me into a crushing hug.

"Y'ah darn stupid idjit!" She berated me, her voice muffled as she buried her face into my neck, "Don't y'ah ever scare us like that again. Or next time I might just finish the job."

I gently wrapped her in my arms as I looked back to the others in the room. Xam had managed to calm down some as she gave her friend a sympathetic smile. Meanwhile, Pyre looked absolutely relieved, smiling warmly at Etpinego and I, but Gilzia, while still appearing relieved as well, looked worried for some reason. Concerned on what could be bothering Gilzia, and desperate to hold them again, I reached my hand out to them trying to speak again but unfortunately not doing much better. Luckily the sisters understood my silent request as they came to either side of the bed, resting their hands in mine.

With them standing closer to me now I could see the signs of stress and worry etched on their faces. Not wasting any time, I gently pulled them to me, the sisters not resisting as they climbed up onto the bed, settling with their newest herdsister in my arms. Relief poured through our bond at knowing each of us was safe, the sisters each wrapping a wing around us, as we breathed in each others scent. All while Xam looked silently on from the foot of the bed, thankfully giving us our moment to reconnect. It was this scene that the nurse found us in when she returned to the room, a glass of water in her magical grip.

"Oh, excuse me, your Highnesses," the nurse nervously said as she gave a quick bow to the royals in the room, her cheeks tinted pink, "I wasn't expecting for you to arrive so quickly."

"It is quite okay," Xamspona said as she regained her regal bearing.

The nurse stood there a moment, unsure of what to make of my guests sudden arrival, three of which were snuggling her patient. My mares made to get up, embarrassed at having our secret relationship found out, but I held them close not wanting to be devoid of their presence quite yet.

The nurse was finally knocked out of her stupor with a start as I tried to clear my throat, "Forgive me, I came by to bring the ambassador some water."

"Thank you, my little pony," Gilzia said as Xam took the glass of water in her own magic, the nurse excusing herself as she hastily left.

I graciously took the cup as it was offered to me. Gilzia and Pyre sitting up to give me room to grab the cup, although Etpinego seemed more than content to keep using me as a pillow. Bringing the glass to my lips I let out a sigh of relief as I quickly downed the liquid, the cool water doing wonders to soothe the fire in my throat.

"Thanks, Xam," I managed to say, my voice struggling to form the words, "what happened?"

A concerned expression flashed across the four mare's faces as Xam spoke up, "You don't remember?"

I shook my head, "The last thing I remember is getting the shit knocked out of me by Etpinego's element. After that it's kind of fuzzy."

"Eric, you have been in a coma here at the hospital for the past week," Pyre told me, her expressive aqua-colored eyes shimmering in the morning light.

"A week!" I tried to shout, my voice coming out broken as a short bout of coughing overtook me. After a few moments I tried again, softer this time, "A week?"

"Yes," Xam confirmed with a nod.

"A week," I mumbled to myself, still in disbelief.

"Eric," Etpinego softly began, her ears laid back flat against the brim of her stetson as she drew my eyes to her emerald green ones, "there's somethin' we have'ta tell y'ah."

"What's that?" I asked, looking between the four mares. It was Gilzia who finally spoke up first.

"As soon as you were attacked by the Element of Honesty and lost consciousness, Pyre and I felt the bond between us disappear," she paused for a moment, looking down to the farm-mare, who had her face buried in my chest again, as she brushed a comforting wing across the smaller mare's back. "We feared that maybe our mysterious alicorn had made a move on you. Yet when we arrived to the room all we found was Etpinego desperately trying to wake you as you laid wounded and unresponsive." I hummed as I listened to Gilzia retell the events while I placed a kiss on the top of the head of the orange mare in my arms in some attempt at an apology for making her worry, "But that was not the only thing we found."

"What do you mean?" I asked, picking up on the sun princess's ominous tone.

"Etpinego's element was still active when we entered the room, even after it had lashed out at you," Xamspona tried to explain but I had no idea what she was getting at, with a sigh she continued, "The elements only work when they are brought together, and only when triggered by the Element of Magic. Once activated, the other five elements combine their powers while using the Element of Magic as a focusing gem to aim and amplify the powerful magic that they produce. Yet somehow your touch, by itself, was able to activate Etpinego's element when it was separated from the others, and what's more is that it hasn't turned off since."

"Why's that?" I asked, to which the lavender mare gave a defeated sigh.

"We don't know," she admitted, "most of what we know about the elements and how they work is a mystery. But it's like you were somehow able to start a reaction with the Element of Honesty as the focus point as opposed to the Element of Magic."

"Alright you kind of lost me again. What kind of a reaction?"

"When we came into the room the Element of Honesty started activating the other elements, and it was only the quick thinking of Gilzia and Pyre to teleport the unaffected elements away that prevented the spell from being completed."

"Unfortunately," Pyre added, " it now means that the elements are unavailable to us until we have determined exactly what this reaction is."

"I didn't do anything intentionally I swear. All I did was kiss it and then it lit up and shot a bolt of lightning at me," I told the others in the room defensively, as Gilzia laid her hand on mine.

"We know Eric, we know that you would not do that, but rumor has somehow spread among some of the nobles and dignitaries that you did have ulterior motives and had wanted to weaken our defenses all along."

"That's ridiculous!" I tried to yell, angry that others would think that I would betray my mares and the citizens of this nation that had taken me in during my time of need.

"Do not worry, Eric," Pyre added, "they are only rumors spread by those that would like to exploit the idea that Equestria is now weaker without the elements." A smirk spread across the night alicorn's lips, "But rest assured, Equestria was strong long before the elements were rediscovered and if there are those that would wish to test our strength then I think they will be quite surprised."

"Still," Gilzia interjected, "even though we shall make statements to correct these rumors and try and lessen the backlash of this we still need to resolve this issue quickly. So I would like to ask that you and Etpinego remain here at the castle to help Xamspona with the investigation into the cause of this event."

"Of course, Gilzia," I told her, but Etpinego didn't reply, looking down to her I saw her fast asleep on my chest.

"Poor Etpinego,"my leadmare said softly as she brushed some of the farm-mare's blonde mane away from her face, "she has been so worried about you that she's hardly eaten or slept since then. Even though she has told us she knows it was an accident, I believe that there is still a part of her that blames herself for what happened."

"And what about you two? Do you blame yourselves?" I asked her as I held her hand.

As I looked into the eyes of my leadmare I could see in those pink depths that she too blamed herself for both what had happened to me and also the emotional stress that her youngest herdsister had gone through since then. The room grew silent as a somber mood settled over everyone there, Xam deciding to excuse herself from our private conversation.

"Well it's good to see you up again Eric, but I have some things I need to look into. So if you'll excuse me," and with that she silently made her way out of the room.

As the door latch clicked closed all that could be heard was the beeping of my heart monitor. My eyes remained on the white mare before me, who sadly looked over Etpinego as she continued to absently stoke the sleeping mare's back. Pyre and I could clearly pick up the sadness and guilt through the bond as Pyre laid a comforting wing across her sister's shoulders and I continued to hold her hand.

"Gilzia what's the matter? Is there something else?" I asked her to which she gave me a small nod.

"Back when I felt your presence fade through our bond, I thought I picked up the hint of another presence. One that I had not felt in a long time, and wondered if I would ever feel again."

"What presence, sister?" Pyre asked obviously hearing this for the first time as well.

"Mother's."

Gilzia/ Celestia
Pyre/ Luna

"Come, Eric."

I sat up in my bed with a start, my body covered in a cold sweat that soaked my boxers and bedsheets. I tried to calm my pounding heart as the memory of the mysterious voice still rang through my head. A few shaky moments had passed before I was able to settle myself as I took a glance at my surroundings, searching for the clock in the still dark room. Eventually finding the tall grandfather against the far wall, its clunking gears slowly reverberating throughout the room like a hollow metronome. A dim beam of light from the courtyard outside shone through a crack in the curtains onto the clock's face, I let out a tired sigh as I saw the hands read a little past two in the morning.

"Fuck," I mumbled to myself, running my hands down my face.

It had been a couple of days since my awakening but I still found myself confined to the palace. The wounds that I had received from the attack were thankfully light, mainly consisting of bruises and the burns on my chest. Yet the doctors and medical staff had still refused to release me. Stating that their lack of knowledge regarding my species and the magic that powered the elements meant that they couldn't take lightly the possibilities of internal injuries or brain trauma. This made things slightly more difficult for, unlike in the States, I could not refuse treatment and discharge myself. For in Equestria, in matters regarding a patient's health, the final word rested with the doctor, not even the princesses could overrule the order of a physician. So here I stayed confined to the castle, under the medical staff's watchful eyes. On the bright side, at least I was able to convince the medical staff into moving me from the intensive care unit back to my guest quarters.

Unfortunately my attempts at rest since my revival had been sparse and troubled to say the least. For every time I would try to sleep I would find myself propelled back into my trials from before. Luckily my dreams were now devoid of the mind-numbing pain that I had experienced the first time, but I still found myself facing the visions along with my journey to the castaway island. However, luckily my dreams were not always so full of grief and sorrow, a fact that I took great solace in. In fact some of them could have almost been filed in the realm of fantasies as I experienced the joy of returning to my home world and the life I was forced to leave behind, or, even better, living a life and growing old here with the mares I had come to adore. It was during these dreams especially that I got the best sleep.

It was these glimpses of a better life that gave me strength when it came time to face the challenges of the sea, but even that refused to stay constant with every time I was suddenly thrown into it. At times I would land close to the island, others, so far away in open ocean that I could never find it. All while my mysterious voice urged me on. Unfortunately no matter the start of it the finish would always be the same fate of a watery grave, whether by exhaustion or being thrashed against the rocky cliffs like a ragdoll, before forcibly awakening back to reality in a cold sweat.

A shuffling noise from the behind me caused me to look back to the other occupants currently residing in my bed. Etpinego and Gilzia laid under the sheets, still sleeping soundly, the bigger alicorn spooning the earth-mare as one of her white wings provided an extra layer of warmth and protection. I found myself smiling as I took in the sight, happy that Etpinego was getting along well with the two princesses. Although I was still surprised at the speed at which the sisters had accepted the newcomer into their herd. From what Gilzia and Pyre had told me my coma and subsequent stay at the hospital had done a lot in aiding the farm-mare's integration into the herd. The three of them taking comfort in each other during their time of stress and worry. In the end I figured that I would get a better understanding of the situation as I became more familiar with my new relationship dynamics.

I watched as Gilzia slowly reached her hand out to where I had been laying, her brow furrowing slightly at feeling nothing but cold empty sheets. She let out a tired little groan as her eyes fluttered open, searching momentarily for me in the dark before she found me sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Eric? Are you okay?" She asked softly so as to not awaken Etpinego.

"I'm fine," I lied as I gave her a tired smile, "just couldn't sleep."

Her hand reached out to graze mine as she spoke again, her voice soft but concerned, "Is it the visions again?"

I didn't answer her. Instead simply nodding my head as I grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. I had told the others about the dreams I had experienced during my coma as soon as Gilzia had mentioned possibly sensing her mother's presence. Their immediate reaction to this news was one of obvious concern, fearing that the Queen had finally discovered me and was moving to eliminate me. An idea that wasn't too far fetched when you sat down and thought about it for longer than five minutes.

But there was one other side effect of my encounter with the Element of Honesty, that I had found that that seemed to conflict the "The-Queen-Found-Eric-and-wants-to-Kill-Him" Theory, as Xamspona liked to call it, much to my disdain. Since waking from my coma, I had been able to understand and talk with every species I had come across, even in their native tongue. Yet when Xam and the others examined me they confirmed that I was still disconnected from the Magic of Harmony. It didn't make sense to me on why, if it was the Queen, she would help me just to kill me. When I brought it up to everypony they all thought that it was a way for her to lure me in. But while this may have been the most logical answer I couldn't help but think that she was trying to form a bond with me like her daughters had done, but why? And what did she have to do with the Elements of Harmony? In the end I felt like only the Queen would know, and if I could ever find its source I hoped that her and my mysterious voice were actually one and the same.

Either way, the news had triggered some kind of latent protective instinct in the other members of the herd, which had led to at least one of my mares always staying close by. Even though I may not have fully agreed with their worries, I couldn't argue against their reasoning behind it. For the benefits of their decision had so far outweighed any initial discomforts I may have had to their continual vigilance, namely our current sleeping arrangements.

"Were you able to find out the source of the voice?" Gilzia inquired.

"No, didn't even see the island this time," I said before giving her a wry grin, "but at least it was sunny."

She gave a soft chuckle at my poor attempt at humor before she let out a yawn. Leaning in carefully so as to not wake Etpinego I kissed her on the lips, the tired Princess of the Day let out a content sigh as she melted into the kiss.

"Are you coming back to bed?" She asked me with tired eyes as soon as our lips parted before snuggling closer to Etpinego, nuzzling comfortably into the crook of the farm-mare's neck. The sleeping earth mare letting out a pleased sigh from the warm affection of her herd mate.

"In a little bit," I said as I ran a hand through her ethereal mane, forcing her to try and fight the sleep that threatened to overtake her, "go back to sleep. I'm going to take a walk for a little bit."

Giving a parting kiss to both of the mares they settled back into a blissful sleep for a few more hours until Gilzia had to be up to raise the dawn. Grabbing a shirt, I made my way out of the room heading to destinations unknown.

Roaming the halls I was surprised by the number of servants and guards that were still up and about at such an early hour. Going this way and that as they readied for the daily shift change that came with the raising of the sun. Making my way down the halls, dressed only in a shirt and pair of boxers, I couldn't help but think that my recent feats and relationships had become quite the subject of conversation amongst the palace staff since the end of the ball. Maids and servants were nice enough, keeping a respectful distance when they would pass, whispering under their breath to each other all the while casting fleeting sideways glances my way. While the guard, on the other hand, simply gave me a judging glare as they silently sized me up, trying to determine if I was either worthy to receive their charge's affection or a threat that needed to be dealt with.

Then again their intimidation factor would have been more effective if they'd have stood higher than mid-chest level to my six foot frame. Personally I found it a little annoying that they were acting like a bunch of overprotective older siblings to the two princesses, and even Etpinego to a lesser extent, but in the end I let it be. Too tired to give any fucks about their opinions of me.

Wandering the halls I tried to figure out where to go. It was much too early to go over to the lab that Xam had set up to investigate the issue with the elements. Odds where that she would still be up, but I didn't want to run the risk of disturbing her if, on the off chance, she had finally cluncked out. So with no particular place to go, I decided to check in on Pyre to see how she was coming along tonight. Reaching out through the bond I called out to my Princess of the Night.

'Pyre, are you still awake?'

'I think that that should be apparent, Eric,' I heard the alicorn of the night reply, stifling a giggle, 'You should know by now that we alicorns do not require sleep if we do not want to.'

I had to laugh out loud at that, startling a passing maid, recalling the alicorn that I had left in my room, 'Someone might want to tell that to Gilzia.'

Pyre laughed along with me for a moment before settling down, 'True, my sister has grown accustomed to certain... pleasures enjoyed by our mortal subjects, especially since my return. But what of you, my stallion? Why are you up at such an early hour?'

'Does a guy need a reason to want to see one of his mares?' I asked her, to which she just giggled again.

'A fib I am sure. Perhaps you are hoping to distract me from my important work,' Pyre said a hint of mischief in her voice, 'but it would be nice to take a much needed break. So you may find me in my office.'

After a quick series of directions from a passing maid and with a renewed skip in my step I soon found myself before the imposing doors of Pyre's office. The solid oak doors flanked on either side by a pair of her ever present Night Guard, who barred my path with their spears as I approached.

"I'm sorry Ambassador, but the Princess is too busy with matters of state to be accepting visitors," the thestral mare on the left said as she continued to look forward.

I was about to say something in return, finally having had enough of this pointless overprotectiveness from the guards, when I heard the firm voice of Pyre come through the door.

"Let him through, Sergeant."

The mare tried to suppress a growl as they righted their spears and opened the door. As I passed them I couldn't help but cast a triumphant smirk down to the bat-pony mare. Once inside the room I quickly spotted the midnight blue alicorn sitting behind a large desk hard at work reviewing a stack of documents. Her moon casting an angelic glow over her as its light shone through the balcony window behind her. She looked up as I came in, an almost childlike smile spreading across her face as she saw me, but as I got closer I could also see that her workload was starting to wear on her by the tiredness in her eyes.

"Ambassador Broussard, how good to see you," she said standing and coming around the desk to greet me as I gave her a curt bow. Before the door closed behind me she addressed the guard at the door, "Guard, would you be so kind as to tell a servant to fetch the ambassador and I some refreshments?"

"Of course, Your Majesty, " she said as she shot me a warning glare before closing the door.

I glared at the door for a moment before casting a sly glance towards Pyre, "I think they know."

"Of course they do," she replied dismissively , "word had spread throughout the entire castle staff of our relationship before Xamspona had even left the hospital room."

"Well that explains the hostility from the guards," I told her as I felt her wrap her arms around my neck.

"But do not worry they, nor the rest of the staff, will divulge our little tryst. Unless you are telling me that their actions have frightened you off," she said with mock concern.

I had to chuckle at her playfulness as I pulled her close to me and cupped her face with one of my hands, "There's nothing in this world or any other that could keep me away from you three."

She smiled as our lips met, eagerly pulling me tighter into our embrace as I felt her tongue run along my teeth, begging for entrance. I happily obliged to her request as I opened my mouth feeling her talented muscle quickly try to dominate my own, but I wasn't about to let my dark vixen win so easily as I valiantly began to fight back. Trying to drive the alicorn back as she let out a heated moan, but just when it seemed like I was turning the tide of battle and about to claim my victory she broke our kiss. Leaving us both breathless as we rested our foreheads against one another's.

"Well that alone was worth coming by for," I teased as she lightly giggled again before giving me a quick peck on the lips.

"Indeed, but honestly Eric, what is concerning you?"

"Not much, just couldn't sleep," but as I said that I could see the concern begin to creep onto her face.

"The visions still?" She asked me as she ran a gentle hand through my hair.

I took her hand in my own, bringing it to my lips as I kissed her palm, "Yeah but I'm getting more used to them, so it's not bothering me as much."

"Eric, you are still a terrible liar," the night alicorn said with an unconvinced tone, setting me with a level expression. Her gaze threatening to chip away at my resolve, before she let out a sigh, " but I will not push you if you do not wish to talk about it."

"Thanks, so how has your night been?" She seemed to warm up at this as she gave me a tired smile.

"Long. Tiring. Better now that you are here," she said as she sat back down at her desk, rubbing her temples.

"Is there anything I can do to make it better?" I inquired, coming around behind the desk to stand beside her.

"Would it be too much to ask for one of those massages that you have given Etpinego?" She asked meekly, fidgeting with her fingers.

I found her sudden bout of shyness cute as I walked behind her chair. Dipping my hands into her star studded blue locks, I moved her mane to the side, draping it over her shoulder. I could feel her skin shiver slightly in anticipation as I placed my strong hands atop her shoulders. Her breath hitching in her throat as I leaned down to deeply whisper into her ear, "It would be my, " I gave the tight muscles a firm squeeze, a pleased moan escaping her lips, "pleasure."

My mind began to wander a little bit as I continued to unknot the muscles in her neck and shoulders, all while Pyre sat with her eyes closed, purring contently, her paperwork completely forgotten.

"Is there something else on your mind, Eric?" She asked, picking up on my contemplating through our bond, before letting out a hiss when I pressed against a particularly tender spot.

"I was just thinking that it was nice that all of you mares are getting along so well so quickly,"

"Of course, Etpinego is a fine mare who's sense of honesty, morals and upbringing compliments my sister's and I's own so well," Pyre replied before softly giggling, "plus it does not hurt that she is so attractive."

I grinned as I saw her cheeks blush a little, "Do we have a crush?"

Pyre scoffed at that, sticking her nose in the air, "Eric, I am a princess and countless of years old, I do not get crushes," I simply rolled my eyes at her silliness before tickling her ribs, causing her to wiggle and squirm, "Okay! Okay! I admit it! I have a crush on her!"

I stopped tickling her as I leaned down and wrapped the gasping princess in a tender hug, "That's good to hear," I told her laying a peck on her cheek.

"You are a very cruel stallion, Eric," she said with a pout, before grinning as she snuggled closer into my hold.

"Guilty as charged," I admitted, letting her go, returning to my previous duty of massaging her back as she leaned forward, resting her head atop her arms on the desk, "So, out of curiosity, how long does courting usually last?"

"Mmmm, it all depends on the parties involved and the time of year, but usually about a month or two," she said as she sank back into bliss.

"That short huh?"

Pyre opened an eye momentarily to look back towards me, confused by my statement, "Is it not the same for humans?"

"Sometimes, " I said, mulling the question over in my mind, "on rare occasions they've been that short or shorter, but usually humans court for much longer, sometimes for years."

"Years?" Pyre exclaimed, she seemed honestly shocked by this news before her brow scrunched in thought, "I suppose it might be quicker for us to find suitable partners because of our connection to the Magic of Harmony."

"How's that?" I asked curiously as I began to rub the joint at the base of her wings causing her eyes to roll to the back of her head.

"Ahhh, by my sister's big flank that feels good," she muttered into her arms, her thoughts momentarily distracted, I chuckled lightly as she recomposed herself, "As you know the Magic of Harmony flows through every living thing," I hummed in agreement, " well as it flows through a pony's body it exits at a faint magical frequency that is unique to each individual. Now we are still unsure of how it entirely works, but when two or more compatible ponies meet, their frequencies begin to harmonize with one another's. It is this harmonization, along with other physical cues, that are subconsciously picked up by ponies during the heat season to help determine the best mates."

"So it's kind of like magical pheromones?" I suggested as she nodded her head.

"Precisely. Mmmm, lower."

I did as she requested before continuing, "So what about me?"

Pyre lifted her head to look back at me, a single dainty eyebrow lifting as she stared at me in shocked disbelief, "Did your injury make you forget so easily?" I shrugged my shoulders as she snorted and rolled her eyes, "Stallions. Our bond with you is what takes the place of the Magic of Harmony."

"Oh, I get it now," I exclaimed sheepishly as Pyre rolled her eyes again, preferring to lay her head back down on her desk than argue about it more, "and when does the courting phase end?"

"Whenever the parties involved decide to become mates, usually by the next heat cycle, if not sooner,"she replied, but before I could say anything else a knock came from the door, startling both of us.

I made my way over towards the door as Pyre lazily sat up in her chair, relaxed from her rubdown. Upon opening the wooden portal I saw the same young unicorn maid from the train platform standing outside in the hallway holding a tray with tea and cookies.

"Oh, good morning Ambassador, "she greeted with a bow, "it is good to see you up and about. I was worried when I heard that you had been injured."

"Thank you for your concern, it is good to still be alive," I told her, chuckling as she nervously fidgeted in her spot.

I heard Pyre walk up beside me, her presence startling the young maid once she had laid eyes on the Princess of the Night. And even though Pyre's face held her normal serene smile, I could feel a sense of agitation from her through our bond as her tail absentmindedly brushed against my backside. Reminding me of when Etpinego had done the same during the ball. Making me wonder why Pyre would feel agitation towards the young mare.

"My lady!" the maid said nervously with a deep bow, Pyre silently nodding her head in reply, "my sincerest apologies for not being here sooner, Your Highness. "

"It is alright my little pony, thank you for coming as quickly as you could," and with that she grabbed the tray with her own magic and made her way back into the room. Tugging the bottom of my shirt as she passed, but I resisted long enough to say goodbye to a friendly face.

"Well it was good seeing you again, Ms...um...huh, you know, I don't think I ever got your name?" I asked as a smile spread across her face once again.

"It's Hamolly Pej, Ambassador Broussard," she said happily with a quick bow.

"Please it's just, Eric," I said, feeling a little uncomfortable with all of the formalities, "well thanks again for the snacks. Goodnight."

"And goodnight to you as well, Eric." Hamolly said, her smile never leaving her face as I closed the door once again.

"Nice mare," I said nonchalantly to myself, before I caught sight of Pyre, the alicorn absolutely miffed as she scowled at me from her seat on a nearby sofa, "what?"

"Did you not notice that that maid was in heat and trying to get your attention? " she huffed as she ruffled her wings.

I rubbed my chin in thought, trying to recall anything peculiar about the way the unicorn had acted, but no matter how I tried I couldn't find anything amiss in her behavior, "No, can't say that I did. Although I have to ask why it would matter? I mean I'm already in a relationship with you and the others."

She gave a sigh as her anger slowly deflated, before motioning for me to take a seat on the cushion next to her. Once I was positioned on the cushions Pyre nuzzled up next to me, breathing in my scent as her mighty blue wings enveloped us.

"I am sorry for jumping to conclusions, Eric. I have to remember that you are not a stallion, and you do not do the same things as one would." She apologized as she lightly planted kisses on my neck.

"It's alright, Pyre," I told her, still slightly confused about what had just happened, as I tried to console the midnight blue alicorn. Laying back on the sofa, pulling her with me as she settled atop of me while I ran my fingers along the soft fur of her lower back. Her starry tail swishing at my attention as I breathed in the flowery scent of her mane, "I guess I should apologize as well for making you feel that way to begin with," I tilted her chin up to where our eyes met, kissing her gingerly on the lips before wryly smiling at her, "but for future reference why don't you tell me what was so wrong so we can avoid it."

Pyre sat up in my arms, careful of my burns as she rested her elbows on my chest, cupping my face in her hands, directing me to look into her soft eyes. When she spoke her words were soft and low, barely above a whisper, yet held a sense of warning to them, "Very well then. While we are still courting we all have to be on our guard so as to ensure that others do not try to steal either you or Etpinego away. Until such time that you two either become official members of the herd, or the courting is called off."

"Steal us away?" I asked, confused at the meaning of her words, as she hummed, kissing me on the lips.

"Yes," she said as I felt her kisses slowly move to my neck, eliciting a moan from me as she continued to explain things between each tender peck," it would not be unheard of for other interested parties to try and sway either one or both of you two into mating with them instead. For even though we are courting, by our customs, you are still considered fair game and have the right to pick another partner if you so choose. In order to prevent this and as a display of commitment between all parties, courting members will either lead those they are courting away from or intercept any situations that they would deem threatening to their courtship."

I tried to think about what she had told me, but I found it hard to keep my train of thought when Pyre began to nibble on my traps. Eventually I had to give up on trying and give into my desire to punish the playful alicorn. Grabbing two greedy handfuls of firm alicorn princess backside, I gave the flesh a firm squeeze. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to let her know that I meant business. This earned me a startled squeak from Pyre as she sat up glaring into my eyes, silently challenging me, but I wasn't going to wimp out and submit so easily as I fixed her with a stern look of my own. I gave her ass another squeeze, slightly harder than the last. The princess hissed in pain before rewarding me with a throaty moan as she submitted, before returning to her nibbling, although thankfully much gentler this time. Allowing me to return to my thoughts as I idly caressed her sore rear.

Pyre's information had proven to be beneficial in helping me begin to understand the mystery behind some of the mares' reactions. It suddenly began to make sense as to why Pyre had been trying to pull me away from talking to Hamolly Pej and why her presence had scared the young mare, or when Etpinego had clung so close to me after meeting those two females at the ball. Heck, even back when Gilzia and Pyre had been so defensive and challenging to Etpinego when she had found us together in the hanger. They were all trying to defend what they had claimed a right to, namely me. As mildly insulting as it was to think that they didn't think I was capable of resisting the advances of a couple of females, a point that needed to be addressed soon, another part of me found it actually kind of hot, in a dominating possessive sort of way.

"Well that answers a lot of questions," I mulled to myself as I began to rub one of her ears between my fingers, making her cease her devouring of my shoulder and elicited a whimpering coo from the princess, "and what about the tail against my ass?"

Pyre simply closed her eyes for a moment, savoring in the ear rub she was receiving, said tail in question fanning in time with my strokes, "It is a way for a pony to warn others of possible threats and steer them away from dang-aaaaaaaahh," she gasped as she cutely scrunched her shoulders, squirming slightly, when I hit a sensitive spot at the base of her ear before letting out a low, guttural, moan. I felt my blood begin to pound loudly in my ears when she began to seductively bite and lick at her lips, cooing loudly, "ooooo, that feels divine. It, ahh- also allows us to mark yoooouuuu with our scent so that others know that we-eep have a claim on you and to hopefully scare off those who may try to take you."

I sat in silence for a while longer as I rolled over this new outlook on my relationships with the three mares. Meanwhile Pyre laid her head against my chest in a content state of bliss, her tail swishing lazily like a cat, at my continued ear rubs.

"Hey Pyre," I paused my rubbing, causing the princess to pout slightly at my stopping. I let out another chuckle at her cute expression, kissing her on her forehead near the base of her horn, which seemed to cheer her up some, "you say that this happens during the heat season when a mare is in heat. How do I know if a mare is in heat?"

The Princesses of the Night's smile morphed into a toothy grin as she cast me with a smoldering gaze from her aqua colored eyes. Huskily, she whispered into my ear as she rubbed against my body, her smooth fur and soft curves easily stimulating me through my boxers, "A mare in heat will be more flirtatious than normal to those she is interested in," a moan escaped my throat as I felt her hot breath against my ear, her tongue flicking against my earlobe while I grabbed another handful of her firm ass, "they may also fan their tails in front of potential suitors, to let them know that they are ready to breed," from my position I could watch her lift her ethereal tail as she continued to sway it languidly from side to side, her scent filling my nostrils as I felt a familiar warmth on my hands when I spread her cheeks. Earning me a moan from the mare as I could smell more of her intoxicating aroma. My mind was running wild with pent up lust, but my mare wasn't quite done teasing me yet as she sat up, staring down at me with the same desire that I knew could be found in my own eyes. Slowly, agonizingly, she turned until she was facing away from me, her eyes never leaving mine as she leaned against the far armrest of the sofa. Licking her lips she spread her wings and dipped her back, giving me a perfect view of her flawless ass, " and in rare cases, they will actually present themselves to their intended mates."

With that she lifted her dock, moving her billowing starry tail out of the way, and giving me a completely unobstructed view of her most sacred of spots. I sat in awe as I finally got to see the prize that I had been so mercilessly, sometimes painfully, teased with since my arrival to this alien world. My mouth practically watering as I admired the contrast of her moist pink folds, glistening in the moonlight, against the dark colors of her round ass and long, toned, legs. Pyre definitely noticed my pause as I heard her voice, dripping with lust, purring to me through our bond as she wiggled her bottom temptingly.

'What's the matter, my stallion? Do you intend to make your mare wait during her time of need?'

I didn't need any more incentive than that as I began to slowly crawl my way over to her side of the couch, stalking my prey. Pyre humming happily as she leaned further over the arm of the couch in submission, presenting more of herself to me. I placed my hands upon the white, moon-shaped, cutie marks adorning her hips, giving them a light squeeze as she pushed more of her flesh back into my grasp. Lifting her rear slightly, I brought my head down to have a closer look at my prize as she squirmed.

"Mmmm, please do not make me wait," she pleaded, whimpering softly as her body shivered in anticipation.

"Patience love," I told her, grinning devilishly at her whines in protest at being denied.

Impatiently, Pyre reached back between her legs with one hand, spreading her swollen lips with her fingers and exposing her inner folds for me. Trying to entice me into acting as she began to rub her marehood, causing her depths to sporadically convulse whenever she would rub against her clit. However I wasn't about to let her have her fun so easily as I pulled her hand away.

"Ah, ah, ah I said not yet," I chided teasingly, softly blowing air across her opening, causing her to flinch in response.

"Ahhnn Eric, what are you doing?" Pyre squirmed as she tried looking back at me.

"Enjoying my meal." I told her grinning.

Her eyes widening in surprise at my words as I dipped my head and languidly licked her slit from her sensitive button to her tight rosebud.

"You're wh-AAAAAAA!" She yelped, suddenly sitting up, turning quickly to face me as she covered her butt with her hands and tail, "What was that?"

"Huh? What do you mean? I was licking you," I asked, confused by her reaction, as she stared at me blankly, her mouth held agap.

"Y-you l-licked me?" She finally asked, stumbling over her words as she looked down at me.

"Well, yeah," I answered her matter-of-factly, not understanding her reaction until I felt her confusion and nervousness start to seep through the bond, "wait a minute, have you never been eaten out?"

"Human males actually eat their mares down there?" She practically screamed as her eyes widened and she flared her wings defensively. Forcing me to backtrack myself as I waved my hands in front of me, hoping to ease her worries.

"No, no, no, no sorry, wrong choice of words," luckily she began to calm down, "what I meant to ask was, has no one ever licked you down there?"

She shook her head slowly, "No, of course not, why would a pony do that?"

"Well, to make you feel good. It did feel good, didn't it?" I asked her hopefully, a blush slowly crept on her cheeks as she looked away in embarrassment.

"Maybe... I do not know," she admitted shyly, "I was just so surprised when you did it."

I silently chided myself that I had startled her so much, assuming that ponies pleasured each other the same ways as humans. Sitting up I took her into my arms, holding her tight as I tucked her head under mine, "I'm sorry Pyre, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I was just trying to make you feel good."

She was silent for a moment before I heard her nervously ask, "Do human females enjoy it when they are... um... "eaten out?"

I had to stop myself from laughing so as to not embarrass her further. Instead settling on a chuckle as I ran my hand across her lower back, "Well, "enjoy" might be a little bit of an understatement, more like they ''crave" it. Some women even prefer it over the actual intercourse," I could feel her curiosity start to overcome her anxiety as I felt her arousal gradually returned, "I would still like to show you, that is, if you're okay with it?"

"Perhaps, that is, if you say it shall feel good, I was just surprised is all," she said softly as I hooked my finger under her chin and tilted her face up, placing a reassuring kiss on her lips.

"Are you sure? I don't want to pressure you."

"Yes, I am sure," she said nodding as she tried to steady her nerves, "after all it is the mare's duty to ensure that the stallion's desires are met. Like I said, I was just a little surprised because I could not see what you were doing."

"Well, what if you could see? Would that make you feel more comfortable?" She nodded her head again as her cheeks flushed.

Even though she said she was okay with wanting to try, I could still feel the nervousness emitting from her, and I knew, for now, my main goal would be to try and make her feel as relaxed as possible beforehand instead of just diving into it. Gently I laid her back against the arm of the sofa, making sure that she was comfortable before continuing. Carefully I placed my hands on her thighs, spreading her legs as I kept my eyes fixed on her beautiful blue irises the entire time. Looking for any signs of disapproval, as my body hovered over hers, my muscular frame easily covering her more slender one. Tilting Pyre's chin up slightly, I planted a soft kiss on her lips, deepening it once I felt her mouth open to mine, a moan softly reverberating from the back of her throat as my tongue slid into her mouth. Placing an arm on either side of her head I braced myself on my forearms, effectively trapping her against the arm cushion. As we continued I could feel her start to relax again as her body arched up against mine and she wrapped her arms around my head pulling me closer till we were pressed firmly against one another.

I could feel my cock hardening in my boxers, threatening to rip forth with each caress of her body against mine, each tickling brush of her wingtips. I let out a groan as I felt her suck my bottom lip into her mouth, nibbling on it like a teething baby would a pacifier. Her actions driving me wild as I pulled her head closer, hungry for her mouth as our kisses grew more aggressive.

Needing air, I reluctantly broke our contact, our minds drunk with a primal lust, as we fed off the mutual desires that we were broadcasting to one another through our bond. I could feel her pleasure alongside my own as Pyre leaned her head back, moaning needily as she started to rub her hips against mine while I unknowingly did the same, each of us desperate to sate the burning in our loins. Without mercy I began to attack her jaw and neck with kisses, sucking and nibbling on the sensitive fur there as she began to squirm, forcing me to pin her down so that I could continue. Submitting to me laid her head back, exposing the tender flesh of her neck to her captive predator. An act that I found highly erotic as I growled in pleasure while I sucked and nipped at the crook of her neck. Her skin shivering in a mixture of fear and pleasure under my tongue as I licked the soft fur above her jugular, her pulse pounding wildly against the wet muscle.

"Mmmm...yes... oh yes Eric...just like that," she purred softly as her grinding became a little harder, hungrier, than before. I removed my hand from the back of her head, bringing it between us, moving it to her chest, cupping one of her full breast I give the soft flesh a tender squeeze, causing her breath to catch in her throat.

"Wh-ahhh-t are you doi-mmmm," Pyre tried to ask as I gently kneaded her breast. Grinning down at her as I sat up, cupping both her succulent orbs in my powerful hands I admired her hardened dark nipples as I ran my thumbs against the raised nubs, making them bud more.

"Trying to help you relax my lady, does it feel good?" I asked her, my voice low and my eyes dark with lust as I flicked her nipples again, causing her to close her eyes and coo.

"Oooh...yes...surprisingly so," she breathed out as she unconsciously continued to arch her back, offering more of herself up to my ministrations as her wings twitched with every touch against her nipples, "breast are... only, ah, meant for... fo-ahhhls,"

For a mere fleeting moment of clarity I realized that the reason for their unabashed nudity was because they didn't sexualize their bodies the same as humans, but any further effort into that line of thought was brushed away by the passion of the moment. I grinned down hungrily at her before dipping my head, taking one of her nipples into my mouth, tenderly suckling the sensitive flesh. The soft fur of her breast tickled my lips as I continued to suck, Pyre gasping breathlessly as I rubbed the blade of my tongue across the tip.

"Ah... so good Eric... more," she moaned hungrily, thrusting more of her tit into my mouth.

Eagerly I accepted the succulent flesh as I used my other hand to play with the neglected breast, rolling the nipple between my thumb and finger. Pyre responded as I had hoped by gripping my butt with her hands, trying to pull me closer to grind her soaked marehood against my contained cock. Pulling my head back, the now wet nipple slipped from my mouth with an audible pop. The exposed teat looking so tempting as it glistened in the soft moonlight. Pyre watched me through heavily lidded eyes as I grinned to her, lightly blowing air over her nipple, causing her to happily cry out.

"God, you're so beautiful," I murmured up to her as I momentarily rested my head in the valley between her breast. She nickered softly as she ran her fingers through my hair, the hard capped ends sending shivers throughout my body as they ran across my scalp.

'My stallion,' I heard her voice happily say through our bond, her divine touch threatening to distract me, but I had come too far to only be denied once again.

Slowly I began to trail soft kisses and nips down her taut stomach, each caress helping to keep her in a heightened state of arousal in anticipation of what was to come. While allowing me the chance to reign in some of my raging hormones, not wanting to rush what I still had planned ahead for my beautiful mare. She may not have been as nervous anymore, but I was still determined to make it a memorable experience for her even if it meant that I would once again have to go without. Upon reaching where her navel should be I began to smoothly ease her thighs further apart, tentatively looking back up into her eyes, silently asking her permission to go on, she simply nodded in reply.

Even though I wanted to make it as memorable and pleasurable of an experience as I could for her, I was still not above a little teasing. I pulled my head away and kissed the inside of her right thigh, just above her knee. Again I used my teeth to nip the soft fur on the inside of her thigh, from her knee down to her outer lips. She shuddered as I ran my tongue along her outer lips, so close to her twitching marehood but not touching it, not yet. Any doubts I may have had on if Pyre was enjoying her treatment or not was quickly put to rest once I saw her excitement leaking from her slit and smelled her scent which was as intoxicating as it was powerful.

Pulling away from her again I repeated the same thing I had done to her right leg to her left, slowing a bit as I got close to the center of her marehood. Then with a quick flick of my tongue I pressed it against her perineum, causing her hips to rise off the cushion as she gasped loudly.

"Ahhhh...Eric!"

My hard on ached painfully in my boxers as I breathed in more of her excitement, wanting nothing more than to be set free from its cotton prison. But somehow I was able to push it back down as I slowly swept my tongue along the length of her pussy, from bottom to top, causing a series of violent shudders to radiate through her body as she came. Her voice failed her as she silently continued to shake for a few pleasurable moments before her body finally went limp.

"Oh... by my mmm-mother... yes. That...ah... felt a-ah-amazing," she finally managed to say through labored breaths, a satisfied smile on her face as she absently ran her fingers down her stomach.

"Pyre?" I asked her, catching her attention as I smiled wickedly up at her, "Are you okay?"

She purred in response, as her fingers once again went back to caressing my scalp, "Mmmm yes, very much so. I can now see why human mares love that so much."

"Oh, we've only just begun," I told her deviously as her eyes widened ever so slightly, "there's lots more if you're willing to go on."

The Princess of the Night simply nodded her head as a wicked smile of her own came upon her lips, "Very well then my stallion, you may continue to please your Princess."

"Your wish is my command, Princess Pyre," I said and with that I immediately buried my face in her crotch, licking her honeypot. The first ones long and slow to allow her to become used to it.

Her breathing immediately became heavy above me as the hands that were once caressing my scalp so delicately were now holding my face firmly against her steaming core. Slowly moved my hands that were holding her legs apart up under her flank till I found her ass. I squeezed both of those beautiful firm globes in my hands, earning another heavy sigh from the mare above.

"Oh, my," I heard her say from up above as I began to slowly kiss her lower lips. Making sure I covered every inch of her beautiful pink sex. Her hands ran through my hair again, pulling on my hair slightly as I felt her shudder against my mouth.

Her heavy breathing increased as I didn't give her any respite before I began to work over her labia with quick flicks of my tongue. Steadily, yet firmly, I would lick her over and over again, pulling my tongue away just shy of her clit every time.

Her clitoris begged for attention as I saw it poking out at me, but I knew if I so much as touched it that it would all be over for my precious herdmate. Hopefully in a mind-numbing orgasm, and as much as I wanted that to happen it had to be the right time. Bringing my mare to one or two orgasms was not enough for me. No. I wanted to bring her to several like a raging torrent, leaving her in a soaked, tired and thoroughly satisfied mess. When it was all said and done making it an unforgettable memory to her that would last throughout her eternity is the pleasure I wanted her to know.

I continued licking upward, covering every inch of her pussy with my tongue. Her juices soaking her fur and my face as I eagerly lapped it up, savoring my treat.

With another small shudder of her hips I could tell that she was close. Pyre was trying to stem back her orgasms as her sex dripped with desire, her breathing fast and her voice moaning with lust. While her wings stretched out to their furthest, twitching in time to my licking. Her body, covered in a thin layer of sweat, shimmered in the glow of her moon making her look like her whole body was made up of the same ethereal strands that made up her mane and tail. Her firm breast heaving up and down on her chest with each labored breath, her nipples hard with arousal.

On the next lick I passed over her clit. She let out a wailing moan that sounded like it would wake the dead before the doors to her office burst open. Her guard responding to the danger they thought their princess was in.

"Your Highness! We heard your-," I heard the guardmare from earlier begin before I heard Pyre violently cut her off.

"OUT!" She screamed in a voice so loud that it put to shame the sound of a B-ONE taking off with full afterburner. The guards, at seeing the situation and being yelled at, beat a hasty retreat, slamming the door shut behind them. I sat up, looking back to the office door for a moment, before looking back to Pyre. Only to find the alicorn scowling at me as her eyes glowed with unholy power and frustration burned from her through our bond like an unbridled inferno. A shiver ran up my spine as she pointed back to her quivering pussy, "LICK!"

I wasn't about to argue with her as I dove back in, picking up where I had left off before we were so rudely interrupted. I licked her clit once. Then again . On the third lick I stopped on her clit and wiggled it for a few seconds with the blade of my tongue. Pyre grabbed my head with both hands and jammed my mouth onto her pussy, as she began to yell, "YES! MORE! DO’NT STOP! LICK ME MORE MY STUD! MAKE THEM HEAR ME!"

I latched my mouth onto her clit and started licking it in a frenzy. Without remorse I continued to lick her faster as she held my head in place, her hips practically fucking my face at her impending climax. Her wings began to shake as her hips rose from the cushion and she started to scream out in ecstasy, "YES! YES!! YES!!! I'M CUMMING!!!"

She came like the waves upon the shore, her whole body bucking as her orgasms came crashing down over and over again. So powerful were her orgasms that I could feel it through our bond, radiating through her mind and body like a bolt of lightning. I remember thinking for a fleeting moment if Gilzia could feel it as well. Pyre's screams echoed against the walls so loudly that I believe everyone back in Ponyville could have heard her as her pussy squirted her clear nectar into my mouth. I just laid there swallowing as fast as I could while she continued to spasm above me, but, despite my best efforts, my face and the cushion were soon soaked as she continued on. Her screams coming in quick, shallow, gasps with each spurt of her liquid.

Eventually Pyre's body collapsed back onto the sofa, thoroughly spent as her breaths receded into slow and heavy rises of her breast. Our minds tired from the shared pleasurable exhaustion that we had experienced. Sitting up, I pulled her limp form to me and sat her in my lap, careful of her wings as they laid limply at her sides. I traced tiny circles along her back as we sat there curled together in our post-orgasmic bliss while her mind slowly tried to regain control of her body.

A few minutes had passed before I attempted to speak, "Are you alright?"

She gave me a tired hum in reply as she tilted her head up to look at me, "Mmhmm, thank you for that, Eric," she said as she softly kissed my lips, "it was truly a most wonderful of experiences."

"Well I always like to keep my audience riveted," I said, chuckling, as she giggled along.

"That you did, my stallion," she said with another kiss, "but as much as I would love to sample more of your talents I am afraid it shall have to wait until later. For I must finish my work before the rising of my sister's sun."

"Are you sure that I can't convince you to sit here with me a little longer?" I asked her as I trailed soft kisses down her neck.

"Mmmm, you truly are a cruel, needy, stallion, Eric," Pyre breathed with a soft sigh.

I chuckled into her neck as I gave her midnight blue fur a lick, tasting the dried sweat from our recent fun, "Guilty as charged."

Pyre/ Luna
Etpinego/ Applejack
Gilzia/ Celestia
Gehluli/ Cadance
Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
Zopupun Estyv/ Shinning Armor

Despite my best efforts, Pyre was eventually forced to kick me out of her office so as to allow her to get back to the important task of running a country. Yet, as she escorted me to the oaken doors I didn't need the shared bond between us to tell that she didn't want our interlude to end so short, even if our goodbyes were only temporary. Her saddened mood made me want to give her something that would help to lighten the rest of her night as she shifted through the endless stacks of treaties and legal documents. So as she reached to open the door, I stopped her by grabbing her wrist, softly pressing her back against the door as I pressed my lips upon hers in a kiss that held the promise of many more like it. After a few moments I reluctantly pulled away from her, leaving Pyre flushed and surprised by my sudden display.

"Just wanted to give you something to remember me by till next time," I told her before she had a chance to inquire about my motives. To which she looked at me, dazed for a moment, before a gentle smile formed on her lips.

"Then till next time, my stallion," she quietly said, lightly kissing my lips, her hot breath brushing against my ear, "Where I shall repay your talents with a few of my own."

"Then till next time, Your Majesty," I told her with a wink and a small bow as she opened the door allowing me to exit, "Goodnight, Princess Pyre."

"And goodnight to you as well, Ambassador," she said, closing the door behind her.

Once the door was shut, it left me in the hallway in a state of frustrated satisfaction as I relished in the memories of my recent tryst. On one hand, I had managed to distract myself from that damn recurring dream and I had. Also, judging from the happiness I could feel through our bond, I made Pyre's night a memorable one. A productive night if ever there was one. However, I had been left with the unfortunate side-effect of not being able to have relieved myself of any of my pent-up sexual frustrations, and I had the blue balls and massively uncomfortable erection to prove it.

The sound of stretching leather and shifting metal to my left drew my attention to the thestral guardsmare from before. Casting a quick glance to her and her counterpart, I was hard pressed to keep a grin from my lips. I could see that their cheeks were flushed, trying to look anywhere but in my direction. I could only guess that my presence and recent activities with a certain princess was the reason for the crack in their usually disciplined stature. It was more than likely that both of them could easily smell the heated scent of their charge on me, that was if the sight of me kneeling at Pyre's altar wasn't enough evidence for them. Either way, both of them refused to look at me, instead only giving me a passing glance as their grey-furred cheeks grew an even darker shade of red.

As fun as it was for me to indulge in a spot of revenge on the guard, however childish it may have been, I knew that it would be sunrise in a few hours. As discreet as the palace staff may have been in regards to my relationships, I had a lingering doubt that the nobility and any foreign delegates that were bound to be roaming the halls in a couple of hours would be so understanding. Furthermore, I was in desperate need of a bath while also secretly hoping for the possibility of sneaking in a quick nap before breakfast time. So with a nod of my head to the two sentries I turned on my heel and made my way back towards my room through the sconce-lit halls.

Nevertheless, shortly after leaving Pyre's office, I could see that getting there would be easier said than done as I discovered that my arousal had refused to dissipate. In fact, it seemed to do the opposite, intensifying the closer I got to my room. No doubt caused by my shared bond with the two heated princesses as I had found out during their last heat cycle that night in my apartment that now seemed like a lifetime ago. Luckily for them, the sisters had their magic to keep them in check and help corral in their urges. Yet unluckily for me, I had only my focus and self-control to aid me during such times. Said attributes weren't really working too well as I walked through the halls sporting a huge tent of wood under my shirt and boxers.

"Well, if you can't hide it flaunt it." I muttered to myself after giving up on trying to conceal my problem at the passing of another maid as I watched her do a double take. Fortunately for me though, minus a few awkward glances and hushed whispers by a random maid or guard along the way, I was soon able to find my way back to my room without any unnecessary conversations.

Grabbing the doorknob, I gave pause for a moment as I recalled the fact that there were two sleeping mares inside earlier;one, or both, of whom could possibly have been in heat like Pyre was. Did I really want to risk venturing into the dark room where they could be lying in wait for me? Like any red-blooded man I knew the answer to a question like that without even having to think about it as I turned the knob and inched open the door.

With the door cracked just enough to take a peek inside I was surprised, and honestly more than a little disappointed, to find in the darkness of the room the two mares still laying peacefully under the sheets. Now feeling a little more emboldened, I crept into the room as quiet as a mouse, closing the door behind me without a sound.

After waiting a couple of moments to give my eyes time to adjust in the dimly lit room, I made my way toward the bathroom. I ensured the door was closed behind me before hitting the light switch and starting the shower. While waiting for the water to warm up, I took the time to relieve myself of my clothes and the old dressings from my chest, examining the healing wound in the quickly fogging mirror. Lucky for me, whatever energy that had shot out from the Element of Honesty didn't seem to have caused any permanent damage or scarring as I surveyed the sensitive pink flesh of the almost healed burn. The wound reminded me of Gilzia's cutie mark as it resembled a small pink sun on my chest, its fiery tendrils exploding violently outwards from the center, nearly covering the whole of my chest. Absently, I thought back to my dream for a moment as I ran a finger along one of the arms, causing me to flinch at the rawness of the sensitive flesh. Broken from my daydreaming, I stepped away from the mirror and into the shower.

The warm water felt amazing as it washed away the night's sweat and helped to ease any of the lingering stiffness out of my muscles and joints left over from my encounter with Etpinego's element. The pink flesh of my nearly healed burns let off a dull stinging that soon subsided as the water hit against the sensitive skin. For all the good it was doing, the shower did little to ease the burning in my loins as my mind continued to run rampant with images of wanton desire. Seeing no relief in my immediate future, and figuring I was ensured some privacy for a while still, I decided to literally take the situation into my own hands.

However, no sooner than had I lathered my hands with soap and started a decent rhythm than did I hear the sound of the bathroom door opening followed by the tired twang of my favorite farm-mare's voice.

"Eric? Whatcha y'ah doin' up so early, Suga'?"

Silently I cursed at myself for being caught, "Sorry, Etpinego, I had some problems sleeping."

I heard her sniff at the air a couple of times before she teasingly spoke again, "You sure that's all you was doin', suga'? Seems to me like you was paying Pyre a little nighttime visit. What's the matter, Eric, feeling a little bothered?"

I chuckled lightly at that. Her ability to catch a lie, even a white lie, was absolutely uncanny, "Alright, you caught me. I also went by and visited Pyre for a little bit. We had a little fun resulting in me needing a shower to try and find some relief with a...pressing matter. So there you go, Etpinego that's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Hopefully that explanation meets your standards?" She hummed satisfied as I chuckled again before continuing, "All though I've got to say, speaking the plain truth, it's getting pretty damn dull around here."

She laughed at my teasing, "Well shucks, Suga' if'n that's the way y'ah feel about it then maybe I should tie y'ah up for some good ol' fashioned punishin'."

"Ooo, sound's kinky," I said as I began to lather my hair, temporarily giving up on my attempts of self gratification.

As I rinsed the soap out of my hair I absently thought I heard Etpinego's voice through the sound of the rushing water, "In fact..."

The curtain was suddenly drawn back, startling me, as the small orange mare slipped into the shower with me.

"Etpinego!" I exclaimed in a hushed tone so as to not wake Gilzia, "What are you doing?"

"Giving you yer punishment fer fibbin'," she said with lidded eyes as she slowly walked under the water towards me, the stream of hot water turning her loose mane and tail into a shimmering golden waterfall as it cascaded over her shoulders and onto the shower floor. She edged me ever closer to the back corner of the shower stall and I followed her emerald eyes as they wandered ever so steadily southward across my body till she stopped below my waist. Her cheeks slowly tinting red as she stared in a daze at my bobbing member as it happily greeted her.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, flashing her a roguish grin while silently praying that this was going where my dick and I hoped it was.

She looked back to me with that same longing and desire in her eyes that I had come to associate with a mare in heat, and as her tail lightly swished behind her, my senses were filled with the spicy scent of warm apple pie. I was left with little doubt that Etpinego was indeed in heat and wanted to take our courting to the next level. Not that I had any plans to stop her.

She smirked again as she reached up and pulled my face down to her, "I'm sure I can think of somethin'."

With that our lips meet and immediately the little mare went on the offensive as I felt her easily slip her tongue into my mouth. As the kiss deepened, a satisfied moan rang out through the bathroom but in the heat of the moment, I could not tell if it came from her or me. Soon, we found ourselves lost in our desires, wanting nothing more than to feel the touch of our lover's body against our own. Etpinego let out a throaty moan as I grasped her supple backside in my powerful hands, lifting her off the ground as she wrapped her muscular legs around my waist. I was surprised at the farm-mare's hunger as she continued our makeout session like a mare possessed.

Pulling back from her momentarily so that I could breathe, I could see the confusion in her lust-filled eyes on why I had stopped, though she didn't seem to let a simple thing like my breathing stop her as she dove for my lips again. Effectively, I was captured in her passion as she kissed me over and over again, each one ripping through my body like a bolt of electricity.

Quickly, I tried to wrestle the lead from her as I turned us, easily pressing her smaller frame against the shower wall, forcing a moan from her lips as I began to trail kisses down her neck. Shivers of pleasure ran through my body from the feeling of her hard fingertips scraping against my back only to be cooled by the running water. So enraptured were we in our lovemaking that we didn't realize that we had a guest.

"My, my," I heard a tittering voice say from behind as a pair of pearly white arms and wings enveloped us, "having fun you two?"

"Holy shit, Gilzia!," I all but yelped at the smirking princess as Etpinego and I tried to calm our beating hearts, "You scared the crap out of us!"

"Oh? I do apologize for scaring you, but I could not help myself when I saw you two having so much fun together," she said, giggling lightly as I felt her hands begin to roam across my stomach and up and down Etpinego's legs, sending streaks of pleasure through our already heated bodies. "Although I have to say I am a little saddened and disappointed that you two did not think of inviting your leadmare in on the fun."

"Sorry about tha-ah-t, Gilzia, " Etpinego apologized through excited breath and flushed cheeks as the Princess of the Day continued to expertly tease her, "I reckon' ah allowed my heat t-mmh get the better of me."

Gilzia simply smiled as she reassuringly nuzzled the farm-mare's cheek, "That is quite understandable, Etpinego, being as this would be your first time, but you on the other hand, my stallion, I shall not be so forgiving on."

I let out a stifled moan as I felt one of her hands wrap around my aching member directing it to the burning entrance of Etpinego's marehood, giving it a single slow tug that threatened to cause my knees to buckle from under me at the mere sensation alone. Yet somehow, through no small miracle, I was able to keep Etpinego and myself up as I felt the white temptress' breath against my ear once more as she whispered huskily.

"After this and with your performance at Pyre's I might be inclined to think that you are beginning to show favoritism to the others over me," another stroke and another moan from me, her magenta colored eyes gleaming mischievously at the power she held over me in her delicate grip. She gave me a smug smile as she saw the realization of what she had said flash through my eyes, confirming my suspicions on the extent of the feedback shared by the sisters, "Oh yes Eric, thanks to our bond, I was quite aware of the gifts you bestowed upon my younger sister and the rewards that she has reaped from your talents. So tell me, my stallion, are you showing favoritism?"

"N-n-no," I managed to hiss through clenched teeth, trying not to succumb to her wiles.

Never had a woman so easily rendered me so utterly powerless before as Gilzia continued to tease us, humming happily all the while as my mind went numb. The simple touch of her warm body against ours expertly driving us to the brink of our resolve with each stroke of my shaft that ended in a moan from Etpinego. One look at her and I could see the pleasure on her face as she toyed with us like a cat would a mouse. A hungry smile plastered across her lips from watching our reactions. Obviously, she was relishing in her status as the one in charge, an alpha who had been without challenge for an untold number of years. That was until now as my male pride refused to cave in, crying out and demanding the alicorn's submission.

Shifting Etpinego in my arms so that her ample backside was resting on one of my forearms, allowed me the freedom to quickly move my freehand between Gilzia's legs. Easily slipping a finger into her burning core as I heard her breath catch in her throat before she let out a long moan as her eyes closed and she bit her bottom lip in bliss.

"If you keep up with this teasing, I may be forced to ravish you, Princess," I whispered into her ear, moving my finger a little to get my point across, earning me a squeak as she affectionately licked my cheek.

Opening her eyes, she set me with a smoldering gaze while an almost wicked smile crept on her lips, "Oh no, my stallion, it is you who are in danger of being ravished."

No sooner did she say that, a pair of orange hands cup my face and forcefully direct my attention back towards the young farm-mare. I was surprised to find that gone was any semblance of the sweet, calm-natured, mare who always kept a level head about her. In her place was a mare possesed with sexual desires as she set her hungry gaze on her prey, me.

Before I resigned myself to this most fortunate of fates, silently vowing to overcome the challenge before me, I looked back to Gilzia out of the corner of my eyes. I Never fully took my attention off of the orange mare who was inching ever closer to her goal. The Princess of the Day was smiling at me with a smug look of victory etched over her face. A look that I answered with a cocky smile of my own.

"Clever girl," I told her as I was consumed by the two mare's affections.

Hours later, as the light of Gilzia's sun began to spill into the room from the crack between the curtains, I finally collapsed onto my bed, utterly drained from my recent endeavors. It had been a mighty challenge indeed, but like the heroes of lore I had emerged alive and victorious. Yet I had not escaped from my battle completely unscathed as my body was afire from overexerted muscles and the many welts that covered my sweat-soaked body. Gifts bestowed upon me by my lover's fingers and teeth

As I laid face down in the soft cooling embrace of a random pillow, I desired nothing more than to rest my weary body for the rest of the day. Sadly, my body's troubling desire to keep breathing would not allow it to be so. Dragging an arm up beside me I struggled to find the strength to roll over on my back, my muscles crying out in protest at performing such a simple task.

Pleasuring my mares was definitely one for the record books. The heat and feeling of their bodies as we were consumed in the throes of passion was without compare to any of my previous sexual partners. But it was their hunger for that pleasure that, once ignited, had almost been my downfall. For while I could bring them to climax up to three times for each of mine, they would still come back for more, hungrier and stronger than the last time. It was only through the use of my mouth and hands, along with their attention to each other, that I was able to finally calm them down. Leaving my body and balls drained, my pride was satisfied at knowing I had dished out more than I was given. In the end climaxed three times with Gilzia, a form of apology to my leadmare for her comment about me playing favorites, and twice with Etpinego in return for at least a dozen from each of them.

No sooner had I finally flopped over on my back, letting out a small groan at my victory, did I feel a small golden form nuzzle against my right side and the salty-sweet smell of sweat and apples filled my nose. I wrapped an arm around the sleeping farm-mare, pulling her close as she rested her head atop my chest, relishing in the feel of her smooth muscular body against my own. Even though I was sore and probably broken I couldn't have been happier than I was right then to have someone I loved and who loved me in return close by.

I lifted my head up to placing a chaste kiss on top of her head between her ears which caused her to shift slightly as I felt a warm wetness slowly running along my chest. It took my dazed mind a second to realize that Etpinego was licking me, whinnying contently as she savored the taste of my sweat like a fine liquor. Checking quickly I could see that she was indeed still asleep, but before I could ponder on her actions further my leadmare's voice answered as she made her way back to the bed.

"Sometimes, when we mares are in heat we will subconsciously lick the perspiration off of our mates bodies," Gilzia explained as she settled on the edge of the bed smiling at the scene before her.

Her horn still softly held a golden glow to it as she finished raising her celestial twin into the sky. The radiant light framing her from behind before reflected off her now messy ethereal mane and damp pearly white fur and wings in a radiant aura of colors. She looked wild and untameable, like the very orb she controlled in the sky. Yet just like she held control over the sun, so too did she hold my heart; able to command it with the slightest of whims.

"Beautiful," I softly said.

She smiled at me as I sat there and marveled at her, a light blush forming on her cheeks as she continued, "It is a way that our bodies can replenish minerals that may have been lost during mating to ensure a better chance of conceiving."

"So she's pregnant?" I hesitantly asked, looking down to Etpinego once again, a sense of happiness and dread rushing through me at the possibility of becoming a father.

But Gilzia remained silent for a moment as I felt a flood of deep sadness wash over me through our bond and a melancholic smile came across her lips, "No, I do not believe so," she said reaching out with a wing, running it along the smaller mare's back, "Due to the differences of our species I believe that the chances of us siring a foal with you would be near impossible."

My heart fell at her words, suddenly I felt so selfish at desiring to continue a relationship with them just to deny them the chance to ever have children. Gilzia must have picked up on my conflicted thoughts as she spoke again.

"Do not let it trouble you, Eric, for it is something that all three of us have discussed and we do not regret our choice," her words did little to ease my worries but she just grinned at me as she continued, "Besides I said that the chances are, 'near impossible.' There could still be a chance that we are compatible enough to perhaps, one day, become pregnant if enough of your seed was poured into us," this news was relieving to me that there still might be light at the end of that tunnel.

Gilzia must have noticed this for I watched as she reached a hand between her legs for a moment before pulling it back out, two of her fingers now coated with a familiar white substance. She briefly examined the fingers, sparing me a fleeting seductive glance of her eyes, before I watched her tentatively lick the dripping essence from her fingers. She ran her tongue along them in a suggestive manner for a moment before placing the digits completely in her mouth, humming contently as she sucked them clean. Once done, I saw the look of hunger flashing in her eyes as she addressed me again, "I personally do not think that this will be a problem though, given the quality of your performance just now."

The mare's erotic display and the thought of being able to make a family with the mares I loved, watching their bellies growing round with our children, caused a familiar tingling sensation to build in my sore crotch. Gilzia took notice of this immediately, watching with interest as my weary soldier stood back up to attention, reporting for duty again back to the frontlines. The alicorn licked her lips in anticipation.

"I'm glad you had a good time," I told her as I struggled to give her a smile, feeling sleepy from my recent rush of blood.

But Gilzia didn't take her eyes away from my member as she leaned towards it, shrugging her shoulders as she gripped it again sending painful bolts of pleasure through the sore appendage, "It was satisfactory I suppose, so I think I shall keep you as my herd stallion."

I was in shock. All that effort to impress them with my prowess in the bedroom, especially the several thousand year old alicorn, and the best I could get from her was a shrug of the shoulders and a "satisfactory"; a weak one at that.

"Ow, my pride," I told her, intentionally sounding more than a little hurt. My words knocked her out of her daze as she looked to me. I tried to frown at her but in my tired state I was sure it came off as more of a pout as she giggled at my childish antics.

"Twas merely a jest, Eric," she explained mirthfully as she snuggled up against my other side, draping a wing across the three of us. But I refused to look at her causing her to smile more as she turned my chin to face her where she gave me a gentle kiss, "I could never ask for a better lover or a better man, Eric. Both you and Etpinego have made my sister and I the happiest we have been in a long time, and I would never want to lose any of you."

The fact that she referred to me as a man, opposed to a stallion, let me know that she was being honest as Etpinego sleepily added in.

"Darn tootin'. Everyday I feel like the luckiest mare in the world that y'all were willing to give a little old farm-mare like me a chance to join yer herd," she said as a blush came on her cheeks.

Gilzia smiled at the earth pony as she gently brushed her wings over Etpinego. The smaller mare catching the leading edge with her mouth right below the elbow joint where she began to lightly nip the large primary feathers there. I could only imagine that this was a sign of affection or submission for ponies because I felt love emitting from Gilzia through our bond as Etpinego and her stared into each other's eyes as she continued her grooming of the alicorn.

Etpinego slowly ran her leg up my body as Gilzia and her began nuzzling cheeks and cleaning each other off with gentle licks. Eventually her leg reached my crotch where the velvety feeling of her fur sent shivers of pleasure through my sensitive member. Startled, Etpinego looked under Gilzia's massive white wing to see my counterpart standing strong once more.

"Land sakes, Eric!" She exclaimed as she looked back at me with wide eyes, "Don't this snake of yours ever stop gettin' hard?"

I sheepishly laughed as she waited for me to answer, but my stomach let out a rumbling growl before I could say anything. Stunned for a moment, we all shared a laugh before Gilzia spoke.

"I'm afraid the answer to the limits of our stallion's levels of endurance shall have to wait for another time, Etpinego. Come, I am sure that the others will be waiting for us at breakfast," she slid out of bed and walked to the bathroom, provocatively swaying her wide hips as she went, before stopping at the door and casting an inviting glance to the two of us in the bed. "Would you two care to join me for a shower?"

I shared a grin with Etpinego before kissing the farm-mare's lips as we both followed the Princess of the Day into the shower once more.

Later, after another very steamy shower that left me more drained now than ever, I managed to quell my mare's heats enough to be able to leave my room so that we could fill our stomachs. Gilzia had teleported back to her room as soon as the shower was over to finish getting ready for the day, leaving me and Etpinego to head towards the private dining hall of the royal family by ourselves.

As suspected, once we arrived I could see that we were the last ones to enter, as everyone else was already seated. Pyre was seated at one end of the small table while, to her right, sat Xamspona with her brother and his wife. All eyes turning to us as Etpinego strolled in peppy and refreshed with me dragging up the rear. Before anyone had a chance to say anything the door at the far end of the room was opened by two royal guards to make room for Princess Gilzia. Now decked out in her official symbols of office, and radiating with so much serenity, that her very presence seemed to calm the room. As Gilzia took her seat at the opposite end from Pyre and Etpinego and I sat to Gilzia's right, I could see the smile on the Crystal Empress's face as she looked between me and my herdmates, practically bubbling with excitement.

"Good morning you three! We were wondering if you were going to make it to breakfast," Gehluli greeted cheerfully, "I must say Auntie, you and Etpinego are practically glowing, I take it that last nights sleep was... fulfilling?"

Gilzia and Etpinego shared a knowing smile between them as the Alicorn of the Day returned the grin to the Alicorn of Love as she levitated a piece of toast to her plate, "Yes niece, it was a very satisfying slumber."

"So it may seem," Gehluli agreed, winking at me while I shifted uncomfortably in my seat with a groan. I knew full well where this conversation was heading. She giggled at my response before turning her eyes towards her other aunt, "That reminds me, Aunt Pyre, last night I was awoken by a most peculiar sound and was wondering if you heard it as well?"

Pyre seemed to pay little attention to her niece's words as Xamspona spoke up, "You know I thought I heard something too. It was about three this morning, while I was in my lab, when I heard something that sounded like somepony wailing or moaning."

"Around three?" Gilzia inquired with the smallest of smirks as she looked between me and her blushing sister that was busy devouring a stack of pancakes so that she didn't have to contribute to the conversation. "Eric, wasn't that the time you went for a walk?"

I nearly choked on the glass of milk I had been drinking at the time hearing Gilzia drag me into the conversation. Etpinego lightly rubbed my back as I coughed into a napkin, giving the Princess of the Day a nod in approval. Luckily Zopupun began to speak before anypony could inquire further on what I had been doing.

"That's strange, Xam, I was talking with your Captain of the Guard, Lieutenant Pyvu Tiev, this morning at shift change and she was saying that some of the newer recruits were talking about how they thought the castle might be haunted. They said it was because they could hear moaning and all sorts of noises echoing through the halls from their posts in the Guest Wing?"

"Really?" Pyre inquired as she narrowed her eyes to her sister, who didn't seemed phased at all by this news, "The Guest Wing you say?"

"This is ridiculous!" Xamspona finally said, tired of this talk of the paranormal, breaking up the one-sided staring match between the two sisters, "There's no scientific evidence to support that there is such a thing as ghost."

"Maybe so," Gehluli conceded to the purple alicorn, never once having removed her sly gaze from me as I tried to ignore her and focus on my breakfast. "But you have to admit, Xamspona, there was something that was going bump in the castle last night. Wouldn't you agree, Ambassador?"

I sat down my forkful of eggs as I finally looked up to the smug looking Alicorn of Love, "Well, Empress, I can not say what you heard, nor can I do more than speculate on what the guards heard, but I will agree with what Princess Xamspona Tevopi has said. That whatever everypony heard last night has to have a legitimate cause, and was more than likely benign in origin."

The pink alicorn's smile turned into a slight frown as I refused to play her little game as I went back to eating my food, but it was quick to return as she turned towards Gilzia once again.

"So, Auntie, how many times did you buck, Eric, last night?"

"Gehluli!"

"Niece!"

The voices of Xamspona and Pyre rang out in the room at the crude bluntness of the Crystal Empress, but she was unaffected as she continued to look at Gilzia. Eager for an answer as the white alicorn calmly continued to drink her tea. After a few moments of tense silence Gilzia set down her cup and smiled at her niece.

"I believe the final count was about fourteen times each, was it not, Etpinego?" She asked as calmly to the apple farmer as if she was inquiring about the weather. The others gawked in shock as I just buried my face into my palms, feeling a headache coming on.

"Princess!"

"Sister!"

"Gilzia!"

Etpinego's voice rang out alongside the other two as a blush came upon the three mare's cheeks. Gehluli was shocked momentarily by Gilzia's words, but she quickly composed herself as she shot a sly look my way. Meanwhile, the other three were trying to explain to the oldest princess on why she shouldn't have been so open with her love life while amongst mixed company. Yet the white alicorn simply smiled that serene smile of hers as she took another sip of her tea.

"If I remember correctly, Pyre," Gilzia said looking across the brim of her cup to her sister, a smirk on her lips, "it was about three o'clock when Eric left his room to possibly go and visit you. Did you not also receive something from him as well."

"Ooo, a late night meeting between a stallion and his mare, how romantic. I remember when me and Zopupun used to do that," Gehluli swooned as she reminisced. "So tell me, Auntie. What all did you do?"

"Th-that is none of your business, niece!" The night alicorn stuttered as her cheeks turned a darker shade of crimson.

Not to be deterred from her goal so easily, the trouble-making Gehluli set her eyes on me once more, "So Eric, would you like to explain why you were visiting one of the heads of state of a foreign nation in the late hours of the night? Perhaps it was to break ground on a trade deal?" She inquired as she wiggled her eyebrows at her not so subtle innuendo.

"Mmm, these are great eggs, ain't nothing like a good breakfast to get you going in the morning. Wouldn't you say so, Zopupun?" I said aloud, completely ignoring the Crystal Empress's question.

"Nope, nothing better," the unicorn stallion replied, choosing to take my side in a united male front against his wife's probe into my love life. This act of betrayal did not go unnoticed to Gehluli as she set a level stare at her husband.

"Yes sir," I said drawing the princess's frown back to me as I gave a smug smile and scooped another forkful of eggs, "these sure are good eggs."

The look on Gehluli's face was one of suppressed frustration at not being able to get the scoop on me and my herd's relationship from me as she pursed her lips. The witty female had enough evidence to make one final jab as her sweet smile returned.

"All joking aside, Eric, I must say that to be able to satisfy all three of your mares so effectively and in such a short amount of time is quite a feat. Even more so, considering the fact that two of them are mature alicorns and the third an Earth Pony." Pyre gave a snort at her niece's comment but the pretty pink pony princess ignored it as she continued, "Perhaps I should sit in on one of these sessions and observe your human techniques in action as part of my continued advancement in the studies of all things love related."

"Absolutely not!" Pyre protested as she forcefully stood up, her wings spread wide in challenge to the smaller alicorn.

"I too would like to sit in and observe as well," Xamspona said as all eyes slowly turned to her, stunned by her proposal. Now suddenly in the spotlight, she grew timid as she gave a nervous laugh, " you know, for science."

The tension in the room was high as I tried to not become involved any more than I needed to, while I silently wondered how Etpinego had been able to avoid the line of questioning. It continued until Gilzia eventually cleared her throat drawing everyone's attention.

"Alright everypony that will be enough fun for one morning. Unfortunately, Gehluli I am going to have to turn down your offer, yours too Xamspona. Now let us all enjoy our breakfast," everypony sat down as she took a small bite of her eggs, "You were right, Eric. These are very good eggs this morning."

The rest of breakfast went off without anymore major incidents, and we were all soon going about our day. Gilzia was off to start her shift as ruler of the kingdom, while Pyre retired to her bedroom for the day. Lucky for me she took pity on me upon learning of the extent of my weakened state, and ,as a reward for me not divulging the secrets of our meeting to Gehluli, she did not insist that I perform my duties that morning. However, she made it very clear that she demanded that I give her twice the pleasure that I had given Gilzia upon her awakening. Gehluli, on the other hand, had to head back to the Crystal Empire with Zopupun as soon as breakfast was over for they had a kingdom of their own to tend to. Meanwhile, me and Etpinego, were told by Xamspona to come by her lab shortly after breakfast to continue trying to find a reason for the strange and sudden activation of the Elements. So to Xamspona's lab we headed.

Xamspona's lab had been setup in her old room in the castle's observatory up at the top of a tower at the end of a long set of stairs. Silently, I cursed the creator of stairs as we made our way up the spiraling staircase, my exhausted muscles screaming at me on each one.

Slowly but surely, we made it to the top where we were greeted by two members of Xamspona's Twilight Troop, her personnel detachment of Royal Guards, standing guard outside. The sentries didn't bat an eye at us as they opened the chamber door, allowing us entrance.

The inside of the room looked more like a library than what I would have associated with an observatory. Then again, considering whose room it was, it shouldn't have come as that big of a surprise. There were shelves of books and ancient tomes lining the walls that lead to a stairway on the far side of the room going up to a second level.

Xamspona was nowhere to be found as Etpinego called out to the missing princess. Finally, we heard her voice echoing down from the stairs in reply.

"I'll be down in a moment, I'm just finishing up on some calculations."

As we waited, I allowed my eyes to wander the room, coming to an unused bed and nightstand off to my right. Sitting atop the nightstand was a picture of what appeared to be a stallion. Walking closer to get a better look, I realized the pony in the picture looked familiar, with his short crop of fiery orange mane and sprig of straw jutting from his mouth.

I called over my shoulder to Etpinego for her to confirm my suspicions on the identity of the stallion in the picture. "Hey Etpinego, over here! This guy in the picture looks a lot like B-."

A flash of bright light cut me off as I fell, startled, to the ground. Once it had dissipated, the frantic Princess of Friendship stood before me, blocking my view of the picture by spreading her wings and waving her arms.

"Hey that's private!" she scolded me as her cheeks grew red.

"Really now?" I teased as she gave a cute pout, "If it was so private, it wouldn't be sitting out in the open."

"Hey now you two, what's all this about?" Etpinego asked as she came up behind me, oblivious to the subject of our conversation, but all it took was one look between me and a nervously sweating Xamspona to pique her curiosity.

Xamspona stammered for a minute as she conflicted on whether to keep the identity of the figure in the picture a secret from one of her best friends, but I decided that I had enough humor at her expense for the day as I gave a chuckle.

"Don't worry, Etpinego, it's of no importance. Plus I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," I told her as I walked away, kissing her cheek as I passed.

The honest farm-mare gave a glance to me and Xam, contemplating if it was worth pursuing, before she gave a shrug, "Well alright, Suga', if'n y'ah say so. So have y'ah found out anythin' yet about what might be wrong with the Elements, Xamspona? Because I've got to be gettin' back to the farm here in a few days to help the family bring in the harvest."

"What? Oh, yes the Elements," the lavender alicorn said, coming to her senses, with a flash of her horn that teleported the picture behind her to some unknown location. "Come with me you two and I'll show you what I've found so far."

We followed her up the stairs to the second floor which was in stark contrast to the tidy room we had entered in. Where before were clean floors with neat and tidy bookshelves, this floor looked like a tornado had gone through a paper mill. Strewn all across the floor were stacks of open books and crumpled papers full of notes. On the far side of the room stood a massive glass window where an observer could look out across a majestic view of the capitol and surrounding landscape, or, by using the telescope hanging from a series of girders above us, even the cosmos above. Yet the view through them was blocked by rolling chalkboards full of equations and so many graphs that they threatened to block out the last few remaining beams of sunlight that had managed to sneak in between the cracks. There dead center in the room on a wooden pedestal, under a glowing dome of archaic magic, sat the affected parts of the Elements of Harmony.

In the end, four out of the six had been accidentally activated the night of the ball: honesty, laughter, loyalty, and magic. The remaining two, generosity and kindness, as I was later told by Xam and the others, had been spared when Gilzia and Pyre had teleported Vivmay and Paxxila away from the castle. Thereby giving them the few precious moments they needed to halt the runaway reaction that had been started by casting some kind of magical field around them that actually displaced the very fabric of time. Slowing it down to a point where it appeared that time had stopped. So there they now sat suspended mid-activation in whatever spell I had inadvertently released.

"Tarnation's, Xamspona, looks like a whirlwind whipped through here." The farm-mare exclaimed as she looked at the chaos about her. "Where's Prion?"

"Oh, I sent him back to Ponyville, to grab a scroll on the linear casting and transference of magic through trans-dimensional planes," the lavender princess replied refering to her faithful dragon assistant.

"Well, what have you found out, Xam?" I asked keeping my distance from the glowing pendants on the table after my last encounter.

"I don't know," she said as she started digging through a pile of notes strewn out on a table.

"You wanna run that by us again, Xamspona," Etpinego asked confused as she tilted the brim of her stetson back on her head.

"Exactly like I said, I don't know what I've found."

"So you've found nothing?" I asked.

'Eric.'

"I didn't say that," she said pulling out another page of notes, placing it on a chalkboard. "What I said was, 'I don't know what I've found.' "

"So what have you found out? And please keep it dumbed down so I can try and keep up this time," I told her as Etpinego nodded in agreement.

Xam gave a frustrated sigh at having the wind taken out of her sails, but she wasn't going that let that stop her from the chance to give a lecture, "I've actually discovered a lot. For instance, everything we've ever thought we knew about the Elements of Harmony was wrong."

"What do y'ah mean?" Etpinego asked.

"Here, take a look at this," Xamspona said as she sprinted over to a chalkboard and turned it over, "All the historical texts have told us that the Elements drew their power from the Magic of Harmony itself, but come to find out they don't. They actually don't appear to be anything more than normal jewels until they are activated. Once they are, they're actually emitting a very unique magical pattern that is being drawn from some unknown source. In fact, I checked the output against all known sources of magic that we know of and none matched up with the magical resonance. The closest I could find to compare to it was alicorn magic."

"Well that's not too surprising," I said as I tried to wrap my head around all the complex equations and graphs. "Didn't Gilzia and Pyre use the Elements a long time ago? Makes sense to me that their magic would have an effect on it."

"True," Xamspona pointed out, "but Princesses Gilzia and Pyre lost the ability to control the Elements after Gilzia was forced to seal Pyre in the moon. Their magic no longer has any effect on them, but if it is a form of alicorn magic, or something similar, it raises another question..."

"Eric, come."

I looked around at the faint calling of my name, but there was no one there as I heard Etpinego speak.

"Then why can we normal ponies use them?" Etpinego finished for her as Xamspona smiled proudly and clapped her hands.

"Exactly! And that's where it gets weird, when I ran a current of alicorn magic through a sample of my blood as a baseline, the blood resonated at the same frequency as the Element of Magic."

She paused dramatically as she let us try to understand what she was saying, when I finally spoke up, "But Xam, you are an alicorn."

"Yes, but when I passed the same alicorn magic through a sample from Etpinego and the other girls I got the same reaction to their perspective Elements," the lavender princess told us as she grinned giddily.

"Eric...come, Eric."

Again I heard the whispering voice as I looked around for a source, my eyes grazing the table with the captured Elements. I gave them a fleeting glance before focusing back on the conversation at hand.

"So you're saying that they're using some kind of alicorn magic?" I guessed.

"Some type of it, yes," she replied.

"But Xamspona," Etpinego interjected, "I don't know if'n y'ah've happened to notice, but I don't look nothin' like no fancy alicorn."

Yet the mare was not phased by the statement as she smiled, "Yeah, but neither was I once."

"Eric... Eric, come," I heard the ghostly voice call, again directing my attention towards the Elements, which began to pulse with the voice in a bewitching way. So transfixed was I, that I only partially heard Etpinego and Xamspona continue the conversation.

"Well that sure is some fancy theories that you've got there, Xamspona, but what does that have to do with what happened to Eric and what the Elements were doing after?"

"Well, that part is still stumping me a bit. Because being as Eric is a species that is void of any magic and resilient to all others, there's no reason for why he should have been able to..."

The rest of their words faded into a muted static in my ears as I could not tear my focus away from the four glowing pendants on the table. I could feel the mysterious voice becoming louder and stronger in my mind with each calling of my name till the voice was all I heard. Before I knew it, I felt my body beckoning the voice's call as I slowly moved towards the table, any cries of danger by my subconscious was dulled by the numbing fog in my mind. Once in front on the table I heard the voice calling to me again.

"Come, Eric...touch it....touch it, Eric."

Unable to refuse I lifted my arm, moving my hand slowly closer towards the pink dome of magic surrounding the Elements. From behind me I could vaguely make out the panicking voices of Xamspona and Etpinego as they told me to stop. A flash of white and navy light and another pair of voices rang out through my head, loud and clear.

'Eric, stop!'

Gilzia and Pyre's voices made me pause as I felt the fog lift from my eyes, shaking my head to clear out the last of the cobwebs I turned towards my saviors. When I looked at to the four mares, I was surprised to find them all staring at me in shocked horror. Confused, I was about to ask them what was the matter when I felt something smooth and cool in the palm of my hand. Bringing it to my face I felt a sense of dread began to come over me as I saw that I was holding the glowing Element of Laughter.

"Aww, fuck."

The four elements shot out a beam of light that went through the window, towards the direction of Ponyville, and no sooner than had the beam left did another flash go off before me. The light cleared long enough for me to see that the two missing elements had now appeared next to their counterparts, pulsing with power.

"Shi-," but I didn't get the chance to finish my choice of words as I was consumed in a flash of prismatic light.

Darkness enveloped me as I floated aimlessly in an almost dreamlike state. I could hear the faint roar of crashing waves off in the distance, and knew that I was back in the dream. But something was different this time. I could not feel my body floating aimlessly in the ocean.

Instead, I felt my body laying on something that was cool and hard while my head was nestled between something warm and soft. It was about that time that I heard a gentle voice echo through my mind like a whisper on the wind.

"Shhh, Eric... rest now."

The voice was calming and I was tempted to listen to its suggestion as the mysterious warmth ran across my scalp again. Slowly I opened my eyes only to be blinded by a noonday sun. I went to shield my eyes but a blurry outilne of, what appeared to be, a unicorn mare came to my rescue as she looked down at me. Her features were hidden beneath a halo of color as I dreamily stared up at her. I felt her fingers run through my hair again in a way that felt so relaxing that it threatened to pull me back to sleep.

"Go back to sleep Eric Broussard, you must sleep now," she said to me as she laid a hand over my heart.

"Wait," I tried to protest weakly as my eyes grew heavy once again. "How do you know my name?"

I heard her voice lightly ring out in my mind as she giggled at my confusion.

"Should I not know the name of the man who invaded my sanctuary and captured the hearts of my daughters? While possibly setting into motion events that could threaten all I have tried to protect.""

"Your daughters?" I mumbled lazily as my mind tried to process her words, all the while the mysterious woman in question simply hummed her acknowledgement, "Your daughters...your...daughters... your... Your daughters!"

My eyes shot open as I finally realized the identity of my companion. Without a moments hesitation, I quickly shot up from the ground as I tripped over my own feet. Any comedy of the situation was lost on me as I hurriedly scootched away from the woman as far as I could go. Only stopping once I found myself halfway into a cool pool of water, never once letting my eyes leave the her.

"Y-you're Queen Harmonia, aren't you?" I stammered as I tried not to piss my pants in the presence of the one being who I had been lead to believe wanted to see me roasted on a spit.

The woman just smiled at me again as she nodded her head, "That is correct, my little human, and you and I have a lot to talk about."

Xamspona Tevopi/ Twilight Sparkle
Tupomi T'mi/ Pinkie Pie
Etpinego/ Applejack
Vivmay/ Rarity
Vemsa Hewl/ Rainbow Dash
Paxxila/ Fluttershy
Gilzia/ Celestia
Pyre/ Luna

My muscles refused to move, my body frozen in fear as I continued to stare at the monarch before me. Silently, I cursed myself for having so easily walked into her clutches like a fly to a bug zapper. So why wasn't she attacking me? From the moment I was tossed into this world I had been warned of the danger that the queen posed to my life. However, despite any recent doubts I may have had about her true intentions, there was not enough merit in those thoughts to warrant ignoring the threat before me.

It was then, as I kept a wary eye on her, that I finally got a chance to take a good look at the queen's appearance and our surroundings. The first thing I noticed was that queen was actually an alicorn, like her daughters, instead of the unicorn that I had first thought. I watched her shift the massive wings on her back, exposing the navy blue primaries nestled amongst the white feathers that made up the rest of the powerful appendages. Overall her appearance was very similar to her daughters in age and looks, if not appearing a couple years older, and had it not been for her confirming her identity earlier I would have thought she was possibly a lost sister.

Her coat was an ivory white so pristine in shine and color that the very dirt itself seemed to refuse to stick to her, lest it diminished the glow of her presence. Upon her hips I could just barely make out her cutie mark, which seemed to be a simple black ring as I pondered briefly on its possible meaning. Like her daughters she was also free of any garments, proudly showing off her toned curves, but, unlike the princesses, the queen wore no jeweled accoutrements. Instead there were only floating, fiery, rings of some kind of archaic looking text that encircled around her neck and each wrist and ankle. Her mane and tail floated weightlessly behind her as it shimmered and shifted through a myriad of colors, never staying on one particular hue for longer than a few seconds. I stared in awe at what appeared to be a galaxy of spiraling stars crowning the top her head.

She continued to look at me with her violet-colored eyes that glowed with untold power, seemingly betraying the gentle gaze she had not stopped giving me. Feeling uncomfortable under her overpowering presence I decided to take a peek at my surroundings. Anywhere but at the alicorn before me.

Looking around, I could see that we were on a small island in the middle of a moon-shaped lagoon or estuary. On three sides of us rose sheer cliffs of jagged black volcanic rock that guarded the only entrance into the calm sanctuary from the raging ocean outside. From the tops of the cliff flowed six waterfalls, whose mists cast a multitude of rainbows across the sky in the afternoon sun. Our location was on an outcrop of bedrock that rose from a sandbar in the middle of the lagoon. Jutting from the sandbar was a weeping willow tree of such a size and magnificence I had never seen, much less one surrounded on all sides by saltwater.

I knew that this island had to be the one from my dreams. I would never forget the dark cliffs that I had struggled so hard to reach countless times before. This also meant that the logical source of my mysterious voice had too been solved by the queen's presence here. However, her actions confused me and put me on edge as she wasn't living up to the image that had been laid out for me.

The queen must have picked up on my fears as she held up a hand to calm me, "Please, Eric Broussard, relax, I mean you no harm."

Her words confused me even more as I felt my head tilt ever so slightly to the side, "Wait a minute, so you don't want to kill me?"

She laughed lightly as she hid her mouth behind her hand, "No, not anymore."

"Well that's reassuring," I told her as I let out a nervous chuckle not sure if I should believe her.

"Indeed," the queen said, slyly narrowing her eyes at me for a moment before motioning me to her with her hand, "but come we have much to talk about."

She turned away from me and walked back towards the willow tree in the center of the island. The swaying branches parting like a curtain as she approached. With a wave of her hand and an eerie glow from her horn, a round wrought iron table and two chairs rose from beneath the sand beside her. Making her way to the farthest chair, which pulled itself out by its own accord, she took her seat.

"Please, Eric, sit," she said, motioning to the chair across from her, "there is much that we need to talk about, and little time to discuss it in."

Yet despite her warm greeting and gentle smile, I held my ground as I warily looked between the chair and her who must have picked up on my hesitation as she sighed and spoke again.

"Please Eric, if I had still wanted to kill you, I could have easily done so while you rested on my lap. I just simply wish to start our relationship anew and get to know the man that my daughters have chosen as their mate. Hopefully in return for all the help you have given me, I can answer some of the questions that I am sure have been plaguing your mind."

I cautiously approached the chair, "So you mean you're not going to try and kill me anymore, I'll sit down, and we'll talk like civilized peopl...er, ponies?"

"I could just kill you now and be done with it?" she quipped as a wicked smile crossed her lips and her eyes flared with power while arcs of electricity danced between her fingers, charging the very air around us. As a metal taste began to fill my mouth I quickly realized how tightly my fate now rested in her grasp and how utterly fucked I had truly become.

"I think I'll take a seat," I softly said as I slid into the chair while she smiled.

"A wise decision."

We sat in silence for a moment as I fidgeted slightly in my seat under the gaze of the celestial sisters' mother. She seemed to enjoy the effect she was having on me as I attempted to try and find something to talk with her about.

"So, how do you know my name?" I asked.

The queen tittered at my question, "My, my, my, Eric, I suppose my daughters are right in their assessment of you: cute but not too bright."

"A-are you coming on to me?" I asked confused, while I subconsciously scooched my chair back; putting a little more distance between us.

She smiled, "Hardly, but getting back on point yes, I know who you are. The bond that was formed between us when you touched the Elements allowed me to learn quite a bit about you." I moved to ask her more about her connection with the Elements of Harmony, but she stopped me with a raise of her hand," We shall talk more on that soon enough. " I reluctantly conceded as she continued," You are Eric Raymond Broussard, oldest child to your parents Nathan and Emily Broussard. You have only one sibling, a younger sister Sarah, and you are not married although you did have a nasty breakup with a long term girlfriend shortly prior to you arriving here.”

"You are currently twenty-eight years old. You are from Earth and hail from a country called The United States of America; even though you seem to hold more pride and loyalty to the province you come from, Texas. For the past ten years you have served in a branch of your country's military where you have worked on machines called aircraft. Your social security number is 645-34-74-"

"Alright, alright I get the picture, " I said, stopping her, "so where is this place?"

"This place," she said, motioning to the surrounding landscape with a wave of her hand, "is a representation of an island on Equus that was once known as L'sti. In the old tongue it means 'Hope.' It was where I chose to keep my vigil those many years ago; because of its location along the major leyline of the planet. Though maybe you would prefer a more familiar setting?"

With a flick of her wrist the surrounding landscape around the tree began to distort and fade like a mirage on a hot Arizona highway. For a moment I thought that maybe everything would fade to black, but instead the blobs of color reshaped themselves momentarily before regaining their depth anew. Once everything stopped moving I was presented with an eerily familiar view from my childhood. Where just moments before was a jungle pool, now was a roadside rest stop in the Texas hill country overlooking a scenic valley located just outside the city of Utopia. The willow looking out of place against the scraggly mesquite trees and cedar bushes dotted along the hills of limestone as they rose and dipped along the horizon for as far as the eye could see.

"This isn't a dream like before, is it?" I asked her as I picked a random wildflower that was shooting up between one of the railings on the side of the road, "I'm actually here aren't I?"

"Very perceptive, my little human," I heard her praise, "Not many can tell the difference between reality and lucid dreaming. Obviously you have been paying attention to Pyre whenever you two have talked on dream mechanics. Yes, you are physically here with me. The reason for why you were not before and why you kept ending up in the ocean was because the bond had not yet been fully completed."

As I rolled the delicate lavender flower between my fingers I tried to dismiss it as a falsehood like all my previous visions had been, but my doubts were quickly banished as I heard a rumbling noise, that I thought was lost to me forever, assaulting my ears from around a bend in the road. I looked to see a tractor trailer appear blowing up dust as it blasted past us before disappearing down the hill as quickly as it had come; leaving only dust and the smell of burnt diesel wafting through the air in its wake. I looked to my alicorn companion, who was staring with mild interest in the direction the rig had gone, in disbelief as I tried to find the words to speak.

"Is this real? Am I back on Earth?" I managed to hesitantly ask her. My voice gaining her attention as she gave me a sad smile.

"Yes and no," she replied as I looked at her confused, "Unfortunately, this is not Earth, but it is as real as you would like it to be. You see, this is a pocket dimension that I have garnered control over nestled between the universes of Equus and Earth, a sort of subspace if you will. From here, I can mold its reality to whatever I may desire. Limited only by my memory of a place. I simply took a memory from your mind to create what you see before you."

As I looked over the valley, trying to take in as much as I could with my senses, I almost didn't hear her speaking again.

"Now I am sure that there are many things that you may want to ask me. For I know there is much I want to know from you, but I think that there is one particular question that you would like to ask first."

Keeping my back to her I looked down at the flower in my hand once more as I anxiously asked the question I had been wanting to ask for the past seven months, "Can you send me back to Earth?"

"Yes," was her simple reply, causing me to quickly turn, a smile across my face.

"You can! That's great! When could I go back?"

"Never," she said, as she lost her smile while I lost mine shortly thereafter only to be replaced by a look of confusion.

"What do you mean never?" I asked, my words becoming strained as I tried to control the emotions fighting within me.

"I meant exactly as I said, 'I can never send you back to Earth.' "

"I heard that!" Came my outburst as I temporarily lost control of my bottled up frustrations, "What I want to know is why?"

She seemed displeased by my outburst as she narrowed her eyes at me warningly, "Watch your tone Eric, lest you forget who it is you're talking to."

"No! Fuck that!" I countered as I walked up to her and placed my finger in her face, "I think I have a right to know why I can't go back, when you say you're capable of doing it!"

The queen simply sighed a she quoted a familiar line to me, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one."

"Don't give me that logic bull crap," my remaining resolve breaking, "Tell me!"

"SILENCE!" Her voice boomed out, shaking the very ground, as her eyes shone white with unholy power, the weight of her voice alone causing me to fall to the dirt as she stood over me. The sky darkened as she spoke, "Do not take my desire to appease my daughter's choices of a mate as a means to test my patience, human! There are more important things going on here than you know. Untold numbers of lives could be at stake if I were to send you back through the barrier, and I will not risk those lives for the desires of one castaway human."

I looked at her in shock and awe as her words struck true, piercing my heart and draining the strength from my body. It was gone. Any remaining hope I had of finding a way to return to my normal life was gone, shattered at the words of the alicorn before me. The putrid taste of bile welled up in the back of my mouth as a deep sadness crashed over me like a raging surf while my anger was slowly ebbed away into an almost smothering depression. But I would not cry, no, I would not give her the satisfaction of my tears.

As I sat there I was surprised to feel the tender motherly embrace of Harmonia's arms and wings as they wrapped around me. I futilely tried to fight her but my strength had already left me as she easily tucked my head under her chin against the warmth of her breast. I could hear her heartbeat pounding as her fresh scent filled my senses, slowly bringing a calm over me.

"I am sorry, Eric, truly I am," she softly spoke.

"Don't give me your pity," I spat bitterly to her as I tried to pull away, but she held true, eventually forcing me to give up as I rested against her again, "what do you know about losing your home?"

"More than you may know," came her melancholic reply, "I have been alive for an incalculable amount of time. Long enough to see universes come and go like the flickering flame of a candle. And in that time, I have lost countless homes, loved ones, even my own identity many times. Sometimes it was by my choice. Others, the choice was made for me.

"So I know that it may feel rough now, and it will be rough. It will be something that you may never fully come to terms with, but remember all is not lost. For you have already found on a new world a life full of friends and loved ones to rely on, but if you must burden someone with the blame of your misfortune, then I will gladly take that role."

I slowly pulled back away from her as she allowed me to finally move. With my head still hung low I tried to word one final request to her.

"Then can I at least know the reason for why I must stay exiled to Equus?"

She placed a comforting hand upon my shoulder as she began to explain, "The purpose of the barrier is twofold. The main purpose is to keep the realms of Earth and Equus separated to allow them to grow and mature to a point where reintegration between the two cultures may one day become possible. This is due to the infighting between humanity and the other cultures that almost lead to the extinction of many of them. Upon the day that reintegration would be possible, the barrier will collapse into a stable portal to allow interaction between the two worlds.”

"The other purpose is to protect Equus from outside dangers. As I'm sure you know, Eric, that despite the native dangers present in this world, many of the civilizations on Equus are foreign to the concepts of killing and war. This is mainly due to them having evolved from prey species while humans evolved from predators, " I nodded in agreement, for even though Equestria, like many nations, had a small defense force, they were not what I would call actively advancing their military capabilities. "This is why the barrier is so important to keep out foreign dangers, and not just from Earth."

"What dangers?" I asked, forgetting my sorrow as I grew concerned for the safety of my Equuian friends and loved ones.

Harmonia continued, "Contrary to the tales of the races of Equus, I have not always been the loved symbol I am now. For, as I said earlier, I have been alive a long time, long enough to watch many universes in the multiverse be born and die many times. In that time, I have observed a plethora of different cultures, watching them as they grew and advanced, some almost to my level of abilities.

"Many of them learned to put aside their violent past and live for the betterment of others," her brow furrowed as a frown formed on her face, "but a rare few allowed their violent path to consume them till all they desired was the destruction of all life in the multiverse. In order to prevent their influence from spreading I was forced to isolate their universe from the others. This did not settle too well with them, and many are still trying to make that jump across universes to seek revenge against me."

"What about Earth?" I asked her, worried for my lost family's safety.

"The Earth is safe," she reassured me, "the universe that it is in is isolated from the remainder of the multiverse. So it will not attract attention, if it is even noticed at all. If any of those that wish me harm were to attack they would go to where my presence is the strongest, namely here and Equus."

"So what does this have to do with me not being able to go back to Earth?" I asked not seeing the connection.

She placed a comforting hand upon my back, her warmth helping to sooth my concerns, "In short, it has to do with how long you have been here. For even though your physiological makeup makes you immune to the energies of Equus known as magic, you are still being exposed to the forces and radiations of it. The longer you are there, the more it collects on you and alters you ever so slightly on a subatomic level.

"This causes a problem because the connection between the two universes is designed to only flow one way, like a river, towards Equus. When you came through you passed through a crack in the barrier that can sometimes appear in the presence of strong magnetic fluxes. Now, it is possible for me to send you back through the hole against the flow of energy to Earth, but because you are now heavier, subatomically speaking, the amount of power and force I would have to apply to the barrier could cause its collapse. Thereby running the risk of possibly destroying both universes."

A moment passed as I tried to wrack my brain for another way, "Well what about the mirror in the Crystal Empire?"

"Not possible," she sighed, crushing my last hope, "because it is not purely magical you could pass through it, but it would lead to a world like this. A lie."

"What do you mean?"

"The mirror was created by a powerful unicorn king named Sombra many years ago. He was looking to spread his dark influence and had set his sights on Earth, but he did not know anything about it. So he set forth to seek out information. Using the technology and crystals he had at his disposal he was able to send probes back through the barrier that sent back information to the mirror, which acts as sort of a collection point. Sorting through the data and using it to create an immersive virtual reality that would seem real to whomever entered. "

"Just like the fucking Matrix," I muttered with a chuckle as I ran my fingers through my hair in pure disbelief at my poor luck, "fuckin' motherfucking Murphy."

"What was that, Eric?" Harmonia asked, leaning in to hear me better.

"Nothing."

I sat there for a while trying to come to terms with what she had said. I was still angry at her, wanting to call her a liar and still find a way to hold out hope of one day getting home. But what if what she was saying was true? Could I risk that outcome? Could I risk the safety of all those lives? Deep down, I knew I wouldn't.

Standing up, I made my way back to my feet, walking away from the alicorn till I was by the guardrail again. I rested my hands upon my hips as I looked out over the valley below. Taking in the scenery before me, I wanted to remember as much as I could from my now lost home planet, even if what was before me was just a fallacy.

"So what do I do now?" I mulled over to myself.

Harmonia walked up beside me, watching the setting sun, "I shall leave that to you. Once you leave here our bond and my mark on you will be lifted. My way of saying thanks for your aid in solving an old problem for me. After that your destiny is your own, although I know three mares that would love to be a part of it."

I heard her walk away from me, back towards the road, "Wait a minute, what proble-"

I began to ask to the queen's retreating form as she walked away, but as I turned to follow her movements I had to stop and stare in shock at finding that she had suddenly changed her appearance. Where once was a white alicorn mare, now stood a beautiful young woman with long wavy chestnut colored haired tied back on her head in a loose bun. She had also opted out of her nude lifestyle as her now lightly tanned skin was covered by a cream colored spaghetti strap top with a pair of khaki shorts and brown sandals. Yet she still retained some things from her previous form as I noticed the circling rings of text around her limbs and neck. She looked at me and gave me a knowing smile as her glowing violet eyes sparkled with mirth at my reaction.

Yet as refreshing as it was to see the beautiful woman, even if she was just a facsimile of a real one, after so many months; I would have been lying if the mare-turned-pinup was the only thing that had caught my eye. No, what was drawing all of my attention was the sleek and sexy curves of the silver Jaguar E-type convertible that she was standing next to in the shade of the hill in the afternoon sun.

Slowly I walked over to the car in a daze, all the while Harmonia gave me a knowing glance. I watched as her glowing eyes seemed to grow brighter as she smiled and held out a set of keys to me, "Let us be off, we have much to discuss."

I wasted no time in snatching the offered keys and hopping around to the driver's seat as Harmonia slid into the passenger. Turning the keys over in the ignition, I was rewarded to the smooth sounds of the triple side draft carburetors as they fed the 4.2L inline six. Putting the car into gear I depressed the clutch and let her rip as we tore away down the winding road in a symphony of engine noise and tire squeals.

We rode through the hills in silence for an increasingly uncomfortable amount of time. Only the sound of the engine and the whipping of wind could be heard. I cast a glance over to the woman sitting in the passenger seat as I shifted gears only to see her staring aimlessly at the passing scenery of rocky hills and cedar trees. I tried to think of something to say to her to help in striking up a conversation.

"I must admit," I started, gaining her attention, " you don't exactly act like any of the other goddesses."

She laughed at my statement as I wondered what the joke was before she spoke, "I may be a lot of things, Eric, and I may not die unless I so choose to, but I assure you I am no goddess."

"You're not? Huh? It's just that's what I was told the word 'alicorn' meant by your daughters," I said as she began to lightly giggle again.

"Not quite," she corrected me, "I believe, if you remembered a little harder, what they really mentioned was that it was 'the best translation,' " I tried to ignore the fact that it was more than likely in my memories that she got her information, instead focusing on my memories from that first encounter in the jail cell. Finally realizing she was right as Harmonia continued, "Unfortunately, 'Goddess' is a misinformed title that has been placed upon myself, and all who come to be a part of my bloodline," the woman replied as she scooched in her seat so as to face me.

"You mean Xamspona and Gehluli?"

"Yes, along with some others," she cryptically confirmed as her smile grew a little wider, "We do not rely on the worshiping of others, nor are we omnipresent and omnipotent as you have learned from my daughters."

My mind warned me not delve further into that one as I slowed to a stop sign. "Well if it doesn't mean 'goddess', then why do they call you that?"

"Because many years ago when my daughters were still very young they left the safety of my sanctuary to Equus to fight against a plague of chaos that was ravaging across the land, taking on physical bodies as they left.

"However nopony had ever seen a pony like my babies before, and they were in awe of the raw power that they held, even as children. They at first called them unicorns for a period of time, but they discovered soon enough that my children did not age and had exceeded the abilities of any unicorn that had ever come before them. So a group of ponies got together to classify a proper title for their new princesses." A smug grin crossed her lips, "A discussion that I may have given some subtle contributions to during certain council member's slumber. Eventually choosing upon a combination of the old words alaei and ckarna to make the word alicorn, meaning guardian pony. This was what I desired, but I did not predict that they would misinterpret alaei as God, or in the case of my daughters and me, Goddess."

"Well, if that's the case, then why don't Gilzia and Pyre correct them on that fact, or why don't you let them know?" I asked as I whipped the car into the oncoming lane to pass a rig.

"You must understand Eric, that my daughters left this sanctuary when they were still very young," her voice grew sad and distant, forcing my eyes to glance at her, "poor little Pyre had just been recently weaned, and Gilzia was not much older at the time. Since then, I have only talked with them once. Any memories they may have had of me and this place I'm sure are long faded. So they were forced to rely on the many legends that their subjects have created about me to fill in the gaps of their memories."

I could see the sadness in her eyes as she stared back at the scenery and I found myself no longer looking at a powerful alicorn, but instead a caring mother. I didn't know what I could do or say to her as I tentatively reached out a hand, resting it on her shoulder. She jumped slightly and jerked her head towards me at my touch as I hoped that I had not crossed some kind of barrier while I struggled to quickly think of something to say.

"That may be true, but I know that they do love and miss you very much." The queen solemnly smiled as she patted my hand. I took it as a sign to go on, "They would like to hear from you I'm sure. Have you tried to contact them?"

"Unfortunately, even one such as I has limitations, for I have been unable to contact them for some time, Eric," she said as she gave my hand a squeeze before pointing down the road ahead. "Pull over here."

I looked at what she was pointing at to see a wooden shack nestled off the road under the boughs of an old live oak tree. An arrow sign advertised food and refreshments, while the sweet smoky smell of cooked meat reached my nose eliciting a growl from my stomach in response. Turning off the road I pulled up into an empty spot along the side and turned off the engine. No sooner than I had, the queen hopped out of the car and begin to walk up to the shack, leaving me to fumble with my seat belt.

"Hey wait up!" I called to the woman, walking up to her, as she was already at the window looking over the menu.

"Sorry about this, Eric," she apologized, never taking her eyes away from the plethora of choices at the roadside joint. "It has been over thirty-six hundred years since I have had something different to eat, and I wished to indulge myself from your memories a little."

"Understandable," I said, shrugging my shoulders as we approached a sweet old lady with graying hair who was taking orders at the window.

I was surprised to find the changed alicorn queen immediately ordered a two meat platter consisting of half a rack of beef ribs with smoked chicken and grilled beans and corn on the cob on the side. While I ordered a simple bacon cheeseburger with fries for me and two sweet teas for us to drink. When I went to reach for my wallet I heard Harmonia stop me as she spoke.

"There's no need to pay," she simply said as our order was placed on the ledge. I went to protest but she stopped me with a wave of her finger. "Ah, ah, ah remember, subspace."

With that, her eyes glowed and flickered a little causing the tray to levitate in front of her before she turned on the spot and walked towards a picnic table positioned under a nearby mesquite tree. I stood there for a moment, watching her walk away with our food in tow, as I cast a wary glance to the old lady who didn't seem phased in the slightest by the queen's actions. Shrugging my shoulders, I decided to just roll with it as I had come to do when confronted with the bizarre.

I watched in a daze as the alicorn pealed a rib from the others before taking a bite out of the smoked meat. She closed her eyes and moaned happily as she chewed the tender flesh, not phased by a dribble of juice that made it's way down her chin. The longer I stayed with her, the more questions I wanted to ask her about her cryptic words and odd behavior in contrast to every other pony, alicorn or otherwise, I had met.

"Mmmm, this is divine," she praised as she licked her lips, "it has been too long since I have had a good piece of meat, and this barbecue is beyond words. So where were we?" She asked as she dove back into her meal without abandon.

"I think you were going to explain why you haven't been able to get in contact with your daughters," I suggested, taking a sip of my tea.

"Of course," she said, placing the bare rib bone on the plate as she reverted back a little into her somber tone. "As you must know by now my duty, as well as the duty of all my alicorn children, is to watch over and guide different areas of nature and existence. Gilzia's influence is over the day while Pyre's is over the night, Gehluli love and so forth. Well, my charge is over the realms of time and reality, and in order to maintain such a large barrier like this requires me to devote a large portion of my power to it. And during these times this output can cause my control on time to fluctuate slightly, altering the passage of time within this bubble of subspace in relation to the outside world. Making time outside of here pass at an exponentially faster rate than inside. Just like the event horizon of a black hole."

This caused me to pause at the thought that I could be basically sitting within a black hole, frozen in time. Harmonia picked up the concerned look that I knew was plastered on my face as she laughed lightly.

"Do not worry, Eric, thanks to your help that will no longer be a problem," her words confused me but she stopped me before I could inquire about it more. "But do not worry, we shall get to that shortly."

I gave a huff as she continued, "Anyways, it was during one of these times that my daughters decided to make their escape, and by the time that I found out they were missing they had already been on Equus long enough to grow to the cusps of adulthood. I quickly tracked them down and went to retrieve them, but, being daughters of mine, they refused to return back with me. I tried to reason with them on why they shouldn't interfere in the lives and destinies of mortals, but they were quick to point out my interference that brought all the species to Equus to begin with.

"Reluctantly I conceded to their wishes, and bestowed upon them six jewels to help them in their crusade against the Chaosbringer called T-"

"The Elements of Harmony," I interrupted before I could catch myself, but Harmonia did not seem offended by my outburst as she smiled.

"That is correct, although we will need the rest of our audience here before we can continue with this story further," she said as she flicked her wrist, causing the celestial sisters and the six Element bearers to appear in a flash of light, stunned by their sudden arrival. Their confusion was quickly cast aside once they saw me and they rushed over with my herdmates leading the charge.

"Eric! Thank goodness yer safe. We didn't know what to think once you just up and disappeared. We figured th-," Etpinego paused mid sentence as they all suddenly took notice of the young woman sitting at the table with me as we shared our meal. Etpinego quickly pulled me close as she stared down the disguised queen and whispered through clenched teeth, "Eric, who is this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, everypony," I said, gesturing to Harmonia, "this is actually-"

"His date," the queen interrupted suddenly, causing the Element bearers to gasp as I felt Etpinego's arms tighten and her tail began to flick against me like mad. I stared in shock as Harmonia gave me a sly wink, "and I'm afraid that you have interrupted an intimate conversation that we were having."

I broke out into a cold sweat as I heard my farm-mare speak into my ear, her voice dripping with suppressed anger. "Eric, you mind explainin' to me why I'm always findin' mares gettin' flirty with you every time I find y'ah?"

I stared into Etpinego's glaring green eyes as my mouth gaped like a fish out of water while aimlessly gesturing between the queen and me as I tried to come up with a way to calm down the fiery mare. It wasn't until we heard the musical sound of laughing coming from Harmonia that we all looked over to see her almost bursting at the seams as Tupomi T’mi started to laugh along with her while the rest of us sat there stupefied. Slowly their laughter died down to where she could talk again.

"I do apologize, Eric, the opportunity just presented itself for me to have a little fun."

"Hello, Mother," came the voice of Gilzia as I felt the sisters reassuringly lay their hands upon my shoulders. Both sisters stared at the human woman with immediate recognition in their cautious eyes.

"Mother?" The others shouted in unison, looking back to the brown haired woman, as I simply rolled my eyes.

Harmonia gave a loving smile as she stood up and walked over to the taller alicorns. I could feel the conflict in her daughters through the bond as they didn't even try to hide their emotions of joy and apprehension. Telling me that they wanted to go to their mother but their fear of her supposed threat to their herdmate kept them by my side. The woman came to a stop in front of us as I felt Etpinego and the others pull me back on the bench, behind the relative safety of Gilzia and Pyre.

Never once losing her smile, she looked up to her daughters as tears formed in her eyes, "I remember there was a time when you used to call me, Mommy."

The sisters' dams burst at that moment as they fell to their knees, dragging the smaller woman into a tight embrace, as they sobbed and cried into her shoulders like the lost children that they were. A misty-eyed Harmonia wrapped them in her loving arms, shushing away their fears as she gently planted kisses on the top of their foreheads.

The rest of the girls were a little confused by this but they dared not interrupt the precious family reunion as the girls tried to wipe away the tears from their eyes. Even I felt a tugging on my heartstrings over the joy I felt for my herdmates at reuniting with their mother. Eventually Gilzia and Pyre were able to calm down enough for them to speak as Gilzia began to apologize.

"Mother, I'm so sorry for what hap-," but her words were cut off by a gentle shush from her mother.

"It is alright, sweetie, all of that was forgiven long ago," she reassured my leadmare as she ran her fingers through her daughter's ethereal mane, "Pyre is finally free, and the damage done to the Elements has been fixed. Thanks to your bumbling companion."

"Hey!" I protested but was quickly quieted by Etpinego and Xamspona clamping a hand over my mouth as Xamspona whispered into my ear.

"What does she mean by the Elements being damaged?"

As stealthily as the little lavender alicorn was the queen still heard her as she turned her head to us.

"So sorry, Xamspona Tevopi," she began as she and her daughters made their way back to their feet again, "I guess in my haste I forgot to introduce myself," Harmonia dropped her human disguise, returning herself to her taller alicorn form, "I am Harmonia, appointed Queen of the realm of Equestria and Alicorn of Time and Reality."

Xam and the other Element Bearers were quick to bow before their legendary monarch, but she knelt before Xamspona and tilted the princess's head up to meet her glowing eyes.

"Please, none of you six must ever bow to me," she said looking at the six of them, "I have waited over a thousand years to finally meet you, my daughters."

Gasps went through all of us there at her words as the six bearers quickly rose to join Gilzia and Pyre in questioning the eldest alicorn's words, but she was swift in silencing them with a simple raise of her hand.

"Please, everypony, I will be more than happy to explain everything. Just let us all have a seat," she said as the mare's horn glowed and the picnic table that her and I were sitting at from before expanded till it was big enough to accommodate everypony.

They all made their way around the table, with my mares forming a perimeter around me, while Harmonia sat at the head. No sooner than when we had all settled in did Xamspona ask a question to the ancient alicorn.

"So, Your Majesty-,"

"Please, no titles between us," the queen interrupted, "Harmonia shall do fine for now."

Xam chuckled nervously, uneasy about being so informal with the queen, "Yes, Your M- I mean Harmonia, what did you mean when you said that the Elements had been damaged?"

"Yeah," Vemsa Hewl interjected drawing every ponies attention as she brought a hand down atop the table, "and what's all this mother talk about?"

Harmonia's serene gaze never wavered as she looked back to Xam before grabbing her glass of sweet tea from before and taking a measured sip, "Tell me, little Xamspona, what do you know about the Elements?"

"They are six gems once used by Gilzia and Pyre to defend Equestria in times of great danger. Each gem represents a defining element of friendship that creates the pillars of harmony throughout the world: Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, and Magic. When all six are brought together they create a power for good that is unmatched, " the lavender princess proudly explained to her superior, but her face soon grew a little unsure, "At least that's what I used to think they were. Now though, I'm not so sure."

"Oh, and why is that?" The queen curiously asked as her head tilted ever so slightly.

“Well from what I have found out during my research into them there seems to be more to them than just mere magical amulets. It’s almost like they’re a conduit for something else than just The Magic of Harmony.” As Xamspona spoke, Harmonia’s smile grew more wryly.

“Very perceptive, little one, high scores all around,” she said before addressing Gilzia, “And Gilzia, do you remember how you came upon the Elements?”

Gilzia looked at her mother warily for a moment, trying to figure out what the older alicorn was trying to get at, “Of course, it was during our journey to find a way to defeat Xaoc. Pyre and I had just returned from our journey into Tartarus where we had gone to ask for help from Lord Aïdas in finding a way to be rid of Xaoc. During our time there we ran into… some trouble, but in the end we managed to escape.

"Once we had emerged from the gateway was when you appeared before us and introduced yourself as our mother before asking for us to return with you. But my sister and I could not just abandon all that we had gone through, all the friends that we had lost along the way when we were so close to finally being able to free the beings of Equus from Xaoc’s chaos. It was at that point that you gave us the Elements, saying that we would be able to use them to finish our quest.”

“That is correct. I told both of you to always look out for each other.” Harmonia’s smile waned and the table grew quiet as she paused for a moment, no doubt remembering that long lost conversation before coming back to her senses, “And in that time who all has wielded the Elements?”

“Why only the current bearers and us, Mother,” Pyre answered, gesturing to her and Gilzia.

“And do any of you know why that is? Surely there have been others who have displayed the traits of friendship required to wield the Elements in the thirty five hundred years since I originally gave them to Gilzia and Pyre. So why do you think that there hasn’t been any other pony or being able to use them except for the eight of you?” Harmonia asked everypony at the table was silent as we all sat there and pondered for a moment, before Paxxila shakily answered the Alicorn of Time.

“Um, is it because we all have something in common that nopony else has that lets us use them? Maybe a connection with you?” the little yellow pegasus whispered as she peaked from behind her pink bangs while the alicorn just nodded to her.

“That is correct,” she said, softly praising Paxilla, “the amulets that all of you now know as the Elements of Harmony are the product of an ancient practice of binding pieces of one’s soul to a particular type of crystal called a soulstone. Once formed, while very powerful, they can only be used by those who souls resonate with the donor of the original soul, to be more specific their children.”

She let that news simmer for a moment before Vivmay spoke up, “So are you saying that the reason that the six of us were able to use the Elements to begin with, is because we are your children?” The elder alicorn nodded as the seamstress raised a dainty eyebrow, “That sounds wonderful and all, but I’m not sure how that is possible being as we all know who our mothers are.”

“I never said you were my biological children, my dear,” the queen replied giggling lightly.

The others looked at her confused as I too dwelled on what she had said before an idea clicked in my head, "Wait a minute, are you talking about reincarnation?"

She took another sip from her tea as her eyes flashed at me, "Yes, Eric, I am."

"What's reincarceration?" Tupomi asked as she giggled at the funny sounding word, "Sounds like a funny looking flower."

"That's reincarnation, Tupomi," I corrected, "it's part of a belief that some people from my world hold in that when someone dies, their soul is reborn in a new body."

"Correct, my little human," she congratulated me before addressing Xam and the other five again, "the reason for why you found the Elements as inactive rocks when you first saw them was that I had released the attached parts of my soul into the aether after learning of their use by Gilzia to send Pyre to the moon," an uneasy silence came over the two sisters as they remembered the event in question. "From there, the pieces sought out the soul of a suitable host to bond with. Remaining dormant, inside its host, until such a time that all six host were alive at the same time and brought together." She smiled to the six, "Once that would happen the piece of my soul would activate and power the jewels again."

"That's it!" Xamspona nearly shouted over the shocked gasps of the others, "That explains why it seemed that the Elements appeared to not draw from the Magic of Harmony but from some other source, and it also explains why six normal ponies could use a type of alicorn magic to activate them. It's because the power was coming through us, not the jewels, the jewels are just acting as a storage point and emitter for the power coming from us."

"Very good, Xamspona," Harmonia praised.

"Well that's all fine and dandy, I guess," Etpinego said, "but where does Eric fit into all of this? Why did they react to him?"

"Yes mother, and what did you mean that Eric helped fix the Elements?" Pyre asked from beside me, "I was unaware that they had even been damaged."

"And you would not," her mother replied as she looked between Pyre and everypony else, "None of you would. For it was done during your imprisonment in the moon and without even the perpetrator knowing what they had truly done."

"Who could do such a thing?" Gilzia inquired, gaining the attention of her mother, "The Elements have always been under a strong magical ward for as long as they've been active and in our possessi-," her eyes widened in realization at remembering some long lost clue, "-no, it couldn't be. Could it?"

"Could what be, Princess?" Vemsa Hewl inquired as we all listened in to what the Alicorn of the Day had to say next.

"Long ago, almost immediately after I was forced to have to send you to the moon, sister," she began solemnly as she looked across the table to her younger sister for a brief pause, before addressing the rest of us, "Xew Vamp the Bearded came to me with a request. He told me that he wanted to examine the inactive Elements in an attempt to reactivate them so as to prevent Equestria from being void of its most powerful defense in case it was ever attacked again. So consumed was I still in my grief over losing you, and blaming myself for failing to be there that I agreed to his request," Gilzia gave a sad chuckle as I gently gripped her hand for support, a motion that I saw did not go unnoticed by her mother. "I do not know why I thought it would work. I guess somewhere deep down I was secretly hoping that if I could use the Elements once more I could fix my mistakes and bring you home sister. But in the end it didn't matter for Xew Vamp died but a short time later, leaving his work unfinished.”

Pyre reached across the table to hold her sister's hand as Etpinego stood and walked over to her glum looking leadmare, wrapping her in an embrace. Gilzia's frown turned into a smile as she delighted in the warmth of her herdmate's love as Pyre spoke, "Do not be sad sister, for I have forgiven you of that years ago. We both share the burden of that mistake equally."

"Pyre is right, my daughter, " Harmonia said, piggybacking on her youngest's sentiment, "you two have paid for those mistakes of your youth many times over. Take it from me, let the past be the past, and instead focus on the ones who are there with you today."

Gilzia looked around to the smiling faces all around her, eventually meeting her mother's eyes as she returned the smile, "I will mother."

Tupomi quickly stood in her seat as she held her hand high in the air, bouncing like an impatient schoolfilly as she tried to get Harmonia's attention, "Ooh, ooh, ooh so we totally get that Xew Vamp the Bearded is the silly willy who broke the Elements, but what does that still have to do with, Eric?"

The others nodded in agreement as Harmonia cleared her throat and stood up walking under the boughs of a nearby oak tree. "Of course, but in order to explain it best I'm going to need some help. Eric, "as she spoke my name her horn lit up in a white glow that also enveloped my body, causing all of us to gasp in shock as her magic affected me. A slight queasiness overcame me as she floated me over to her side. " Would you, Vivmay, Etpinego, and Paxxila be so kind as to come over here and help me demonstrate?"

She sat me on my feet next to her as the other mares made their way over, "Thank you for assisting me, Eric."

"Not like I had much of a choice, did I?" I whispered, frowning at the smiling alicorn as I saw Xamspona stand to ask a question, but the queen intercepted her.

"I know you have questions about what I just did, Xamspona, but please hold all questions till after." The purple princess pouted but eventually rescinded to the queen's request as the other three stood beside me waiting for Harmonia's direction. "Now as we were just talking about it was Xew Vamp's tampering with the jewels that broke them. Now I'm sure you're all wondering what he did to them and what it has to do with our towering primate here?"

"Hey!"

"Hush, Eric, we'll get to you shortly," the queen said, dismissing my protest as I muttered a few choice words under my breath to where she could hear me. "Well as we have also gone over from before, the six of you each contain a piece of my soul within you, and when you all came together to face the entity that had possessed Pyre a reaction happened. Right?" The six mares nodded, "But what happened was not what was supposed to happen."

A pin drop could have been heard as we all waited on the edge of our seats for the mare to continue.

"During his studies into the Elements Xew Vamp came upon the fact, like you did Xamspona, that the Elements reacted to and projected a type of alicorn magic, but he did not make the connection that the residual alicorn magic he was looking at was a piece of my soul. Yet even without knowing that he came to the conclusion that: Being as only somepony who matched the output of the Elements could ever hope to use the Elements and the only bearers of the Elements thus far had been alicorns. That the bearer had to be an alicorn, and maybe the Elements could be used to make a new bearer if enough magic was used and the right incantation was used to alter a ponies destiny. It was to be his masterpiece, but, like Gilzia mentioned, he was unable to complete his spell before he died."

"You're referring to the spell from his journal that turned Xamspona into an alicorn?" Vivmay said as I tried to wrap my mind around all this talk of spells and magic, feeling as lost as a jock in a conversation with a bunch of nerds over a children's card game.

"That is correct, and he was on the right track," Harmonia replied as she looked to Xamspona briefly, "even if his scope was a little small. For because of his tampering with the soulstones, they went into a sort of a Safe Mode when you six reactivated them."

"Safe Mode? I don't know wh-," Xamspona began before I cut her off.

"I do!" I exclaimed quickly, happy to finally hear something familiar to me, but a quick look at the other confused mares made my excitement wane as I gave a nervous chuckle, "I actually understood that reference."

"Yes," Harmonia drawled as she gave me a wary eye, "well as I was saying, this meant that a lot of their stronger abilities were locked away, unable to be used, and that's why Eric here is such a fortunate mistake for everypony." I moved to protest again but she quickly cut me off earning more grumbles from me, "Eric, if you would be so kind as to remove your shirt please?"

Wondering what she was trying to get at, I removed the piece of garment as I heard Vemsa and Tupomi teasingly give out wolf whistles and catcalls for me to take off the rest before they were gently shushed by Gilzia. Although not before I noticed my herdmate's wandering eyes.

"Now everypony here knows about how the species of Equus can all use magic so we won't go into that, but then why doesn't our little human? Mainly it boils down to his physiology and where he comes from. As I'm sure he has explained, on Earth no creatures use anything like magic. That is because every creature from there lacks the ability to manipulate the energies that make up the magics of the world, that is the physics of their reality has been locked into the makeup of all Earthbound beings, even displaced ones."

"You're referring to the ones that came to Equus through the portal, are you not?" Pyre asked as Harmonia nodded, "Then how are they now able to do it?" She paused for a moment as her and Gilzia suddenly came to the same conclusion before leveling a stare at their mother, "You did something mother, didn't you?"

"Yes," she admitted unabashed as her daughters gave an exasperated sigh as I leaned in to whisper into the queen's ear.

"Just wanted to be the first to let you know that that's the sound of hypocrisy." She narrowed a glare at me that could melt steel for my jab, but was soon distracted by the accusations of her oldest daughter.

"I can not believe it mother! After you warned us all those years ago in that cave about how bad it was to interfere with the lives of our mortal subjects we now find out that you have altered the perception of reality for every living creature on the planet?"

"Yes, Gilzia, I did alter them," she firmly said as her wings flared in challenge to her daughters, but together they refused to back down as the air crackled between them, "but it was to give the last few survivors a fighting chance against the new dangers of a new world. Some even worse than the ones they had left behind. I do not agree that it was what I should have done, but I felt that I had to give them something in return for what I had been forced to do."

The three alicorns continued to have their family stare down as it seemed like neither side was willing to back down, till a miffed Etpinego stepped in between the two sides.

"Alright now, break it up you three! There's no need for family to start squabblin' about what they should have done or shouldn't have done in the past. Right now we got more important things to worry about than that."

The sisters eventually relented as they backed down and nuzzled their irritated herdmate as Gilzia spoke, "Very well, Etpinego, " she looked to her mother again, "but we will talk about this later."

"Trust me, dear, there is much we're going to talk about later," she said in that motherly tone that didn't leave any room to argue before continuing anew, "Now where were we? Oh yes, Earth's reality. For even though you, the descendants of those first settlers, are modified to fall under the physics of this universe's reality, at your core, you are all still coded like Eric."

Harmonia chuckled at the confounded faces looking at her, the only ones who seemed halfway aware of what she was saying were her daughters, Xamspona, and for some reason Tupomi T'mi.

"It's alright, I know inter-universal reality can get a little confusing once you add in trans-dimensional physics. That's why we have our wonderful volunteers here, " she said motioning to the four of us standing there, "Etpinego will you stand on Eric's right, Paxxila behind him, and Vivmay on his left. Good, now I am going have each of you girls perform a simple task that you could do on the easiest of days and when I tell you I would like for you to place a hand anywhere upon Eric's skin but please ladies, keep it appropriate."

The three mares all blushed to certain degrees while Vemsa and Tupomi dared them to do many a lewd thing as I waited patiently for the grinning temporal alicorn to get to the point. When the peanut gallery had calmed down once more she directed Vivmay to levitate a small rock, Paxxila to hover behind me while Etpinego was told to lift a decent sized weight. Once they were performing their designated task she directed them to lay hands on me, and, like we all expected, they all immediately failed in whatever task they were doing. Harmonia smiled as she materialized a chalkboard behind her that held a crude outline of a human and a pony.

"What you just saw happen is your reality coding return back to the older, original, base coding from Earth. Whenever you make flesh to flesh contact this will continue and magic will not have an effect on you for as long as you maintain that contact. Think of it as a simple electrical circuit as it flows into a light bulb. If you ground out the circuit the light no longer works; remove the short the light works again.

"Now because time is linear and realities will always reset back to the older coding, the same theory will also apply to all things created in Equus since the migration from Earth. So as soon as Eric touched the Element of Honesty any and all tampering that Xew Vamp had inadvertently done was reversed, resetting the jewels and starting the process to complete your transformations that should have happened originally."

Everypony was taking the news in great stride, except Xamspona who eagerly raised her hand waiting to be called on.

"Yes, Xamspona?"

"Your explanation was very insightful, but I still have a few questions," the Princess of Friendship asked as the older alicorn did little to hide her mirth over the younger's enthusiasm.

"I figured you would, dear. What can I help you with?"

"First off, I understand the theories behind your explanation, but that doesn't explain why Gilzia and Pyre are affected by this, nor why your magic does affect him?"

"I believe I can answer the first part mother," Gilzia spoke drawing our attention, " it has to do with the fact that my sister and I took on physical bodies that, while extremely resilient, were still under the same modified laws of reality that the rest of you are."

"The other part is fairly simple to explain as well," Harmonia added, "as the alicorn who watches over time and reality my coding is much older than anything else in this universe. Meaning that I have the ability to alter time and reality at will, as evident by this subspace."

Xamspona and the other Element bearers gawked in awe at the surrounding space as Harmonia easily changed it once again to a vast open steppe with two moons visible in the sky. As impressive as her abilities were I could see that she was showing off a little as she fine tuned the objects in the sky till they were exactly where she wanted them. But I let it be being as we were the first guests she had had in an unknown millenia.

"Um... Harmonia, um ma'am," I heard Paxxila squeak from behind me as she used me as a shield, yet somehow the alicorn queen was able to hear her.

"Yes, dear, what is it?" She gently said as she carefully approached me to get a better look at the butter-colored mare behind me.

"Oh... I was just wondering, that is if you don't mind telling us, um...how was the transformation with the Elements supposed to go?"

Harmonia's smile grew warmer as she reached out and tucked the timid pegasus's flowing pink bangs behind her shoulder to give her a reassuring gaze, "Why it will fully awaken my part of your soul and physically change you into true daughters of mine so that you may fulfill your destinies and take up your duties along me and your new sisters."

Silence once again overcame us again as we finally realized what she was saying. It was Vemsa who finally spoke up.

"So wait, are you saying that we're supposed to become-"

"Alicorns, yes," she confirmed with a nod that was quickly followed by shouts of protest, that caused a confused frown to form on the queen's face, "are you not happy with this?"

A nearly unanimous "No!" rang out through the clearing, except for one overly excited pink party mare that was bouncing for joy, but was quickly subdued by the others. The others pleading with the queen for her to reconsider their fates.

"How will I ever get to join the Wonderbolts? There's no way they would let an alicorn join the team."

"Oh, my who would be there to take care of all my animal friends, the poor darlings. Oh, and I don't know if I could handle all the pressure that comes with running a country."

"What would happen to the farm? Who would help Granny and Big Qeg around the place. And what about little Etpitivi?"

"What would happen to my business? Don't get me wrong, the life of a princess is every proper lady's dream, but I couldn't truthfully earn the title of "The World's Greatest Designer" if I was a princess."

"Think of all the parties we could have!"

"Mother, you can't do this, you can't force them to be something they don't want," Gilzia whispered into Harmonia's ear, but was quickly stopped by a raised hand.

"You mean like Xamspona?" She retorted back to my leadmare. Gilzia tried to form a response but couldn't because deep down she knew her mother was right, "Or all those students throughout the years just to find the one that would be able to finish Xew Vamp's spell?" Gilzia stood with her head hung low, defeated by her mother's words, but Harmonia was not done as she embraced her oldest daughter, "But just like with Xamspona Tevopi, this is their destiny and they must be given the chance to take it. Besides I am in desperate need of their help."

"Their help in what?" I Inquired as the others listened in.

"As I told you earlier, Eric, when I created the Elements a part of my soul was lost. Which meant my power was also cut considerably as well, and with the effort of having to maintain both the barrier and the status of the planet Equus along with my normal alicorn duties I am becoming overtaxed." She chuckled wistfully, "The truth is I'm tired. Even for an immortal I'm no longer a spring chicken anymore, and I need help in my duties if I want to keep any amount of hope alive of having the power to keep this universe safe."

"Well, what would you need us to do?" Xamspona asked as we for the first time could see the true weight of the burden that had rested upon the alicorn's shoulders alone for so long.

"What I had hoped for is for the six of you to share the burden of keeping the planet of Equus healthy and safe along with your other alicorn sisters as they, and myself, will guide you through the challenges that will come along with your new lives. That way I can focus solely on the barrier and my duties in my weakened state. I know it may sound like a lot and I may be in desperate need of help, but in the end I will not force you to take on this burden for it is not a choice to be taken lightly."

"Well what happens if they refuse?" I asked.

"If they were to refuse then the immediate risk would be that the barrier would eventually fail. Long term would be that upon their deaths, the Elements would revert back to their inactive form, maybe never to be activated again."

The clearing grew quiet as the five mares in question huddled together with Xamspona a bit away from me and the three remaining alicorns. To discuss about what this change would imply for them with the one friend who had already experienced it. As I watched them pelt Xamspona with one concern after another it made me a little sad and honestly wishing that there was something more that I could have done to help out in this situation, but the things going on were so far out of my realm of knowledge that I was, to my supreme agitation, forced to sit on the sidelines. What made me feel even worse was the fact that none of this would have even been happening if I had just never touched those stupid jewels.

On the other hand maybe we were all overreacting and it wouldn't be as big of a change to their personal lives as they thought. For even though it happened before I had arrived to Equus, from what I had seen and been told by Xam, her becoming a princess didn't really seem to hold her back from much. Sure she still had the royal duties that came with being an alicorn princess, but she was still able to live a life separate from the crown. Either way I vowed to be there for Etpinego and support the others decision no matter what it was.

After what looked like quite the heated debate, the six of them came forward to stand before the queen. All of them looked visibly nervous and for good reason. For they were basically being asked to throw away the lives they once knew and take up a heavy mantle of responsibility. All while having to watch their friends and loves ones grow old and die away, myself included. Harmonia looked over each one briefly before addressing the group.

"Have you reached a decision?"

"They have, Your Majesty," Xamspona replied while the others each nodded their heads in agreement.

Harmonia frowned a little at the lavender alicorn's use of her title but quickly dismissed it, "And what is your answer?"

"We agree," came Etpinego's reply as the eldest alicorn's smile widened immensely.

"Are you sure? Remember, there is no going back from this once it is done, " Xamspona looked back to the other five as they nervously looked between themselves one last time before finally nodding their approval.

"Yes, they are," the group's princess spokespony replied.

"Very well then," Harmonia said, and with a flash of her horn the Elements appeared, finding their way to their respective owners, "Now I am sure that Xamspona has explained the process a little bit, but I shall go over it again just to be safe. Currently I have the jewels held in suspended animation, in a second I will release them and the transformation will begin. Your body will be broken down and rebuilt into its new alicorn body, but do not fret for the process will be completely painless. Now, Xamspona, being as you have already completed your transformation, nothing will happen to you but we still require your power to do the change completely. Are you girls ready?"

The six girls nodded as Harmonia's horn lit up, dropping the shielding around the glowing amulets. I watched as their eyes began to glow with the newly untapped power that had been unlocked within them as tendrils of colored energy began to shoot out from the crystals, arching back into their mistresses. A glowing prismatic aura began to emit from the ancient amulets, growing larger, building in power with each pulse till the girls were eventually consumed before my eyes.

I could not help but worry for them but as I felt my body move of its own accord towards them before I felt the gentle hands of Gilzia and Pyre rest atop my shoulder, anchoring me to the spot. I glanced back to them to see them lightly shake their heads at my actions as a soft smile formed on their features. Silently reassuring me that even though we all shared the same concerns for the girls that all would be alright in the end. Trusting wholeheartedly in the insight that my mares held on the situation, I returned the smile and looked back just in time to where Etpinego and the others stood to watch as the transformation built to a final, explosive, crescendo.

I raised my hands to shield my face from the blast, but my alicorn companions were faster as their mighty wings blocked us from the blinding flash and searing heat of the explosion. Like a concussion grenade, I was left disoriented momentarily as my ears were ringing and the metallic smell of burnt ozone hung heavy in the air in the wake of the thunderous detonation.

Quickly I tried to gather my wits about me and parted the feathered wall before me,unsure of what I would find. Yet there in the middle of a crater of flattened and scorched earth the six of them stood unharmed and born anew in their alicorn bodies.

With barely contained unease I made a beeline to my now immortal farm-mare, who was looking over her new features, like the other fresh alicorns, in silent wonderment. Overall the girls did not change much in proportions, maybe growing and inch or so taller, or a more pronounced curve here and there. But it was the obvious identifying features of their new species that stood out the most. Each of the other Element bearers now matching their lavender counterpart's features as a nearly foot long spiral horn jutted from their foreheads. While a set of powerful wings that matched their coat colors rested on their shoulders like a feathered cape threatening to touch the ground with their length.

"Etpinego?" I softly inquired, trying to grab her attention as she was busy looking over her hands in open-mouthed awe, flexing the digits open and closed as I could see her trying to grasp what had happened. She looked up to me as she heard me calling her name, her emerald eyes shimmering in the sunlight, "How do you feel?"

"I feel great," she admitted with a wry smile, "in fact I feel like I could do anything."

"And you could, my dear Etpinego, well almost anything," I heard Harmonia provide to them as she and her oldest daughters came to congratulate the newest members of their sorority, giving each of them a warm hug, "Even though you may now possess the power and abilities that come with your new forms. Remember that they are still bound to the limits of the physical realm and can suffer from all the things that any mortal could. But enough about that, for you all shall have plenty of time to learn all about your limits as time goes on. I just want to be the first to welcome you into the family, my daughters."

"So do we have to call you mother, or the Princesses sisters now or something?" Vemsa asked as she eagerly flexed her new bigger wings.

"As happy as that would make me, no, you do not have to. Your relationship to me and my family is strictly spiritual and can remain so if that is what you are comfortable with," Harmonia explained, "but know that, to me, you are truly my daughters and are privy to all the benefits that come along with that."

"Alright!" Tupomi happily shouted as her new horn was enveloped in a pink aura as party hats appeared on everypony's head and confetti began to rain from the sky, "now we can have a "Congratulations on becoming Alicorns, Princesses, and getting a new Mommy" megaparty!"

The others looked in shock as the little pink alicorn teleported around the clearing, making preparations for her sudden extravaganza. Yet somehow it didn't surprise me that the particularly random party pony took to magic like flies to shit. But as happy as they all were and as proud as I was for them I could help but feel a little melancholic as I reminisced over what I had so recently lost. It wasn't until I heard the girls laughing that I was shaken from my depression inducing thoughts.

"So now what do we do? Do we get crowns, our own castles, maybe a couple of hunky handservants?" Vivmay asked hopefully as stars formed in her eyes.

"With your ascensions complete I have now bestowed the guardianship of the health of the planet to you six." The girls mumbled amongst themselves at this and I could see Xamspona beginning to have a mild panic attack at what this new responsibility would entail, but Harmonia simply smiled and continued on, "Do not worry, for between the six of you, I have faith that you shall be more than capable of handling the task. The power that is required from you to maintain the healthy balance of the planet will be very negligible. And as time goes on and you become more attuned to each of your specific areas of guardianship you shall gain more control over them.

"As far as the royal side of things," she tittered lightly, "your relationship to me grants you all the title of Princess in the land of Equestria, but this now means that there are nine princesses to rule in my stay."

"Perhaps a sort of council or delegation would be best, Mother, where we could convene and decide over the issues of the nation and its territories?" Gilzia suggested as Pyre and a couple of the others nodded their heads in agreement.

"That sounds like a great idea," Harmonia praised before pointing to her two eldest daughters, "and you two can preside over it as Queens."

"What!" Both of them exclaimed, shocked over their mother's sudden proclamation as Gilzia spoke up, "But mother, what about -"

The queen lightly laughed, cutting short their concerns, "Come now you two, I think we all know who has truly been in charge of the country and who our little ponies view as their rightful rulers. Now it would just be official."

"But what about you?" Xamspona asked as the queen tittered again at the young princesses concerns.

"Do not worry about me, little one. I shall simply take on the more appropriate title of Queen Dowager. For now that my power is no longer taxed to the limit I am now able to leave this sanctuary to visit Equus for short periods."

The girls, especially Gilzia and Pyre, were excited by this news as they gave their mother a hug. As happy as I was for them I couldn't help but gulp at the thought of Harmonia, who, in all intents and purposes, was my mother in-law, coming to visit for any amount of time.

"Visit?" I nervously chuckled, "Just out of curiosity how long would you be able to stay?"

She brought a finger to her cheek as she honestly gave it some thought for a moment, "Oh, I don't think it would be too long. Probably no more than maybe three to four."

"Days?" I inquired, secretly hoping I'm sure to the disdain of the sisters.

Harmonia looked at me confused for a moment before falling into a fit of laughter, "No, Eric, not days. Months."

"Months!"

"Why, Eric?" She asked as a gentle smile came across her lips while her eyes flared again ominously in my direction so that only I saw them, "Is there a problem with me coming to visit?"

One look into her daughter's eyes and seeing their desire to reunite with their mother was all it took for me to give in like so many men before me. That and the matriarch still scared the crap out of me.

"Why no, of course not. I'm sure we'll all look forward to your visits," I lied through my teeth.

"That is good to hear," she said as she made her way towards me, "I can never thank you enough for all that you have done for me and my family." She stopped directly in front of me before surprising everypony when she bowed deeply to me, "Thank you, Eric Broussard, from the bottom of my heart."

Taken off guard I didn't know what to do or say, "Um, you're welcome."

"You have earned my eternal gratitude," she said raising to meet my eyes once more, "so I shall give you my blessing to continue courting my daughters, including my newest Etpinego," I tried to thank her but she stopped me with a raised finger, "but I demand something in return."

"Um...okay, sure anything." I warily agreed as she gave me a set of bedroom eyes that immediately unnerved me.

She slinked up next to me, pressing her mature body against mine as she lightly stroked my cheek with the back of her hand, "If you want my blessings on your relationship I want you to give me a baby."

"What!" Came the unanimous outcry from the others as I felt my herdmates close the distance between us. Ripping me away from their mother, their wings flared in challenge.

"Mother, what are you playing at!" Gilzia demanded as she narrowed her eyes at the still smiling mare, "There is no way we would ever agree to Eric siring a foal with you."

Harmonia simply laughed for a moment before narrowing her predatory eyes again, this time to my mares, "I'm sorry my dear, it seems that I've given everypony the wrong impression. I don't desire to have a baby with him what I want is for him, along with you three, to give me a baby. A grandbaby."

A blush went across all of the mare's faces as they realized what she truly now desired while I continued to stand there stupefied over the whole conversation. I almost didn't hear Gilzia's reply, her normally steady voice coming out timid and nervous.

"A-a g-gr-grandbaby?"

Harmonia's mood grew cheery as she practically squealed at the thought, no doubt fantasizing about bouncing baby foals, "Oh yes! As many as you and your herdmates can have. It's been so long since I have experienced the joy of little ones to spoil."

"That may be so ma'am, but we're just now finishin' up our courtin'," Etpinego said nervously as she fiddled with the band in her mane.

"Perfect, then there's no better time to get started," the Alicorn of Time said, happily oblivious to my mare's discomfort. I was trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible behind my mares ruffled wings, not wanting one piece of this family feud. But Harmonia wasn't having any of that as she teleported and I felt a pair of white arms drape over my shoulders and a smooth impish voice whispered into my ear, "So what say you to my request, Eric? Are you willing to impregnate my daughters, or perhaps an older mare is what you really need to show you the proper way of doing it first?"

"Mother!"

"Hands off of him!"

Came the cries of my herdmates as their eyes glowed white while Gilzia and Pyre's horns shimmered threateningly. Causing Xamspona and the others to give a wide berth to them while I worried about being in the crossfire of whatever was soon to come. Yet the queen was unthreatened by their display as she chuckled and waved her hand, dispelling her daughter's magic like it was nothing, returning them to normal.

"Ah, ah, ah you three my sanctuary, my reality, my rules." She chided as my confused herdmates looked between themselves, "Plus do you believe me desperate enough for companionship that I would stoop to stealing your mate?" The three mares fidgeted under her scrutinizing gaze as she snorted at their lack of faith in her before Harmonia addressed me again, "We shall talk about your less than positive views on my morals another day, young ladies. So, Eric do you love my daughters enough to grant me this one, tiny, request?"

I didn't even have to think about my answer as I looked to my beautiful herdmates.

"Of course, but what about the difference in my genes?" I curiously asked back over my shoulder, "And what about their father? What does he say about all of this?"

"Their father?" She replied confusion evident as she walked around to face me.

"Well, yeah. Aren't you married?"

"Married? Me?" She asked, thoroughly perplexed by my words, "Why would you think I'm married?"

"Sorry I just kind of assumed you must have been to Gilzia and Pyre's father, " I told her, wondering if I was going to have some weird conversation with an overprotective father in the future, but she surprised me by laughing lightly.

"Oh, is that all? Well rest assured that there is no Mr. Harmonia, there never has been. The process by which my oldest daughters were conceived was rather...complex to say the least, but just know that there is no father." she said, "And as for your question on the difference in your genes and theirs that can be easily fixed."

"Really?" I asked, confused and excited that something that seemed so complex could be so easy to her.

"Why yes, both your species and ours contain the same amount of chromosomes so that is not a problem. The problem is in the differences in particular proteins and chains of amino acids that are required during the initial merging of the sperm and egg to allow the bonding of DNA," her horn glowed as two jars of pills, one blue the other red, appeared before us. She levitated the red ones over to my mares while the blue pills were placed in my hands, "These will ensure that everything goes smoothly. Simply take one pill at the beginning of the heat season, and it will help increase the odds of conception."

I dubiously looked at the jar of little blue pills, turning it over in my hands till I saw a small white label that had the same directions that Harmonia had told me. I found it hard to believe that these could be the answer, but on the other hand if they worked they could be very beneficial in the future if and when we decided to expand our family. One look at my herdmate's blushing faces as they huddled around the red pills like it was a precious artifact let me know that they were not against at least trying them out.

"Thank you, Harmonia," I said as I extended my hand to her.

"Oh there's no need for thanks, you can thank me enough when you have those beautiful babies," she looked to the other girls, who had remained strangely silent throughout all of this, "the same goes for the rest of you as well," the other girls all blushed madly as Harmonia wrapped me in a surprisingly strong hug and she whispered in my ear low enough to where only I could hear her, "Do your best to take care of my daughters and make them happy. For if you hurt them there is no world, no reality that you can hide in that will be safe from my wrath."

I solemnly nodded my head as I felt the hair on my arms stand up from the static charge of her power building up, "You have my word."

"Then I have nothing to worry about," she smiled at me as I saw her eyes misting a little. From there she went around and said her goodbyes to everypony by wrapping each of the mares in a tight hug, "Now all of you should be on your way. Do your best and I shall see all of you soon."

With that her horn lit up as all of us were blinded in a flash of light, finding ourselves back in Xamspona's room. A quick look at the clock on the far wall let us know that we had only been gone for about ten minutes, despite it having felt like we had spent most of the day in her sanctuary. No doubt a product of the temporal alicorn's abilities. I looked around to the others to see that the Element Bearers were all a little confused on what to do now that there were five new princesses of the land, but Gilzia, like always, was ready to take charge of the situation.

"Well, come along everypony," she said as she gestured to the stairs, "we still have much to go over, and quite a few coronations to plan."

We all followed her out of the room and down the corridors. Figuring that this conversation no longer included my presence I decided to head back to my room to grab some much needed rest. As I turned to head towards the guest wing I was stopped by a tug on my shirt hem. Turning to see what I had gotten snagged on I saw that I was being held by Pyre who looked at me with a sour look.

"And just where do you think you're going, my stallion?" She asked giving my shirt another small tug.

"Um...to go take a nap," I said, wondering what was the matter, "would you like to join me?"

"Most definitely, but we shall not be taking a nap."

"If we're not going to be taking a nap, then what are we going to do?" I inquired as I felt an ominous feeling come over me when she let go of my shirt and cornered me against the wall. Blocking my escape with her powerful wings as her beautiful aqua-colored eyes shone with barely contained hunger.

"You still have your promise to give me twice the pleasure that you gave my sister that needs to be fulfilled. Plus," she smiled a wicked smile as she pulled out the hidden jar of red pills from behind her back as I felt a lump in my throat, "I figured we would truly see if these work like mother says they will."

"You mares are scary when you're in heat," I whispered to her feeling a hunger of my own start to rise as she ran her hand along my wide chest.

She giggled happily as her scent began to fill my nostrils, causing my body to react appropriately, "You have no idea, Eric, " she whispered as she grabbed my hand and began to quickly lead me to my room. "Now come, you will be given the privilege of being the first to offer praises to your new Queen of the Night."

The Everfree was a dangerous place. A wild patch of dark woods that sat on the outskirts of Ponyville, silently defying the accepted order of the world around it. Its presence so perverse, so overpowering, being held in such silent fear that the very mentioning of its name would provoke a shiver through the bravest of pony resident. Even I was not fully unaffected by its dark charms as its brackish depths would awaken the voices of my ancient ancestors whispering to me warnings of the dangers that were hidden deep within its borders. Yet even with all its inherent dangers there could also be found a certain amount of calm whenever I would venture into its outskirts in search of game. Its rebellious nature to the rules placed upon the landscape of its neighbors by their magical tenants, a nature so feared and alien to the locals, was to me nothing more than an escape to a lingering memory of the world that I had been forced to leave behind.

'I am a tree. I do not move,' I silently repeat to myself.

Since early in the morning I had been perched up in the tree, high within its wide boughs, hunting by the waning light of Pyre's moon. While concealed from the dangers of the forest floor below with the help of a homemade ghillie suit and a concoction that was intended to suppress my scent made for me by the skillful hands of Otzdy, the Shaman of the Everfree. Yet my expedition, like many mornings before it, had thus far been fruitless only having the aches in my joints and the crushing fatigue of my eyes from the strain I had placed on them trying to see into the inky blackness of the forest understory below to show for my troubles. For weeks, even before my journey to Canterlot, I had been scouting out this path, observing a plethora of animals that hopefully held the chance of becoming viable sources of protein that could help sustain me through the rapidly approaching winter. But as the last few remaining moments of moonlight ebbed away to make way for the approaching dawn behind me my attempts had thus far been fruitless. Nevertheless, just when I thought I would have to call it a night yet again a rustling in the nearby underbrush alerted me to an intruder, and it seemed that my luck would finally be starting to take a turn for the better.

'The cold does not bother the tree so therefore it does not bother me.'

I could feel the massive trunk sway ever so slightly from a passing easterly breeze, my APECS gear underneath my ghillie doing well to keep out all but the bitterest of chills allowing me to remain motionless. For in the clearing, not more than twenty-five yards from the base of the very tree I was hiding in, a passel of hogs had emerged from the undergrowth. Their hunger and foraging noses having lead them to the corn that I had spread there the afternoon before.

'Very slowly, I breath through my nose. That way they can not see my breath.'

The air had steadily begun to grow colder in the days following the ascension of Etpinego and the others into their new lives of alicornhood. The pegasi of the Weather Command had begun to bring down the frigid northern air from the Crystal Empire and beyond signaling the start of the harvest season. I breathed slowly through my nose to help hide the telling white puffs of my exhales in the rapidly brightening sky and to help calm my beating heart.

'I am a tree, I do not move.'

I continued to repeat that line in my head like a mantra, forcing my body to remain motionless as I focused all my concentration on the hogs in front of me. A cold wind blew through the trees again swaying the branches I was currently standing on forcing me to fight the urge to press myself closer against the rough bark of the trunk. The only thing that kept me from freaking out was the knowledge and reassurance of feeling my safety tether pull taut against my waist.

I continued to watch the wild swine as they kept their noses to the ground oblivious to my presence. For months I had been baiting the game trails that ran through the clearings close to the path that lead back towards town after finding tracks showing that it was fairly active with game. Probably staying to the relative safety of the outskirts to avoid most of the larger predators which seemed to congregate towards the center of the forest. Once the presence of activity had been proven I decided to scout out the area, but from the relative safety of the trees to keep me safe from the random manticore or roaming cockatrice. It took a couple of early morning expeditions to the trail but I was soon able to get an idea of the traffic that passed by.

One such finding was this particular passel of golden hogs that moved eastward down the trail every other morning searching for better foraging grounds. But these pigs weren't the typical javelinas and ferals that I had grown up hunting among the hills and woods of Texas. They were a strange breed to me, half the size of a feral with long wicked curved tusk and long bristly golden hair that would glow and shimmer in strange luminescent displays whenever they became startled or excited.

Not knowing anything on these animals and not wanting to take the risk if they proved to be half as dangerous as a normal wild pig I decided to consort the local animal experts Xamspona and Paxilla. Although I was more than a little hesitant to bring up the conversation to the gentle butter-colored mare. Yet after a couple of delicate conversations I was able to gain the information I needed and was informed that these pigs were called Slydrutane hogs and were not much different from normal earth pigs; even down to their non-sapience. Good news all around because this meant that they could become a source of meat to help keep my stores full for the coming winter, but there was still a catch that would make them difficult prey.

First was their hair that they could use to signal the others in the group which meant the killing strike would have to be fast. And second was their hide itself which I learned from Xamspona's lecture was tougher than tempered plate armor. This meant that whatever I used had to be also hard-hitting to get past such a formidable defense.

This left me at a standstill for a few weeks, but as my grip tightened around the smooth wood of my bow I hoped to finally be able to correct that. Prior to returning from my recent trip to Canterlot I had come across a store that specialized in rare and exotic gems and jewelry. One such gem was a stone called a starburst opal that could only be found on the slopes of a particular volcano in the Lash’ka mountain range located halfway around the world in the country of the Naga. This made them rarer than the normally abundant amount of jewels in Equestria which also translated into that they were more expensive than them as well, but the point that had caught my attention was that the shop owner had informed me that the stone had earned its fame because it was harder than diamonds and had been used in the past by the Naga for tools to carve statues out of stone. So it was my hope that these prismatic gems would be able to penetrate their hide.

I narrowed my sights on the smallest sow who was foraging off to the left from the main group. She was younger than the others having just recently lost the striped brown hair common with piglets for the shimmering golden hair of an adult. It was my hope that with her being younger that her hide wouldn’t be as tough as the older hogs thereby giving me the greatest chance of penetration.

Slowly I brought up my recurve bow, cautious of making any sudden movements that would frighten my prey, as I waited for the opportunity to present itself. Luck, however, seemed to continue to shine down on me that day as I saw her begin to turn her side to me as I drew back the string until I felt the familiar tickling of the fletching against my cheek. The string dug itself almost painfully into my fingers as my muscles fought to contain the stored energy of the bow till the right moment.

Finally the little pig turned fully, unaware to the danger I posed to her, giving me a beautiful side profile shot as her golden hair shimmered in the low early morning light. Taking one final breath to steady my aim I let go of the string which shot forward with a resounding snap that rang throughout the clearing startling the hogs, but it was already too late as I followed the arrow along its short flight to it’s target. Impacting the sow low on her ribcage right behind her forelegs.

Only to stop suddenly upon impact and fall to the ground.

The pigs now alerted to the danger tore off back into the underbrush in a flurry of squeals and flashing hair leaving me in silent disbelief on what had just occurred. I had witnessed these arrowheads penetrate the breastplate of a suit of enchanted guard armor with ease and here it looked like a simple piece of pig hide had just shrugged it off like a nasty bite from a horsefly. Waiting a few moments to ensure that the commotion hadn’t attracted any unwanted attention from one of the forest’s more dangerous residents I made my way down to the ground. Readying my bow with another arrow and ensuring that my knife was easily accessible as soon as my feet crunched on the leafy ground just in case of unwanted visitors as I made my way over to where the shaft laid on the ground. Picking it up I could see immediately what had happened as I dishearteningly examined the shattered arrowhead, its fragments sparkling on the ground in the early morning light.

“Well shit,” I muttered to myself as I rolled the wooden shaft between my fingers, “so much for that idea.”

I sat there for a minute mulling over this massive setback until one of the larger fragments caught my attention as it sparkled in the morning light. Picking it up my dreams of bacon and barbecues were restored slightly as I saw a trace of blood splattered on one edge. It looked like penetration was capable I just needed something that could punch harder than the bow and arrow I currently had. The first thing to come to my mind was a gun and perhaps in the right caliber and powder load it could do it but to the best of my knowledge guns did not exist in Equestria. The country having only developed primitive cannons within the past decade and none of them were small enough to be anything close to being considered portable, unless you counted Tupomi and her “Party Cannon” which the pink alicorn seemed to wield with ease and deadly precision. Something that I chalked up to magic, or bullshit, I wasn’t sure which one entirely yet. Still as much as I thought it could be possible to work something out in the workshop I was cautious on bringing too much of that side of Earth’s technology to this world for the fear of misuse in the wrong hands.

The noise of a snapping twig off in the distance broke me from my musings making me remember the vulnerable situation I had put myself in down on the forest floor. Figuring it was time to retreat to a safer local I dropped the broken shaft back to the ground as I carefully moved my way back the short distance to the relative safety of the path. It was only a couple minute walk to the well beaten path that lead back into town, but I made sure to keep an arrow nocked in my string and a wary lookout on my surroundings, lest I run into any unsavory creatures or even the hogs if they decided to get revenge on me for shooting at one of their own. All the while a voice in the back of my head hoped that the scent covering liquid I had gotten from Otzdy worked as well as she had advertised.

Once on the gravel trail I let out a shaky breath and began my walk back towards my apartment. The journey allowed me time for my mind to wander and reflect over all that happened in the month since my meeting with Queen Harmonia. Her abrupt elevation from the tales of legend to sudden fact along with the promotion of five new princesses to the realm had turned the seemingly ever evolving status quo of Equestrian politics on its head. Maybe even more so than the added news of the lost Queen's sudden abdication of her crown had done. This had resulted in sending the different branches of the government into a scurry to lessen the effects that such news would have on the nation as a whole. To me it was actually quite amazing to see how quickly and smoothly the transaction had happened. Within hours of the announcement committees were formed from the Houses of the Noble Congregation to answer the questions regarding hierarchy now that so many formerly common houses were associated to the thrones of Equestria. Meanwhile the courts convened to determine the extent of power that the new royalty would now hold with so many members while still remaining within the bounds of the law laid out in the original Equestrian Charter.

Eventually, after many a late night session, the decision had been made to create a new office, officially called Her Majesties Royal Council of Princesses but it had quickly earned the title of "The Princess Council" amongst the newspapers and the common citizenry. It was to be a privy council that would eventually be seated by the Crowned Princesses of Equestria and empower them with three main responsibilities: to oversee and advise the Queens on certain sectors of government public administration, to be the deciding vote of the Congregation in case of a deadlock, and to take over the responsibilities of the Queens in the event that they should ever become incapable of performing their duties.

Yet as drastic as these changes to policy were they were not scheduled to happen till after the new Princesses had completed a series of lessons and studies laid out for them by the Queens and the Congregation that would better prepare them for the new lives they were now destined to lead. Queen Harmonia may have bestowed upon them the titles of Princess and welcomed them into her family but in order for them to become true and legal Princesses of Equestria it took more than simply having a prestigious lineage and earning a horn and a pair of wings. In fact, according to Gilzia and Pyre, if they all breezed through their studies they could be done with all of it in a little under five years. However, until such a time occurred they would be allowed to live their lives in whatever way they desired. Allowing them the privileges of a normal life, or at least as normal as it had been before.

With such an imposing task ahead of them, in addition to the impending coronation, it was a welcomed breath of relief to the others when Gilzia and Pyre had allowed us to return to our homes in Ponyville until the big day tomorrow. Even I found myself excited by this news because it allowed my crew and I the time needed to be able to finish the XP-27 in time to unveil it at the conclusion of the ceremony. In fact we had just begun taxi checks the day prior and morale was high amongst the team as we watched the plane struggle to stay ground bound on more than one high speed taxi down the facility's grass strip.

By then I had made my way back to the facility and was eager to get out of my gear, get cleaned and get some food in my stomach before maybe even getting in a couple hour nap before I would of had to start my workday. Coming around the back of the hangar to the side door I paused suddenly when I saw the door gaped open ever so slightly. I distinctly remembered having closed the wooden door when I had left earlier in the morning yet there it sat ajar.

The first thought to cross my mind was that perhaps one of my herdmates or even one of the other princesses had stopped by for a visit, but as likely as that was the truth there was still doubt in my mind for the single fact that they wouldn't have just entered the building if I wasn’t there. Which left only the unknown available to me. Thinking it best to continue with caution I pressed my back against the wall next to the door and slipped the bow from my shoulder nocking an arrow into the string. My adrenaline pumped in my veins as I brought the bow up and slowly walked open the door with my shoulder, using it as concealment in my sweep of the interior as I made my way into the building.

The inside was dimly lit in the early morning light as beams of soft sunlight spilled in through the skylights high up in ceiling above me leaving most of the floor covered in shadows. I relaxed the string momentarily as I reached behind me to flip on the lights driving away the darkness before continuing my search. A quick search on the bottom floor revealed nothing and I began to think that maybe it had just been a stray animal that had found their way inside but had left already as I felt my grip lighten on the laminated handgrip of the bow. But I had to pause when my nose made out the distinct aromatic nuttiness of my foreign brand of Enelian coffee wafting through the building. I knew that I had not set on a pot before leaving earlier that morning, and I was fairly certain none of the animals in Equestria knew how to work a coffee maker. So if I had not been the one who had started it then another must have, and I was not expecting guest so early this morning.

Unfortunately I could not see into the kitchen from the hangar floor which meant I would have to make my way up to my apartment and find out who this unannounced house caller was. I didn’t think that whomever had made themselves comfortable in my home was an immediate threat to my life, because I didn’t know of any kind of burglar that would brew a pot of coffee in the middle of a home invasion, not a good one I hoped, as I lowered my bow and began to stealthily climb the stairs to the loft. Still, I didn’t consider myself one to trust everything solely to assumptions as I kept my fingers on the string.

Walking into the apartment I soundless opened the door and poked my head through. There didn’t seem to be anything out of place and more importantly no one in the living room. A thought crossed my mind that maybe who ever had been here had already left, but I had to put that thought on hold when I heard a rustling noise come from the kitchen. Creeping across the wooden floor I paused outside the door for a moment to calm the thumping of my heart before bursting through the swinging door my bow raised threateningly.

Inside, however, I was greeted by the sight of a trio of Royal Guards positioned around the far end of my kitchen table, helping themselves to my coffee and a plate of coffee cake I had bought from Sugarcube Corner the day prior. They had no doubt been waiting for me as they stared at me with reserved patience as I stood in the doorway aiming at them. Two of them were stallions, the third a mare, and each of them were dressed in a different styled suit of engraved armor announcing which royal house they bore allegiance to.

The lone mare I was already very familiar with and had instantly recognized her from my many days around Ponyville as Lt. Pyvu Tiev, commander of Xamspona's Twilight Guard. Yet the seated pegasus and thestral stallions were unfamiliar to me, but the crest of their helms and accouterments adorning their suits of armor announced their stations to me as high-ranking officers in the guard. The older pegasus guard dressed in the enchanted golden armor of the Solar Guard seemed to hold a higher position than the others as he remained seated at the head of the table while the other two flanked him on either side. His dark grey fur only serving to accentuate his blue eyes as they studied me while a small grin tugged at his lips.

"Good morning, Ambassador," he greeted to me, his voice reverberating in a rich baritone, "I have to apologize for the time of our arrival, but you must understand that our schedules have become a little more hectic as of late trying to setup and fill the ranks of the new Royal Guard detachments for the Princesses."

I gave a indistinguishable grunt as I lowered my bow and tucked the arrow back into its quiver, "I can imagine, but when they told me as I was leaving Canterlot that the Royal Guard would be paying me a visit I didn't expect such high-ranking individuals to show up in my home. Nor did I figure that y'all would do so without me knowing. You see where I come from we don't take lightly to people coming into our homes unannounced and helping themselves to their host's food."

"That may be true where you come from, Ambassador," the grey pegasus calmly replied, "but in Equestria it is considered good manners for a host to open their house to guests, no matter the time of day."

Needing a drink to calm my nerves I placed the bow and quiver on the counter before going to the icebox and pulling out a bottle of orange liqueur immediately popping the cap and taking a long chug savoring the smooth liquid as it crossed my tongue. Finally feeling refreshed I turned back to the guard, "True, but in order for one to be considered a guest they would have had to have been invited in by their host in the first place."

His subordinates shifted at my words, obviously ruffled over my lack of manners to their superior, but their wizened leader simply gave a smirk in reply. Impressed with his fortitude I began to take off my outer garments placing them atop the counter as well before moving to the fridge again, opening it as I glanced back to the guards.

"Can I interest any of you in a hard cider or maybe an orange liqueur?" I asked as their faces turned into one of disbelief.

"It's 7 o'clock in the morning?" The Lunar officer exclaimed his voice heavy with bewilderment as I paused for an instant, casting another look into the appliance's depths before I cautiously offered another suggestion.

"Rum?"

Pyvu and the thestral continued to stare at me, their mouths agape, as the pegasus stallion drew my attention with a dismissive wave of his hand, "No, thank you Ambassador, but we are fine with our coffee. Our time here is short and I would like to talk with you for a moment and ask of you a favor of grave importance to myself and the Guard, possibly even Equestria itself."

"And what can I do to help the Royal Guard with, Mr. -," I asked as I motioned to the pegasus stallion with my hand in an attempt to fish out his identity.

"Pewxaev Philm, Captain of the Royal Guard," he offered before motioning to the other two to introduce themselves , "and these are my Deputy Commanders."

"Lieutenant Prim Upona, Commander of the Lunar Detachment." the thestral stallion dressed in the violet Lunar Armor said crisply as he came to attention.

"The Ambassador and I have already had quite a few chances to become familiar with one another." Pyvu Tiev said as she leveled a stern stare at me.

"Quite, our first encounter was especially memorable," I mentioned, referring to our initial meeting all those months ago when I had first arrived to this world as I returned the stare with one of my own, "but it's been a little while since then hasn't it, Lieutenant?"

"Yet still somehow not long enough," she replied in a tone so cold that it didn't leave any question in my mind on whether or not she was still upset at me.

"Be that as it may," Pewxaev intervened, "our time here is short so let us not dally."

His words piqued my interest as I leaned back against the countertop and took another sip of my drink, "Alright, then what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"As you may know it is the solemn duty of every Royal Guardsman to ensure that the royalty is kept safe from all dangers. Both foreign and domestic," he said as I nodded in agreement to his words as I recalled similar ones taken by myself years ago, "In order to do so I make it my personal duty that there is nothing that goes on with my charges that I do not know about. Even certain late night meetings behind the closed doors of their private quarters."

"Sounds a little nosy if you ask me," I told him slightly perturbed as I took another sip, but despite the others reacting to my rudeness Pewxaev remained professional.

"Perhaps," he agreed with a nonchalant nod of his head, "but surely you can see it from our perspective as well."

I raised my hand to stop him momentarily, "You'll have to forgive me if I still fail to make the connection between protecting them and my relationship to them."

"Do you read the paper, Ambassador?" The thestral guard, Prim Upona asked to which I shook my head.

"Sorry, but I am still having difficulty when it comes to reading your writing."

"Then perhaps you may not know that someponies in certain countries are not as thrilled over the news of our new Princesses as our citizens are," Pyvu Tiev said, her voice growing stern before being stopped by the raised hand of her CC.

"What my subordinate is trying to get at is that for the past several thousand years there has been a sense of balance and understanding between Equestria and the other nations of Equus. Unfortunately this balance of peace has been steadily placed under continued stress over the past couple of decades with the rise of each new alicorn to the thrones of Equestria."

"So what is it that you're asking of me?" I inquired with a sigh growing weary of the verbal roundabout I was being given.

"I would like to ask that you put any more advancement of your relationship with Their Majesties, the Queens, on hold."

I was slightly taken aback by his request but I wasn't entirely surprised considering my previous encounters with the Guard. Still I had been looking forward to this conversation for quite some time, hoping to find out the cause of the rift in my attempts to get along with the Royal Guard.

"Alright then, can I at least ask why?" I asked as I sat the now empty bottle down on the counter behind me before grabbing another one from the icebox.

The wizened pegasus simply nodded his head as he spoke, "But of course, as I have already hinted at is to help maintain the peace by protecting their images."

"I can promise you my intentions towards them are nothing but honorable," I replied chuckling slightly which caused the pegasus to chuckle in return.

"And I believe you Ambassador, for if I had had any doubts in your motives towards the Queens...well let us just say that I know of places that would make Tartarus look like Las Pegasus," Pewxaev said calmly with a simple smile that sent a shiver down my spine, "No this has to do with other nations possibly viewing your being in a relationship with the Queens as a grab for power."

"I've heard this before from a couple of ponies already, Capitan Pewxaev, and I'm sure if we brought it up to Gilzia and Pyre we could all come to an acceptable conclusion," I told him as I popped the bottle cap off on the edge of the countertop.

Prim Upona and Pyvu noticeably flinched at my use of their Queens' given names so freely, but Pewxaev remained unaffected as he took a sip from his cup savoring the foreign blend for a moment, "I think you misunderstand Ambassador, it's not so much about their view of you dating Queen Gilzia or Queen Pyre that has me worried but more of their view of the Queens dating you."

"Come again?" I asked wondering if the faint buzz I was starting to feel was already having an affect on my hearing.

"The idea that the Queens are courting you may not seem like such a big deal to you, but to others it may be too much for them to come to terms with." He clarified, "Especially since the Queens have turned away every amorous advance made by heads of state and high ranking individuals from both Equestria and abroad on an almost daily basis."

"I apologize if that doesn't make a lot of sense to me, Captain. If it's because they're heads of state then I don't see a problem because I have already had a few heads of state proposition me at the ball, and that didn't seem to be an issue."

"True," the grey pegasus agreed, "but they don't control the sun and moon."

I made to make an argument but nothing readily came to mind as I had to concede the point to him.

"Touché mon capitaine."

I didn't expect them to get the reference and it was slightly rewarding to watch the three of their ears twitch in confusion. Eventually Pewxaev was forced to give up on trying as he tried to continue.

"Anyways, it is because of these refusals along with their long standing positions as the physical embodiments of the sun and moon that they hove, over time, garnered a certain image that many have tried to emulate. And now your relationship with them could run the risk of ruining that image."

I remained silent as he let his words sink in, and sink in they did. From a security standpoint it was only logical to assume that there was the possibility that these other countries could now see that by having Gilzia and Pyre now in relationship, after turning down others for so long, that could mean that they were now fallible and possibly swayable. This could pose a bigger concerns when you were talking about beings that held complete control over the two most single influential forces on the planet. Concerns that could quickly turn into fears if I remembered anything of my own world's history since its introduction to the atomic age.

The longer I sat there I began to recall some of the previous conversations that I had had with Gilzia as she would confide in me at the end of a long day of the political unrest that there had been both at home and abroad with each new alicorn's arrival. Events that only seemed to justify Pewxaev's reasons to be concerned.

She told me about how at first it hadn't been that big of a deal when Gehluli ascended and claimed the title of Princess. For many looked at the appearance of a new alicorn as a return to the old ways of two Princesses sharing the burden of the throne and the chance for Gilzia to finally receive some much needed relief. But then Pyre returned from her exile and reclaimed her lost royal house, thus throwing the government out of whack having to find out how to balance three Princesses. Lucky enough for them though their problems were solved by the timely reappearance of the Crystal Empire and the discovery of Gehluli being a direct descendant of the old Imperial bloodlines. Thereby allowing the members of the government to be able to justify the change of the Diarchy turning into a Triarchy while keeping the now Crystal Empress Gehluli's influence on Equestrian politics to a minimum. Yet, as Gilzia reluctantly recalled, there were still some anonymous voices that claimed that this action was unethical as the time displaced citizens of the Crystal Empire were not given the chance to come to terms with the strange new reality that they now found themselves in before having such a unknown and untested ruler, with a crown already in Equestria, placed above them. She went on to explain that they basically saw it as a chance for the government of Equestria to legally expand its borders and spread its influence by basically turning the lost Empire of myth into nothing more than a puppet state.

Yet Gilzia, with the help of her fellow Princesses, were somehow able to quell most of these worries, but not before the recently recovered government was once again disrupted by the appearance of a new alicorn princess in the form of Xamspona Tevopi. And now there were five more alicorns to add to the list, not counting the lost Queen Harmonia. With each one a member of the single most powerful group of beings in the world, and currently Equestria was holding the monopoly on alicorns. So I could see Pewxaev's concerns on maintaining the new Queens' images, but at the same time I still selfishly wished to continue seeing my herdmates. For in the end I trusted Gilzia and Pyre's many millennia of experience to make the best judgement on if our actions were in the best of interest. However, at the same time I still wanted to attempt to alleviate the Capitan's concerns. Maybe a talk with the sisters was in order so that we could come up with an acceptable conclusion, but there was still one question that was tickling at the back of my mind that I had to ask.

"What about Princess Gehluli?" The Princess of Love and Zopupun's relationship had been a fairly public affair, and despite the unrelated invasion that had occurred during the wedding there was no backlash from it that I had heard.

Pewxaev nodded his head as he could no doubt see where my concerns were coming from, "Her Highness Princess Gehluli's relationship to my predecessor was a special case. For while she is the only alicorn to have been in a public relationship it didn't really come as a surprise to others given her title." I nodded my head in understanding as he continued, "Plus in addition to being a Captain of the Royal Guard, Captain Zopupun comes from a distinguished noble Unicorn family that can trace their lineage back to the the court of Princess Whaxpem before the unification of the races."

"So then what is it you'd like me to do? Never see them again?" I asked the guard frowning, frustration evident in my voice as I did little to hide it. Pewxaev though kept his bearing as he finished his cup.

"Not quite," he replied honestly surprising me, "contrary to what you may think, Ambassador we of the guard care for the well being and happiness of our charges above everything else. And after looking over them for so long we have almost taken a parental viewpoint towards them, and, despite any personal reservations we may have had about you, you have made them happy which seeing that makes us happy."

"Then what is it you'd like me to do?" I asked again, calmer this time as my frustration from before had left me.

"I would like to ask for you to try and convince the Queens from publicly disclosing their relationships between you and Princess Etpinego until we can get a better understanding of the possible backlash from such an announcement. Also as much as I would like to also ask for your relationship with Princess Etpinego to be kept secret as well that won't be necessary do to the unfortunate circumstances of word already getting out of your courting from your display at the recent ball."

I thought for a moment over his request. It wasn't too unreasonable of a request and I could see the merit in many of his points, but I was curious about why he came to me about this instead of just bringing it up to Gilzia and Pyre. For they would hold a much better understanding of the sociopolitical risk of going public with our herd. As I asked Pewxaev he smiled again as he stood to leave.

"There are aspects of our Diarch's security that are better off remaining unknown to them to ensure their peace of mind. I would like to ask you to keep our visit here as one such thing."

"Uh-huh," I said sarcasm dripping from my voice as I leaned back and crossed my arms a grin plastered on my lips, "or is it because you're concerned that they might not agree with you. " their expressions remain neutral as the captain's ear twitched a clear sign of frustration, "or maybe it's because they already have?" I guessed hitting the nail on the head as his ear twitched again.

"The Queens believe that the announcement of their courting of you and Princess Etpinego would be meet with jubilee instead of ridicule." Pewxaev said letting out a weary chuckle before continuing, "I, on the other hand, remain... skeptical."

I chuckled in my throat at the stallion's words, "Well I promise that I'll bring it up to them, but that is the most I can do. Because if they believe that it will be alright when I talk to them then I'm going to have to fall back on their judgement."

"Then that is all I can ask." He said with a slight bow of his head as he and the others made their way out of the room, however he paused as he passed me speaking over his shoulder, "One more thing Ambassador, if it turns out that my fears are realized by this news could we count on you to aid us?"

I downed the last of the bottle adding it to the other on the counter, "Back on Earth it was my duty to fight and defend and I would not hesitate to do the same here to protect those that I've come to care for."

"Then why not just join the Equestrian Defense Forces?" The Captain asked curiously, "I'm sure with your knowledge and skills you could advance through the ranks fairly rapidly and do quite well for yourself."

"Hardly," I said trying to stifle a chuckle at his pitch for recruitment, "contrary to what you might think, sir my military training actually consisted of very little combat skills training. Not to mention that any of that would be practically useless here due to the gap in technology. No, I think I would really be much more of a hindrance than an asset at first. That's also not taking into account that I am still a member of my nation's military until I have been officially released from my duties. So I'm sorry, sir, but here in this world I am just a simple mechanic."

The pegasus hummed in thought for a moment as he mulled over my words, "Well if not for that then it might help quiet down some of the louder voices amongst the nobility who believe that if the Queens were ever to find a mate that they should be from the nobility so as to not taint the Queens' pure bloodline."

"And what of you, Captain? What do you think?" I asked him to which he remained silent for a moment before he spoke again and even though I could not see his face I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Good day to you, Ambassador, I'm sure we shall be talking with you again soon.”

And with that he continued on his way closely followed by Prim Upona as I heard the scuffing sound of their armor fade down the stairs onto the hangar floor below. This left me alone in the kitchen with the stern Pyvu Tiev as the mare continued to stand there dissecting me with the same uncomfortable look of disdain.

"Was there something else you wished to discuss with me, Lieutenant?" I asked, eventually having become irritated enough at her actions as she walked up to me.

"I don't much care for you, Eric." She sharply stated as she glared up into my eyes.

"I think you've made that quite clear already." I retorted earning me a low growl from the mare.

"Ever since you've come to this world you've been nothing but trouble and a bad influence on all that you've met, but-, " she paused as I could see her struggle to relax her features no doubt a task that took a herculean amount of resolve from her, "-on this situation alone I find myself in agreement with you."

"Come again?" I found myself asking, dumbfounded by the words I had just heard from her.

"I shall not repeat myself for your amusement, Eric," she warned as her stern look returned, "If only for the sake of my own personal desires for Princess Xamspona's happiness do I now find myself aligned with you on this sole subject that the Royalty should be able to have relations with whomever they so choose to without worries of repercussions however much it may aile me to agree with anything you do." I could see her shiver slightly at the very thought before regaining her posture, "So for today you have earned the ever so slightest inkling of my respect."

"Um, thanks," I replied as I thought about how only Pyvu could turn a compliment into the harshest of insults.

Not wasting anymore time Pyvu quickly marched past me leaving me alone in my kitchen to dwell on my thoughts. The conversation with Pewxaev continued to go through my head over and over again as I couldn’t get his words to leave. Was he right? Did my relationship with my alicorn herdmates run the risk of placing them and the country in danger? He definitely made a compelling enough argument for me to at least be worried about it. If it did would I allow that to affect my relationship with them?

Would they?

The very thought alone was enough to turn my stomach, but I pushed those thoughts aside as quickly as they came before they could take root in my mind. For I knew that worrying about the unknown wouldn't do me a damn bit of good. Instead I would hold my concerns in reserve until I had a chance to discuss it with the other members of my herd.

My body was quick to take advantage of the momentary lull in my thoughts to announce its demand for sustenance with a low growl from deep in my gut. I sympathetically rubbed my rumbling stomach as I moved to grab something from the icebox, but paused when I recalled that the insides were bare save for my well stocked supplies of alcohol.

My lips turned downward in a frown as I cursed myself for failing to go to the market the day prior. Instead choosing to venture into the nearby Everfree to overlook some trails for game. Unfortunately I had lost track of time and by the time I had exited the dark forest it was already too late to make the journey into town. Looking out the window towards the rising sun and with another reassuring pat to my stomach I made the decision to indulge in my sweet tooth and head into town to eat.

After all it was the bulking season.

Pampyle-Spitfire

'This is the day.'

That was the thought that kept running through my mind as my team and I stood in the grass field behind our little complex on the outskirts of Ponyville. The day itself didn't hold anything of special significance that made it different from most of the days since my arrival to this land. Gilzia's celestial counterpart shone brightly in the blue sky in all of its splendor warming the chilled fall morning while the few remaining birds could be heard singing praises from the surrounding treeline. But there was something in the air, something so palpable that you could almost taste it in the crisp air that this day was truly a date that would go down in the tomes of history for the rest of time.

It was a day of firsts. For today was the first day of Gilzia and Pyre's new rule as Diarchs of the Queendom of Equestria. While Etpinego and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony would take on their new titles of Crowned Princesses of Equestria alongside their peers Xamspona and Gehluli. And while the ceremonies were happening away in the capital, here, outside of Ponyville, it too would hold a moment of great historical importance. The locals were about to bear witness to something that nopony had ever seen. As a group of Equestrians, along with the help of a castaway alien, would complete Equestria's first heavier-than-air aircraft and launch it on its maiden flight.

Yes, today was the day.

I couldn't stop thinking about it as I ran through the preflight check with my team around the XP-27. A look at the faces of my team members and I could see the pride in what they had done, and they had every right to be. Because ever since that dinner all those months ago, when I had agreed to Pyre's request to help her citizens make an airplane, the people of this nation, these ponies, that I had come to admire and even love had hit the ground running. Not pausing until this dream of the freedom of flight once only enjoyed by those species who were born with wings was made a reality.

Walking around the experimental machine, looking for any last minute item that may have been overlooked by my team or me, I couldn't help but compare our accomplishment to that of those early pioneers of flight from my own world. True, this time around we may have been at a slight advantage compared to legends like the Wright brothers or Glenn Curtiss by already having the knowledge of both aircraft from my world and the ability to talk with any number of creatures here who already possessed the ability of flight. But in the end we still had to build it, we had to make it happen, we had to overcome all the same pitfalls and challenges that they had faced, and by God we had done just that.

The XP-27 was an odd, stubby, looking plane primitive in design compared to Earth's latest and greatest marvels with its fabric covered wooden frame, but as the morning light cast a soft yellow glow across its white skin I had to admit that it held a certain charm that had enamored all of us. The engineers had a handful in trying to make the little queer looking machine work. From the positioning of its engine behind the pilot in a pusher configuration and the non-retractable tricycle landing gear that would keep the ass end off the ground. To the intake ducts that were positioned on each side of the fuselage just aft of the cockpit that were used to direct cooling air across the engine’s cylinder banks. The control surfaces usually found in the empennage of a traditional aircraft had been a particularly challenging problem for the engineers to solve. In the end though we were able to get past it by moving the rudder to the tips of the swept back wings. While the elevators were placed on the nose as a set of canards. Which, with the short nose, gave the plane an arrowhead shape from below.

Once the exterior look around was completed I climbed up on the wing to the cockpit so as to continue my preflight inside. As my team leader Alvirg Lieh held open the cockpit door I climbed in and sat down in the pilot's seat. The layout of the cockpit was very spartan in design only containing the minimum number of gauges and levers that would be required to hopefully get the airplane skyward. But one area that had not been skimped on was pilot safety as I was buckled into a proper 5-point harness. They had even been able to work in a form of ejection seat into the plans that would safely evacuate me in the event that something went catastrophically wrong. At least that’s what I had hoped so.

Originally I had planned for one of my Equestrian teammates to be the one to fly the XP-27 on its first flight. For even though I may have had more experience with airplanes, having gained my private pilot's license from the local Aero Club at my home station back in my Airman days, it still only felt right for one of them to get the chance to take it up first. I, along with the help of our liaison from the Wonderbolts, had even trained a couple of them, in the basics of controlled flight. But in the end I had been unanimously outvoted by the team and even blackmailed with a royal decree by a certain lavender princess to be the pilot for this maiden voyage.

Alvirg Lieh finished tightening down the straps on the harness as I gave him a thumbs up before directing my attention to the stallion that would be running ground for me. A feeling of nostalgia overcame me as I watched the young stallion run through the hand signals for the different flight control surface checks. It seemed like not that long ago that I was doing the same job as the lingering memories of my lost life crept into the forefront of my mind. Bringing with it a deep sense of mournfulness whenever I would find myself thinking about my lost planet. Yet even under the crushing weight of loss I found solace and strength in the love and comfort of my three herdmates, but it wasn’t easy it never was.

Shaking myself from my funk I focused back to the task at hand as I finished the last of the flight control checks before keying the radio. The earpiece on my trusty headset crackling to life with static as I called into Ponyville's Weather Command detachment for an updated weather report and clearances. My request was readily answered as they conveyed that the skies were clear all the way to my destination. The mare on the other end of the line also asked me to say hi from all of the team to their rainbow-maned Captain whenever I saw her. A task that I eagerly accepted.

Now cleared of my prechecks and after a couple final reminders from our Wonderbolt liaison on the order of the events and location where I would rendezvous I was finally ready to start the engine and hopefully make a little history. With a circular motion of the stallion's hand above his head I was given the "all clear" to start, and after the movement of the few knobs and switches the motor began to slowly turn over before belching to life in a roaring symphony.

After a few brief moments to allow things to come up to temperature I gave Alvirg Lieh the signal to pull the chocks while others held the plane still by standing in front of the wing's leading edge due to its lack of brakes. The chocks now removed I gave one last look at my gauges before giving Alvirg Lieh the final thumbs up to clear the other members away from the area.

Due to the light nature of the XP-27's wooden design as soon as the resistance from the members at the leading edge was removed the plane began to slowly creep forward even with the throttle set at idle. Gripping the throttle lever in my gloved hand I gave the plane the ever so slightest bumps of fuel. The engine responded happily as it quickly revved and putt-putted me onto the grass runway where I made my way to the far side so as to face into the wind.

Looking down the long grass strip I couldn't help but swallow a lump in my throat as the gravity of what I was about to attempt began to sink in. I was about to take what was basically a home build piece of machinery that weighed a couple thousand pounds and hurl it down this strip at high speeds with no brakes and hope it got airborne before crashing into the trees at the end of the clearing. Everything that the engineers had told me said that I would make it airborne before I had reached the halfway mark and I was forced to trust their math, but theory and practice were still two different things. If I was honest with myself I would have liked to of had more time to run local flight trials around the facility before making such a journey but time didn't permit it after all destiny didn't favor the meek. So with a calming breath I gripped the throttle again and gradually moved it into the FULL detent causing the plane to lurch forward down the strip pushing me back into the seat.

Faster and faster I went down the runway the plane bounced and jerked on each little divot in the ground forcing me to have to use the rudder to compensate as I watched the airspeed indicator climb ever higher, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty knots. Faster and faster I went as the end of the runway grew steadily closer while I hoped that I could reach the magical seventy-five knots before I hit the no go point on the strip. At a little over halfway I began to feel the nose of the plane go light in the stick as I reached my targeted speed. Pulling back ever so slightly on the stick was all that was required as the plane gracefully climbed away from the ground and into history.

A smile grew on my face as I looked back towards the compound, watching as the buildings grew increasingly smaller into the distance. We had done it! We had done something no one else here had. I wanted to jump for joy to help relieve some of the excitement that was begging to burst forth from inside me, and it was only due to the straps of the harness digging into my shoulders that I remained in my seat. My revelry now temporarily contained for the moment I focused back to the task at hand as I brought down the nose, leveling off my ascent and did a quick check of my gauges once again. Everything looked within limits and the plane respond well as I banked it slightly to turn it back towards the field for a fly over. I noticed that the stick was a little more sluggish than I was used to due to the purely manual controls, but thanks to the relatively large control surfaces and the light weight of the craft I didn't find it to be of great concern at such a slow speed.

Coming back over the field I decided to show off a little as I pitched the nose into a shallow dive and pushed the throttle to the firewall. The airspeed climbed at an alarming rate as I heard the engine roar behind me pushing me ever faster. Soon I was approaching the estimated top speed of a hundred thirty-five knots before pulling back on the stick with a grunt leveling off above the field at treetop level. Buzzing down the strip I waved down to the crew who were enthusiastically cheering and waving back each one of their faces glowing with pride. After another one or two more passes I figured I had better be on my way as I turned the nose towards Canterlot and up into a lazy climb. After all I had an appointment to keep and it wasn't considered proper manners to keep women waiting, doubly so if they were royalty.

Making my way the short distance across the peaceful valley I could see that the celebration was already well under way from the flurry of activities in the skies surrounding the summit of Mt. Canterlot. Airships dotted the skies like colorful lanterns while pegasi buzzed around like prismatic fireflies as they searched for a perch amongst the crowded clouds surrounding the palace as peasant and noble alike vied for the best vantage point to witness their new heads of state first.

Coming closer to the city I gently moved the rudders, yawing the plane slowly away from the city and around to the backside of the mountain towards the designated meet up point as told to me by our Wonderbolt liaison. Once I had cleared a surrounding bluff I could make out the blue and yellow shapes of the aerobatic team as they flew in a holding pattern about two miles out and I would guess around eight hundred feet above me. They must have spotted me almost immediately as I watched the two at the front of the formation dive away from the group and head out to greet me. I watched in envious wonder at their natural gracefulness with each beat of their wings as they flew by me only to turnaround and come up alongside my wingtips on either side.

My two escorts seemed to be as interested in my plane as I was in their physiques. Each of us filing away every detail we could to hopefully solve the mystery on how each of us were able to stay aloft. Two different methods, one mechanical one magical, but in the end the result was the same. The yellow mare with a fiery orange mane and tail on my left came in closer as I frantically tried to wave her off, pointing to the spinning prop behind me, but she only gave the spinning blades of death a passing glance as she gently landed atop my wing.

Slightly enraged I slid open the window as I yelled to her over the rushing wind, "Are you crazy! Do you have some kind of death wish?"

But the mare ignored my protest as she took a peek into the cockpit momentarily captivated by the dials, levers and gauges before replying back to me, "Look here, the name’s Pampyle, I'm Captain of this team, and while you're here you'll be under my command. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am, bu-" I tried to say something but was cut off by the fiery mare.

"Good, now my team and I are going to go in first to do our routine while you remain here. Do you understand?" I nodded my head as she continued, "When it's time for you I'll come and get you. After that all you have to do is follow me in, the others will form up on us and do the rest. Got it?" I nodded again as she gave one in return.

Next thing I knew though the mare did a backflip off of my wing diving out of my view momentarily before I spotted her glide back into position off my wing while giving me a thumbs up.

"Crazy fucking mare," I grumbled to myself as I slammed the window closed before returning the gesture while her and her wingpony peeled off to return to the group orbiting above my position.

Turning the plane into a gentle turn I looked over my shoulder to watch the flight of Wonderbolts split up to begin their routine. Pampyle began to rapidly climb as an element of three headed eastward while another element of four headed towards the western side. As I banked back around towards the mountain I could see the two elements heading towards each other, although it seemed that the western element had lost a member. Once they had reached the outskirts of the city I saw what looked like rain clouds begin to trail behind them, not unlike the smoke trails I was used to seeing at airshows. It was at that time I spotted Spitfire's trail above the snowy summit plummeting down at an astonishing speed. What happened next was obstructed by the mountain and the fact I had to turn again to maintain my position, but what glimpses I could see had me in awe at their well coordinated movements of precision aeronautical maneuvers that would rival any team from Earth.

After about twenty minutes of me continuing to do circles I finally saw the orange and blue form of Pampyle as she approached me and slipped in easily in front of me. Flipping onto her back she motioned for me to follow her as I gave her a thumbs up before she lead me down to the valley and making a low wide turn around the rocky spire. Soon I could spot the ivory towers of the fortified city and I felt my palms begin to sweat as my nerves began to act up at the sight before me causing me to pull back on the throttles a little. The skies above the city were absolutely littered with spectators, even more so than before, and I couldn't begin to imagine how Pampyle and her team had weaved through it all, much less how I was going to weave through it with the larger XP-27. Pampyle must have sensed my nervousness because she slowed her pace slightly and cast a fleeting glance back to me. Not wanting to be one to disappoint I gave her a reassuring nod as I advanced the throttles again to keep up with her casual pace.

Luckily enough for me we weren't going to have to press out way through the crowd that day as Pampyle dipped below them slipping into a corridor that I hadn't seen before between the lazy leviathans above and the rooftops below as I closely followed. Carefully I glanced up at the passing ships above me and I could see their elegantly dressed occupants looking down in disbelief as this loud, alien-looking, craft whizzed below them. A flash of movement out of my peripherals caused me to look to my sides to see Pampyle slipping onto my right as the other members of her team formed up on either side of me, escorting me in.

Thankfully once we had reached the outer walls of the palace grounds the traffic around us disappeared and it looked like we had a straight shot to the main balcony. The courtyard below was filled to capacity with cheering supporters for their newly crowned Queens and Princesses. Onward Pampyle and her team accompanied me as we went into a lazy circle around the tallest spire where stood all the offspring of the Royal House of Harmonia. Easily I spotted my beautiful herdmates amongst the group in their formal wear from our low altitude and I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride swell up in my chest and the familiar warmth of their love shared between us through our bond as our eyes met..

We circled in review for the Queens and Princesses a couple more times before I looked down at my fuel gauge and saw that it was time to head back home. I caught Pampyle's attention on my right by lightly waggling my wingtips before motioning with my hands that I had to land soon. She understood, or at least I hoped she had, as she gave me a nod of her head before signalling the others. Coming back around again I gave a final wave goodbye to the group below as they enthusiastically returned the gesture before setting my nose southeast for home. The Wonderbolts escorted me out to the cities edge, trailing their rain clouds behind them, before breaking off into dazzling floral pattern.

Now alone and heading home the rush of the recent events calmed under that steady drone of the massive V8 behind me. I closed my eyes for a moment as I relished in the familiar warmth from Gilzia's sun. Opening my eyes again I could see the makeshift airfield off in the distance as I calmly thought to myself as a sense of hope swelled within me.

'Today is the day, but today is only the beginning.'

It was late at night by the time I made my way back to my room. The streets and airways of the capitol were still jammed pack with revelers and were planned on being so well into tomorrow as the citizens of Equestria continued to celebrate the crowning of their newest rulers. Their love flowing across my palette and sating my hunger like the finest of delicacies with its strength and purity as I continued to feast on them. Yet as satisfying as it was, filling me greater than I had ever been before, it left a taste of bile and disgust in my mouth that such potent love would be wasted on them. Those children of that backstabbing queen who had foiled my plans once long ago, but it was alright. Let them wallow in their ignorance while they still can, the truth about their blessed rulers will come forth soon enough. Until then my children and I will wait and we will feed.

I pause at the door for a moment to ensure that my companion for the night is still with me although it is a pointless action for I can taste his lust reacting to my potent pheromones and current appearance. Looking back I find the stallion, a pudgy earth pony noble, who long ago had seen the final days of his youth staring at me with lidded eyes and a dopey smile. I cast him a sweet smile as I reinforced the spell, his eyes taking on a green glow as I ignite my horn.

“Come on in my dear,” I said to him, my voice warm and inviting, as I ran my fingers along his jawline, causing him to knicker like an idiot, “we’re going to have so much fun together.”

All he can do is nod his head as I beckon him to follow me into the dark room with a swish of my tail. Inside we were greeted by five shadowy figures, their eyes glowing a soft blue in the inky blackness. The faint sound of buzzing and clicking could be heard as they began to approach us as I heard the noble’s voice from behind me.

“W-what’s going on here?” His words trembling in fear as the shock temporarily weakened the mind spell, “Where am I? Who are you?”

I smiled back over my shoulder to him sweetly as I lit up my horn again, dropping my unicorn disguise in a flash of green magical fire. I could taste the sour taste of fear emitting from him as he took in my true form and the others surrounding him, cutting off and route of escape.

“Why my dear lord don’t you remember? These are the friends that I was telling you about and they’re just dying to meet you.”

The dual-toned sound of my voice worked quickly to place the stallion back under my control as my words weaved through his consciousness binding the magic to his very desires which served to place his focus solely on me once again. I motioned for him to take a seat, which he did so without any objection as my accomplices hovered around him like a pack of wolves ready to pounce. I was about to allow them to begin their feast on his emotions when one of them, a servant, approached me bowing deeply.

“My Queen, it is good to see that you’ve returned safely.”

“Your concerns are noted, but these foolish ponies are more concerned with their celebration than watching for intruders.” I told her, slightly irked that she would interrupt me as I eyed the dumbstruck noble once more, “Now if you will excuse me it is time that we enjoyed our meal.”

“Of course my Queen, forgive me,” the servant replied with a flutter of her wings, “it's just that while you were away a message came from the client demanding that you contact them as soon as you returned.”

“Did they now?” I hissed, unable to contain my frustrations.

“Y-yes my Queen,” the servant replied as she and the others cowered in the very presence of my displeasure.

A growl emanated from deep in my throat at the thought of anypony having the unmitigated gall to think that they could demand things from me. We may have suffered a hefty loss in our goals after our awakening from hibernation at the hands of that cursed usurper and her weak-willed husband to where we’ve had to return to the safety of the shadows, but we are still strong and I was still Queen.

I stormed out of the sitting room to the bedroom across the way where I took a seat at the mirrored vanity situated in the corner. Drawing my magic forth I cast it towards the mirror as the surface of the glass began to distort like the ripples of a pond as the arcane magic searched out its intended target. After a moment or two a dark image begins to form in the mirror distorting until it settled into the shape of a shadowy figure.

“You’re late,” they simply stated irritation evident in their deep voice.

“I was enjoying the festivities,” I replied, a grin tickling on the edges of my lips at their obvious agitation helped to ease my own a little, “you don’t think that I would pass up the opportunity to sample such a potent treat?”

“And what of your guest in the other room?” the asked, surprising me for a moment at how they could know of the noble before regaining my composure.

It wasn’t surprising to me that this mysterious individual or the group they represented would try and keep tabs on me for they seemed to be fairly well influenced in the world, but it was the ease and speed that they received this information was unsettling to say the least.

“A snack in case I become hungry during the night.”

“Our deal was not for you to do as you wished!” they warned sharply their tone oozing with disgust over my actions, “You had a job to do. When can I expect to see some results?”

“Watch your tone,” I warned the figure flashing my fangs, “It would be wise for you to remember who it was who approached whom, and I feel like I must also remind you that I never took the job I simply agreed to look into it.”

“And are you done looking into it?”

“Yes.”

“And? Can you do it?” the figure asked as I sighed over their impatience.

“Perhaps, although recent developments may prove to be too risky to try at this moment. We may have to bide our time for now un-”

“Excuses do not concern me my dear queen,” they interrupted earning them another growl from me, “only results. If it requires more time then so be it, but remember my patience had its limits.”

With that the image in the mirror faded away leaving only my seething face in the reflection. The conversation and the figure’s insolence had done nothing to ease my mind. It had been four months since this mysterious figure had gotten in touch with me suggesting a most delicious proposal that would serve nicely in my plans for revenge against those that had ruined my strategy for securing a safe future for my children. Yet since then their constant demands for updates and progress had done well to wear away at my nerves. I tried to calm myself as a knock came from the door.

“Enter,” I said as the door opened to reveal the servant from before.

“Is everything alright, my Queen?” she asked her wings fluttering in concern.

“Yes it’s fine,” I reassured her as she entered the room shutting the door behind her. Her actions caught my attention as my lips turned down in a frown, “Is there something on your mind?”

“Yes, my Queen, I have concerns on us being able to do our mission.”

“So you think that you and your team are incapable of doing what I’ve commanded of you, or, perhaps, you doubt the wisdom of what I’ve asked of you?” I asked raising an eyebrow skeptically.

The drone fell to the ground at my feet, prostrating herself before me as she began to desperately apologize, “ Of course not! You are the hive mother, the Queen, my life is for you to do with as you please. Even to take away if you so desire.”

The servant’s heartfelt pleas do well to calm me down as a wave of weariness overcame me.

“Hmph, let us hope it doesn’t have to come to that. I’ve lost too many of children as it is so far.” I told her as I cast a glance to the window and the sparking skylight beyond, recalling the faces of my fallen offspring.

It was my hope that the world had changed from that time before I was forced to place myself into hibernation, but upon awakening some fifty years ago now I was quickly reminded of how foolish I had been to think so. They still viewed us as nothing but monster. Beings lower than them and their senses of civility who were no better than bugs that deserved to be eradicated. So we hid among them, feeding from them, as we cautiously made our way from one country to the next in search of a place rich in love that we could call home. It was then ten years ago that we came upon the land of Equestria and it seemed that we had finally found our refuge, but that thought would be short lived as we quickly found out that it was ruled by the daughters of Harmonia. Would I ever be free of that cursed Queen and her influence?

I decided to finally stop running and take a stand for the survival and well being of my kind. For years we bided our time, building our strength and infiltrating their ranks until the perfect opportunity presented itself when the Princess Gehluli, that charlatan claiming to be the Alicorn of Love, announced her engagement to her Royal Guard Captain. It was too perfect. All the pieces would be in one location able to be taken out in one fell swoop. When the plan was finally enacted everything was going along as according to plan and it seemed that victory would finally be at hand.

If it wasn’t for the meddling of a certain little purple unicorn.

All because of her persistence was my best laid plans ruined and victory taken from me at the very moment of my triumph only to be blasted away, but I and my followers could not be killed so easily. So I gathered the few remaining children that I had and we returned to the shadows again, roaming from country to country as we rebuilt our strength and dreamed of our revenge.

“Too many,” I whispered sadly.

“Your Highness?” the servant cautiously asked, knocking me out of my musings.

“Never mind it’s nothing. Still you may be right,”I admitted reluctantly, “This may prove too risky to perform as we normally would.”

Normally we would approach our targets under disguise. Luring them into a false sense of security before springing our trap and placing them under our mind-control magic to use as a source of food later or capturing them and taking their place as we would systematically overrun an area draining it of its love before moving on. Yet this target that our mysterious partner desired so desperately held special talents that denied us of our greatest weapons. My spies in the palace had relayed to me of the target’s resistance to magic, but we didn’t know of the true strength of it until recently. It was truly something to behold as even the most powerful curses could be lifted as long as physical contact was maintained.

Looking at the black chitinous armor that covered my arm I recalled my own body’s reaction to their touch. A reaction that risked ruining everything if it had not been for the timely interruption of that entitled alicorn princess, now turned queen. Which brought up another issue that was revealed during the following ball. It seemed that the target shared a mental bond with one if not both of Equestria’s new queens, not to include their courting of the Element of Honesty. The signs were hard to discern to the untrained eye but even at a distance I could make out the subtle eye movements and taste the rise in love whenever they would meet gazes that signified the bond that existed between them. It was still an immature bond but it would still prove an issue if we happened to move against the target too early for their bondmates could locate them almost instantaneously, but we also couldn’t wait for too long because the closer they got the stronger the bond would become.

Still even with all of these imposing challenges the reward was still worth the risks. Especially to get the chance to further investigate the limits of this target’s magic cancellation before turning him over. The challenge excited me, filling me with new determination as I clenched my fist, but we would have to tread about this cautiously. One false step and the game would be over. Standing I addressed the still kneeling servant.

“Return to the castle and continue your surveillance with your team, and report back to me if any new information arises.”

“Yes, my Queen,” she replied as she rose and followed me as I returned to the sitting room.

“Also see if you can get a couple of them to keep a constant eye on the target while they are in Ponyville.”

“It shall be done as you commanded.”

“Good,” I said trying to hold back a sinister chuckle, “I leave tonight back to the hive, we must move it to prepare for the second part of my plan. I’ll await for word from you there.”

“My Queen,” one of the bigger drones spoke up garnering my attention, “what shall we do with him?”

I looked down at the old noble who stared up at me with that same dumb love-struck expression from before.

“Dispose of him,” I announced coldly as my children smiled hungrily before dragging him away as I felt a smile creep on my own lips, “We have much more satisfying prey to hunt.”

Pyre - Luna
Gilzia - Celestia
Etpinego - Applejack

“Now before we call an end to this meeting are there any other points of concern that requires our attention for the night?” I inquired as I looked around the desk to my advisers while each of them dismissively shook their heads, “Then I shall thank you all for another successful night of work. You are relieved.”

Standing, each of them bowed to me before excusing themselves from my study as I continued to work on the last bits of official paperwork that still required my attention before turning over the shift. The metronomic clunking of the massive grandfather clock in the corner reverberated throughout the silence of the room setting the tempo while I continued to scribble out notes, swim my way through the sea of legal parchments that littered my desk. I let a sigh escape my lips as I reviewed over a land dispute by the neighboring Griffon Kingdom over a mere 5 kilometer strip of land along the border between our two countries. Writing my reply, I could not help but think of how much easier this would become once Equestria’s newest Crowned Princesses finally took up the official mantles of their offices. Unfortunately that was a day that was still quite a few years away. Meaning that until then I would just have to be patient.

A chime rang out through the room as I looked up at the ancient clock face, a smile spreading across my face as I confirmed that it was now indeed six o’clock in the morning. Closing up the tome that I had been reviewing I lit my horn as I allowed my magic to organize the mess into a manageable pile while the random law books and scrolls found their way back to their places on the shelves.

A door at the far side of the office opened to reveal an older brown pegasus stallion with a bushy silver moustache. Curtly, he made his way to my desk before giving a quick bow as he spoke, his voice low and rough yet holding a softness to it that I had long become accustomed to.

“Done for the night, Your Majesty?” he asked as he grabbed the pile of papers on my desk.

“Yes, Rishtex,”I replied as I rubbed the fatigue out of my eyes, “please ensure that these documents get routed to their appropriate offices."

“Of course, Ma’am,” he said yet his visage quickly grew concerned as I let out a yawn, not unlike one he would give to one of his many grandfoals no doubt even though I was many thousands of years his senior, “if it is not too prudent of me, Ma’am, but perhaps you should follow the example of Her Majesty, Queen Gilzia, and rest once in awhile.”

I found his concern for me endearing as I giggled lightly, “Thank you, Rishtex, I shall take your advice to heart, but I am afraid tis the way with the night court during the winter months. We shall just have to endure these inconveniences it until the spring equinox.”

“Of course, Ma’am, please excuse my prying.” he apologized but I waved it off.

“It is alright. Besides, a temporary reprieve actually sounds quite nice right now. Perhaps after I have seen my sister.”

“As you wish, well I shall be going by your leave, Ma’am,” he said with another bow as I excused him with a wave of my hand while he moved to get on with his work.

After Rishtex had left I rose from my seat, giving myself a good stretch, as I tried to loosen my joints that had grown stiff from sitting most of the night. Like Rishtex had mentioned, the winter months were always the longest and most tiring for the members of the Night Court. Usually leaving even myself worn out by the end of the night. An impish smile crept on my lips and a warmth flowed through my body as my wing joints finally let out a satisfying pop and a particularly devilish idea popped into my head. I could have easily rejuvenated my body with a simple spell, but lately I had become addicted to a much more gratifying remedy. One found at the hands of my herd stallion whenever he was not away on business. His strong grip working a type of magic all their own as he would slowly move them over my body inch by delicious inch. However, before I could indulge it those pleasures I still had duties that needed to be finished.

Expanding my mind ever so faintly I reached out through the bond to ascertain my sister's current whereabouts. It did not take me long before I felt her in our private dining room. Her presence willingly accepting my probe as I felt it wash over my soul like the soothing waves of the ocean, gentle and calm yet holding a crushing power within their depths. Visualizing the room in my mind I expanded my magic around me before disappearing from my office only to appear in the dining room. There I found my sister sitting quietly outside on the balcony enjoying her breakfast under the last few waning minutes of remaining moonlight.

“Quite the chilly night was it not, sister?” I asked her as she looked up at my approaching form.

“Yes, quite,” she agreed, giving me a small smile as I leaned down to give her a hug from behind and a nuzzle on her cheek, “but I always have enjoyed sitting out here on nights like tonight because your night skies always seem to shine that much brighter.”

Her words warmed my heart in the crisp night air, but I had known my sister and herdmate long enough to know that she was not being entirely honest. Looking closer, I smiled as I saw that her ears had a slight twitch to them and she was trying to keep her legs firmly pressed together under the table.

“It is good to hear that you enjoyed my work dear sister,” I told her before I whispered huskily in her ear, “but are you sure that it is not because you are having trouble with your heat?”

Gilzia frowned ever so noticeably as she looked at me from the corner of her eyes with a faint blush dusting her cheeks, “I think Eric’s influence is rubbing off on you sister.”

Giggling at the rare opportunity to see my elder sister flustered I made my way to the seat across from her.

“Perhaps,” I admitted with a smirk as I sat down, “but you have to agree that it has been a challenge to not be influenced by his more… baser emotions that are projected through our bond. Even more so as of late given our current state and the fact that we have held relief from said emotions from him.”

“Indeed,” Gilzia agreed with a restrained sigh.

It seemed that since Gilzia and I had consummated our bond with our dear stallion our heats, and the urges that usually accompanied them, had increased to where there were times when we were in close proximity to Eric that even our magical restraints were barely able to control our desires. At times forcing us to distance ourselves from him lest we found ourselves become negligent in our responsibilities. The true reasoning behind this had frustratingly remained unknown to my sister and I no doubt given the uniqueness of not only our bond but also our bondmate. Perhaps it was because the bond process had been interrupted or perhaps it had to do with his human heritage. Truly it had become a perplexing problem indeed.

“Well, we shall all have relief from that soon enough.” Gilzia said as she took another sip of her tea, “Until then we should focus on the duties at hand.”

“Agreed.”

It was another line of thought for another time.

Igniting our horns we reached out for our astral twins, moving them further along on their solar tracks. Gilzia brought forth the dawn of a new day with the rising of her sun as I tucked my moon beneath the horizon. Once our alicorn duties were complete it was time to move on to the matters of state.

Before the time of my banishment my sister and I had to spend many an hour compiling records of the proceedings that occurred in our respective courts into extensive reports to ensure that a sense of continuity was maintained. A massive waste of resources and manning in the end. However, luckily, during the time I was gone Gilzia had developed a handy little memory spell that allowed the sharing of selected memories between parties.

Closing my eyes I recalled the events from the night as I weaved them into a coherent thread of events with the spell. Once done, I opened my eyes to see a faintly glowing orb now rested in my hands, swirling with images of my experiences. Extending the orb towards Gilzia I handed them over as she activated the retrieval portion of the spell. Absorbing the memories into her own consciousness as the orb faded into nothingness. After a few moments to process the thoughts she opened her eyes and resumed eating her breakfast.

“Well it seems that last night was quite productive.” she said as she took a bite of her cake.

“Yes, it is a miracle that everything has been going as smoothly as it has been since the coronation.” I replied, “There have been the occasional roadblocks and voices of concern from certain boisterous countries but that has been manageable.”

“And what of our missing duke? How is that case coming along?” Gilzia asked, finishing the last of her baked treat as I gave a tired sigh.

“Still no new leads from the Provincial Police unfortunately. The last he was seen was in the celebration following the coronation talking to a young unicorn mare, who as well, has left no trace of her existence since then. This lack of progress, of course, has done little to calm down the request from his family for the Royal Guard’s Office of Investigations to step in and take over the case; even though that would exceed the realms of their jurisdiction. Although, I personally believe that our dear duke has been simply persuaded by another young mare who is wanting to be added to his herd. Even with his leadmare’s open resistance against it after the last time.”

It may have been extremely rare, but it was not entirely unheard of, for an older stallion to be seeked out by and swayed by the advances of a young mare. The mare, if she could conceive a foal before being found out by the stallion’s herdmembers, would get the security that came with the herd of an established stallion and the stallion would have his ego stroked at still being attractive to the younger fillies. A dastardly tactic for sure that was the horror of any mare in a herd, but twas the way with some mares. Yet may whatever deity that existed out there help any mare that had such plans for my dear Eric, or him if he tried such a thing.

“Still,” I heard Gilzia speak, drawing me out from my internal musings, “I think it might be worthwhile to at least propose the offer of the guard sharing information and resources to the Canterlot Police to help them in their investigation.”

“I concur, for all we know they may have very well left the province or even the country by now.” I agreed as another servant laid another slice of cake before my sister adding to the three others already there. She went to dig into the her treat when she paused.

“Are you not going to eat?” she said concerned, motioning to the still empty plate before me.

“Not this morning, sister,” I told her with a shake of my head, “I have already promised our herdsister that I would be having breakfast with her and her family this morning. She mentioned that there were things she wanted to discuss, and I thought it would be good to check up on how the help we provided her and the others is coming along.”

A nefarious smile spread on my lips as I saw Gilzia pause at the mention of Etpinego. Her eyes flashing with shock and jealousy in an instant, no doubt, over the fact that I would be sampling some of the young alicorn’s cooking this morning. It had become no small secret amongst the palace staff that the farm-mare’s culinary talents had quickly become an addiction for my older sister. One that she would go through no small amount of feats for just the chance to sample one of Etpinego’s apple fritters or a slice of her apple pie. I felt like gloating more as I saw a far off look come across her face and her eyes glaze over, shivering slightly as she fantasized about the gooey treats. Yet with years of practice she quickly regained her regal bearing, hoping that I had not noticed.

“Oh, you are going to see Etpinego? That is nice.” she said, feigning surprise, “I can not remember the last time I had some of her co-”

“It has been two days, sister.” I corrected her plainly as I see her scowl slightly at my interrupting her.

Knowing that her brilliant plan had been seen through she must have thought it was not worth keeping up the charade of indifference anymore as a look of hopefulness shined in her magenta-colored eyes.

“Well, do you think that maybe-” she left the question open, no doubt hoping that I would pick up on her request as I gave a sigh. Even though she was older than me sometimes Gilzia could act so child-like.

“Of course I shall bring you some pastries.”

“Oh, you do not have to if you do not want to,” Gilzia said, trying to butter me up, “just if you remember is all.”

“I think it would be hard to forget, sister.” I replied over my shoulder as I walk out of the room, but paused as another smirk rose on my lips at recalling another event that happened the night before, “Oh, there was one other thing that I forgot, Gilzia, Eric came back from his trip last night.”

“I know. I felt that his presence had returned as soon as I had awakened,” Gilzia leveled me with a serious stare as her voice picked up a warning tone, “but remember our agreement dear sister: None of us are allowed to carnally interact with Eric till tonight.”

“I remember sister,” I replied as I nonchalantly waved off her warning, but a wicked thought crossed my mind as I slyly looked at my white counterpart, “still, in my current condition I more than likely could not help myself if he was to become aroused by my presence and was to force himself upon me.”

I spread my beautiful dark wings in a showy display of my beauty, but Gilzia though was not worried in the slightest by my teases as she merely chuckled and returned to drinking her tea, “If that is what you wish to believe dear sister, but remember as the younger sister you still have much to learn about pleasing a mate.”

“We shall see about that tonight,” I haughtily replied, not deterred in the least as I immediately flared my magic and teleported from the castle.

A moment later I found myself in the front yard of the Epti family’s abode. I took a deep breath through my nose, the crisp morning air worked to clear the dizziness from my mind at having to use so much power to teleport across the vast distance. A moment later the feeling had passed and I made my way to the front door where I curtly rapped my knuckles against the worn wood.

A rustling could be heard from behind the door as I waited. The muffled sound of voices could be heard on the other side before the door cracked open to reveal a young unicorn mare dressed in a maid attire.

“Yes may I h-,” she began before recognition dawned in her eyes and she gave a deep bow, “Oh! Queen Pyre! It is you. How may I be of service to you, Your Highness?"

“Yes, my little pony, I am here to call upon the mare of the house. Is she available?” I said as she raised from the bow allowing me to get a good look at her face and a memory of where I had seen her before crossed my mind as she replied.

“Of course, Ma'am, my lady, Princess Etpinego, is currently in the kitchen with the cooks discussing breakfast.” she said as she opened the door to allow me entrance, “Please come in to wait as I go and inform her of your arrival.”

I came in as she walked further into the home and there was no doubt in my mind that she was, Hamolly Pej, the same maid from that night that I was visited by Eric in my study. I thought that I and my sister had reviewed the list of servant assignments to the young princesses thoroughly enough, but to find the maid that had shown such interest in my stallion now in the service of my herdsister served only to raise my suspicions. Then again it could have just been my raised instincts due to my heat making me feel that way towards the young mare. Still I made a mental note to discuss it with the head royal maid when I returned to Canterlot as I saw Etpinego approach me looking slightly perturbed.

“Pyre, I got some words I need to share with y’ah over this here new ‘help' y’all given me.”

My eyes narrowed slightly in concern at the young mare's lack of decorum in front of others but I let it slide as I motioned for her to lead the way.

“If there is something that you would like to talk about, Princess Etpinego, then I would be more than happy to hear your concerns in more private settings.”

Etpinego led me to a side parlor off of the main hallway, once there she closed the sliding wooden partitioner to give us some semblance of privacy before turning to me. I could clearly see the exasperation written in her features as I saw her take a calming breath and I felt the need rising within me to ensure that my herdsister was alright in her time of distress.

“Is there something that ails you dear?” I asked as I enveloped the smaller mare in my wings as I nuzzled the top of her head. Her body visibly relaxing in my hold as she breathed in my scent.

“I can’t do this anymore,” she simply stated, startling me for a moment, but she continued before I could ask for clarification, “I know I told you and Gilzia that I would give this here help of y'alls a try, but I can't do it anymore. They've done gone and tried takin’ over everything.”

“Taken over everything?” I repeated with a curious chuckle, “Do you not think you are over exaggerating a little?”

My mirth over the situation was met with a scowl by the orange mare as she removed herself out of my grasp.

“I ain't over exaggeratin’!” she gritted out forcefully, causing the voice in my head to speak up again about my herdmate’s challenging tone. “Anytime I try to do anything around here I have some dang maid or other servant buttin’ in and doin’ it for me, sayin’ it ain't no job for a princess. They won't even let me go out and work in the fields to get them ready for the planting season soon.” Etpinego was getting more upset about it by the minute as she gestured back to the kitchen, “Them fancy chefs of y'alls that came down from Canterlot tried kickin’ me out of my durn kitchen to cook whatever it is they plan on cookin' in there.”

“They are just here to help dear, Etpinego,” I reminded her, trying to calm her down as she crossed her arms and gave a snort, “you and the other new princesses have quite the learning curve that needs to be overcome. You maybe even more so than the others.”

“What tha heck is that supposed to mean?” Etpinego inquired as her glare was directed to me and I felt that voice whispering in the back of my head to my conscious again.

“I simply mean that as a former Earth pony who has had no personal experience with the talents of the other two tribes that you shall have a long and difficult road ahead of you, and I believe that it best that you should relinquish some if not most of your prior responsibilities to your servants so as to focus on your new duties.”

“I get that!,” she huffed as she walked over to a window and threw open the curtains, gesturing to the property outside, “But this orchard has been in my family, ran by generations of Epti’s, all the way back to before Ponyville even existed.”

“Etpinego, pl-,” I tried to calm her down but was cut off as my farm-mare continued to allow her more primal emotions to get the better of her as she began to flare her wings challenging me.

“My family and I know this land. We've worked this land, and buried our family along the way.”

“Etpi-,”

“NO! I want you and Gilzia to know I ain't gonna have no strangers tellin’ me that I can't work my own land or to think that they can try to change what's been workin’ fer generations.”

“ENOUGH!” I forcefully said using the royal voice to gain her compliance as my own wings flared displaying my dominance over the younger alicorn, but Etpinego refused to back down, “I would remind you Princess to remember your station and to whom it is you are speaking to. Your desire to want to work on the farm of your forebears is commendable, but no longer are you going to be just responsible for this one piece of land. Instead you are now a sovereign ruler of a nation and you must come to terms with that and start meeting the responsibilities and expectations required of you.”

I tried to calm down as I lowered my tone to a more suitable one, but I still refused to back down to my farm-mare’s challenge, “I know this is a difficult time for you, full of a lot of changes, and I am sure the burdens of this heat season and our pact must not make it any easier. But if there is an issue with your house and the way that it is ran, then I suggest you take the matter up with your housekeeper. You are now a princess of the realm and you are allowed to run your estate how you see fit, but in the end it is your estate.”

Etpinego was a strong-willed mare and I was not overly surprised when she refused to back down entirely. Yet my words clearly had an effect on her as she drooped her wings and gave a small bow.

“As you wish, Your Majesty."

It hurt me to hear the dejected tone in her voice as I made to move towards her but was interrupted by a light rapping from the parlor door.

“Yeah, what is it,” Etpinego called out, the irritation returning to her voice, as the door slid open to reveal a young maid.

“I'm sorry to intrude on your conversation, my Lady,” she greeted with a curt bow, “but you have some guest at the front door who are being quite adamant that they see you.”

Etpinego and I shared a fleeting glance to one another, confused at who it could be at such an early hour. Not wanting to divulge my presence at my herdmate's home to others not already privy to our relationship I quickly cast a spell over myself taking on the disguise of a unicorn housemaid as I fell in behind Etpinego.

Making our way out of the parlor I could see another maid standing at the door barring the entrance to the unexpected guest. Yet even though we could not see who it was they were making no shortage of effort to announce their presence as all could clearly hear the feminine voice as they berated the poor maid.

“How dare you make me wait out here in the dirt like some kind of lowly earth pony. Do you not know who I am?” The mysterious guest huffed.

“I’m sorry ma'am, but I have strict orders from my Lady not to let uninvited guest in without her approval. We have already sent for Her Highness so if you would please wait a bit more.” the poor maid pleaded.

“Not letting anyone in without her approval! Pish-posh! Clearly the princess is in desperate need of a noble mare to help her straighten up this rabble of an estate she has.”

The maid looked over her shoulder as she heard our approach, relief in her eyes to be free of this rude individual. The maid gave a bow to Etpinego as she gently shooed the maid away, a small smile tugging at the orange alicorn’s lips at the maid’s admirable job before her features returned to a neutral state. Standing behind Etpinego I saw as she opened the door further to reveal a pair of noble pegasi mares.

They both were fairly young probably not much out of fillyhood as they stood at the doorway in their fine jewelry putting on airs that they were from a very prestigious family. Yet I could not recall from which family they were from. Both of their confidence seemed to falter a little as they came face to face with the moody orange alicorn, but the one in front quickly regained her poise as she gave a curt bow.

“I bid you good morning Your Highness, and hope that all is well with you and your house on this blessed day by ou-”

“You can drop the fancy talk little missy, and just tell me what it is y’all want” the honest mare told them bluntly.

“E-excuse me?” the young mare stuttered obviously unused to such brashness as her train of thought was derailed for a moment.

“Y’er not the first pair of fancy guest to come by here tryin’ to hock somethin’ to me or my friends, and to be honest today I'm not really in the mood to listen to some wordy speech. So what is it y’ah came here fer?” Etpinego clearly stated to the young mare who while still obviously offended at being talked to in such a way quickly recomposed herself as she gave another smile.

“Very well then, Your Highness, if that is what you so desire. My friend and I would like to propose to you our desire to join your herd.” the young mare said as she and her friend bowed low to Etpinego fanning their wings in front of them in the pegasus sign of submission ready for Etpinego to inspect them.

“No.”

The filly’s head quickly shot up as she tilted her head in confusion, “Excuse me, Your Highness, did you say-”

“I said no, now if y'all will excuse me I got a lot of work to get started on today so you can show yerselves out back the way y’ah came.” Etpinego told them as she went to close the door, only to be stopped by the mare's desperate plea.

“Wait! Please princess wait!” Etpinego paused as she waited for the mare to say her peace, “If you do not wish us to join your herd then perhaps there is something else you might agree to?”

The young mare's friend who had remained strangely silent throughout the whole event decided to speak up as she took Etpinego's silence as permission to continue.

“Rumors have been spreading through many of the noble houses, Your Highness, of your relationship with the alien ambassador, Eric Broussard. More to the point they have been mainly focused on his many, shall we say, ‘talents' as a stallion.”

“What about it?”

I could already tell where these mare's were going with this and I felt my instincts rise again wanting to put the little upstarts in their place as I leaned over and whispered into Etpinego's ear.

“Princess, I believe they are referring to a stud contract."

“Exactly!” the mare confirmed happily, “during our heat you would allow your stallion to help us sate our desires and in return our families would support you and your future endeavors. So what about it Princess? Are you interested in lending him?”

“How about I speak for myself,” a deep voice came from behind the mares as a tall figure walked up the stairs startling the two. The two quickly turned to see my stallion standing there with his arms crossed. A scowl on his face as he leaned down to eye level with the two, “No sale.”