The door to the office opened slowly, and the doctor reappeared with a clipboard he pored over. For a moment, it seemed like he had completely forgotten me as his eyes wandered over line after line. Only as the door was closed again and he placed the board on a small trolley that stood next to the bed I was sitting on did he seem to acknowledge my presence.

“Well, Miss Melody, you are pregnant.” I blinked. “Congratulations.” I blinked again and looked down at my body as I slowly rested a hand on the lower part of my belly.

Then I looked back up at the doctor. “This can’t be.”

The clipboard rose into the air again and flew over to me. “Your results are very clear.” Next to a little text with some blood values was an ultrasound. The picture showed my uterus, the same one the doctor had just examined half an hour ago due to my complaints, namely the lack of my period. Something was highlighted with a marker on the picture. It seemed to look like a small bulge at the side of my uterus, but I couldn’t tell for sure. I wasn’t the expert here.

“And I’ll tell you again! That can’t be! I can’t be pregnant. I shouldn’t even be able to get pregnant.” I was almost begging as I was spread out both of my arms. “I’m the only human on all of Equis!” The dark brown unicorn in front of me stroked his chin and looked again at the clipboard that was still levitating in his aura.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to explain to me why not.”

Quickly, I tried to recall everything I still knew from the biology classes from school. “Humans are not compatible with other species. We have twenty-three chromosome pairs and a special composition of enzymes that doesn’t allow something like this to happen.”

The doctor blinked, confused. “Chromo-what?” I felt my left eye twitching. “That doesn’t change anything at your condition, Miss Melody. Again, my congratulations. Surely you want to inform the father-to-be.” I laughed dryly.

“Good luck with that,” I wished myself. I had spent the last six years on this planet. I had been eighteen years old when something brought me here, so I had spent most of my adult life here. After living for a year with a pony who had offered to help me, a mare by the name Berry Punch, I had moved out. The therapy I had needed to handle all this was over by then as well. And there I was, alone amongst ponies, no job, and barely a roof over my head that was given to me by the princess due to my special condition. But that was it. After all, the welfare wasn’t there so I could live an extravagant lifestyle.

I had decided to blow the little money I had in the local bar which was owned by Berry. I couldn’t remember if it had been the first or second night after I moved out, but I had thought it would be a good idea to invite a stallion to my place. But I had needed it. And it was good; I remembered that much.

I basically hadn’t had sex in years due to stress of my situation. And then came a stallion who was looking for something exotic. And what was more exotic than me? A human, unique on the entire planet. He had bought me a few drinks, and we had talked a little and quickly realized that what he was looking for what I needed. It was something you had to tell a pony straight away, I later learned. Ponies were very quick in terms of relationships. They meet one evening, eat something, fuck each other’s’ brains out, and move in together the next day only to get married a few months later.

I had only needed one of that though. I was too drunk then to fear any consequences, like him being way too big or dying due to internal bleeding. I just needed it, so we both went to my place. As I was taking off my clothes, he had decided to take the initiative with surprising enthusiasm. He had licked all over my body and nibbled at my neck like there was no tomorrow. Not that I had needed that back then, but I had welcomed the gesture. As his long, thick penis had begun to emerge out of its sheath, I had grabbed the turgid shaft with both my hands and had basically pulled him towards me to make it clear to him that I was more than wet enough to be humped into nirvana.

Luckily, he had caught the hint. And one thing I have to clarify. Even if ponies are larger than humans, at least where it mattered, we women can press babies out of there as well. We are tougher than men like to think. Yes, it had pained for the first few minutes, but that was due to the fact that I hadn’t done it for so long.

With a strong thrust, he had pushed so deeply into me that he had filled me completely, stretching me in ways I had never been before. I knew that I had shouted his name as the pain had coursed through my body and caused my limbs to stiffen as I clenched around the shaft. However, no matter how hard I tried these days, I could not remember what his name was. All I could recall was that he was a beige earth pony with an orange mane.

As fast as he had slammed into me did he pull out again, only to thrust with full force into me again. The rapid, rough rhythm repeated for the next few minutes. He had towered above me while I clung to his long neck as he proceeded to fuck my brains out. In hindsight, I could almost say that that was all the therapy I had needed. But that would have been a lie. Probably the only reason I hadn’t flipped out the next morning was thanks to that.

We had lain on the living room on my carpet. I had been bereft of clothes, only covered by the stallion who had fallen asleep on me afterwards and used my breasts as pillows. I had felt his sperm still pouring out of me and down my thighs. But as strange as it had felt - I mean, I had basically just been fucked by a horse - I had stayed calm. I had carefully freed myself out of his grip and stood up.

That had turned out to be a mistake, since more cum poured directly out of me and onto the carpet. And all I did was be annoyed about the carpet I had to clean. The curse I had spat out had woken my guest then, who immediately had looked at me with lewd eyes. Apparently, it was a huge turn on for stallions if the mare was overflowing with their semen. He had begun to lick himself clean from his own fluids and then offered to do the same thing for me. Let me tell you, I had never felt anything like that in my life. The tongue of a pony alone was almost as long as a man’s penis, not to mention that it was strong and agile. He had gone at it with enthusiasm for nearly quarter of an hour. In the end, I didn’t know if he had licked me clean or if it had been my own orgasms that washed the rest of the sperm away.

Afterwards, we had a shower, ate some breakfast, and went on our separate ways. He was from somewhere on the borders of Equestria and was only in town to visit some relatives and had to catch a train. By comparison, I had nothing to do except to contemplate what I would do for the rest of my life.

The upshot was that I had actually considered looking for a stallion, and not just for one night. Then a whole new problem came to me. There were so damn few of them, and they knew that. It had been going on for generations already, and only those mares who proved to be more attractive got the stallion. I hadn’t thought about it at first when I saw the mares walking down the streets and wiggling around with their tails raised in public. I mean, if someone wanted to catch a glimpse, all he would have to do was look in their direction. I now knew that they were doing it to signal to the stallions that they were young, willing, and still available. And being naked was no big deal for the ponies since clothes were only worn to larger events.

It was pretty similar for the stallions however. They also often showed what they had, just to show that they could deliver. The whole thing naturally led to mares and stallions both becoming aroused in public, causing them to at least look somewhat ashamed. The mares would wink, meaning they moved their clitoris in a way such that their vagina, which was usually covered by the vulva, could be seen. And just as men would be wont to do from that type of behavior, stallions would be seen popping a boner.

They were a bit embarrassed, but since everypony knew the drill, the other ponies were usually nice enough to ignore the erections of others.

In my second year here, I met another stallion. His name was something with Cinnamon. A unicorn. It wasn’t much different to my first one, Braeburn… huh. That was his name. Anyway, I had met him in Berry’s bar again. We had gone back to his place and sated our lusts. It was him who told me that it was a bit kinky for a mare to lie on her back. Not that he had complained though. But I had realized quickly that I didn’t want more from him than a good time.

Shortly before my twentieth birthday, I had turned to Berry then to ask her for advice. I had known both her husband and her quite well by then, and despite no longer living with them, I had still visited them regularly. They were my only real friends at the time after all. They had told me that my old rags, the few clothes that I had and always wore, made me somehow look like I had something to hide.

With that new information, I had gone back home and sat down on the chair in my living room as I mulled over their words with a cup of tea. Why did humans wear clothes? For protection, of course, but protection from what? Equestria was peaceful, Ponyville was peaceful. Because of the weather. That was still true here, but only in the winter. The seasons would change overnight, which had totally caught me by surprise at first. One day it would be minus five degrees and snowy, the next day it would be twenty degrees with warm sunshine. Rain was also announced. So there was only shame left. Yes, I had gotten over that the moment I laid with a stallion. So came the day, my twentieth birthday, that I stepped out of the door without clothes for the first time in my life.

Of course a lot of eyes had been on me, confusion as to why I had thrown off the rags I had always worn. But none had looked like they would try to mount me right there. No one had tried to risk a glimpse. No mare or stallion had thrown lustful looks at me. Well, almost no one. And to be honest, it had been relieving, like taking a grey veil away that had always been blurring my vision. Restful and relaxing. And then I had realized that it was also a sign of trust and my willingness to join the community.

When I said that almost no one had thrown lustful looks at me, I meant almost. For the first time in my life, mares had stared at me with interest. And one would always stay in my memories simply because she was my best friend today.

For me, my twentieth birthday had been twice as important, but for most parts of the rest of the world, it wasn’t. The business in the village had gone on as usual, and I had to join it soon. My fridge had been empty and if I didn’t want to spend my birthday hungry, I had to go to the market. I had known that as I left the house. I wanted to go through this baptism of fire just for myself. To jump into the cold water, to call it that.

So I had gone to the marketplace, bumping occasionally into some ponies and so on. As I said, I had realized that nopony seemed to bother, strangely. With my little bag full of gold coins, I had tried to buy myself some breakfast. The only problem was that since I had decided to go naked, I had forgotten my bag. You just can’t remember everything.

In a surprisingly happy mood, I had reached the local apple stall where the same orange mare as always had offered her goods for sale. I think we had just talked once or twice by then. I just knew that she was also a regular at Berry’s Bar, just like me.

She had greeted me friendlily with her accent and deep voice. Not very deep in that sense, but compared to the other mares in town. Ponies generally had higher voices than humans, almost strident. I vaguely remember a pink pony shouting at me as I confusedly came into the village for the first time and threw me on the ground. I had awoken in Berry’s guest room. Days later, after calming down from the culture shock, I thought I had seen the pink mare again in a party that Berry said she had thrown for me. But she seemed to be sad every time she looked in my direction.

I had returned the friendly greeting and asked what apple she could recommend for an empty stomach and what side effects it might have. She had looked for a larger apple in one of the baskets behind the stall, listed the side effects, like a full stomach and a good feeling, and gave it to me. I, confused about the gift, had asked why she knew that today was my birthday. At that point I had thought I had only told Berry. Applejack - that was her name - had explained to me that she would often give small gifts to new customers. A good old tactic that every street merchant knew. Give them a small sample and it guaranteed that they would want more.

I was so lost in the conversation with the mare that I hadn’t noticed her checking out my body. Eventually, a line had formed behind me, and we finished our talk with her giving me another apple if I accompanied her to lunch. I agreed so quickly that I only realized a minute later that she had tricked me for a date. For a few minutes, I had played with the thought of walking back and telling her that I wasn’t interested in mares, but something had held me back. I think it was a thought like: “Well, if you already sleep with ponies…” Maybe something awoke my more adventurous side.

And what can I say, it had been one of the best dates I ever had. We ate, flirted, and just talked away her lunch break. She had wanted to see me again, and so did I. It had gone on for a couple of times until we ended up in her barn after a picnic and I helped her fold the blankets. When she had leaned down to pick one up that had fallen down, I had caught her. She was winking like crazy. And since I was already there, I had snuck behind her and carefully passed my finger over her swollen lips. The effect, a moan, came immediately, and her legs had begun to shake. For a second, I had thought I would be in charge, but I hadn’t taken Applejack into account. The mare, who just reached up to my belly button, had turned around, thrown me on the ground and pressed her lips against mine.

The problem showed up shortly after. The good old sixty-nine, a position that had never left me hanging in the past, didn’t really work. Either I couldn’t reach her vagina or she couldn’t reach mine. I could use my fingers, but then only she would have fun. Not that I wouldn’t have enjoyed giving her pleasure, but it just hadn’t worked out. With more work than expected, we managed to barely make each other orgasm, she with her tongue and me with my fingers. But we had quickly realized that our relationship couldn’t work this way. Sex wasn’t everything, but a vital part.

We stayed friends, and today, four years later, you could say that we are best friends. She was single and had no foals, unlike Berry, and had much more time to spend with me. From time to time, I would help out at her market stall, while we often spent our evening with a good cider in Berry’s Bar and talked about the day. Lately, her thoughts were on a pegasus mare who had moved into town a few weeks ago. A certain Rainbow Dash, the new weather manager of the town.

For me, the fiasco of finding a stallion had started anew. Many looked past me being another species, and as I became more open, I even talked to some. Applejack even tried to introduce me to her brother and afterwards to her cousin, Caramel. While the big red one hadn’t showed the slightest bit of interest, Caramel had seemed very fond of me.

We had gone out for a few times, did it sometimes, but that was it. We had reached a problem that I couldn’t solve. Caramel, a pony, had wanted to push our relation forward quickly. So at some point came the question of what I thought of foals. I had explained the same thing I told the doctor, so he had ended it all a few days later. He wanted a family which I couldn’t give him.

Which brought me to last year. I was sick of it at the time and had decided to let off some steam. I had gone outside during Bonertime, bent forwards and allowed the first stallion have some fun. I called the few weeks during spring and autumn where the mares have their estrus Bonertime. The town basically smelled like sex, sperm, and sweating ponies. The mares who were married or in a relationship barricaded themselves at home and did it like rabbits for the next few days. Mares and stallions who had no partner either locked themselves away or got out on the street. It was an agreement without words for everyone who was outside during this time, since even the stores were closed. The stallions wanted to relieve their testicles which were overproducing thanks to all the hormones, and the mares wanted a foal. No responsibilities, no bindings. These were the ones who went outside during that time. So I had gone outside with a coin, acted like I had dropped it as soon as the first stallion came into sight, and bent forward. I only had to do it once.

That self-destructive phase was stopped by Applejack on the third day, who had been fighting with her own estrus and had to keep the stallions away with a club. Apparently, Caramel had seen me, and being the good stallion that he was, he had told my best friend what I was doing here.

We spent her estrus together in the barn on Sweet Apple Acres where I could have a cry on her shoulder about how alone I was while she used every edge to satisfy her need. It wasn’t like I could help her. Relief only came from a stallion giving her his seed. Everything that I could do would have only made it worse.

After that I let it be for a whole while. I had stayed away from stallions and cared about my own life which I had more or less been neglecting until then. I had taken two jobs, the morning shift at Applejack’s apple stall on the market place and the midday shift at Berry’s Bar. I even had a one hour break between them so I could eat lunch. Of course I wasn’t that stupid to think that AJ and Berry hadn’t arranged that to help me.

That brought me to this year, which was still relatively new. I was going out on the streets again. But this time, it was simply because I wanted to have some fun. If I imagine humans just doing it out on the streets, without even really knowing each other, I could only laugh. Meanwhile, the foals and older ponies who were unaffected by the estrus would run around and ignore the whole thing since they had grown up with it.

It didn’t know how many stallions I had last month. Two or three a day, maybe? It was just one orgasm after the other, and on the last day, where even those came out of their houses who hadn’t planned to, the whole day was just one orgasm, basically without stop. I think that sperm had even poured out of me up to a week after that even though I cleaned myself carefully.

And now I was here. Sitting in the hospital, Doctor Stable in front of me and telling me that I was carrying a foal - or child - now. The ponies had really rubbed off on me.

“Well, is there anything else I can do for you, Miss? Do you maybe want to talk to a midwife?” I just shook my head absently. The doctor nodded and made his way towards the door.

“Wait!” I shouted after him. “Do you have an expert for…?” I waved around with my hand. “Interspecies conception?” Doctor Stable closed the door again and thought for a moment.

“Well, not here in Ponyville. Maybe in Manehatten, near to the borders to Griffonia. I would have to send a few letters.” He thought a bit more. “Or we could ask Twilight Sparkle.”

“Who?”

The doctor seemed to be confused because I didn’t know the name. “Twilight Sparkle. The mare who lives in the library? Princess Celestia’s student? Element of Magic?”

I shook my head. “I’m not really a bookworm.”

“You have surely heard of Princess Luna’s return two years ago, right?” I nodded. “Well, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were the ones who defeated Nightmare Moon and freed her. Or Discord last year?”

“Last year?”

“In summer, I think July. When the weather was going crazy?”

“I spent most of the summer at the lake.” With success. I had gotten a healthy tan that fitted well with my long brown hair. And Applejack said that it showed off my green eyes. Just because we were friends now didn’t mean that she no longer found me attractive. “I must have missed that.”

The doctor sighed. “Anyways, Miss Sparkle is a virtuoso in almost any subject. If somepony can help you, it’s her.” Since I couldn’t afford a trip to Manehatten or a real specialist, this Miss Sparkle would have to be enough. It also decided what I was going to do when I got out of here.

Well, here I was. In front of the Ponyville library. I had been living here for six years now, and I had never noticed that the tree in the middle of the village was hollowed out and contained a library and an apartment within. I had assumed the last part since the good doctor had said that this Twilight Sparkle also lived here.

He had described her as a lavender-coloured unicorn with a dark, violet mane traversed by a brighter stripe. Her cutie mark apparently was a star surrounded by smaller stars. I wracked my brain to try and remember where I had heard of such a description before. I was sure that something about it sounded familiar, but at same time, I was sure I had never seen her.

Doctor Stable had given me a short letter, together with my data, so that this miraculous unicorn could get a clearer picture of my situation. My claim - for it was nothing more than that at the moment - that I couldn’t get pregnant from a pony was attached as well.

Despite not believing it myself, I tried to remember who exactly I had been with during the Bonertime. But I’ll be damned if I remembered just one face. I was relatively sure that one time it was just a tongue accompanied by a very feminine voice that I heard moaning as she slipped it into me. Huh… maybe I went over the top there.

However, all that would not help me at the moment, so I knocked on the door. “Coming!” a surprisingly childish voice shouted, and I wasn’t disappointed. I looked over the little guy at first since he only reached up to my knees. I knew that there were dragons on this world, but I had never seen one before. Before the tot could even ask what the nearly hairless thing in front of his door wanted, my two hands wrapped around him and began to hug the last gasp of air out of him. I loved reptiles. I had my two snakes at home named Mortimer and Samsa. The latter one had the name I wanted to give my daughter one day if I ever had one. But hey, now I had the chance.

I continued squeezing the life out of the little dragon, my cheek squished against his while he tried to free himself out of my grip by pushing against my shoulder with his two claws. However, it was to no avail. “Twilight!” he groaned at some point, but I barely noticed. What I did detect was when the little dragon suddenly slipped out of my grip like rubber and was levitated to the ground.

In the door stood the unicorn the doctor had described. She smiled at the diminutive drake as she inspected him. “I’ve seen many reactions to Spike, but you are the first one to react like that.”

I smiled awkwardly. “Sorry. Miss Sparkle, I presume?” She nodded. “And excuse me, Spike. I’m a huge fan of reptiles.”

The little one tried to glare angrily at me, making him look even cuter in my eyes. “I’m not a reptile. I’m a dragon,” he muttered, folding his arms petulantly.

Ignoring him, Twilight Sparkle stepped past him and reached out a hoof to me. I leaned down a bit and returned the pony’s greeting with my fist. “Sorry again. I am Melody.”

“Nice to meet you, Melody.” The unicorn smiled again. “What can I do for you?”

I quickly remembered the documents from Doctor Stable that had suffered from all the hugging. “Um, I’m here because of Doctor Stable’s recommendation. He said you could help me with a small medical problem.” Immediately, the mare eyed me closely. She started at my head, went over my neck to my breasts, and finally down to my feet.

“No coat, ears at the wrong position, nose deformed, teats on the chest, arms very thin, legs too long, no paws…” she muttered as she listed what she thought was wrong with me. At first I was a bit confused that she reacted this way, but now I realized that she just thought she had a malformed creature in front of her that she already knew. I couldn’t let that chance slip past. “… and finally, five instead of three appendages at each extremity.” Her eyes went up to my face again. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say you had contact with Poison Joke.”

“No. At least not that I know of. What is Poison Joke?”

“A plant that grows in the Everfree Forest. A blue flower. Are you sure?” She eyed me carefully again. Her eyes stopped at my thighs.

“Very sure. I have never been in the forest.” After living in Ponyville for a few years, I knew that nopony with the slightest shred of common sense would go into the forest. And if there was one thing ponies were exceptionally good at, it was avoiding danger. There were only two extremes for them. It was either child’s play or you gave it a wide berth.

“A magical accident with a unicorn then?” she guessed and stroked her chin.

“No again.”

“Then… you were born with these… malformations?” she asked carefully.

“Well, these here,” I pointed at my breasts, “weren’t always that large. It was sometime around ten years ago that they started to grow. I grew as well. At one point, I was just as tall as Spike.” Twilight examined me further while the dragon seemed to hear the sarcasm out of my voice. He slightly leaned over to her and whispered something into her ear.

“What? Of course she is a diamond dog! What else could she be?” the unicorn mare shouted suddenly and pointed a hoof at me.

“I don’t know, Twilight,” Spike replied and crossed his arms in front of his chest again. “I mean, she doesn’t look like diamond dog at all to me. She walks on two legs, but that’s about it.” The little guy was no fool.

But now it was time to end this game. “Well, I’m no diamond dog. I’m a human.” Both looked at me and blinked. “Don’t worry, you couldn’t have known that. I’m the local alien, sort of.” I knew in that moment, as her mouth swung opened and almost hit the ground, that the message had hit home.

“Alien? Like not from this planet?” she asked to make sure. “Like not from this planet we call Equis?” I just nodded and grinned. I remained quiet while waiting for her to ask her next question. But she did the same, the difference being her remaining absolutely frozen in place.

A whole minute passed. “Is she… okay?”

The dragon waved a hoof in front of her eyes. “She’s gonna be alright.” We both nodded and were silent for a moment. “An alien, eh?” he then asked.

“The last time I checked, this wasn’t the planet I grew up on.” We both nodded again and remained quiet for a while. “Maybe we should go inside?” I proposed.

Spike nodded, walked underneath Twilight, and lifted her up with both his arms like she was a cardboard cut-out. “Sure, come on in.” I ducked a bit as I followed him through the door and saw the library for the first time from the inside. It was a large circular room. The shelves, where thousands of books were packed, looked as though they were just cut from the wall. Despite only having a few small windows in the tree bark, the room was well lit. In the middle of the room stood a small table with a bust on it while in one corner was a desk. A staircase led upstairs where their private quarters must be. That left only two more doors here in the first floor. Spike placed Twilight next to the desk. “I’ll make some tea,” he said and disappeared through one of the doors into the kitchen.

Not knowing what I should do now, I went over to the frozen unicorn and crouched down in front of her so that we were at the same eye level. I snapped my fingers in front of her eyes a few times, trying to find some signs of life inside her. “Melody to Twilight. Twilight, come in. Over.” Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful.

In that moment, Spike came back from the kitchen. “The tea should be ready in a moment.” Then he saw me standing in front of Twilight.

“Can’t we wake her up somehow? I don’t want to be rude or impatient, but I have some other things planned today as well.” I wanted to visit Applejack. If there was somepony to talk to about this whole thing, then it would be my best friend. She would surely say that I should have seen it coming with my lifestyle, but at the same time, she would be there for me.

The dragon rolled his eyes, took a random book out of the shelf, and opened the first page. “You owe me one,” he simply said and tore the page for about one millimetre. It was as though that sound was the only thing in the universe given the way how everything else was quiet. The frozen mare suddenly sprung to life, tackled the dragon to the side, and looked in horror at the damage he had caused.

“Spike!” she shouted. “How often do I have to tell you to be more careful with your claws?” Unimpressed, he just pointed into my direction. Twilight’s head spun around into my direction, and her jaw dropped again.

“Yes, we had that already,” I commented dryly.

Her eyes widened. “Oh my Celestia! I am so sorry! I didn’t want to insult you. I said all those things and… I am so sorry! I didn’t know you were an alien.” How should she? I thought to myself. “And you said you’re here for something?”

I presented her with my file. “The doctor did some examinations and well… I’m pregnant.” I just couldn’t resist. “You are the father, Twilight.” And we lost her again. Spike and I laughed for the first few minutes since even he knew that two females alone couldn’t have foals, but this mare seemed not to have noticed that at the moment.

Finally, after she didn’t move for over five minutes, I was alone with my problem. Spike had left with the words, “I don’t want to get into trouble again. I’m going to go visit Rarity. Close the door when you leave.”

So it was I who got the tea from the kitchen, a nice little one with just one unit and a table for a maximum of three and covered by a checker-patterned sheet. The tea was already done, and I returned to the library with two cups. The tea had cooled down a bit, and I was able to drink half of it by the time Twilight snapped back to reality again, this time much less confused than before. She then gave me a short lecture about how I shouldn’t play such pranks on ponies and congratulated me on my pregnancy.

“And that is the exact reason why I am here. I shouldn’t be able to get pregnant… by a pony at least. I can’t imagine that we have the same number of chromosomes and the right enzymes and all that.”

“Chromo-what?” Déjà-vu.

“I’m an alien, Twilight. It shouldn’t be possible that I could conceive a foal from a pony.”

She thought about it for a moment. “Well, I would have to run a few tests. We could do this right away, but I won’t be able to do more with it for a few more weeks. I am still working on a project for Princess Celestia.”

“Sounds fine to me.” I nodded and set the cup aside. “What kind of tests would those be?”

Apparently, the few seconds between my agreement and her questions were enough for her to flee into the land of thoughts. “Hmm, what? Oh, just taking a few samples and measurements.” Didn’t sound worse than what had happened in the hospital for the first time I had my whole body examined. Berry, in a rare burst of wisdom that I had to credit her for, had proposed that in case I ever got sick.

Together, Twilight and I got to it. She opened the other door in the first floor that led into the basement. After her horn glowed shortly, the lights in the little cellar room snapped on. The machines were the first thing I noticed, lined up one after the other. Tables were filled with test tubes, and there was another large shelf wall with books like formularies, lexica, and everything else that a mad scientist needed. Call me crazy, but it somehow gave me a bad feeling.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Twilight pulled a chair out of a dark corner with her magic, dusted it off quickly with her tail, and motioned for me to sit down. “Is there a special reason for these clamps?” I asked carefully as I sat down on the cushioned chair and placed my arms where they were designed to go. The next moment, the clamps slammed shut, and my limbs were trapped.

“They are there for safety reasons during the examination,” Twilight assured me and pushed one of the machines over to me. Multiple cables came out of the glowing apparatus, lifted into the air suddenly, and swirled around me, held by the magic of the unicorn. “I know that some of this will feel a bit unpleasant, but everything will be alright.” The cables were held in a waiting position while she skimmed over the data I had given her. “Okay, if I understand this correctly, this one goes here.” One of the cables flew over to my breast, and the vacuum cup at the end stuck to my skin just where my heart was. “Perfect,” Twilight mumbled and looked into the file again. “And that goes there.” The next cup clung to my right wrist. “No cutie mark? Well…” She considered for a moment and looked at one of the cables confusedly, having no idea what to do with it. Then she shrugged and stuck it to my thigh anyways. I didn’t want to say anything, but the room was cold and so were the vacuum cups. A shiver ran down my spine every time she positioned each one, but this time I was almost shaking.

The next cable landed on my stomach, approximately where my uterus must have been, before Twilight inspected the file again. “I need a better access. Spread the chair a bit, please.” I just nodded, not really knowing what she meant.

But then I felt it. The chair was designed so that the lower part could be spread in a ninety degree angle. It led to me sitting there with spread legs. At least she carefully breathed upon the vacuum cup this time before placing it on my inner right thigh. “Hey! A warning would have been nice.” That I stayed so calm was due to two reasons. The first one was that Nurse Redheart, who had examined me before, had done something similar. The other one was Doctor Stable. He wouldn’t have recommended Twilight if she wouldn’t be professional.

“Sorry, but I have to secure them all in the right places to get the data I need.” With that, she placed the last two cables on my shoulder blades.

“What exactly are we measuring?” Maybe I should have asked that earlier. However, I had often run into situations in my life without really knowing what was going to happen. And I was still alive, right?

“We are measuring your magical level. Since you aren’t a pony, I don’t really know where your magic manifests, so I have to try different places that are the most promising.”

“And this concerns my pregnancy, how?”

She looked over at me like I had said the most stupid thing in the world. “Well, you are the one complaining about a pregnancy that shouldn’t exist. So there is the slight chance of your uterus emitting magic.” And I again had to say that I was no expert, but that seemed to be as good as any answer. I could only hope that this pony knew what she was doing.

“I’m turning on the machines. This whole thing might tingle a bit.” Thanks to the warning, I prepared for what might come. Twilight hovered her hoof over a button and looked back at me again. I took a deep breath and nodded. She pushed it.

Not a second later, I screamed in ecstasy as an orgasm ripped through my body. Twilight quickly turned off the machine again. My legs shook, fluids spilled onto the cushion of the chair, and my fingers had bored into the armrest. “What was that?” I asked perplexedly, still breathing heavily. The scent of my excitement mixed with urine wafted up to my nose.

Twilight, completely stunned, just stared at me. Only as my breath began to ease back to normal did she find her voice again. “That… That was just a small magical impulse. The more magic a creature has, the harder it is to go through its body. So the larger the resistance, the more magic is in a creature.” Exhausted, I leaned back in the chair. “Errr… would you like to use the toilet?”

“You’re a few seconds too late.” Twilight nodded.

“We… have to do that again. I didn’t even have to time to turn on the output.” I thought about it for a few seconds. I could use her shower anyways after that. And I doubted it could get much worse.

“Then let’s get this over with.” She moved to the same button again and waited for my signal. But this time I knew what was coming, and so I prepared myself. Not that the first time was unpleasant. I had barely felt the magical impulse, as she had called it, over my orgasm. So I did the only thing I could: I nodded at her again.

The pulse came immediately. My vagina convulsed as another orgasm jolted through my body. Every muscle in my body tensed and locked at once, and for a few seconds, my view turned white. As fast as it came, it was gone again. Then the next pulse came, and I shrieked again, moaning and bawling out to the heavens. The third orgasm came within a few seconds, not any worse than the other two. A wave of my fluids hit the cushions of the chair again, and I believed that if there had been anything left in my bladder, it would have escaped now as well. Another one followed, and another. I was moaning the whole time, cumming until my fluids seeped over the edge of the seat and onto the ground, writhing around and trying somehow to move my limbs. One side of me wanted to get out of this chair, the other wanted to push that damn machine of hers to the maximum.

Then it stopped, and every muscle in my body went limp. It was as pleasant as another orgasm after all that tension. With lidded eyes, I caught a glimpse of Twilight as she studied a lengthy sheet of paper that the machine had given her. My head felt heavy, and so my view shifted downwards a bit. Was that a small puddle under Twilight’s tail?

“Well, according to your data, you have a normal level of magic in your body despite your very… unusual reaction to magical stimuli. Nothing unusual that could have an effect that you described. Everything’s according to the norm.”

“W-Well…” I still breathed heavily from the exhaustion. “There’s just the small problem that I shouldn’t have any magic.” I took a ragged breath. Next to the smell of my own arousal and urine, there was something else in the air. My moaning must have turned Twilight on a bit since I knew that musky odour from the one time with Applejack and from Bonertime. She must have realized that I had noticed as she desperately tried to hide her vagina behind her tail and had positioned herself in a way such that she covered the small puddle she had made.

“Then… I have to do more research. I am sorry; I’ve never dealt with a case like you before.” She hung her head in disappointment before she opened the clamps over my wrists and ankles with her magic. Happy to finally be able to step out of my fluids, I stood up so quickly that I almost fell down again since my legs were still shivering.

“Well, if it cheers you up, even though your machines weren’t that helpful, you could surely rent it to lonely mares.” We both giggled a bit. “But now I definitely need to use your shower, and then I’ll need to know where I can find a bucket and a mop.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to. I will clean that up!” she answered a bit too quickly. She really didn’t want me to notice how aroused she was. “The bathroom is on the top floor, first door to the left. Make yourself at home.” I walked up the stairs and threw one last look back. Twilight stood there, grinned awkwardly, and seemed to be waiting for me to leave the basement.

I did as she asked and actually had to close my eyes as I entered the well-lit ground floor. How long had we been down there? But I realized quickly that I was still dripping and rushed to get into bathroom, so she wouldn’t have to clean this room as well.

The bathroom couldn’t be missed. It was small, just like the kitchen, but had everything one needed. There was round wooden bathtub, a shower, a French toilet (as I referred to them), and a sink with a mirror. Unlike in my own house, it was all a bit smaller but still large enough for me to use it without much problem. It was probably due to the fact that I wasn’t that tall with my one meter seventy height.

I stepped into the shower and played with the controls. Warm water, magically heated, poured over my body. Still a bit turned on by what had just happened in the basement, my hands slowly wandered down my, at least by my opinion, well-formed body. Well, there were a few centimetres too much at my hips; my upper arms could use a bit less padding as well and my rear a bit more. I crossed my arms and softly caressed my shoulders and leaned my head back, allowing the water to run through my shoulder-length, fringy hair. My hands wandered down, and I kneaded my breasts for a moment. For one, my libido was still rearing to go, and it was also one of my usual rituals. Breast cancer was no joke. It was a good excuse to do this. Not that they were big. A solid B cup.

I let go of my breast that I had surely checked three times more than necessary, my hands wandering down to stroke over my stomach, staying there for a few seconds with my thoughts. I was going to be a mother. The thought went through my mind again, though it wasn’t like it had ever been gone.

Slowly, my left hand wandered further down, deliberate and luxurious, gliding down along my stomach before stopping to circle languidly around my belly button a few times, a small shiver of excitement coursing through my body at the simple yet stimulating rhythm. Almost unbidden, my right hand reached upwards to cup a breast, caressing the mound for a few seconds before catching my nipple between my forefinger and thumb. I pinched the soft button gently before increasing the pressure, rolling, squeezing, and tugging as the water continued to wash around me. I bit my lip as a small whimper escaped me as the small jolts of pleasure quickly began to build up even lower. My left hand could not help but follow.

Spreading my legs wider, my fingers lightly traced over my slit, feeling the generous amounts of slick arousal trickling out before being washed away by the shower. My thumb bore down on the hood of my engorged clit, tracing small light circles around the small button, gently teasing and playing with my quivering excitement.

Unable to resist the building neediness seeping into my lower body, I gently slid a finger into myself, feeling the warm wetness as my pussy gripped and squeezed around the warm digit, a delightful contrast to the strangeness of Twilight’s machine. Another finger soon joined the first as I began to thrust them in and out, slowly at first before quickening the pace. My breath quickly turned ragged and uneven as I kept pumping, beginning to thrust my hips against my own hand, feeling the slowly building pleasure spiking suddenly as I raced towards another climax. I began to pull and tug roughly at my nipple, desperate to have that all-consuming euphoria overwhelm me.

It wasn’t long before the wave washed over me, my fingers gripped fiercely by my quivering quim as my juices flowed out and down my legs. All my muscles seemed to lock before relaxing, and I slowly slid down, my shivering legs losing their ability to keep me standing. I breathed heavily, my heart jackhammering in my chest as my fingers had done to my core. I raised a shaking hand to brush my soaking wet hair back to allow the water to rain down on my face, the cooling sensation just what I needed for my still heated body.

After a few moments, I slowly stood upright once again, stifling a yawn. I was tired, exhausted even, almost ready to just fall asleep right here. My head turned to the left where various shampoos and soaps for coats and manes were displayed. I reached for a random bottle and rubbed the foam into my hair, sitting down properly this time on the floor of the bathroom. While I cleaned myself, I could only ask myself what the heck was going on with me. I must have had like five or six orgasms with Twilight’s machine, and here I had been, moaning and squirting in the shower of a mare that I had just met today. I had tried to avoid being too loud, but I wasn’t very successful. Now I could only hope that Twilight hadn’t heard me from in the basement.

Since my lust had ebbed away by now, an answer came to me. Hormones. I laughed. Maybe I should check to see if Ponyville had something like a sex shop.

Berry’s Bar, my safe haven. As always, I sat at the counter on one of the barstools, which were similar to those found on Earth, except shorter. The bar was as simple as it could get. It was a small pub at the corner of the street, its window panes befogged in every colour of the rainbow. It was decorated in all manner of odds and ends that ordinary ponies might call garbage, such as the singing fish that was mounted on one wall, for instance, or the tacky, red, heart-shaped cushions placed upon the various corner booths of the bar floor. Behind the counter, a shelf was filled with the most costly drinks to be found in Ponyville.

Aside from me, around twenty other ponies had the same idea of spending this mild evening in here. Spring was in full swing, and with it being a month after the whole estrus thing, no mare dared to drink again. They knew the risks and would want to avoid any damage to their potential offspring. But me? I had gulped cider down my throat as the whim, and my purse, took me. Ignorance was no excuse in law, but I didn’t feel guilty either. Why should I? It never even occurred to me that I could have been pregnant before today.

That was why the glass I held in both my hands now was only filled with water. Berry would have surely chided me if I spent my money elsewhere. I had told her to buzz off and let me enjoy my water. I didn’t even want to come here, but Applejack was gone for a delivery to a nearby village. Something about an apple pie emergency. So I asked Big Mac if he could tell her to meet me at the usual spot when she had time.

“Can I bring you something else, sweetie?” Berry purred and stared at my almost empty glass. “Or do you want to stick with water?”

“No thanks, Berry. I think I had enough lately.” The mare smiled contemptuously, shook her head, and turned to the guests further down the counter while mumbling something about how there couldn’t be anything like too much cider. Her husband, Silver Coin, a grey unicorn with brown mane, had told me once that the only time Berry was completely sober was when she was pregnant with little Berry Pinch. A cute thing. I really liked her. I had nothing against children really. Indeed, back on Earth, I was convinced that someday, perhaps later on in my life, I would have children of my own. I mean, that was how it was supposed to be, right? The little girls got dolls to play mommy while the boys got cars to push over the parquet floor and play firefighter or whatnot. I wasn’t spared from that type of education. I even had one of those dolls that could wet their diapers, at least as long as my mom secretly refilled the water since I often forgot to feed her.

Back on Earth, I had studied art, and I didn’t mean art history or anything in that vein. No, I wanted to become a painter, standing in a pair of dungarees with a ponytail in my own dirty atelier and casting my fantasies onto a canvas. Now I had to limit myself to a sketchbook, which was so expensive that I wasn’t able to afford anything but bread and sprouts for a week after I bought it. Paper, in a world where it had to be manually crafted, wasn’t cheap. With my two jobs, I was doing a bit better than with welfare alone, but I wasn’t exactly swimming in opulence. Berry and AJ only paid what they really could afford. I knew the state of the farm was one that she had to fight with the bank every year to make it to the next. And Berry had been saving up for a long time to make more out of this hole. That was why I was even more grateful for what they did for me. They really were my friends.

“Howdy!” I was startled, and the empty glass that I played with fell over and rolled for a few centimetres. “Ah! S’cuse me, sugarcube.” I had been so deep in my thoughts that I hadn’t noticed AJ coming into the bar and standing next to me. The mare sat down on a chair at the counter and smiled at me.

“Hi, Applejack. Glad you could come.” As my friend rested her hooves on the counter, I saw that the hair around them seemed to be singed. It was as though she had run over coals. “What happened to your hooves?”

She eyed her dark, singed, orange coat and waved it off. “Nothing serious. Ah just have to buy new safety boots if I wanna make that trip ‘gain.” I nodded and raised my glass again, calling her attention to it. “Mighty clear cider you have there. Is ours not good enough for ya?” she asked with a grin and jabbed me in the side.

“Evening, Applejack.” Berry returned at that moment. “The usual?” The farmer nodded, and a few seconds later, a mug with freshly drawn cider stood in front of her nose. “Cheers.” Two golden coins were casually thrown onto the counter, and Berry disappeared again.

“I just thought I should hold back a bit for a while.” I continued the subject from before.

“If it makes ya happy,” AJ said and took a large gulp. “Ahhh, that’s what Ah needed.” She sighed as she slammed the mug back down on the counter. “So, what did ya wanna talk ‘bout? Big Mac said you seemed tense.”

“Well…” For a moment, I stopped and thought about what could be the best way to tell her. I mean, this was big news. I bet if those little hacks from the Foal Free Press heard about it, there would be an article just like the one time that I shaved off the little hair I had on my body aside from my head. Of course, I always tried to look flawless when I ran around naked. That also included shaving the hairs around my genital area, my legs, or the hairs in my armpits. But that didn’t mean that paparazzi could take photos of me in my bathroom and then write an article about how I was actually a hairy monster who shaved off her coat. I mean, some ponies even believed that bullshit! If I ever found out who that Gabby Gums was, we would have a serious talk. Luckily, the article had only made it on page three.

So instead of dropping the bomb, I tried to get my friend to conclude that I was pregnant. A woman who usually drank alcohol suddenly switched to water? A good place to start. But she would need more. “Well, I haven’t been feeling well lately. Something with my stomach.”

“Uhh.” She just nodded and looked at me questioningly. I knew the expression on her face. It said something like, ‘That’s all fine, sugarcube, but how can Ah help ya?’

“I thought that you maybe knew a home remedy or something like that.” It was worth a shot, but I didn’t think it was enough. I didn’t even know the symptoms ponies had when they were pregnant. For us humans, it was clear when your red friend didn’t visit you, but I doubt mares waited until the next estrus to know.

But maybe I was wrong. She eyed the empty glass of water in my hand again, and then her eyes wandered to my stomach. Just as she was about to respond, a familiar voice called out. "Applejack?" She turned around, looking over her shoulder at the doorway. I followed her gaze and saw the pony who I knew the voice belonged to: Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh, Ah forgot to tell ya that Ah met Twilight on the way here. She said she could use a drink as well, and Ah had never seen her drinking. So Ah thought that whatever was on her mind would be important. Ah hope ya don’t mind. She just came a bit later because she wanted to tell Spike.” What should I say? That I was uncomfortable around her? That I was indeed a bit embarrassed to see the mare again that made me come so many times without even touching me? A little bit. I had no clue why exactly. I had been with a couple of stallions and I didn’t have any problems seeing them again. I saw Caramel basically every time I went to buy candies at Bon Bon’s Bonbons, his fiancée’s store. Like I said, fucking, move in together, getting engaged, marriage, all hopefully within three months.

I remained silent, so Applejack turned around again and waved the lavender-coloured mare over to us. Her eyes fell on Applejack first, then on me, and I could have sworn that I saw some red shimmering through her coat. So she was still a bit uncomfortable with it as well. Good, I wasn’t alone then.

“Hello again, Applejack,” Twilight returned the greeting as she sat down next to her friend on the last free barstool at the counter. “And hello to you, Melody. I didn’t think we would see each other so soon again.

“You know each other?” Applejack asked, surprised.

“Briefly,” I mumbled. Twilight didn’t seem to have anything to add to that either and just nodded. “We met around noon for some minor thing.”

“Oh, hello, Miss Sparkle. What rare honour.” Berry appeared again out of the thin air. By god, I swear that mare had ninja training. What other reason was there to explain why her hooves barely made any sound while she walked over the wooden floor? “What can I get you?”

Twilight thought for a moment and tapped her hoof against her chin a few times. “I think I’ll just take a water, Berry. I’m not so much for alcohol.” With a sigh, the earth pony brought the ordered drink. “A bit for three glasses. I’m not the local fountain,” she said as she placed the glass in front of her.

“I’ll take the same again,” I threw in before she could disappear again.

“What?” Twilight said, suddenly upright on the chair. “You shouldn’t be drinking!” Everyone knew when something bad was about to happen. Time always seemed to slow down and eventually freeze. It wasn’t any different here. I could see every fine hair on her coat, every muscle that it took her to open her mouth, the lips that slowly formed the words that she had tried to carefully express instead of just blurting them out. It was a moment like that, but as quickly as it came, it ended. “You’re pregnant.”

Applejack’s mug fell to the ground. Berry dropped my glass that she ironically had just filled with water, not alcohol. I winced and prepared for what was coming. Uncomfortable silence. I didn’t need to look up from the counter to know that AJ and Berry were staring at me with open mouths while sounds of confusion hinted that Twilight was looking alternately between them.

It was Applejack who eventually broke the silence. “Wut?”

“Oh, Sweetie! I’m so happy for you!” I suddenly felt Berry’s hooves around my neck as she pulled me halfway over the counter. “Why didn’t you say anything? Now I feel guilty for making fun of you drinking water!”

“Water?” That was Twilight.

Well, now that it was out, I could just roll with it. I returned Berry’s hug. “Thanks, Berry, that means a lot.”

“Now wait just a second!” I felt a hoof on my bare skin again, this time on my shoulder, and I was pulled back into the chair by AJ. “How can ya be pregnant? Wasn’t that the reason ya broke up with Caramel? Did ya lie to him?”

“What? No!” I defended myself, and my friend relaxed again. “I really didn’t think I could get pregnant. Honestly, I still think that it should be impossible. That’s how I met Twilight.” All eyes went to the unicorn. “Doctor Stable couldn’t help me find out how it happened, so he suggested that I go visit Twilight to get an answer. We met earlier today.”

“When did you find out?” Barry asked curiously.

“Also just earlier today.”

“Wasted no time, eh?” The bar mare grinned.

“Well, I don’t have any. At some point in the next nine months or so, I will be blown up like a balloon and press something the size of a hoofball out of me.” Now that I thought of it, what would come out of me anyway? A human, a foal, something in between? And how long would the pregnancy go? The usual nine months or eleven? Only now did I realize how many unknown variables would come into play.

However, I didn’t seem to be the only who noticed. “Hold on! You don’t know what your… offspring will be?” Twilight asked.

“Well, no. How could I? Don’t you remember? I’m the only human on all of Equis. Which means…” I gulped. “I will be the mother of an entire new species.” There, I said it. Of course, I had known it all along. The thought had been in my head all day, but I had tried to ignore it.

“Don’t you worry, honey, we’re here for you! Right, Applejack?” Berry put a hoof over my hands. Even though the hard appendage wasn’t the most comfortable feeling on my hands, I still welcomed the gesture.

"Of course we are. We’re yer friends.” The conversation then took the turn I had both expected and was afraid off. Applejack asked who the lucky father was, and I had to explain to her how I didn’t know. Ponies, sex-driven as they were, still wanted at least a rough idea of where the fruit of their loins had come from. And, of course, Applejack gave me a firm lecture. Berry, on the other hand, now heard about my little breakdown a year ago for the first time and hit me lightly on the back of my head with her hoof. Lightly was still painful with their hard hooves. She said she would have spanked my flanks like I was a little foal if it weren’t for my condition.

Eventually came the question that I was afraid of the most. “Do you want to keep it?” It wasn’t a question about abortion. No, there was no such thing here. Ponies valued the gift of life a lot, and nopony would do it even if it would be possible here. It was basically in their DNA, so deep that there it didn’t even need a law. The question was if I planned to raise it myself.

Due to all the lust during estrus, there were a lot of pregnancies. However, there were cases where the mares were not able to raise the foals themselves, usually due to financial difficulties, illnesses, or in rare cases, because the mare didn’t want the foal. In that case, the mares would give birth to the foals and give them up to an orphanage. Almost every town had one, and they were rarely empty. Unlike on Earth and contrary to popular belief, they were usually very happy places. Often run by older mares that could no longer have their own foals, every foal had their own room, got three meals a day, and the love that they needed. The matrons loved the little ones like they were their own, so much so that many adopted them themselves if they didn’t find another family when they came of age, which was around fourteen here. Something I knew since AJ often sent me to deliver apples to the local orphanage.

The age of maturity for ponies was quite different than it was back home. Most of the time, ponies received their cutie marks by the age of fourteen, give or take a year or two. At the very earliest, they usually received it at age seven or eight. Normally, academic education for most ponies ended around age fourteen as well, so pony society, through convenience, decided a pony was legally an adult by the age of fourteen, having both received their cutie marks and finished their formal education by said age. Ponies reached physical maturity around a year or so after that, usually age sixteen in the case of mares when they hit their first estrus cycle. From then on, it was de rigueur for ponies to seek out a way to make money from their cutie mark or take up further education in one of the larger cities if they had the means to do so.

Let’s face it then. Was I ready to sacrifice at least fourteen years of my life for another being, to give it all of my attention? Counter question. What was I even doing with my life? I just drifted around. Wake up, eat, work, eat, more work, drink, eat, sleep, repeat. No career ladder that I could climb. No relationship that I could advance. Did I really have anything better to do? Not really. “Of course, Applejack. I mean, I always thought I would be mother one day. It just came a bit… early. And surprising.” The smile of my friends warmed my heart.

“A completely new species…” And with that, Twilight Sparkle, who had sat stiffly on her chair until now, joined us again with renewed vigour.

“You do know that I’m a completely new species as well, right?” And she was gone again.

“Ah won’t carry her home if ya go on like this,” Applejack commented dryly and emptied the fourth mug of cider for the evening. She always drank exactly five, then stumbled back home slightly drunk. She knew exactly how much she could handle and always stayed on the pleasant side of the alcohol to keep the aftermath as small as possible on the next day. After all, there was work waiting for her the next morning.

And with that, I looked up at the clock. The once young evening was getting on in years and entering its prime in life, the hands of the clock slowly ticking towards midnight. Even though this was a bar, it still closed at one in the morning. Berry would lock up at two so that she could wake up early enough the next morning to care for Berry Pinch. She might be an alcoholic, but she was also a very committed mother. With Silver Coin, who had a job in Canterlot and could only be here on weekends, she had to be. He worked at a bank, but I didn’t really know what he did there. But what I did know was that he had tried for years now to be moved to Ponyville so that they no longer had to keep an apartment in the capital.

By custom, I let my gaze wander over the remaining guests. Only Twilight, Applejack, and I were left at the counter. In one booth next to a window sat an elderly stallion who nipped at his drink. Two tables down sat a pair of mares who looked like they were celebrating something. Their table was strewn with shot glasses, and one mare’s head wobbled dangerously. One could tell she was minutes away from smashing face-first into the table and passing out here in the bar. The bed I had once occupied for a year was used to house ponies like that overnight. That was Berry for you. She probably felt sympathetic, having woken up in strange places as well during some of her escapades in the past.

Not far off from the drunks was a young pegasus who seemed to have the same idea as me: search for possible partners for tonight. Our eyes met for a moment, but it wasn’t meant to be. “What are you doing?” Applejack asked as I had turned around so far that my back pointed towards the counter.

“Hey, just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I stopped looking for Mister Perfect.” She rolled her eyes and chuckled as the last mug of cider found its way to her lips.

I kept looking around. A table next to the pegasus sat two earth pony stallions and were in a heated discussion about what they called the perfect week a third one seemed to have had. Since potential material for a relationship was a strong criteria for me, I scanned further. One of them didn’t look too shabby, but he wore a hooflet that only married couples wore to show that they were already taken. The other one was thin and a bit lean. He also seemed to have dyed his coat yellow. Badly as well - the brown roots could clearly be seen.

I was startled a bit as a hoof tapped against my shoulder. What was wrong with me today? Usually I could hear ponies a mile against the wind. Next to me stood a small bright blue pegasus with a ruffled white mane. He seemed to be nervous as he shifted his weight between his hooves, and his wings were unsteady as though they couldn’t find a comfortable position against his body. His cutie mark was that of a thermometer that depicted the mercury within it as if the temperature was at zero degrees Celsius. “Umm… can I buy you a drink?” he asked carefully, a shy smile on his face.

Being experienced as I was, I could smell fresh meat when I saw it. Yes, that was exactly how it worked. I didn’t even mean that he was a virgin, but stallions were usually nervous when they spoke to me for the first time. I looked back at him with a smile but also with a critical eye. Like I said, he was smaller than most other stallions, who usually reached up to my chest. If he stretched a bit, he would maybe just reach it with his muzzle. His chest and back muscles, however, seemed well-developed underneath his coat as with most pegasi who tended to fly frequently. This either meant that he had a lot of free time or a job related to it. His muzzle wasn’t as broad as the ones on other stallions as well. It was a bit smaller, almost a bit feminine in a way, but not unattractive. Somehow, it suited him. All in all, he seemed decent. And I could see that he wasn’t really the type of stallion who just wanted a quick lay since he didn’t have a boner while he stood here in front of me. He also actually tried to be nice. However, I still had to decline the drink.

“No thanks.” I saw the disappointment in his face. He must have built his courage up for a while now before he decided to ask me. “I’ve had enough tonight. But take a seat, and we can talk for a bit without one as well.” I pointed at the empty chair to my right.

A smile quickly returned to his lips, and he excitedly jumped on the chair that almost fell over. “I’m Celsius,” he introduced himself and reached out a hoof. I returned to greeting and introduced myself as well and then Applejack and Twilight, the latter still dazed.

Then we talked. About my job, about his job, and so on. He worked for the weather team here in Ponyville, which seemed to fit to my first impression of him. He lived in a small shared flat with a unicorn stallion named Common Sense, and a mare, Sweet Drops. They were together and to have the flat for themselves, they ‘asked’ him to go out for a bit tonight. Proposed he should go in a bar and write a script. Some things were the same on both worlds.

He knew that they would marry sooner or later, and he was mentally preparing himself for moving out. He even had his eyes on a small apartment. Celsius told me about his hobby of playing the guitar, something that really increased my interest in him. Being an artistic spirit myself, I told him about my hobby and my dream of having a large house with a workshop one day, not that little one-storey thing I currently lived in. He could completely understand since he often had arguments with his neighbours when he practiced. That was why he wished for his own house with a practice room that he could have enchanted to be soundproof. Problem was that it would not be cheap.

At some point when we talked, Applejack and Twilight had disappeared. Contrary to her earlier threat, she had apparently carried the unicorn home. And it eventually came to the time that Berry wanted to close, so I had to make a decision. Did I want to let this stallion into my life and try it? He couldn’t make this step, his place was occupied. Then my fuck-it-attitude set it. I couldn’t get more pregnant, and he was a nice guy. I could really imagine a relationship with him. So I spoke the words that were the universal code as we left the bar. “Do you want to come to my place for coffee?”

I was a bit excited. It wasn’t too often that I got to be in charge when it came to sex. Ponies were rather uncreative in that regard. The mare would bend over a bit and sway her flanks in the air while the stallion mounted her and ‘ploughed the fields’ as AJ would say. Aside from when the mare would lie on her back, that was the main position used. One thing always stayed constant: the stallion was more or less in control. The usually rather dominant mares seemed to like that. For them, it was something new to not be in charge, to allow themselves to be pressed onto the ground by somepony they trusted so that they could barely move.

I, knowing that there were more than two positions, was a bit more curious in trying new things. My little pegasus for the night came in very handy there. And he was a fine stallion as well, someone that I could keep around. I would just have to try not to go over the top right away. From our talk at the bar, I had learned that it was his first try in searching for a partner outside his usual area. I didn’t want to scare poor Celsius. I was a woman who knew what she wanted. Sometimes.

My house wasn’t far away from Berry’s bar, a brisk walk of around five minutes, two if you were in a hurry. We managed somewhere in between. I opened the door that was almost never locked. There was no reason for it. Crimes were almost non-existent in Equestria, with only a few very rare exceptions. I blame the princesses for that. They were powerful magical beings that were thousands of years old, but many ponies thought of them as gods that would descend from the sky and bring justice upon them if they dared to commit a crime. That thought was so ingrained into the minds of the ponies that they probably had always seen them like that. It did wonders for making ponies keep their hooves to themselves instead of stealing apples, for instance.

The self-illuminating candles came to life as I entered my warm house, Celsius right behind me. “It’s all a bit… bigger,” he noted correctly. Like I said, the Equestrian Welfare ponies had taken account of my special case. It had even been signed off by one of the princesses, and they had built a house suited for my needs. Larger doors, windows, furniture, and so on. Applejack had jokingly said once that she could use my toilet as a bath for the piglets. She owned them to dispose of her bio waste and to get cheap manure. Those pigs were just faster than a compost heap.

“Well, a big girl like me needs her space,” I said, trying for a sultry tone to get us both in the right mood. Celsius nodded and cleaned his hoof at the rug behind the door as I closed the door behind him. “Why don’t you go in the living room while I make some coffee? It’s straight ahead.” I already had an idea how I could introduce Celsius a bit better to my physiology and needs. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

The stallion nodded and trotted away, not taking his eyes off my furniture for a moment. With a few steps, I disappeared behind the first door to the left of the entrance and opened the fridge. I thanked myself for being smart enough to go shopping yesterday as I took the cream bag out of the fridge and placing it on the worktop.

Ponies loved sweets, and my plan was simple. I would just mark the places he had to ‘work’. And I liked some cream in my coffee.

My old coffee machine, that was always shook and hummed when I used it, didn’t take long to make the two cups of coffee I needed. These smaller machines ran on magical batteries - crystals to be more precise. Once or twice a year, you had to buy new ones for every gadget. A year after my house was built, the dam was constructed to supply newer buildings with magical energy. All in all, there were only about three or four buildings like that in Ponyville at the time.

I took the two cups of coffee into my hands, with the bag with cream under my arm, and made my way into the living room. The room was as simple as it could get and basically took up the entire rear section of my house. At the wall to the left was a fireplace with the last leftover wood of the winter. From the corridor, the wall looked like a single large window that gave a beautiful view of the extensive hilly landscape. To the right was my couch, a red, fringy carpet in front of it and a shelf with the few books I had. Next to the couch was a small table where I always had my sketchbook which Celsius seemed to have found.

“These are really good! What places are these?” he asked and turned the book towards me so I could see what he meant.

“That’s Big Ben. One of the city’s landmarks where I was from,” I explained and offered him one of the cups. He closed the book and took it with quiet thanks.

“You can draw really well. I bet you could get a cutie mark if you used a brush or something like that.” That was the kind of way ponies would flirt. Telling somepony that they were good enough in one thing to deserve a cutie mark was apparently big praise.

“Thanks, Celsius,” I said and carefully kissed him on his cheek. I had just made the coffee, but it still was just an excuse. “Some cream?” The stallion nodded, but instead of pouring the cream into his coffee, it oozed onto his muzzle. Confused, he eyed the little pile of cream until I licked it off with my tongue. Licking was akin to kissing for the ponies, just with more eroticism and intimacy behind the act. In one of the few books I had, most of them about the ponies’ culture, there was a section from when they had wandered through the world like nomads and had little time to wash themselves, so the families licked each other as clean as they could.

My actions had the desired effect on Celsius, and his muscles began to clearly tense. I could see his red cheeks even through his bright coat. These ponies could be so… expressive sometimes.

“A bit more cream?” I whispered into his ear and nibbled softly at it. It flinched and tried to get out of the soft embrace of my teeth to no avail. I knew how sensitive they were, and so I elicited the first moan of the night from the stallion.

“Please…” He gasped as I went to work. I carefully placed some more spurts of cream on his chest and neck. Then, being the artist that I was, I leaned back a bit and watched my work for a second before carefully placing another one between his belly button and sheath. If he had no idea how to play this game, then he should have an inkling now.

I placed the bag on the couch behind me and began with a mix of nibbling and licking to remove the first squirt of cream from his neck. My tongue slowly went through his short and soft coat before I sucked in some skin with my mouth and softly bit into it. His breath was getting heavier, his heartbeat pounding. I was so close to him that I had no trouble noticing. My breasts lightly brushed over his feathers while I stretched my body out to the back, almost lying down on the sofa so I could reach the cream on his chest. Ever so slowly, my short tongue went through his slightly denser coat and worked the cream out of it. The stallion in front of me began to quiver slightly. He must have felt my slightly sharp teeth a while ago, but I doubted it was because of that.

With a grin, I wanted to turn to the last drop of cream, but it had changed its place. His penis had decided to join in on the fun and softly brushed over his coat in his lower parts and taking the cream with it, where it was now spread on the flat head of his shaft. Just like his stature, he wasn’t equipped as big as other stallions, but it was still impressive. It was about half the length of my lower arm, including my hand, and almost as thick as well. Black, with a thick pulsing artery, it twitched directly in front of my face and gave a pleasant musky scent, indicating what type of stallion he was. “What do we have here?” I asked with playful ignorance and softly wrapped my hand around the fine piece of stallion meat in front of my nose. Celsius winced slightly as he felt my touch. “I think someone wants to join us.” Without further ado, I licked the cream off his throbbing shaft. With a loud moan, Celsius fell back on the couch, almost lying on his back now.

Satisfied with the result, I began to climb on top of him so that my face was directly above his. “Wow…” he panted before I brought my lips against his. He finally decided to show a bit of initiative as his tongue fought its way into my mouth. My right hand, meanwhile, found its way between our bodies, naked skin on coat, where I again grasped the best part of him and stroked it softly. We moaned into each other’s mouths. I let the whole thing go on for a few more seconds before I stopped the kiss and sat up again. Celsius followed my example and eagerly waited for what I had planned next. I grabbed the bag of cream behind me and placed some cream on my neck.

“Your turn,” I simply said and handed him the bag. For a few seconds, he looked questioningly at it, then at my body. He didn’t really seem to know how he could return the pleasure, so I gave him a little help. Carefully, I took his hooves and guided them to my left breast, allowing him to pour a bit of cream over my nipple. Ponies tended to ignore the teats of the mare when they had sex, so I usually had to tell the stallions that it was different for me. But he caught the hint and did the same to my other breast. Then he laid a trail of cream from the little squirt at my neck down my body, between my breasts, and down to my belly button.

“Umm, could you lie down?” he asked.

“You’ll have to do that,” I returned. Excited as he was, he didn’t need to be told twice, and his hooves began to bring my body to the position he wanted. He gently stroked over my thighs, my calves, and finally I was the one lying on the sofa while he stood above me with the bag. He continued pouring out the cold trail of cream, from my belly button and over my lower abdomen until he finally reached my slightly wet slit. Of course, his sight didn’t leave me cold either, but I was still far from being ready for him.

He placed the bag aside and carefully stepped towards me, paying close attention to not actually step on me. The couch wasn’t much wider as my body. The second he stopped, I wrapped my hands around his neck and slowly pulled him down. His tongue quickly went to work and licked, ever so slowly, the bit of cream off my neck. Just as I had done, he took a bit of skin between his lips and nipped at it slightly before moving further down. Without stopping, he followed the trail that he had laid down from my neck to my breasts. His tongue circled around my nipple for a few seconds before he finally took it between his flat teeth as well, and now it was my turn to moan. I hummed a little to show that I enjoyed his ministrations and to encourage him as he moved on to my other nipple. Apparently, I didn’t even need to. His new toy seemed to please so much that he eagerly got to it this time without hesitation. His muzzle pressed into my breast as he strongly slobbered over it, almost followed by what was a real bite. I clung harder around his neck and whimpered. He changed to my other breast again and started the game anew. I felt my breathing becoming heavier as I felt the heat welling up between my legs.

After a minute or so, Celsius seemed have enough of my breasts for now, and his tongue continued to wander over every inch of my body. He circled a few times around my belly button before he continued his journey further downwards. The last few centimetres was torture for me, but then his tongue finally reached my wet lips, parted them, and stroked over the little pleasure button. My hips arched sharply, and a heavy moan escaped my lips while my hands clung to his mane. Without a break, he continued his assault on the more familiar anatomy for him, licking up the liquids that I produced en masse now and circled close around my opening.

Eventually, he looked up at me with a smile, the coat around his mouth and chin soaked with my fluids. Slowly, he moved up again and pressed his lips against mine while my hands wandered around his neck. I could taste myself on his lips, on his tongue. It just turned me on even more. We moaned into each other’s mouths, sending little vibrations through our bodies. I was ready, and he could have taken me right here and there, but there was one more little thing that I wanted to do first.

I sat back up and softly pushed Celsius back down with my hand against his chest. “Lean back a bit, will you?” He just nodded as I stood up from the sofa. I stepped into something cold and wet. The remains of our two cups of coffee must have fallen at some point. I ignored that for now. I got down on my knees and took the stiff piece of stallion mean in both my hands. I began slowly licking over his scrotum before pressing one of his testicles against my lips with a light sucking motion. If he had hands, they would surely have been pressed into the cushions of my couch. Instead, he slammed both forehooves against it. Satisfied with his reaction, I repeated the action carefully with his other testicle before very slowly moving my tongue up the entire length of his shaft. At the flat top, the first trickle of precum was already out, and I eagerly licked it off as I took him into my mouth. I couldn’t fit a lot inside my mouth, but the bit that was was softly caressed by my tongue while my head moved lightly up and down. I made sure that my teeth didn’t come into contact with it. I knew that that could be very painful.

Celsius moaned and panted as my tongue massaged the head of his best piece, but I didn’t want him to come so soon. With a last suckle, I released his shaft and scooted down with my back on the carpet, a bit away from the couch to avoid having to lie in the cold coffee. With a finger, I motioned for him to follow me. “Mount me,” I whispered, barely audible to my own ears, but I knew how good pony ears were.

Carefully, he brought himself into position above me, his head over my breasts. I raised my hip slightly so that the angle was a bit better and felt the almost smouldering piece of stallion in front of my wet slit. It didn’t take more than my grin before he slowly pressed against me. The swollen head of his cock reared up slightly before my folds were parted to allow him to sink me. Accompanied by both my whimper and his ragged breath, he pushed his way in very slowly unlike any stallion had before. Centimetre by centimetre, I felt every little bulge in his meat. The pulsing artery, the medial ring, everything. Finally, I felt him pressing against the opening of my womb, but he didn’t stop there. He pressed even further, and then it happened. For the first time in my life, I felt the hips of a stallion pressing against my own, his leathery balls meeting my swollen lips. He was completely inside me, and it felt so good!

We both stayed in this position for a moment, enjoying the feeling of each other. But then he was overcome by his instinct, and just as slowly as he had pushed into me, he pulled out again. The familiar and much hated feeling of emptiness and the missing warmth began to spread in me, desperately awaiting his return. There were women who loved it when a man was inside them, and the ones that loved the moment when he left them. I definitely belonged to the former, loving the feeling of being filled up to the last millimetre.

For a second, I thought he would pull out entirely, but then he returned with a bit more power. My body slid a bit over the scratchy carpet as his hips made contact with mine again, and I screamed in ecstasy. A random part of my mind noted that it was a good thing that I lived out of the town so that no one would be disturbed. He pulled out again before pushing his way back in, seeking the warmth and tightness to be found between my legs. His muzzle found my breasts again; he seemed to love them. His tongue began to work them while his hips continued thrusting, working to build a rhythm, getting faster and faster with a bit more power every time. The only sounds in the house were the wet meeting of organs and our screams of ecstasy. Just like me, Celsius moaned and panted as he began to make me see the world in another light with his steady pace. I couldn’t think clearly anymore. Everything that was in my head at this point was the stallion that worked me, his tongue and a few occasional soft bites at my nipples, and the familiar feeling of an orgasm that was building up. My hands gripped in the long mane on his neck. I pulled him down to me every time he pushed into me, driving him to go even harder.

While I could feel my own climax coming closer and closer, Celsius wasn’t far away from his own either. His thrusts were getting shorter and quicker, which finally pushed me over the edge. My muscles convulsed, the world around me went blurry, and I screamed so loudly that I was sure that my distant neighbours had heard me now. I screamed his name, God’s, and Celestia’s as the muscles in my pussy began to milk the hard piece of stallion meat for everything it had. But Celsius wasn’t there yet. With rapid and short thrusts, he went on, drawing out my orgasm. Then, just as mine was beginning to ebb away, I felt his. The head of his shaft widened, and like hot magma, his load pumped into my body. Again and again, his cock twitched wildly inside me, one load following the other. I felt plenty of it finding its way past our union and slowly dripping out of me on the carpet that I should finally get rid of after this.

Meanwhile, Celsius tried to pull out as he noticed what happened between us, but I held him in place with my legs that had wrapped around his hind legs. No words were needed, and I grabbed his head, leaned up a bit, and gave him a passionate kiss.

We stayed in that position for a while longer. No speaking, just kissing and nuzzling while his penis slowly receded into his sheath. As it eventually slipped out of me, I stroked with one hand over my pussy and caught a handful of his spunk with my hand. I watched the white sticky substance for a few seconds before licking off each of my fingers very slowly. It tasted awful, but the effect it had on the stallion was worth it. With a wide grin, I turned around on my stomach, ignoring the amount of spunk on his stomach and took his shrinking stallionhood in my mouth. I pushed it down my throat only few, quick times, but it was enough to clean it off the remainder of the fluids that had lingered there. I gazed up to the stallion who looked down at me with half-lidded eyes. This time, it was him who leaned down, rubbing his cheek against mine and then kissed me.

There were people who said that one could tell if two people can fit together based on how good the sex was. Let’s just say that I had a very good feeling.

I woke with a yawn and stretched my limbs. As I did, I discovered two things. The first was that my mouth was so dry that I wouldn’t have been surprised if I started spitting sand if I tried to talk. The second was the warm, soft, fur-coated body that was lying next to me in my small one metre twenty bed. Which was king-size for ponies.

Celsius’ snout was resting a bit above my chest. His mane was in even a bigger mess than yesterday. He must have moved his right wing a few times while we slept since some feathers were spread over the mattress, and he was lying on his left one. I could imagine the whole thing being a bit uncomfortable, but like all men, he apparently could not get enough of my two girls, so he probably didn’t mind one bit.

I carefully placed a kiss on his muzzle as I sidled out of his grasp, replacing my body with one of the pillows strewn about the room. I badly needed a glass of water or the whole bottle. Yesterday had been a long day.

Silently, I stood up and regretted it immediately, for the remains of last night began to run down my thighs. I quickly changed my plan and ran with one hand between my legs to avoid any… leakage in the rest in the hallway and into my bathroom. It was the only room in the entire house that I would call well-equipped. I had no bathtub, but a very spacious shower that ran almost over the entire length of the wall. It was even built into the wall, with a thick glass divider separating it from the rest of the bathroom. The floor ran up to the middle of the shower, so I could shower with an open door

Hastily, I stepped inside the large shower cabin, turned on the water, and walked underneath the warm spurt, which was always the perfect temperature thanks to magic. Only then did I take my hand off my vulva. Slowly, a familiar opaque fluid began to flow out of me and was carried away by the warm water. I knew that this wasn’t going to be enough. I took the showerhead off the wall, spread myself apart with two fingers, and let the water inside me wash out the rest of what was in there. Thick, gooey clumps of sperm fell to my feet as the water did its job and gave me a tingling feeling to along with it. But I was exhausted; my muscles were begging me to not do it again, and I was more than willing to give them a break.

I finished the intimate cleaning and placed the shower head back on the retainer before I grabbed the various bottles of shampoos and began to wash the rest of my body. About twenty minutes later, I ran with a towel wrapped around my hair into the kitchen and stirred my old coffeemaker back to life. I let myself drop into one of the cushioned kitchen chairs and listened to the sound of the brown drink running through the filter. Nearly everything in Equestria that was designed to sit on was either cushioned or soft. After all, you would want the same if you sat everywhere on your naked butt. Many restaurants used hay bales since they were so easy to replace should the guests leave behind any fluids. Aside from the occasional clothing ponies wore, only the cushions really needed any cleaning.

As I finally prepared a cup and allowed the first sip of coffee to run down my throat, I was ready to start the day, beginning with cleaning the remains of last night’s escapades. Sex was dirty business, but if it wasn’t dirty, it wasn’t good. One of my own little nuggets of wisdom.

So there I stood, inside the door frame to my living room as I looked over the mess we had made. There wasn’t a door, by the way. Either Celsius or I must have stepped on the bag of cream as we switched from the couch to the floor. A large pile had found its way onto the red carpet and was well worked in. The couch itself had gotten a bit of the cream as well, but nothing that couldn’t get cleaned with a bit of warm water and scrubbing.

The carpet still had it worst. Where we had been lying, very distinctive stains were left and made the single fringes stick together like no other substance could. If I looked close enough, I could even see hints from previous… encounters. It was really getting to the point where I would have to get rid of it. The problem was that nothing but cold wooden floor would be left then. I calculated the work it required to clean it against the costs for a new one for a few seconds. That would mean another week of sprouts for me.

“Morning,” came the tired voice of Celsius, who had just staggered out of the bedroom. “Do I smell coffee?”

I smiled at him and pointed towards the kitchen. “Through that door. Cups are in the shelf.” He nodded sleepily at me and disappeared down the hallway. I turned back to my problem of figuring out what to do with my old carpet. Berry had all of her furniture from the bulk trash, and she would surely help me. But today was Sunday, and the bar was closed, so I wouldn’t meet her until the late afternoon. It was her day to sleep in.

The sound of butter hitting a hot pan ripped me out of my thoughts. With a few steps, I followed Celsius and found the stallion standing on a chair, with a spatula in his mouth, in front of the stove while spreading some butter. His ears were turned towards me, so I knew that he had noticed me. Just as the butter melted, he opened a package of eggs that he must have gotten out of the fridge and broke two of them open into the pan. “I thought I could make us some breakfast. How do you want your eggs?”

The gesture was small, but meant a lot of me. It showed me that it had been a special night for him as well and that he really wanted to get to know me better. I went over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll take mine over easy.”

The stallion grinned widely over both ears. “Two eggs over easy, coming right up,” he announced happily and began to turn the eggs on the other side with the spatula. Not very successfully, mind. I couldn’t let the opportunity to tease him a bit slip by. I stepped behind him, placed my cup aside, and leaned forward before I carefully took the spatula out of his mouth.

“Let me do that,” I said while my breasts pressed against the back of his head. I felt his wings flinching a bit, and if I could have seen his face right now, it would surely have been red through his blue coat. So I was right that he had found interest in them. I was just like an earworm. Once you had that Melody in your head, you couldn’t let it go. Oh God, that was so bad.

I had an easier time flipping the eggs than him and placed the spatula aside before I rested my head on his. “You smell good,” he said and took in a deep breath.

“You smell too,” I returned with a giggle. “Like sweat and sex.” I felt his eyes widened. “Don’t worry, nothing bad.” He looked up at me with those large eyes that just made me want to hug him tight. Instead, I leaned down and gave him an upside-down kiss. He was different than other stallions, but I had already noticed that in the bar. I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly was different, but his behaviour, paired with his smaller form, really attracted me. He was also a creative spirit like me, and we were in tune with a lot of things. To put it simply, I had decided that I wanted to see him again.

With the eggs, a bit of bread, cheese, and marmalade, we sat down at my kitchen table and began to fill our empty stomachs for the day. The only thing I had planned for today was visiting Berry so far. Maybe I should ask Celsius if he wanted to do something. But before that, there was another subject I had to talk about first. It wouldn’t be fair to him if we went further and he didn’t know it.

I gulped down the rest of my second slice of bread with strawberry marmalade and coughed slightly. “Last night was nice,” I said. He nodded. “Maybe we could repeat that sometime?”

“Of course!” he replied quickly. “I mean, I’d love to, Melody. I would really like to spend more time with you.” And there was the moment. After six years on Equis, I had my second coltfriend. And now the clock began to tick. I set an inner countdown on three months, the approximate time before a relationship turned into marriage. I didn’t know if that was the case for me as well. Caramel had broken up with me after one. Maybe I was just jumping to conclusions.

“But there is another thing you should know.” Here comes the large but. “I am pregnant.” Celsius stopped what he was doing, frozen in place. I snorted a bit. “Don’t worry, you aren’t the father. It happened a month ago during…” I waved around with my hand a bit.

“During the estrus?” he asked carefully, and I nodded.

“Exactly.” I had to explain again why I thought I couldn’t get pregnant, how I thought it would be impossible. I also told him how I had been searching for a coltfriend for a few years now but had just never found the right one. I also had to explain how I had wanted to have a bit of fun and had ended up going outside during that time. With every time I told the story, I felt more stupid.

“Well, that is… wow,” he said, seemingly in thought. “I mean, I don’t know.” Those seconds where he processed what I had told him were unbearable. I liked him, a lot actually. “I have nothing against foals. Nor that it isn’t mine, you know.” Of course that wouldn’t be the problem. In the olden times, when the ponies were nomads that travelled the lands… But I had already mused about history already. Anyhow, if a mare gave birth to a foal, it was a foal of the herd. It said papa to every stallion and mama to every mare. If it was hungry, any mare who could feed it did so. That sort of mentality was still stuck deep in the ponies’ minds even today. Never would a stallion reject a foal because it wasn’t his once he loved the mare that it belonged to. “It’s just a lot at once, you know. But that changes nothing about the fact that I want to get to know you better. I think you are a very interesting mare, beautiful in her own way and—” He ended his hastily spoken explanation. “I just don’t know if I’m ready to be a father, should this thing we have turn out to be something good.”

I laughed loudly, which seemed to confuse Celsius. “That makes two of us. I mean, I’m twenty four. Humans don’t usually become parents until they are at least thirty and married. You see how well that worked.” He giggled slightly. “Look, I think you are a really cute guy that I really would like to meet again. So let’s do it. See what happens.” Ponies loved their order, those little rules of their society. Apparently, I had found the rebel.

“Deal!” He grinned and reached out his hoof over the table.

I just rolled my eyes. “You stupid stallion.” And with that, I stood up and gave him another kiss. This time, he returned it and put his hoof on my shoulder. As we parted, he quickly licked over my chin.

“You had some marmalade there.”

Before I could respond, there was a knock at the door. Slightly confused, I stood up. “One moment,” I said to Celsius and rushed to the door. Before I opened it, however, I remembered that I had wrapped my hair in the towel. Quickly, I took it off, threw it over the chair in my kitchen, and ruffled through my hair a bit. Whoever was there knocked again. “One second!”

I opened the door and found the last pony I had expected to stand there. Twilight Sparkle looked like the night hadn’t been as pleasant to her as it was to me, or she just hadn’t taken a shower yet. “Umm, good morning, Melody,” she greeted me. “I just came by to ask… err… if could I study you?”

Flabbergasted, I blinked a few times. “Come again?” It had to be one of those days again. I just couldn’t give them a name, nor did I want to. Like I said, ponies loved their order, but from time to time they had to release all their stored up craziness, weirdness, and oddness. It only needed one pony to set them off. I could remember well the muffin that somepony gave me once on the street. It had been a strange green colour with living worms that poked out of it. Then there was this beige-coloured earth pony who always disappeared somewhere with the postmare. Whenever they returned, they wore the strangest clothes and kept babbling about planets, stars, and aliens. Then there was the time the entire town had been deserted for a while until everypony had come back slightly depressed. The strange thing was that they all had bruises, grazes, and other small injuries all over their bodies while mumbling something about a stupid doll. But to top it all off, there was the spontaneous singing out of the blue. And I’m not talking about a few lines that one might sing or hum while walking down the street. No, they would spontaneously perform a small musical that looked like they had trained for months and were only waiting for the right moment to sing it.

Not having the slightest interest in ruining the good mood I had just achieved from getting a new coltfriend, I did my best to not be infected by the insanity. “Why don’t you come inside first? We can talk about it then.” Nodding quickly and with a wide grin on her face, Twilight Sparkle entered my house. I led her into the kitchen.

Celsius had meanwhile eaten the rest of his cheese sandwich and placed our plates in the sink. He looked over at us as we entered the kitchen, and his eyes widened and fixated on Twilight. “Celsius, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle, Celsius,” I introduced them, grabbed my almost empty cup, and removed the ‘almost’.

“It’s an honour, Ma’am!” He saluted. I mean, he actually saluted. His right forehoof almost slammed against his forehead while his hind legs slammed together, making me worry about his two little friends down there for a moment. If I still had coffee in my mouth, it would now be spilled over the table.

Twilight at least didn’t seem less surprised than me. “Umm… thanks? A pleasure to meet you, Celsius.” That ended her interest in my other guest, and she turned towards me again. “So, again why I came here. I would like to study you.”

I took in a deep breath and sighed. Honestly, I didn’t really have an idea on how to react to that, so a polite decline was my response. “Not that I don’t feel honoured and all that, but why the sudden interest? I mean, I’ve lived here for six years, and none of the doctors ever bothered to study me further until now. Why the sudden interest?” That sounded a bit differently in my head a few seconds ago.

“Are you kidding? You are a unique life form on this planet, and inside of you is the beginning of a new race, at least after what we know. And you said that it would be impossible for you to become pregnant without another…”

“Human,” I added.

“Exactly! This would change everything! We would get a completely new insight on how magic mixes with our daily lives. What if it’s the reason that was possible? That would be huge breakthrough if magic can affect our reproduction. We could heal inherent diseases or at least alleviate them. We could help mares and stallions who can’t get foals. So please!” the mare pleaded as she supported herself against my legs, her face almost touching mine. “Please let me study you.”

I looked over to Celsius without saying a word. The stallion just stood there with an open mouth, surely thinking about what she just said. I mean, the way she said it made it sound like I was the cure to cancer or something like that. This was all a bit too much for me. “I don’t know, Twilight. I have to handle my own life. I’m pregnant, I have two jobs, I’m starting a new relationship and—”

“I could pay you!” she blurted. “I mean, I could pay you if you let me study you. I could pay you twice what Applejack pays you.” Now I really had to think about it. I mean, with that, I would have enough money to get some nicer furniture, buy some drawing materials, and eat better.

“Are you sure? I mean, can you afford that?”

She nodded. “No problem! I just have to present the project to the princess, and she will surely agree that this project is worth the investment. So it wouldn’t really be me who pays you, but the crown. Or I would get more funds that I already receive as the pupil of the princess and would pay you with that. Please, please say yes!” It was a really tempting offer. Earning money by just letting someone take samples off you and maybe ask you some questions for a couple of hours a day didn’t sound that bad.

“Let me think about it, Twilight. I would have to talk with Berry and AJ about it first. I mean, if I do work for you,” I said and formed quotations marks with my hands, “then I would have to quit my job there. And how long is this project supposed to go? A few months? I would need my jobs back afterwards.”

“Oh, that shouldn’t be a problem. As the creator of a new branch of science, the crown would provide your share in all financial profits that will follow. After all, it was you who advanced this theory about chromo-thingies.”

“Chromosomes.”

“Exactly!” She pushed her hoof against my nose and finally stepped off my lap. “So, what do you say? For science!?” She grinned over both ears.

I grabbed my cup and moved it to my mouth before I realized it was empty. Slightly frustrated, I placed it down on the kitchen table again. “Look, Twilight, it’s too early, I’m barely awake, and you look like you just fell out of your bed as well.

She giggled. “Silly, I was up all night creating a plan and method of experimentation.” At least I couldn’t say that she wasn’t optimistic.

“I’ll talk with AJ and Berry later. Let’s see what they have to say about that. But I can’t promise you anything.” That brought her down from her high a bit, and she hung her head. “I just have to make sure. I need the money, especially now.” I held my stomach, conscious of the new life that was growing inside me. “But I will definitely come back to you.”

Twilight said goodbye to us after that and left me alone with Celsius. We talked for a while about what Twilight had said and then he made his way back to his apartment. His roommates were surely already getting worried since he hadn’t returned last night. We said goodbye with a kiss and set up a date for Tuesday evening so that I would have time to care about a few other things first. So much for spending a peaceful Sunday with my new heartthrob. And I still had a lot of cleaning to do.

Ponies were more than a strange bunch, at least from the point of view of a human, and I didn’t even mean their usual tendency for bipolarity. They could transform from a neurotic stickler for order into a maniacal axe murderer. Maybe not quite as extreme, but I thought that was a rather fitting human metaphor.

It was even stranger that they had managed to build a culture even though it seemed like they had simply watched a Bugs Bunny cartoon and tried to construct it from there. Well, sometimes at least. I blamed their herd instinct for being able to forgive every member of their society for almost any mistake and that it rarely took more than a warm hug for an apology.

It got even more extreme when both parties were friends, a status that was only loosely related to our human version of it. Of course, it implied the same thing, but it so much easier to attain and almost impossible to lose here. To put it simply, if you had found a friend in a pony once, you would almost never get rid of them again. When exactly a friendship began was not exactly specified. For some, it was simply a greeting they would exchange; for others, a simple favour was all it took. It was strong contrast to humans who would sometimes need years to build up such foundation of trust.

I had exactly two of these friendships, not including my flame and my future employer. As I watched the library from a distance, I thought about how near this future was. I wasn’t even doing everything that I could to get there quickly. No, that was the doing of the two mares who were pressing their snouts in my back and pushing me through the town.

“Hey! Watch it! Ouch!” Sadly, my protests were just met with deaf ears. Not that they couldn’t hear me. Aside from them, half of Ponyville could. Ponies could hear very well which wasn’t surprising with their large ears that they could also turn into almost any direction. Berry Punch’s and Applejack’s ears, however, were currently pressed against their heads to dim the words of my protest. I’m sure they didn’t mean to hurt me, but the little stones on the streets of Ponyville tended to bore into my feet as I resisted the forced movement.

“Would ya please shut up, sugarcube?! This is only for ya own good.” Of course it was. My parents and now my traitorous friends - that was what they always said. Since I hadn’t gotten around to it on Sunday, I had told AJ this morning about the position as a lab rat that Twilight had offered me. She had immediately left her cart, disappeared in the alley to Berry’s Bar, and returned a minute later with her. Now they both were politely pushing me towards accepting the offer.

“One more word, young lady, and I’ll switch from pushing to pulling. And since you have no tail, I hope you know where I plan on pulling you.” Yes, Berry loved me dearly.

It wasn’t like I had much time left to complain anyways. The door to the Golden Oaks Library was basically in front of my nose already, and the two finally stopped pushing me. Immediately, I began rubbing my back where their snouts had just been, and I was sure that they had left a mark there.

“Knock!” Applejack ordered. “Or Ah will do it for ya.”

I turned around to my friend and looked her in the face. Her expression accepted no other answer than ‘Yes, ma’am’, so I gave in and turned towards the door with my head bowed. I raised my arms and stopped. Was this really the right thing? Would my child be the subject of such examinations for its whole life if I started this now? These and other similar questions suddenly shot out of the darkest corners of my mind.

My pause, of course, did not go unnoticed by the two mares behind me, and one of them decided to take matters into her own hooves. A hoof wandered past my right thigh and knocked three times at the wooden door. I spun around to see which of them had committed the crime, but I only found an empty dirt road. “Oh, if I catch these…”

“If you catch who?” Twilight Sparkle’s voice reached me. I began to feel like a carousel at this point as I turned around again and looked at the unicorn mare. A smile was on her lips, but this time it didn’t send a shiver of trepidation down my spine. It was warm and friendly.

“Uh, nothing. No one.” I tried to wave it off.

“Do you want to come inside?” I nodded thankfully and followed her through the door into her home. A few things had changed since my last visit. The round table had been replaced by an angular one, and multiple papers were scattered over it. The couch stood in front of it, and the blankets on it were a clear sign as to where the mare must have spent the night. My gaze wandered over to the wall underneath the staircase where a sketch of a human body was drawn on a poster. My body to be exact. Twilight had even included some of my birthmarks. In focus was not my exterior; instead, she had tried to figure out how the organs in my body were aligned. The lung was in its correct place, though not exactly in the form I recalled from biology classes. “This is only a little test!” The librarian interrupted my perusal and tried to cover the poster with both her forehooves.

“I may be able to help you with that if you want to. That’s why I’m here, right?” For a moment, I could have sworn I saw little stars shining in her eyes. With an incredible speed, she rushed upstairs, and I heard her possibly and furiously searching for something in some drawers.

“Where did I have…?” I heard her mumbling to herself. “Aha!” There was a flash of light, followed by a bang, and Twilight stood next to me again. If there had been anything in my bladder at that point, I was sure it would have been on the ground by now. I knew that ponies could basically do wonders with their magic, but I had never seen a teleportation until now.

The mare blinked quickly and then held a small, golden, metallic casket under my nose. “Here, this is for you!” she declared enthusiastically. “It was mine once, but I don’t need it anymore.” Carefully, I grabbed the box out of the air and opened it. I didn’t know what I was expecting. It was a writing set comprised of a quill, rubbing stone, and an ink stick. The latter showed small wear marks, and the stone didn’t look brand new either, but at least the quill was. It was a large, white feather, larger than any I had ever seen before. “This is a traditional Ib’Xian writing set. I got it when I enrolled for school, and I thought that since I had no use for it anymore, you might need it.”

As an artist, I knew what this was - just another parallel between our worlds. “Thanks, Twilight, but I can’t take this. I mean, the casket itself must be worth more than I earn in three months.” Judging by the weight, it must have been solid gold, not just gilded or anything like that. “Wouldn’t you rather give something like this to your friends? Or Spike?”

Twilight tiptoed on her hooves a bit. “Well… none of my friends, aside from Rarity, would really use it.” I looked at the set again and understood what she meant. I didn’t know this Rarity, but she must have been a unicorn. For all the other ponies, it must be torture to use the ink stick. Black tongues were guaranteed. “Spike also has his own.” She used a bit of magic to push it slightly into my direction so that the cold metal pressed against my chest.

“If you insist…”

“Why don’t we test it out? We can start with you helping me with the sketch.” I nodded and went over to the table. Carefully, I placed the precious casket down and emptied it. I positioned the stone on the table and took the quill and ink stick into my hands. Just as I was about to ask, Twilight came over to me with a small glass of water and placed it next to the other things on the table.

“Thanks.” I carefully poured a bit of water into the carving of the stone. I began to rub the ink stick over the wet stone before dipping the quill into it until a bit of the thick ink stuck to it. I knew that this would only last for a few lines and took the stone with the remaining ink into my left hand before walking over to the poster. “So first of all, the heart is not in the middle but slightly over here.” I began to draw the first corrections. I looked further down the sketch and quickly found another obvious mistake. “Humans have two ovaries and oviducts, not one.”

“Two? Really? That could explain something,” Twilight loudly thought to herself.

“Like what?”

“Well, we ponies just have one, and we are in heat twice a year, usually in late spring and the start of autumn. Your file says that you are able to conceive monthly. That’s no surprise given your increased production of oocytes. How many children would the average human female have in her lifetime? Twenty?” The stone almost fell out of my hand just as I was about to correct the rest of the uterus.

“Uh… I would say one to four? Depending on the region.”

“Just one to four?!” Twilight screamed loudly. “If mares had such a cycle, they would surely put it to use. Our population would get a much needed boost.” I knew what she meant. More foals would mean more chances for a stallion, and more stallions would again mean more foals.

“Well, it would surely boost it, but that would also mean more mares that would have to live without a stallion.” That left Twilight silent for the next minutes while I made more changes to the sketch. She had placed the kidneys wrong, and the bladder was about three times the normal size. “I just remembered. In the past, it was normal for women to have many children. Families with six or more children were common. Still, that was more due to our social system at the time. More kids would mean more workers on the farms and more people to care for you when you got older. In the case of the nobles, more kids would ensure that the ancestral line continued. These days, that is only a common practice in very poor countries but also due to the fact that many children don’t survive their first years.” Twilight was still quiet, so I finished the work on the organs in the picture. I bet Twilight would want to do the same thing for the bone structure and the muscles. For the latter, I wouldn’t be of much help. Aside from the most well-known muscles, like the biceps, I knew none.

“Aha!” Twilight suddenly shouted. I turn around to see that she had taken a book from one of the shelves. She must have been searching for something while I had been drawing. I was so busy that I didn’t even notice that she was gone. “Herds!”

“What?”

“Herds are not illegal. According to the current law, it says here that forming a herd for the purpose of a partnership between multiple mares and stallions is completely legal. It’s just a bit outdated since many followed the example of the unicorns, who married in order to connect their houses. The earth ponies, who had been living mostly in herds until then, and the pegasi in their swarms, adopted this custom to unite their farms and land to gain a higher combined yield. This was shortly after the founding of Equestria and their method to save on taxes.”

“Was there a discount on marriage?”

“No. It says here that Princess Platinum demanded a tenth of the yield of every family to support the building of the capital and building up the entire country. Farmers paid with natural goods; unicorns mostly with gold and gems. Pegasi swarms gave their daughters to serve in the army and protect the country. However, only one member of each family was demanded every decade. Afterwards, they were free from their duty and the next in the family followed their hoofsteps.”

“This was before the introduction of the bit as currency, I presume?” Twilight nodded.

“The bit was only introduced… a century after Discord’s reign.” Baffled, she looked into the book. “What?! I searched through a hundred and five books to find out more about Discord and the only time I find something is in an old book about herds?” She groaned loudly and disappeared up the stairs again. I looked after her a few seconds until she groaned again.

It took an hour until I was no longer alone in the lower parts of the library. And it wasn’t even Twilight who returned but Spike, who entered through the front door and stared at me with large eyes as I sat on the couch and went through some papers that Twilight had left behind. Inevitably, a wide grin wandered over my lips which unfortunately caused the dragon to steer clear of me. “Twilight, she wants to strangle me again!” he shouted quickly and disappeared upstairs as well.

That seemed to remind my hostess that I was still down here, and she came back down the stairs a few minutes later. “I am so sorry, Melody, but after the incident a few weeks back, I began to search for more information about Discord, but only a few books have survived his reign.”

“No problem, Twilight. I hope you don’t mind that I used your coffee maker.” I held up the cup that I had gotten during her absence.

“No problem at all.” I took a gulp, but it was still a bit too hot for my taste.

“So, you meant herds were the solution?”

“Of course! Ponies are very social life forms. It is basically in our blood.” Maybe I should lend her one of the pony psychology books I had at home. ‘In their blood’ was a mild way to put something that was basically a compulsion. For a pony, solitary confinement was worse than a death sentence. “If we could manage to ensure that mares are able to conceive more often, it would greatly push our race forward.” Her argument was solid. Humans were where we were now mainly due to our numbers. At least to some point in our history.

“That sounds like a plan. I only wonder what you need me for.” I took one of the papers from the table. It was a copy of my medical record with various notes that Twilight had scribbled on the border. “I see you managed to work out most parts by yourself. And your sketch wasn’t too wrong, either.” I pointed at the poster I had roughly drawn over.

“Well, I recently talked with Applejack about you.” I would have to have a word with my friend about what she revealed about me. “You are not just different; you think differently as well. I don’t just want to keep an eye on the growth of your child. I also want to study your psyche. The full package if you want to call it that.” It was a question even though it didn’t sound like one. Twilight wanted to study me excessively, and she wanted to make sure that I would agree to it. “Princess Celestia gave me the green light for the project. All you have to do is sign here.” Her horn glowed for a second before a piece of parchment appeared out of thin air and readied itself on the table in front of me.

I held it in front of my face to read the small and neat writing on it. Basically, it was nothing different than a usual contract. It stated how I would be able to quit one week in advance, how much I got paid, my working hours, that the crown would pay all medical bills and other costs, and that I would get a share from all research findings that would follow our collaboration. Even if the last points weren’t on there, my salary, combined with the fewer working hours, beat my two old jobs by lengths. And all I had to do was let her run some tests and answer her questions. Even better, I was granted the right to deny tests for various reasons. To sum it all up, the contract was like a win in the lottery, and the worries that almost kept me from choosing to come here had vanished too. I should really give more credit to AJ and Berry. They knew Twilight and knew from the first moment that this was the right call. Again, I readied my quill and signed the contract.

Carefully, Twilight leaned over the table and blew the ink dry. “Thanks, you won’t regret that.” She rolled up the paper and let it disappear with another spell. “So, I would like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.”

“SPIKE!” I flinched as she called for the dragon. He came down the stairs almost instantly, papers in a claw, a quill in the other. His quill was unusually large as well, but not as large as the one I had gotten from Twilight. Also, it was pink. “Ready, Spike?”

“Whenever you are, Twilight.” She nodded. “Okay, question one: what is your favourite colour?”

Spike looked just as confused as I did while the unicorn next to us grinned and aimed her closed eyes at the ceiling, obviously content with herself.

“Umm… red? Maybe white as well.”

“White isn’t a colour,” Twilight commented, short and crisp.

“Then red, definitely red.”

“Noted. Question two: what is your favourite food?” I had the feeling that I would need a few more cups of coffee.

It was just too good to be true. Still, what else did I expect? Even in a country of milk and honey, there had to be wasps. Mine was just not black and yellow striped, but purple. Thinking that Twilight Sparkle would just stick with a few questions was equivalent to thinking that you could just put a bag of crisps aside. To put it simple, simply dumb.

And no, it was not just that one morning or that one day. Twilight had enough questions for an entire week. In the end, I just told her my entire life, starting from my first memories, my childhood with my grandparents in the Scottish highlands, my school time in Livingston, and right up to my art studies in London. From time to time, Twilight interrupted me to ask questions about the cultural backgrounds of a few customs. Not by any stretch of imagination could I explain to her why my grandfather had worn a kilt once a year and threw logs. As a child, I had found the event interesting, but today I didn’t really want to think back to this since I could swear that at least half of the old men there had worn their kilts… traditionally.

That led us to a lengthy discussion about the development and role of clothes in human society. Only when we were finished did I get around to asking what that had to do with our research. “Culture plays an important part of who we are,” was Twilight’s answer. “And it is a part of you.” Who was I to object?

A strange similarity was that clothes were used in both our cultures at first to withstand cold temperatures. Humans lost their coat in the evolutionary progress, and ponies had some evil windigos that made life difficult for their ancestors. Since they only needed light clothes during the winter, they had kept their short but soft coats.

This went on for over a week. I even began to make red crosses in my calendar for every day that passed and asked Roseluck for some mint for my throat. It had felt like it was coated with sandpapers for a few days now.

Now here I was, rolling out of the bed, taking the sheet and the blue pegasus next to me with me.

Celsius and I had our fifth date yesterday and had gone to the little theatre in Ponyville. Black-and-white movies without sound were not really my thing. Neither was having to sit in the last row because of my size. But it wasn’t like we noticed much of the movie, just like ninety percent of the other visitors on that evening. It was a little romance, judging from the sign by the entrance. Everyone knew that couples only go to watch romances to make out in a dark room while everyone around them does the same.

“What time is it?” Celsius asked with a yawn as he began his morning workout now that he was out of the bed as well. His left wing popped loudly since he had lain on it when he slept next to me. This was why pegasi preferred to sleep on clouds. The resistance there was just high enough to safely stand on them, and compared to them, every bed was like sleeping on stone. At least that was how Celsius explained it to me. For today and the following weeks, my current mattress would be enough, but if Celsius decided to set up shop here, we would have to buy a new one. I wasn’t sure how soon that would be.

Not that money was a problem now. The crown stood by its word, and I had already gotten my first payment. I didn’t check the contents to see if it was the agreed sum, but I trusted AJ, who trusted Twilight. Not that I didn’t trust her, but the purple mare could be very preoccupied sometimes. Still, it took me two tries to lift the bag of bits, so I shushed the voice in my head that told me to count it.

“Shortly after seven, I think.” It was fascinating how you could tell the time by the position of the sun in your bedroom. If the sun rays were before the first bed post, it was before seven. If they touched it, it is after seven. Simple as that. “I’m gonna take a shower and then make us some breakfast.” Celsius just nodded and bent his neck so far back that his snout almost touched his back.

I let my coltfriend do his stretching and stuck to my word as I strolled down the hallway to my bathroom. As I walked past the mirror, my eyes stuck on my reflection for a moment. “Looking great there, Melody,” I greeted myself and put both my hands against the basin while leaning closer against the mirror. Small blue rings under my eyes were witnesses of the little sleep I had last night. My hair was sweaty and greasy from the humidity yesterday and the even warmer night next to and underneath Celsius. We didn’t have sex, but the cinema had worn us both out.

He loved to use me as a pillow, resting his head on my breasts. He said I was like a warm cloud, and if I were honest with myself, I liked it too, feeling his short coat on my body while he was lying on top of me. Plus I could excite him with a few moves of my thighs in that position.

I opened the tap and splashed a bit of the cold water onto my face, trying to clear my mind from those thoughts and also to wipe away the remaining sleep. A shiver went down my spine as I shook my head, but at least I was fully awake now.

I stepped into the shower and let the warm water wash away the cold from my face. With closed eyes, I began to spin in the constant water stream and hummed quietly.

It was the sound of the opening bathroom door after a few minutes that brought me back to reality. I opened my left eye a little and watched Celsius as he tried to sneak into the room. I let him have his fun and closed my eye again. All that remained besides the darkness was the feeling of warm water that softly ran down my skin and the splattering that it caused, but also the sound of four hooves that tried something that they couldn’t do – not cause any sound on the tiles. Still, I let him pass. I didn’t even open my eyes as he opened the door to the shower and stood beside me in the warm water.

Of course he knew that I had noticed him by now, but that didn’t stop him from snuggling up against me and unfolding his wings. Without him having to ask, I grabbed the vial of costly shampoo that I had bought and poured a bit into my hair and his mane. Not a word passed between us as we both went back to preparing ourselves for today, our wet bodies occasionally touching, a stroke over my thigh here, my hands touching his wings there. The excitement was just still in our bones.

Eventually I felt Celsius’ tongue as it tried to get between my legs. “We don’t have the time…,” I murmured and turned away, thinking that would do it. I was wrong. Again came the tongue, but this time from behind and to another opening. “Celsius!” I screamed and slapped behind me.

The pegasus dodged my hand and just grinned at me, his long tongue still sticking out. “What?” he finally asked and wiggled his eyebrows. Not that ponies really had any, but the slightly thicker coat above their eyes made it seem like that and made them look more humanoid.

“You are impossible,” I just said and began to wash the shampoo out of my hair, thinking this would finally be over now. “Also we have to hurry up a bi–” My sentence got cut short by a slightly muffled whimper that escaped my mouth.

My eyes wandered down to Celsius, who sat beside me, both hooves in his mane to spread the shampoo and his wings spread out, one of which had accidentally found its way between my legs. I could see the grin on his face as he noticed that I was watching him.

Ah, whatever, I thought to myself. “Just you wait!” Judging by his reaction, he had not expected a seventy kilogram human would throw herself on him in the next moment. Not that my weight was a problem for him. Two earth ponies together could easily carry an old Mercedes on their backs. Pegasi were not that strong, but still a good amount stronger than any human.

Celsius let himself fall and instinctively tucked in his wings to spare them from any damage as we both lay on the tiled floor, he on his back and I with my belly on his. Now it was me who grinned. Sure, he could easily throw me over, but that was most decidedly the last thing that came to his mind. “You have that look,” he said instead. “Would I only see your eyes, I would follow my instincts and fly away.” I knew what he meant. Humans were predators, ponies prey.

“Too bad that I don’t plan on eating you. Although something to nibble on would be good.” Immediately, I did as I said and bit in his neck, softly at first and then a bit stronger, pulling at his skin with my teeth. His muscles tensed up as his flight instinct inevitably kicked in. Like I said, ponies used to be prey, and their neck and stomachs were their weak spots. That was why you should never try to touch a pony there suddenly. It had the same effect as when a doctor knocked against your kneecap with a little hammer: they lashed out.

Despite that, I knew that Celsius trusted me. I had realized a while ago that he loved this kind of foreplay or had learned to love it. Didn’t matter which one it was, I had no reason to complain.

Again I bit slightly, this time his lower lip before going over into a kiss. I didn’t know how long we remained in this position, but as we split apart, there was only the sound of our breathing and the water that was splattering over my back and around us.

I didn’t need to look behind. I knew what I would find, and my hand wandered around the warm, rigid piece of the stallion below me that throbbed in anticipation. I gently caressed him up and down, smiling slightly as he only managed to bite back a moan, jerking his hips reflectively. There were times when I was tempted to simply play with him, wanting to spend minutes, maybe even hours, just toying with him, to keep bringing him to the peak of ecstasy only to deny him. To see his cute face pleading for release as my hands ruthlessly jerk him off, sticky with his precum, before removing them, letting his musky stallionhood twitch and spasm futilely while he groaned in a mixture of lust and frustration… Well, suffice to say that my imagination had left me quite ready to receive him, though I do not know if he would appreciate the deliciously wicked plans that had caused the moisture between my thighs to flow.

Without saying a word, I led the turgid erection between my legs and leaned back, allowing the unyielding shaft to spread me open slightly. Celsius, excited as he was, thrust his hips even more and grinded against me. I moaned openly as his erratic bucking brushed against my clit repeatedly, sending small shocks of pleasure throughout my body. My head lay on the soft coat on his muscular chest as I slightly lifted my bottom. It didn’t take much to finally let the pegasus score. With a strong thrust, he completely speared me onto his shaft.

The warm water had heated up my body already, but the incredible warmth that came from his organ exceeded the water by miles – at least that was what it felt like. He wasn’t even halfway in. Another thrust, and I felt the middle ring rubbing against my labia. My hands inevitably clung against the soft coat on the chest of my coltfriend, eliciting another flinch from him.

In one jerk of his hips, he pushed in as far as he could, both of us groaning our feelings up to the sky. “Urg… Melody, I don’t know how long…” Of course he couldn’t keep on much longer. Most men didn’t last long in the first round, and he was no exception. But this was sex, there to get rid of an annoying itchy feeling. We could make love tonight when we had more time.

I began to rotate my hips, my walls gripping and massaging the flat head of his cock and his length. Four or five times were all it took, and I began to feel how the head began to swell. Quickly, I reached back with one hand and pulled his shaft out of me just as he began to cum. The rest of the load now landed on my butt and back where the water immediately took care of it.

As he finished, I rolled off Celsius and onto my back. Celsius’ nostrils flared as he breathed raggedly. He rose from the ground and stepped over me and his twitching penis began stroking my clit again. He watched me squirm underneath him for a few seconds before he forced my hips to a halt and pressed into me with one plunge. He wasted no time, hammering into me with rough stabs that caused my entire body to shake with every movement. His head leaned forwards and bit into my right breast. It didn’t hurt – his teeth weren’t sharp and were not made to chew meat. It was just enough pressure that it felt good.

In my head was nothing, only the stallion that was penetrating me with his rapid pistoning, his hips slamming into mine. It was sex in its most primitive form, and I was nothing but a mare that needed to be filled with his seed, to fill my womb in order to press another foal, reduced to a piece of meat with only one purpose, reduced to a howling and whimpering mess.

Then my orgasm hit me, quick and hard. My muscles tensed up, and I squirmed and shook violently, but Celsius held me in position down there with his cock, and his hooves on my shoulders did the rest while I screamed in ecstasy, only to finally slump down.

The blue pegasus above me did the same and lay down on the bottom of the large shower. We both were exhausted and sweaty, but at least we had last night out of our systems.

“Now I’ll definitely be late at Twilight’s,” I pressed out between my tired breathing and turned my head over to Celsius. He was lying on his stomach, directly under the water jet from the shower, and had his eyes closed. “Celsius?”

He had fallen asleep.

That son of a bitch!

“Hey!” I shouted and loudly snapped a finger against his ear. He quickly jumped up and looked around before his eyes turned towards me.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, “but I woke up every few hours on your mattress.” Grumbling sounded over the sound of the water.

“Strong coffee for breakfast?” I simply asked as I tried to stand up. Celsius just nodded while I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel to wrap around my body and another for my hair.

As preoccupied as Twilight could be, she would always hold two things in precedence over all others: order and punctuality.

My hair was a bit ruffled since I had made my way to the library in a light sprint. As nice as the time in the shower with Celsius had been, it had caused me to now be in the unfortunate position of being late. I didn’t even get the chance to dry my hair. And I was not just a few minutes late. No, Melody Williams was not simply late; she was much too late. An hour and a couple minutes late.

Slightly out of breath, I knocked on the door and braced my hands on my knees to catch a breath. The door opened a moment later, and in the corners of my eyes, I saw the little feet of Spike as he stood in the entranceway. “Finally, there you are!” Spike shouted and in the next moment pulled me inside. For such a little guy, he was surprisingly strong. He could really trim his claws a bit, I noticed, as he grabbed my wrist a bit stronger than needed to be. “Twilight is going crazy already!”

“What?” The dragon didn’t bother replying to my question. He dragged me further into the library and eventually up the stairs to Twilight’s quarters. Before he could even open the door, I could already hear the voices of two mares. One I recognized immediately; the other sounded unfamiliar. Twilight had a visitor.

Spike hastily opened the door and continued dragging me into the room. There didn’t seem more to the quarters up here, and if I didn’t know that we had just left the ground floor, I would still think we were there. Twilight’s living room – at least this was what I presumed to be her living room – was a smaller copy of the main room of the building. Books at every wall, a small carpet in the middle on which the round table with the bust, which used to be downstairs, stood. One of the few differences was the large window that brightened the room, behind which stood a telescope. The other difference was another smaller staircase that led to a higher level where there seemed to be a bed, in front of which stood Twilight and her guest.

My eyes fell on my boss at first. Her mane was unkempt, as was her coat. Judging from the dried streaks on her furry face, it was obvious she had been crying.

“Twilight, darling, I’m sure that–” the other mare started to say but stopped as our eyes met. Her coat was white like fresh snow, her purple mane lavishly rolled up into large curls and hung elegantly down her neck. Diamonds graced her flanks and her facial expressions were underlined by very carefully applied makeup. Even though I was not a big fan of makeup personally, I had to admit that, as an artist, this mare knew how to make the most out of what she had. Only her obviously fake eyelashes disturbed the image. I mean, I was worried they could be used as shovels in case of snow.

“Melody!” Twilight called as she noticed me as well, and faster than I could react, the mare jumped at me. Her hooves wrapped around my waist as she tackled me to the ground. Confusedly, I looked down at Twilight, who was caressing my stomach with her cheek as if I would grant her a wish if she did it gently enough.

“What’s going on here?” I voiced my bemusement and braced myself on my arms.

Spike stepped next to me and coughed. “Well, Twilight thought you quit since you didn’t come to work today. Somehow, and I really mean somehow, she thought that this meant you would no longer want to be her friend.” I was feeling a bit bad already for being late, but how could I have known that it would spiral to such extremes so quickly? I know that ponies were a bit crazy and would drop everything to help a friend, but this was new even to me. On the other hand, I had never heard of two ponies breaking their friendship. And now that I thought about, it wasn’t even mentioned in my books. The thought that maybe they didn’t even know they could end a friendship came to me for a moment.

“And I was trying to tell her for quite a while about how silly she is and that you were simply late,” Twilight’s guest spoke up. The mare walked up behind Twilight and levitated my boss in a bright blue shimmer off of me. Afterwards, she reached out a hoof and helped me back on my legs. “My name is Rarity, Rarity Belle. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Williams. Twilight has told me quite a few things about you and I have to say, now that I’ve seen you, I have to agree. Simply divine. Those curves, that pose, so imposing, yet elegant, feminine, and delicate. I can understand why some ponies would look twice at you. It will be a pleasure working with you.” I knew a fake accent if I heard one, but I also understood that her words were meant seriously and that everything was meant as friendly as it sounded.

“Thanks, Miss Rarity. I’m a bit surprised Twilight told you about me already. I take it you are a fellow scientist colleague?” I rather suspected her to be a geologist, judging by her cutie mark. What a geologist would be good for was a mystery to me.

The mare giggled. “Oh no, no no. No colleague, a friend. And please, call me Rarity. No, I am a designer and our dear Twilight here,” she pointed at the mare who stood to the side and whispered something to her dragon as she brought her mane back into something more presentable, “has asked me to make something for you.”

“Exactly.” Twilight spoke up again as she joined us again. “I’m so sorry, Melody. I just don’t know what came over me. I mean, everypony is late sometimes. Five minutes, maybe even ten.” She shuddered visibly. “Maybe an hour. Or more,” she added after her eye twitched. “No reason to panic. She hasn’t forgotten you and surely is still your friend.” Something in me wanted to take that poor pony into my arms and calm her. She didn’t seem to handle rejections very well, even something that barely resembled it. I didn’t want to know what would happen if someone really turned her down. “All that counts is that you are here and haven’t forgotten me.”

“I’m really sorry, Twilight. Celsius and I were out for a long while last night and went to bed really late. Then we fell asleep in the shower and… I know it’s no excuse. I’m really sorry and it won’t happen again.”

“That means a lot to me, thanks.” Twilight sniffled but then grinned at me again. “And I finally have the first results!” she proudly declared.

“Twilight, please don’t tell me you freaked out like that because you thought you couldn’t get to give your presentation?” At Spike’s words, the unicorn turned red and preferred to look out of the window. The dragon groaned. “I’m downstairs if somepony needs me.” I heard the white mare giggle.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Anyhow, yes, I have made a psychological profile about our talks from the previous days, and I have the preliminary results.”

“Okay, I’m listening,” I said, excited. And I really was. The power and enthusiasm in Twilight’s voice was a bit contagious. Plus I was also curious.

“You are a pony!” she proudly announced, eyes closed, muzzle slightly raised, and with a grin on her lips.

“Excuse me, darling, for bursting your bubble, but Miss Williams here—”

“Just Melody is fine, Rarity,” I cut her short.

“But Melody is clearly not a pony.”

“No, no. You are getting me wrong. She thinks she is a pony.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure that I’m aware that I’m a human being.” I looked over to Rarity in befuddlement, who just shook her head. Nice to know that I wasn’t alone.

“Then let me ask you a question.” Twilight grinned even wider than before. “Why are you trying to be a pony, then?”

I blinked and thought for a moment. My mouth opened but closed immediately again. A few seconds later, it was clear that I was unable to cope with the question. “What?”

“Melody, as you said, you are a human being, not a pony. But after all that I have heard from you, you are desperately trying to adjust to our social norms, quirks and traditions. But that can’t work since you are a human, as you said yourself. You are not a pony but a human with your own habits and behaviour. You are thinking differently, you act differently, and you are different. So why do you try to be a pony?”

Everyone knew the feeling when you stood in front of your mother, father, grandmother, or maybe grandfather. Suddenly you were small again, nothing but a child in the eyes of the other, small and helpless and in need of the protection and approval from your opponent. I felt like that right now. Twilight had put a mirror in front of me and hadn’t burst her bubble, but mine. “I wanted… I want to… fit in,” I stammered. “Being accepted. I mean, I’m the alien, right? I’m the crazy thing that everyone should run away from… I’m…”

“A friendly being that was raised in a different culture. That is nothing that should be held against you. You are different. But so are Zecora and Gilda. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s no reason why you should change who you are.” In my mind, I saw myself standing in front of my mirror. I was on all fours in a badly sewn pony costume, trying to move through the herd and wondering why everypony was avoiding me. I barely heard Twilight as she continued.

“When I heard you talk about your first time here and how everypony was avoiding you… Have you considered that it was maybe not because you were wearing clothes, but in the state they were in? I told Zecora once that a dark cloak that covered everything wasn’t the best choice to go shopping. And then your therapy. I read your file, and I don’t want to say anything bad about Doctor Mental, but… he treated you like a pony. Like a pony that simply needed to be reintegrated into society, not like a human, and I think that damaged you more than it…” Twilight couldn’t get any further, or I just stopped listening.

My little fantasy world, as dull as it may have been, was gone. I was no longer the strong, independent young woman living at the edge of town, but a scared little girl who was living in a world in which she had to fight every day to understand it. Alone amongst strangers, some of whom were more so than others. I felt alone and barely felt my nails digging into my arms and the warm tears running down my cheek.

Two pairs of hooves wrapped around my body. A warm coat pressed against my shoulder, and I felt a muzzle to my left and right softly snuggling against my head. Two voices tried to calm me, but I couldn’t make out who was talking. “Shhh… everything will be fine. I’m here to help you, Melody. Promise. And I will take care of you.” I wasn’t strong and independent. I clung to every bit of known normalcy and physical contact that I could get. I was so broken and hadn’t even noticed it myself. Not noticed how unhappy I had actually been, how lonely and lost. How much I had shut myself away. How much I had tried to be a pony and forgot to be a human.

There were probably many proverbs for what I had done to myself. Probably the most well-known one was that I had not seen the forest for the trees, as if a part had been missing to complete the puzzle. I had forced myself to mentally believe that I was something I was not. It had only taken an instant to see everything in a different light. Many people think of that as merely a hollow cliché. How wrong they were.

I was a bit disgusted with myself. Sex, so much to the point of insignificance in a way, yet still important in another. I had tried to allow myself to fall silent within the deafeningly empty spaces inside myself. I had hurt myself. One could say that it was a violation. All these emotions needed to be expelled, and I didn't care any longer about who could see me, where I was, or who I hugged at the moment. I only wanted to hold someone and cry.

I had no idea how long I did this. All I knew that during all that time, I held one of the two ponies present to my bosom as if she was the only thing keeping me alive, and maybe she was. I had damaged not only myself, but others as well. I had used my partners. To the nameless stallions I felt some guilt, but it overwhelmed me when it came to Applejack. She had been tender; she had loved me, or was at least heading down that road, only to be used for fast and free sex at the earliest opportunity. Now all this psychological pressure which lay unwittingly on my shoulders rolled down my cheeks and onto the floor of Twilight’s house.

Everything had to reach its end, and I soon found that I could not block out the voices that surrounded me any longer. "Everything will be fine, darling.” That was Rarity’s voice, and I felt the pertinent hoof stroking my back.

“Rarity is right.” I swallowed and nodded at Twilight to show that I was once more receptive to the world. “We will help you. After all, what are friends for?” I could feel the smile on her lips. Literally – I could feel her muzzle press against the upper part of the body. Careful not to fall into the invisible void that contained my fears, I extracted myself from the mare. I sat on my knees, my legs slightly bent behind me, but this changed as Twilight let go, and I collapsed. However, my head never struck the ground. I felt weightless for a moment before I landed on soft pillows.

“Twilight, could you make us some tea?” Rarity finally asked. I lifted my gaze for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Twilight’s efforts earlier seemed to be in vain. If anything, she looked more forlorn than before and rekindled my self-admonishment. Even Rarity seemed to be more subdued than I had ever known from her. Her posture had collapsed a little into itself and somehow it was as if her mane had lost their ability to remain upright and perfectly coiffed.

Twilight nodded and made her way downwards. Rarity closed the door quietly behind her and came over to me. This was the moment that I realized that I did not sit on a pillow, but on a kind of couch that, with its noble red upholstering and gilded wooden frames, looked as though it belonged more in a castle than here. I tried to thank her for the fact that I did not lay on the ground instead of the seat, but nothing more than a croak escaped my throat.

“Not a problem,” she said and sat down near the small couch. "A lady must sometimes inform the world of her pain. At that moment, all she can hope is to have her friends around her." She smiled at me a bit pityingly. "I was in your position more than once, darling. Perhaps not as bad as this, but even small wounds can hurt. And we know both of what wounds I speak. Now you may believe it will never become better, as though somebody has pulled the earth from under your hooves. Sometimes we only need one small push, as dear Twilight delivered, for our mistakes to be revealed. Still, no matter the wounds, they heal. Some need longer than others, but they will be cured." I hesitated for a second, then embraced the alabaster mare. She twitched shortly as my arms closed around her before she gently placed a hoof on my shoulder. “There there.”

"Thanks,” I muttered. My neck felt as if I had swallowed a thousand needles; my eyes begged me to allow them to close, and an unpleasant feeling around my nose indicated that my face looked like one a person would flee from.

Finally, Twilight came back with the tea. It was a blessing for my throat and mind. I had tried to maintain the illusion where I had fled to a safe world, one where I could fit in, using every possible means of doing so with scant regard for the consequences. My thoughts digressed inevitably to Celsius. Was he only somebody I had used to fill the empty spaces?

"What do … What I do now?” I asked carefully and looked at both mares before me. The way I sat on the sofa made it possible, and I sat as tall as I felt.

"Now, Rarity has completed my order for you. It isn’t a lot and only a small step, but perhaps it’s what you need.” Twilight nodded at Rarity. In the next moment, a small tied package flew from somewhere to me, and Rarity exchanged it for the almost empty cup of tea in my hands. "As I said, it is not a lot, but you should feel like a person again."

My hands trembled slightly as the loosely tied string unraveled and the thick brown paper unfolded. When I saw what was in the package, it almost fell out of my hands. It was so simple, such a little thing and, nevertheless, exactly what I needed. Clothes. There was a bright pink blouse studded with white diamonds, the polished precious stones dazzling, and with a white skirt to match. If I guessed correctly, it would reach down as far as my knees.

“Twilight … I can’t possibly … This wasn’t in the contract. Are these real diamonds? The Crown would never pay for something like this …” I noticed Rarity twitching from the corner of my eye, but when I turned to look at her, the mare pretended as if nothing was amiss. Was it something I said? Or rather, perhaps something I hadn’t? "And thanks to you as well, Rarity, this is wonderful.”

"Um… well naturally she would pay. It is … work clothes. That’s right. Urgently required working clothes for your mental well-being."

Rarity began to gently ease Twilight and herself towards the door. "We’ll give you a moment to yourself, darling. I’ll wait outside with Twilight." A blink of an eye later and they were both outside, leaving me alone with only my thoughts for company.

And I had a lot to think about, so much so that I had no notion of where I should actually begin. During my time here, I had experienced so much and saw so many things in a new light.

I looked down upon the garments in my hands. I had lived so long without clothes, even in the cold winter months. The clothes I had with me when I arrived still lay in my cupboard in the bedroom. Although they were more or less nothing but patches held together by patches by this point, they were still there. In addition, some capes also hung in the same cupboard. Simple brown things with a woolly fringe. Naturally they were pony-sized, but two tied together easily enough kept the majority of my body warm. However, this was meant everyday use, for my own comfort as well as to make me look more friendly. Bright colors like Rarity had had often used.

I unfolded the blouse and felt the material. I was no expert, but as far as I could tell, it didn’t seem to be made out of cotton. At least it did not feel like it. Almost like silk actually. Without opening the buttons, I slipped into the blouse. The skirt had an elastic waistband and so I also managed to slip that on quickly. It was peculiar, but at the same time, when I looked down at myself, I actually felt a little like a person again. Why I felt that way, however, I had no idea. It was simply good and conjured a small smile on my lips in spite of all.

With large steps, I hurried to the door to allow Twilight and Rarity to enter again. I owed them both big hugs. "Well then … and what do we tell Melody?" Rarity’s voice rang out as I got closer.

"Now … I um …"

"The money came from your account, Twilight. Don’t tell me that you don’t want her to know that it comes from you. I know that your family isn’t poor, but, nevertheless, the materials alone must have eaten a small hole in your savings. I also know you only came to me with it because you knew I would only do it for the challenge and wouldn’t accept any payment. And all that for a mare …"

"Woman."

"Woman you’ve only known for… Twilight, don’t tell me— Darling! " I only just opened the door as a blueish aura grasped the handle. Rarity and Twilight looked a little frightened when they saw me, eyes wide and mouths open.

"Oh Melody, this looks great!" Twilight said, being the first to recover. She ran around me hastily and examined the clothes more closely. "It doesn’t fit perfectly, but Rarity still has yet to take more exact measurements. And to see something like this in person is very different than an image or a description, right, Rarity?"

“Certainly, Twilight,” she answered, an undercurrent of disapproval in her voice.

"Twilight, was it you who paid for this? " The pony before me winced and scraped with a hoof on the wooden floor. Then she nodded after a few seconds. "Why?"

"You have … You told me how long it took you to accept welfare money. And I thought if … if I told you it came from the Crown and was in accordance with the contract and your job... as if you had earned it. Just in view of …" I didn’t let Twilight go on. I fell to my knees and embraced the mare.

"It’s okay, Twilight. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to accept all the help I can get." Twilight was my boss, but today she had shown she could also be a friend. And in turn, I should treat her like one. I pulled back my head a little and gave her a kiss on the cheek, like how I would have done to any friend who had done me such a kindness. "Thanks." I hugged her tightly again and held her for a short while before we were interrupted by the clearing of a throat.

"Now, as nice as this all is… As dear Twilight had mentioned, I should probably account for your decrease in mass?" Something was different in Rarity. I could not say what without annoying her, but she didn’t seem as friendly as she had been, but rather more hostile somehow. "Come, darling, set yourself down over there." This time I was pushed to the dressing stand by the white mare. She placed me in the middle of the dais and threw a look back to Twilight. While she had shown me a sudden look of hostility, it seemed to disappear when she started speaking again. Then with a shaking of her head, she turned away from her friend again and onto me. "Stretch your arms out, breathe normally, and stand still, if you would be so kind."

I didn’t understand what had just happened, why she suddenly wanted to check my measurements nor why Rarity had turned on me with such hostility. But to be honest, I didn’t really want to think about it. I had enough on my mind as it was.

Applejack stared at the spot in Berry’s Bar that was usually occupied by her otherworldly friend. She stirred the cider in the mug and took a swig. “You look pretty down this evening, Applejack,” Berry said as she cleaned the counter. “Want to talk about it?”

The farm mare looked from the empty bar stool over to Berry, who was smiling at her. “It’s just... It feels wrong somehow, Melody not being here. It was like a ritual.” And maybe it was a little more to her. Melody was a unique character and not only because she was a human. She was special, and Applejack knew that. She was fun, smart, and beautiful. A pony would have to be blind or an ignorant plothole to not acknowledge the fact that the human was an exotic beauty. Her ears were a little weird with how stiff they were, and her feet were a little creepy, but besides that. Those long legs, ending in a well-toned flank. Her slender figure, worthy of a model. No, models dreamed to have a stomach like hers. Maybe it was because of her different build, but it was still what the modern pony thought of when the word sexy was mentioned. And her teats, always on display and so big. Like a second flank right on her chest.

With a chuckle, Applejack remembered how she thought Melody was pregnant the first time she saw those. In her defence, the teats of a mare only became noticeable if she was pregnant, after all.

“You still have feelings for her,” Berry stated the obvious.

“Of course I do!” Applejack said, emptying the mug in her hoof. “Just because she doesn't feel the same, mine will just go.”

Berry nodded. “I know what you mean. Was rejected by stallions often enough when I was your age.” Applejack rolled her eyes. Berry was what, only five or six years older than her? “The point is, I thought you’re seeing Rainbow Dash these days.”

Applejack snorted. Her life seemed to be a comedy lately. “She isn’t into mares. Go figure. She likes chasing my tail in a friendly competition just fine, but her tail only lifts for stallions. For a certain stallion, actually.” She remembered the day a few weeks ago when Rainbow had crashed into her family’s house and told her that she had finally gotten a date with the stallion of her dreams: Soarin. Of course, she was happy for her friend and all, but at the same time her heart had twisted slightly. At least she hadn’t slept with her before, like she did with Melody. The poor thing had been confused, probably a little drunk at the time, and Applejack felt like she had used her.

Melody. Applejack had already pictured it: coming home from a long day in the fields, stepping into her home to her marefriend – girlfriend –cooking dinner and wearing an apron. She would be greeted with a kiss on the muzzle that promised more of that when the foals jumping around her legs were tucked in bed. Applejack knew Melody well enough to know that the girl just needed something to come to her senses, to start a steady life. And it had happened. She had gotten pregnant, and just some weeks later, her life started to sort itself out. Twilight came with her job offer. She met the stallion she was currently seeing. It all fit so nicely together. Applejack just wished to be part of that.

But she wouldn’t hold it against Melody. Even if she didn’t return her feelings, she was still her friend, and she would continue to help her in any way possible. “Have you ever told Melody that you love her?” Berry asked suddenly. “Does she even know that your night together was more to you than quick and cheap sex?”

“…and then he said, ‘Oatmeal, are you crazy?’” The human next to Applejack laughed. It was a nice laugh. The kind of laugh Applejack could hear all day.

Suddenly she coughed and hammered her fist against her chest. “Aw man, that went down the wrong way,” she said, chuckling again. “That’s a good one, Applejack.”

“I know,” the mare replied proudly. “A Pinkie original.”

“Eh, should have guessed that.” Melody took a swing from her mug of cider. Her face was flushed red, either from laughing or from the alcohol. Applejack couldn’t really tell.

“We can’t all be geniuses.” She smirked. Her gazed wandered over to the human, then down her body. It was a nice body. “So, any luck with this finding a stallion thing of yours?”

Melody groaned. “No. I think it’s hopeless. It’s like some divine entity said, ‘No, Miss Melody, no stallion for you.’”

Applejack had to calm herself down a little. She didn’t know what Melody thought about the topic. Maybe she had never even considered it. In any case, she knew a mare had to be eased into the topic. “Maybe you’re looking at the wrong place.”

The woman looked at her questioningly. “What do you mean?”

“Aw, well…” Applejack cleared her throat. “Well, maybe you look for the wrong gender. Maybe there isn’t the right stallion, but the right mare?”

The eyes of her friend widened. “I’m… I… I’m just looking for some action, Applejack. I’m not a monk or anything. And I’ve never been with another woman. And I don’t think—” Applejack interrupted her with a sudden belch that escaped her mouth.

“Sorry. Anyway. If it’s action you want, I’m your mare.”

“What?”

“Look, we’re both adults. You want some action, I happened to like what I see.” If Applejack happened to have had a few mugs of cider less, she probably would have noticed what kind of situation she was putting herself in. But she didn’t. “That said, you’re my friend, and I wouldn’t say no to a roll in the hay with you right about now.” The mare studied the face of the human next to her. There wasn’t outright disgust, which was always a good first sign. Also, she wasn’t looking away from her. She even looked right into her eyes.

With a giggle, Melody fell into the bale of hay. “When you said a roll in the hay, I didn’t think you meant that literally,” she joked and threw a bit of hay at Applejack. “I feel like I’m visiting the colonies and landed in Texas or something.” Applejack was lost at the joke, but whatever made her smile was right for the mare. “And now I’ve got my handsome farmer.”

Applejack blushed a little. They had been drinking buddies for a long time now, but Melody had never told she was handsome. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but she appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

Carefully, the mare stepped over Melody, bringing most the women’s body under her own. Her muzzle brushed against her neck, then pushed her hair aside to nibble at her ears. “Oh! That’s nice.” Melody hummed under her. Applejack had experience with mares. Some of that experience she had gotten in this same barn she was in right now. But none of them smelled like Melody. She couldn't find a word to describe that smell, for it was too alien. It was just Melody.

With a little tug at the end, she let go of Melody’s earlobe and slowly nibbled her way down to her neck, kissing every inch tenderly in between. The woman’s hand wandered around her neck, brushing through her coat. The farmer had to stop at the sensations. It was one thing when a hoof brushed through your coat, but these fingers…. They tugged in her flesh only barely, not even a real scratch. For the mare, it was heaven. Her sore muscles thanked Melody for every second her hands kneaded her neck. But she still had work to do.

She pressed her muzzle against the lips of the human. Gently at first, then pressing harder as Melody’s hands grabbed her flesh even tighter. Instinctively, her tongue presses forward, parting the lips of the human without resistant. They both hummed the tune of lovers as their tongues danced. For a moment, Applejack thought Melody tried to say her name, but her concentration was broken as one of the hands of her friend grabbed her flank, her fingers digging into the tender flesh. This sensation was new to Applejack. Never had she felt something like this. Ponies nibbled, but this was almost like a predator was about to tear her apart. Still, it felt so unbelievably good to the mare since she knew she could take this predator down.

Their lips parted, but Applejack didn’t give Melody time to recover. Her hooves pressed against her shoulders, burying her even deeper in the bale of hay. With the knowledge of how sensitive the teats of a mare could be, Applejack went for those big two right in front of her. Opening her mouth as wide as she could, she put at much of the shaking flesh in as she could and started licking, sucking, and nibbling.

With the new position, Melody’s hand lay on her neck again. They scratched lightly just on the right spot, driving Applejack wild. She wanted to tell Melody to finally tug at her mane, but it would mean to stop what she was doing now. A musky scent wafted up to her sensitive nose, inviting her downwards on the alien body that was at her mercy. Applejack nibbled a bit more, switched to the other breast, enjoying Melody’s soft moaning reaching her ears. “Applejack…” she whispered and took a hard breath.

‘Still got it,’ the mare thought to herself and finally took the bait. She licked the breast one last time and went downwards, her tongue never leaving Melody’s skin. She would show her what a mare could do.

One short stop at her belly button, Applejack found the source of the musk that reached her nose. The hay was slightly damp, just like the marehood in front of her. It looked a little different, a bit smaller, but she knew what was what and what to do. Her tongue wandered on, trailing over the moist outer lips and even further down. A little squeak escaped Melody as she made contact with her other hole. She slowly circled around it before moving up again and trailing over Melody’s vulva again. This time, she added enough force to part the lips a bit and lure out the little button hidden under a patch of pink skin. Melody moaned so loud that Applejack feared for a moment that her family might show up.

“Tone that down a little, sugarcube. The last thing I need is my little sister or my brother finding us. Would ruin the moment.” She pressed another kiss on Melody’s lips.

“I’ll try,” she said, and Applejack went back to business. Her tongue trailed over her belly again before she dug in. With the knowledge of where exactly the little nub tried to hide, she got to work. She gently bit it and started to massage it with her tongue. Melody’s reaction followed instantly. Her legs wobbled behind Applejack, and her hand pressed down on her head. Melody wasn’t strong, so it wasn’t like she couldn’t resist. It was more like Applejack didn’t want to. She let herself be guided by those heavenly hands and buried her muzzle in the warm folds that was Melody’s marehood. Like before, her tongue went out instinctively, parting the folds a bit more and digging deep into the source of the moistness that coated most of her face now.

Melody cried again, but Applejack couldn’t really hear it. Her legs tried to close shut and trapped the mare in this position. She didn’t care. The musk, the succulence, it was too much for the farmers senses, and all she did was burying her tongue deeper and deeper in the human. Then she felt even more pressure as the walls clamped down on the mare’s tongue, and a fresh wave of moisture spurted into her open mouth. She gulped down as much as she could.

Melody went limp, her legs releasing the mare’s head. Her hands fell down and her marehood freed its grip on Applejack’s tongue. “Woohee! What a ride, girl. You weren’t lying when you said you needed some action,” Applejack said as she took a good breath of air. “Ready for round two?” The human, still out of breath and lying under her, just nodded. “Well, since this a two player game…” Applejack turned around, her tail now over Melody’s face. “… You’re very welcome to join in.”

Using her long neck, Applejack leaned down and started to clean up from the last round. Melody shuddered briefly. The mare felt her friend grabbing her tail at the base and tugging it aside. The tug forced a little moan out of Applejack, which vibrated into the flesh in front of her.

She felt Melody trailing a finger over her own marehood, which was drowned in her own juices. As her finger went in, the mare felt herself wink a few times. The finger left her marehood, and just as Applejack as about to look to see if everything was alright, a tongue parted her folds. Moaning escaped both, mare and woman, as their tongues danced over the most sensitive part of each other’s bodies. A finger joined the tongue again, brushing over her pucker before…

“Applejack!” The mare jolted awake from her daydream. No, not a daydream, but a memory. She was still in the bar, Berry behind her counter and next to her was…

“Rarity?” Applejack asked, surprised. “What are you doing here, girl? I thought a place like this ain’t fit for a lady.”

Rarity shook her head. “None of that now, darling. I think we have a little trouble on our hooves. You are friends with that human mare, right?”

“Ah, yeah. We drink, or rather drank together nearly evening for a few years now. Why?”

The mare in front of her looked worried. Had something happened to Melody? “You see, I think she is using Twilight.”

“What!” Applejack exclaimed and threw down her mug on the counter. “That’s ridiculous. Who told you that nonsense?”

“I was there, Applejack, this afternoon. First she was this shy mare with a truly amazing body. I think she reminded me of our dear Fluttershy just a tiny bit, but obviously far more outgoing.”

“You’re talking about Melody?” Berry asked from her position behind the counter.

“Yeah, Rares here thinks she’s trying to play one on Twilight.”

“Shame on you, Miss Rarity. Melody’s a very sweet mare. She has some issues, but who doesn’t?” Berry said, a bit angry. “And if you want to talk trash about her, do it outside. None of that in here.”

Rarity was about to respond, but Applejack held her hoof up. “I’ll take ya outside, sugarcube. I had enough for one night anyway.” She threw a sack of bits on the counter. “Put the rest on my tab.” Berry took the sack of bits in her mouth and nodded as Applejack left her barstool and led Rarity to the exit. “So, what’s got your tail in a knot, Rares? I know you don’t judge that quick on the first look.”

“I don’t judge!” she exclaimed, looking offended. “I just build my own opinion.” Applejack just nodded. “Anyway, Twilight ordered a whole wardrobe of clothes for the girl.”

“Wow, that’s mighty nice of her.”

“Oh, I agree! But she told Melody the Crown paid for it!”

By now they stood just outside of the bar. The sun was long gone, and Luna’s moon illuminated the outlines of the buildings around them. “Well, that’s most likely how it is. Twilight employed her in the name of the Crown or so.”

“That just it! If the Crown paid for something like that, the money would come from the royal bank account. But it came from Twilight’s private account.”

“Uh, you just lost me. Isn’t Twilight also paid by the Crown? Maybe they thought it was easier if Twilight just gave her the money.”

Applejack could hear Rarity’s teeth as they grinded before she sighed. “No. Every employee has to be accounted for separately, mostly for taxes and so on. I should know – I’ve been hired several times by her Majesty.”

“Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but what has any of that to do with you thinking Melody tried to pull a fast one on Twilight?”

Rarity looked around, evidently checking if they truly were alone. “I think Twilight has a little crush on the human, and she knows that!” Applejack could only stare at her friend. “How she hugged her. How she grabbed her… She pressed all the buttons. She’s using Twilight.”

“Hold your horses a moment. Twi is crushing on who now?”

“Melody.”

“Uh huh,” was all Applejack could manage.

“Look, I know I could be wrong. But Twilight just spent a lot of money on her. I just want to make sure she is the sweet mare like you and Berry just said.” But Applejack was already somewhere else with her thoughts. Pieces fell together in her head, and so much suddenly made sense.

“You know what? I think you’re right.”

Rarity looked at her with a surprised expression. “Pardon?”

“With Twi’ having a crush on Melody I mean. I’ve seen that look in her eyes a few times.” Mostly when she looked in the mirror. “But I don’t think she’s doing any of that on purpose. Melody is a real smart ma— woman. She had all these books and… All she wants is to fit in. Maybe she’s just trying too hard.” Rarity bit her lip. Applejack knew the expression on her friend’s face. It was saying she knew something important but it was a secret. Or she really just shouldn’t say it. “If it’ll make ya rest easy, I’ll talk to her. Okay?” Rarity nodded.

Applejack stood by her stall in the market and watched the ponies who wandered by. A fair amount of those who met her gaze smiled and waved at her, which she returned briefly. However, it was not a pony she kept an eye out for; it was a certain human. She had promised Rarity that she would talk with Melody and ask her what the unicorn had meant with what she had said, or if Melody even knew that Rarity was not entirely happy with her.

“An apple for your thoughts,” her brother spoke up as he lifted another barrel of apples off their cart. Sweat glistened from his body, more from the heat of the afternoon sun than any effort from the manual labour. It was a look more than one mare was appreciative of, judging by the way they eyed him as they trotted by.

She sighed and laid her hat down next to the little cashbox on the counter. “Rarity said she suspects a friend of mine using Twi.” Her gaze was still fixed on the main street that led directly to the library. By now, Melody should have long since passed by. “I don’t know how she got the idea in her head, but I promised to talk with that friend.”

Big Macintosh nodded as he laid down another barrel next to the stall. “You think it’s true?”

“What? No! I mean…” The mare sighed again. “I don’t know what to think, Mac. Melody is pretty smart. She read all those books on what’s going on in a pony’s head and so on. I think she would know how to read a pony.” And that was the thought that troubled her. If Melody could read ponies so well, why didn’t she notice that she loved her? Or that Twilight had a crush on her? She never thought the human had a bad bone in her body, but despite herself, tendrils of doubt had started to creep up and latch onto her. She doubted her own sense in reading ponies, or humans for that matter. But the worst was that she doubted her friend. A friend she loved.

“I can take over if you want,” her brother offered and set her hat straight on her head with a hoof while ruffling her mane a bit.

Applejack shook her head. “No need. I guess it’ll just have to wait until later.” Applejack didn’t even believe herself in that moment. She wanted to know what was up with Melody and why Rarity was so suspicious of her, so out of the blue. Despite their differences, she knew that Rarity was not a pony who judged others just like that. Well, besides their sense in fashion, that was.

As it turned out, destiny had other plans for her. With the freshest apples now on display – and they were always fresh, never mind what some snobs might say – the first customer approached their stand. It was Celsius, Melody’s new coltfriend. Applejack had seen him a few times in town even before he had approached the human, or at least her new customer sense told her so. Even in a small town like Ponyville, one could not remember every face or name. He had probably delivered clouds to her farm, or she had spotted him doing his weather work around the town in the past.

“Morning,” he greeted with a slightly scratchy-sounding voice. He must have yelled a lot recently or something like that, Applejack thought. “You’re Applejack, right?” She was about to answer, but he cut her off. “Sorry, of course you are. I know that. Everybody knows you. You’re an Element. It just… Well, the announcement was to let the Elements of Harmony live their life in peace and all that. I don’t want to bother you.”

Like Melody had said, he was a bit reserved. Clearly not as bad as Fluttershy, but certainly not as outgoing as Pinkie Pie. “It’s not a bother. So, how can I help you? Maybe with some fresh apples?”

The blue pegasus seemed nervous. His eyes darted from side to side, making sure that the other customers were standing back a little, before he leaned forward. “It’s about Melody. She had a sort of breakdown in her... work? I don’t really understand all that she’s doing with Twilight Sparkle, but they spoke yesterday, and she was crying when I came to her house.”

Applejack frowned. She didn’t like what she was hearing one bit, but it explained why he looked and acted so frazzled. Celsius must have calmed her down the entire night. “She’s a lot better now, but I have to go to work, and she kind of needs her friends at her side right now. I met her with you at the bar, so I thought…”

The moment Applejack looked over to Big Mac, he spoke up, having acted as though he hadn’t kept an ear open to catch the conversation the entire time. “It’s fine. I’ll pick up Apple Bloom from school too. Take care of that friend of yours,” he grunted, taking down the last barrel for today from the cart.

Her gaze wandered back to Celsius, who seemed to be relieved. “Great! I’ll be back as soon as possible. Thank you so much!”

“No problem,” the mare answered, a bit bemused at how quickly the entire conversation had gone. One moment later, both of them were on their separate ways. Their minds, though, were on the same human.

Applejack knocked a few times on the wooden door of Melody’s little home. She had been here twice so far: once, the night after their little escapade; the other when she had helped her drunken friend home. Both times, her visits had been rather short. It was as though there was a rule between them that they could only be seen together for longer periods at the bar. While neither of them had said anything, it was almost an unspoken agreement. Well, at least it was one on Melody’s part. The coils of doubt in her mind came rushing back, asking her whether it was something intentional on the human’s part, that she’d rather not have Applejack in a more intimate setting after what had happened between them. The farm mare didn’t like it. Melody was her friend, and Applejack liked visiting her friends. All of them, even if visiting Rarity could be some kind of chore from time to time.

A few seconds passed by without any sound coming from the little hut, so she knocked again. “Melody, are you in there?” she tried calling out but still got no response. “I know you’re there. Celsius came by and told me that something was wrong.” As the words left her mouth, she winced internally. The last thing she wanted to do was get the pegasus in trouble for coming to her.

“Go away…” It was quiet, just a little about a whisper, and it came directly from behind the door.

Applejack sighed and leaned her forehead against the door. “Listen, sugarcube, I’m not stupid. I know something happened with Twilight yesterday. There’s a lot going on around you, and I don’t want to add things to that list. I just want to help you.”

There was a short silent before the door opened, and Applejack was dragged into the house by two familiar hands around her neck. In the blink of an eye, she was on Melody’s lap while the woman stroked her mane. She hadn’t done that in a long, long time. Back when she was new in Ponyville, she had done that before she learned that it unnerved some ponies to be treated like pets. The mare didn’t mind at all. She liked the soothing feeling of the human’s hands going through her mane and coat.

Setting her Stetson aside, Applejack nuzzled the woman briefly. “I’m so sorry Applejack,” Melody whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“Uh? What about exactly? You mean petting me? Nah, don’t worry. If it helps you, it’s fine with this mare.” For the first time, Applejack got a good look at her friend. Her green eyes were red from crying, and her nose was in dire need of cleaning. Melody’s hair was dishevelled, completing the picture of a woman who hadn’t slept last night at all.

“No. I mean yes. That too, but…” Melody sighed and nuzzled her cheek against the back of Applejack’s head. “I mean back then, in the barn. I used you. I was so… lonely, I guess. I… wanted attention. Being loved and accepted and you were drunk. I was drunk too, but that isn’t an excuse and… I don’t know. I’m sorry, Applejack. You’re my friend, my best friend, nearly my only friend, and I used—”

Applejack couldn’t listen anymore. She spun around and silenced the woman with a bone-crushing hug. “Now you listen to me, sugarcube. I’m a grown mare. I’m responsible for my choices, drunk or otherwise.” Applejack felt so stupid. This entire time, she had thought that she had used her friend to satisfy her feelings, and Melody thought the same, feeling guilty for something she didn’t have to. She had lied – she was a stupid mare. And now she felt like crying too. “And I wasn’t honest with you or myself. I love you, Melody, and not only as a friend. You’re fun; you’re smart; you’re beautiful and… and… Consarn it! I love you, okay? And I used you more than you used me. You were drunk, and I knew you were looking for a stallion and…” She stopped talking, looking her friend in the eyes. Those green eyes she loved to look at so much. They were so close. Too close. Applejack’s thoughts stopped too. Were their lips touching right now?

The mare leaned into the kiss but jolted away as her brain started to work again. She hated her brain so much in that moment. “Wait. No. What? Melody, what’s going on? What about Celsius?” And she lied again, she noticed. Some fine Element of Honesty she was. She didn’t want to add things to Melody’s list of things she had to worry about, and now she was on the floor, kissing a woman she wasn’t supposed to.

“I broke up with him.” Melody leaned back against the door, swiping her hair from in front her face. “After I came home yesterday… After I had this moment of clarity at Twilight’s… I had to get everything in order again. I had to be human again. I tried to do the impossible and become a pony. That’s not gonna happen, I realized, no matter how hard I try. I’m human. And from today on, I’ll do it the human way. You can’t please everyone, or everypony. I know I hurt the ponies around me. You, Berry, and even Twilight.” So she had figured it out after all. “But I tried to do it the pony way. To please everyone. And it made everything worse. I tried not to bother anypony with my special needs. Like clothing, saying I wanted to fit in.” Applejack noticed only now that Melody was wearing something. “And I hurt Celsius. I’m a pregnant mare, so there has to be a stallion, right? You ponies are all about family and foals. I think you don’t even notice that yourselves. Imagine a mare prancing through town. Her posture, her chest puffed out and tail slightly lifted, and head held high. It shows not only her beauty, but that she’s healthy and fertile. Stallions do the same. They show off their muscled chests and their goods. A muscular chest shows that he can work, that can help building a family and so on. You do it every moment, even when you’re standing at the market. You ponies don’t even notice it anymore, but as an outsider, I noticed and I tried the same. Show off my body and so on.

“Don’t get me wrong. Celsius is a very sweet stallion, and any mare can be lucky to have him. But I feel like I dragged him into all of this,” she said, pointing at Applejack and then herself. “He triggered something like a nest-building instinct. I wasn’t really looking for a stallion. I was looking for something I couldn’t find anywhere. Myself. And I finally found her, and she didn’t want him around. She wanted you.” Applejack felt her heart going faster than a racing pony. Melody wanted her. Her! Not Celsius, not Twilight, but her. “And then the whole thing with Twilight. I think I noticed it the moment she gifted me the writing kit. She is a sweet mare, but…”

“More like a little filly than anything else?” Applejack tried to help out.

“Yeah. I mean, I need more help already than most. I need someone responsible at my side. Someone I can trust and someone who can tell me the truth.” They looked at each other again. Applejack thought her heart would jump out of her chest. Hadn’t she given up? Why was she feeling like a filly again, having her first crush of all sudden? This was Melody, the woman she had a crush on for a long time. She wanted her brain to shut up, but there was this annoying little voice in her head that reminded her that she had one more question to ask.

“Melody, I have to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the truth.” The head of her love tilted a bit.

“I owe you that, and more.”

“Did you use that crush of Twilight’s to benefit yourself in any way?” She felt dirty the moment the question had left her mouth. However, she had promised, and her pride didn’t allow her to break a promise to a friend, Pinkie Promise or otherwise. And if she was honest with herself, she wanted to know herself. If she got that wrong about Melody, what else had she gotten wrong? She just had to know.

“No. I… didn’t even use the gift after the one time right after she gave it to me. I have it here, and I planned to return it to her.” The human grabbed a golden box out of a drawer from the cabinet that stood against the wall. Her fingers pushed it open so that Applejack could look in. Her eyes widened. She didn’t know what half the things in there were, but one thing she recognized immediately. Only one being had large white feathers like that, and she didn’t give them away willy nilly. The feather in there was one of Princess Celestia’s. Twilight had showed her the feather once, right after they had become friends. She had gotten it from the princess for her sixteenth birthday. And if she remembered correctly, Twilight had told her that, besides the sentimental value, the feather was worth a fortune. She could imagine what some of the noble ponies would pay to own something like that. The only other pony who had ever owned one of those had been a late friend of the princess. Twilight must have been out of her mind to just give this away… or deeply in love.

Well, Applejack knew that Twilight’s family was loaded, but even so… “Yeah, that probably the best,” she said while closing the lid with a hoof.

“Why did you ask?”

“Please don’t be angry at me or Rarity, but she got the impression you were using Twilight somehow. I don’t know what crawled up her tail, but she came to me, and I promised the talk to you. That was originally the reason I wanted to come by today, but then Celsius showed up at the market.”

Melody pulled her into a hug again. “I can’t actually fault her for that. I can only imagine how everything had to look for a bystander.”

“Yeah…” was all Applejack could say.

“So, Applejack, I want to do this the human way. Slow and so on. Very slow in pony language. And I want to say one thing from the start.” Taken a little aback by the fast topic change, the mare just nodded. “No sex before the third date.”

Nothing had really changed, Applejack knew. Still, as she had awoken this morning, she had felt like she was an entirely new mare:

A mare with a marefriend. A very special somepony to call her own.

She had been in relationships in the past, of course. Despite her being a carpet muncher, as some ponies called it, her last ‘real’ relationship had been with a stallion. It wasn’t like she hated stallions; they were just not what she wanted or were very attracted to, the mare had found. Applejack was a mare that desired something soft next to her in bed. Something cuddly. Something feminine or could at least be called that. One muscled body in her bed was more than enough, and that was her own.

Melody was just that person. She was squishy all over, soft, warm, and they got along very well—everything Applejack expected from a special somepony. She would only get cuddlier the further along her pregnancy went. Applejack knew that Melody being pregnant shouldn’t be a factor in their relationship, but for her, who had always wanted foals, it was a very big plus. Really, it was an all in one package.

She had thought about the foal problem since the day she knew she preferred mares over stallions. The easiest solution would have been a stud, perhaps a brother of her future marefriend, if said future marefriend didn’t want to carry the foal. Or she would ask her own brother or Braeburn to help her marefriend get pregnant. Adoption was also an option, but the last one on her list. For many years, these thoughts had followed her everywhere; only now they had abated. Not completely, but not at the forefront of her mind anymore. It was like a physical weight had been lifted off her back. She had planted the seed with winning Melody’s heart—now she only had to nurture the sapling until it was a tree large enough to put a hoofband on it. The thought alone made her giddy as a foal.

With this final thought, she reached the door of Melody’s home. Her ears already picked up sounds from within, and the open kitchen window made it even easier. The woman of her heart could be heard cursing and groaning. Applejack’s curiosity perked up, and the mare went over to the open window and lifted herself up to the windowsill with her forehooves.

As the sounds had suggested, Melody was inside the kitchen and cursing at her coffee machine, which responded with weird gurgling noises and little spits of water. She stomped her right foot and turned around, surprising Applejack.

“Morning,” Melody greeted her. “You don’t have to climb through the window, you know. The door is open.” The human pointed with her right thumb in the direction of her front door. “I’ll be with you as soon as this stupid thing gives me my coffee.” And with that, she turned around and brought down her fist on the machine on the counter. A metallic rattling could be heard, and another spurt of water escaped that was followed by a loud hiss. Melody groaned in frustration.

Applejack looked around in the kitchen for a moment. There was a stove, an old one that used gas instead of magic. A few steps to the left was the fridge, a model that seemed to be still using real ice for cooling. There was no toaster—she knew Melody used her pan for that. Thinking of it, there wasn’t much of anything at all, and what was there was old, very old. Probably stuff that other ponies had thrown away ages ago. The orange mare fancied herself a good cook and she was proud of her state-of-the-art kitchen. Seeing her beloved using what was akin to scrap metal to even get a cup of coffee was sad and heart-breaking.

“Wouldn’t ya rather join me out here? I know a little coffee shop not far from here.”

With a sigh, Melody’s shoulders sagged visibly. “You know what, I would love to. But that doesn’t count as one of the dates,” she said as a smile found his way back on her face. “I’m not that cheap.”

“Damnation. Way to ruin my shady scheme,” Applejack joked back. “But to be serious, Sugarcube, I came to invite you to breakfast anyway. I think we can throw coffee in there as well. What do ya say?”

“You know what?” Melody glanced back at her coffee machine. It chose this moment to spray some coffee in a diagonal arc across the counter instead of the cup right under it. The woman distanced herself a little further from the ongoing onslaught. “That sounds pretty good right about now. Let me get dressed and I’ll be right with you.” Nodding, Applejack lowered herself to the ground and started to wait.

“Can you make toast with mustard, pineapple, and cheese on top of it?” Melody asked the waiter, who raised an eyebrow at her question. Applejack snickered quietly at his reaction. “File it under pregnant mare cravings,” she added. Nodding with understanding, the stallion jotted her order down. “Coffee with cream as well, please.”

“I’ll have the same,” Applejack added. She was curious. Mustard and pineapple sounded like they would taste horribly if eaten at the same time. However, she also knew Melody wasn’t so far along to have cravings. At least she hoped so. She didn’t know too much about human pregnancies, after all. The waiter nodded in her direction and picked up the menus before he vanished in the direction of the kitchen. “So… care to tell me what I’ve gotten myself into?”

“It’s called Hawaii Toast where I’m from. Funny enough, it wasn’t invented in Hawaii, but in Germany. Also, I ate it for the first time when I was on vacation with my parents there.” Applejack mused over the name of the country. Germany sounded a lot like Germane. “Ein Bier, bitte,” Melody recited what strangely enough sounded Germane to her. “I think that’s the only German I remember correctly. It’s the most important thing to know.”

Applejack could make out that she had asked for something, at least from the sound of her words. “Well, what did you ask for?”

“A beer. A brew made from hops, malt, yeast and water.” Applejack had heard of the brew in the past. The minotaurs and griffins had it, but it was banned in Equestria. It had been available in the past, and many ponies had confused it for something healthy. However, the highly addictive substance was nothing of the sort, and Princess Celestia had to do something. If it was allowed in Germane, she didn’t know. “It was the only German sentence anyone needed to know for the Oktoberfest.”

Applejack wanted to change the subject. “Anyway. What’s in that there bag of yours?” She had been intrigued the moment Melody had left the house with it.

The woman suddenly looked nervous and even somewhat uncomfortable. “Twilight’s writing kit. I thought about what we talked about yesterday, and the sooner she gets it back, the better.” Applejack agreed with a nod. “Plus I have to talk to her about our… situation. I feel Rarity was somewhat right. If Twilight really has feelings for me, we have to talk about it because I don’t want to lead her on. It wouldn’t be right.” Applejack nodded again. “So I wanted to ask you… if you could help me. Not talking for me,” she added quickly. “Just, you know… be there.”

“Of course!” she agreed instantly. “Twilight’s one of ma best friends and you’re my marefriend. You can count on me, Sugarcube.” As Melody answered with a grateful smile, the waiter came back with their order.

“Welp, this is it.” Melody muttered as they reached the door of the Golden Oaks Library. The woman lifted her right hand to knock, but stopped inches before the wood.

Applejack pressed against her side. “I can knock for you again, if you’d like.”

“So it was you!” Melody exclaimed suddenly and startled her. “I’ll get you back for that, just so you know. It’ll be the moment you’d least expect it.” She had a wicked glint in her eyes, and Applejack gulped nervously. “You’ll never see it coming. Just imagine: you right on top of me, our lips just an inch apart and then… I will have a headache.”

“I don’t want to imagine that,” opined a third voice. Both Melody and Applejack turned towards the door again where a small green and purple dragon stood with a bowl of emeralds in his claws. He picked one up and threw it into his open maw. There was a crunch, a few slurping noises, and then it was gone. “You want to come in? I could also close the door again so you can continue to do whatever you were doing,” he offered sardonically.

“We’ll come in, Spike,” Applejack replied and followed the dragon into the building. “Twilight down yet?”

“I don’t know. Didn’t see her upstairs or down here. She’s probably in the basement doing science stuff.” Melody closed the door behind them and together they entered the living room. Well, it was more like a collateral damage room at the moment, Applejack noted. Scrolls and books were everywhere. Empty cups of coffee occupied almost every flat surface, and somepony had drawn with chalk on some parts of the walls. “And by probably I mean most likely, given the evidence.”

“Looks like a tornado had fun in here,” Melody mused and picked up the books from the couch. “Prim Proper’s guide for Pregnancy,” Melody read the cover of one of the books aloud. “Biology for the Mentally Advanced and Ten Easy Steps to get Pregnant, now with guide to sue the hell out of him.” They all blinked at that. “There’s drool on it,” Melody noted.

“That was most likely Twilight’s pillow then.” The dragon took the books from Melody. “I’ll start cleaning all of this. You can go downstairs if you want.”

Applejack wanted to shake her head for a moment. Spike couldn’t clean all of this by himself, and as a good friend, she wanted to help. Still, she had already promised Melody. “If you’ll wait a while, I’ll help ya, Spike. Just have to talk with Twi first, that’s all.”

“I’ll help as well,” Melody said. “I mean, Twilight’s my boss and this is the project we’re working on, after all.”

Spike looked relieved. “Thanks, guys. I’ll be finishing my breakfast then and wait for you in the kitchen. Can I make you anything?” Spike was really something, Applejack thought. The little guy got up early every day to clean after Twilight and make breakfast. She knew from experience that he could be clumsy at times, but he was still just a young dragon.

“No thank you,” Melody answered for them. “We already ate.” Spike nodded and left them alone in the room, the emeralds in the bowl shrinking by the second.

Applejack looked through the room again. “Good thing Mac took over for me today,” she mumbled to herself.

“So, down in the lair of the mad scientist we go!” Melody exclaimed and, with a few steps, reached the door that led into the basement. They both had been down here several times, and Applejack had to agree with her marefriend. Lair of a mad scientist was a fitting description for Twilight’s basement. Before Melody could open the door, it was released from the other side and Twilight emerged from the shadows beyond.

Her mane was a mess, she had bags under her eyes, and had a manic grin on her lips. “I knew I heard voices!” the unicorn said with enthusiasm that sharply contrasted with her appearance. “Melody, I got it! I figured it out!” Applejack had to watch as her friend tackled the woman to the ground and hugged her with joyful abandon. “I can get pregnant!”

“Wait?” The farmer’s brain stopped. “Come again?”

“Applejack!” Twilight let go of the shocked human and tackled her to the ground as well. Instead of a hug, Twilight took her cheeks in her forehooves and squished them together a few times. “I’ve figured it out! I can become pregnant!”

“That’s nice, Sugarcube.” Applejack freed herself from the unicorn’s grip and forced Twilight to sit still by holding her forehooves on the ground. “Now why don’t you tell us what you’re talking about from the beginning?”

“When I heard that Melody was pregnant despite being the only one of her species, I knew it had to be a magical reason. And I was right! Melody is absorbing magic passively. Her thaumatic field is a total mess. There’s some earth pony in her, some unicorn, and even pegasi! It’s like she is an alicorn, only without the immortality, strength, or magic. However, she has some of the passive characteristics of an alicorn, like better healing, resistance to extreme temperature, or being very, very fertile. So, I used my thaumometer as a base; instead of reading magic, it infuses magic into a pony. With Melody’s results as the recipe, I mixed a heavy load of pegasi and earth pony magic, donated from Rainbow and Pinkie when I did their check-up after Discord messed with us, and infused it into myself.”

“Well, that explains why it never really bothered me going without clothes…” Melody looked awestruck, still lying on the floor. “So, how did you know it worked?”

“When I woke up a few minutes ago, I casted a rudimentary diagnostic spell on myself. I’m not barren anymore! Also, I’m in heat! I never was in heat!”

“Oh, Twilight.” Applejack heard the voice, but for a moment couldn’t add a face to it. Then, as she looked behind her to see who had spoken, it was clear why. She never had heard Princess Celestia's words laced with such sadness. The alicorn stood in the entrance to the library, together with Rarity. The alabaster unicorn had tears in her eyes while the princess’ face was a mixture of disappointment and sorrow.

Applejack watched as a golden aura picked up Twilight from the floor and floated the unicorn towards the princess. “My poor Twilight,” she murmured as she engulfed the shocked unicorn into a feathery embrace. Celestia nuzzled her and settled on the ground between her legs.

“Pri-Princess, I did it,” Twilight could be heard saying. “I found a solution.”

The princess shook her head. “I heard your explanation, Twilight. While it solves the problem for now, the effect will soon fade.” Celestia’s gaze landed on Melody, who looked back with wide-eyed wonder. Right, she had never seen the princess before, Applejack remembered. “Miss Williams over there is a very special case. Her body isn’t used to magic and so it doesn’t filter out foreign magic. Her body doesn’t know how. Your body, my student, will filter out the magic of your friends with time. And no, while a steady stream of foreign magic would maintain the effect, it would also make you very ill over time. I believe I’ve taught you all about that.” Twilight nodded weakly.

“Star Swirl’s eighth theorem on magic. The body considers all outside magic hostile. It filters out magic not his own over time. That’s why body enchantments don’t last,” Twilight recited dully, her gaze focused on something that seemed invisible to everyone. “In conclusion, his ninth theorem states that all transformations will eventually revert if not upheld by the transformed himself. To transform a body costs more magic than anypony regenerates, thus a transformation can only be prolonged. How… How could I forget…?” Twilight’s voice cracked at the end as her tears began to freely fall, and Applejack couldn’t sit still any longer. She rushed over to her friend as the princess engulfed her as well in her wings. Rarity, too, it seemed; the white unicorn was hugging her friend for all she was worth.

For a moment, they just hugged as their friend cried in their embrace. Applejack never knew. How should she? Twilight had never told anypony of her ailment. It hurt even to think about. It wounded her as a mare and as her friend. At least now she knew why Twilight had been so fixated on Melody. She didn’t love her, at least not in that way. She hoped Melody would be her ticket to one day having foals of her own. If Applejack herself had suffered from something like that, she also would pay anything for a cure.

The sobbing started to ebb, and Applejack opened her eyes again. Celestia was still on the ground and shielded the group of friends with her large white wings from the rest of the world. “Do you feel any better, Twilight?” she asked gently. Rarity also released the unicorn, who nodded. “Then let’s join Spike and Miss Williams in the kitchen. I think the tea should be ready by now.”

Applejack hadn’t even noticed that Melody had left. They did as the princess suggested and entered the kitchen. “Hey, everyone,” Melody greeted them softly, Spike having occupied the enviable space on her lap. “There’s chamomile tea. Honey and sugar are over there.” She pointed at two pots on the table.

“Hey, Rarity!” Spike waved at them. He jumped from Melody’s lap and took the white unicorn’s hoof. “Let me lead you to your place, milady.”

“Why, Spike, how noble of you.” He led Rarity to one of the free spots at the table and pulled out a pillow under the table with his feet. “Thank you, Spikey-Wikey.” Melody giggled and Applejack rolled her eyes a little.

Twilight also walked over to the table and did the same as Spike, just with her magic. “Princess?” Celestia thanked Twilight with a little nuzzle and took her seat as well. Twilight sat next to her and Applejack decided to take the last free spot between Melody and Rarity.

In the next few minutes, they had all added sugar or honey to their tea and taken a few sips. The sadness and crying had all made them thirsty and the warm brew hit just the right spot. “So, Princess, why’re you here, if you don’t mind me asking,” Applejack picked up the conversation again. “I mean, it was right convenient that you did, but uhm…”

“That would be my doing, darling,” Rarity pitched in. “I took a train this morning to Canterlot to speak with her Majesty.”

“This isn’t about Melody, isn’t it?” Applejack thought all of that was behind them.

“Well,” Rarity started and paused again for a moment. “Yes and no. Oh, I feel so terrible now.” She took another sip at her tea. “You must understand, Applejack, I was merely concerned for Twilight. Something didn’t add up, and I had to be sure.”

“What didn’t add up?” Melody asked Rarity.

“First, I want to apologize to you as well, darling. I wasn’t fair to you, and for that I’m sorry. You see, when Twilight tried to tell me that the Crown was paying for all of your clothing, she also said it paid her for your salary. So, when the money for the clothes came from Twilight’s personal bank account, I was a bit perplexed. I know how the Crown handles payments. Because of taxation, they would pay you directly, or myself in that case, not through Twilight.”

“So what does that mean?” Melody asked Twilight, who was attempting to disappear under the table, it seemed.

“She paid not only for your clothes, Miss Williams, but also your salary,” Celestia said. “There never was a Crown contract. Twilight asked me to fund her research, but I declined.”

“What?” Applejack jumped on her hooves. “Why wouldn’t you fund something important like that, Princess?”

“Because I know the results.” Well, that answer Applejack hadn’t expected.

Twilight also looked at Celestia, intrigue replacing the mortification she had felt. “Wait, what are you saying, Princess?”

“Miss Williams over there isn’t the first human to ever arrive to Equestria, to our world. In fact, there were several before her. I met some of them in my time; one was even very close to me. Her name was Megan. I don’t know if she was the first, but she was the first one I ever met. She was my foal sitter.” Applejack blinked. That was a lot to take in. She didn’t want to imagine what this revelation had to mean for Melody. The woman looked dazed, and the cup in her hand had fell onto the table, spilling what little tea that was left. “She sadly died long before her time. However, other humans did not, and they have left their mark on our world. I know you’ve met one of humanity’s descendants only recently.”

Rarity sputtered. “You can’t possibly mean that ruffian Iron Will? The minotaurs?”

Celestia nodded. “The minotaurs weren’t around a few thousand years ago. I don’t know when they came into existence, but the deity they pay homage to is known as ‘The Father’. If you will look up pictures of him in your library, Twilight, you will find his liking to resemble Miss Melody quite remarkably.”

“You knew I was here!” Melody suddenly exclaimed. “You never thought I had a right to know about something like this?” Her hand rested on the table as she stood and watched Celestia in the eyes. Apple noted that they were shaking terribly.

“I am very sorry about that, Miss Williams, but I didn’t want to interfere.” The princess didn’t seem to talk umbrage at the accusation levied against her.

“Interfere with what?”

“You leaving your mark.” The woman’s eyes widened, and she brought one of her hands over her stomach. Celestia nodded with a smile. “If I had told you anything, it would have altered your decision. Perhaps for the better, perhaps not. However, I wanted you to live your life as unburdened as possible.”

“But now that I’m already pregnant, that’s out of the window,” Melody continued for her.

“Yes. I also would have visited you earlier, but it was only this morning that I was informed of your condition by Miss Rarity. I also would like you to visit me in Canterlot, at your own convenience. A human left a letter in my care for the next one to arrive, together with her journals. She wanted me to give it to the next one when I deemed it would benefit him or her. You don’t have to, of course.”

Melody sat down again and picked up her cup. “What was her name?”

“She was a very charming woman by the name of Amelia Earhart.”

“Airheart?” Twilight asked. “The Airheart? The one who wrote over ten books on pegasi flying techniques and flight itself? The one who is responsible that we have hot air balloons and airships?”

“The very same,” Celestia confirmed.

“Can I see her journals as well?” The unicorn looked up to Celestia with pleading eyes, but the princess shook her head.

“They don’t belong to me. They are, as of this moment, the property of Miss Williams. You will have to ask her, my faithful student.” Twilight’s head swivelled towards Melody, but Celestia turned it back gently towards her with a wing. “We have to talk about something else first. I can’t stop you from employing ponies to help you with your work, Twilight, but I must warn you to not use the name of the Crown again for such purposes. At least not without my permission.”

Twilight lowered her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Just don’t do it again, Twilight.” Celestia sighed. “I really don’t want to punish you for something like that.”

“I promise,” she stated instantly. “Hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“That should do.” The alicorn nuzzled Twilight again.

“I have a question,” Melody interjected. “Can this magic inside my body hurt me? Or my child for that matter?”

Celestia looked at her as if she had something strange. “On the contrary, Miss Williams. It will help you, aid you, just like a friend would. After all, it comes from your friends, the ponies around you. If you made more friends and spent time with them, you will find that you will benefit even more from it. After all; Friendship is Magic. Maybe you will even be able to cast spells like Megan did. You would have to spend time with more unicorns to do so.” Melody smiled. It was the beautiful smile Applejack liked so much about her. “I believe you’ve already made at least two unicorn friends.”

“Well, of course!” Rarity said instantly. “If you would still have me as a friend, that is.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I couldn’t be luckier to have ponies who looked after their own as you did for Twilight. Also, you know how to make a mean set of clothes. When I have a job again, I’ll come back to you.” That was true, Applejack realized. With Celestia telling Twilight that a human wasn’t her solution, she wouldn’t need Melody any longer. It also meant that Melody could work for her again, a thought that greatly appealed to Applejack. At the same time, she was a bit sad that her marefriend had lost such a good job opportunity.

“I would also like to be your friend, Melody,” Twilight hastily added. “And I’m sorry about the thing with the contract. I tried to read up about humans, but there was nothing! Nothing! I looked up other predator species and all they had in common was that they liked gold and other valuables. So, I tried money and… other things.”

Melody took Twilight’s hoof. “Don’t get me wrong, I like money and jewels just like the next girl, but I took the job because I’m pregnant and needed it more than ever. That reminds me.” Melody picked up her bag from the floor and took out the golden casket of unmentionable worth. “I want you to have this back. If I had known what it meant, I would have never taken it in the first place.”

Twilight took the casket with her hooves and hugged it close to herself like an old friend. “Well, I’m glad this all came to a happy ending.” Celestia rose to her hooves. “Miss Williams, my invitation has no limitation. Visit me in Canterlot whenever you find time in your schedule. Of course, you’re free to bring with you whoever you want. A marefriend maybe?” Applejack’s cheeks decided to turn a little crimson at that. She asked herself how the princess knew. “It would make a good weekend trip, would it not?”

“Thank you, Princess, for everything. Sorry I snapped at you earlier.” Melody also stood up and bowed her head slightly.

“Miss Williams, I understand your frustration with me. Believe me when I say I have the best intentions for all of my subjects. That also includes you. I would never willingly bring physical or psychological harm to you or anyone if I can help it. If you ever need help, I hold court from ten to four in the afternoon from Monday to Friday. Saturdays only with an appointment,” she added with a wink. “But for now, I must give my farewells. If you could do me a favour, please bring Twilight to her bed.”

Applejack looked over the table. Twilight was fast asleep, her head resting on the golden casket. She was mumbling something. “Sure thing, Princess,” Spike said and saluted.

“I knew I could count on you, Spike.” Her horn ignited, and with a silent flash of light, the princess was gone.

“There we are, looking for a bearded old man and in reality, it’s a winged unicorn with a rainbow mane,” Melody said with a giggle. “How about we start cleaning the library?”

“An apple for your thoughts,” Applejack whispered to her marefriend. Melody sat across from her and stared out of the window of the train. Her eyes darted back and forth with each tree that they passed. She seemed deep in thought as she was jostled slightly by the motion of the train.

As the woman registered that she had been spoken to, Melody looked over to Applejack and refolded her legs, one over the other. To Applejack, it looked slightly uncomfortable and something a pony couldn’t pull off. For the human, it seemed like one fluid motion, something she had to be used to. The hem of her yellow summer dress had lifted shortly with the motion of shifting her legs, but crossed as they had been, Applejack hadn’t been able to take a peek, not that she had really tried. She had to commend Rarity on being able to create such a teasing piece of clothing for a species she had known only for a few days. She knew what was under the dress, but here she was, hoping to get a glimpse.

The eyes of the woman landed on the lavender unicorn next to her, who had her muzzle hidden in a book. Star Swirls’ Theorems: A Compendium was the title. The book was ancient, the cover damaged at several spots and looked like the ink had long started to fade.

Melody’s gaze had something melancholy about it. It wasn’t like she would start crying at any moment, but it was difficult to describe. For the first time, Applejack found it difficult to read her marefriend. Then Melody answered her question with one of her own.

“Hey, Twilight, what are you reading?” Melody asked, shifting in her seat.

For a moment, it didn’t seem Twilight had registered Melody’s question, but after turning a page, she actually looked up to them, a rare act since they had boarded the train to Canterlot. “I’m rereading Star Swirls’ theorems. After what happened two days ago with Princess Celestia…” She trailed off, her eyes seemingly focused on something that wasn’t present in the room. After a moment, she shook her head, her ears briefly folding against her head. “It wasn’t one of my proudest moments, and I feel like I disappointed her. She taught me all of this.” Twilight pointed at the book with a hoof. “This book she gifted me when I had my first lesson in magic theory with her. She said it once belonged to a former student of hers, but she left it behind. The notes she left in here helped me a lot when I was younger. I wish I could have met her. Whoever she was must have been a genius. Some of the notes she added to theories were confirmed just a few years ago.”

“Why can’t you?” Melody asked. “I mean, the book doesn’t look that old. Maybe she’s enjoying her retirement somewhere in peace.”

“Well, the first problem would be that I don’t even know her name,” Twilight answered with a sigh. “I tried to ask the princess about her, but she got really sad. She just told me that her former student left after they had a huge fight and that it was unlikely for her to ever return.”

“Yeah, that sounds sad,” Applejack agreed. “Must have been kind of a big argument then.”

“I can’t even imagine what they could have argued about.” Twilight looked at the book again. “I mean, I can’t even imagine Princess Celestia actually getting mad. I got scolded by her just once, well, twice now.”

“What was the other time about?” Applejack was curious. Twilight was usually a very straight-laced pony and wouldn’t even consider breaking any rules. At least if she wasn’t driven to a state of panic because she was visited by her future self, that was. She had to know what had gotten Twilight riled up enough to risk getting scolded from the princess.

“That’s um…” the mare looked to Melody and then back to Applejack, “embarrassing, actually. I tried to sneak into the forbidden section at the School for Gifted Unicorns.” Well, why was Applejack not surprised?

“Wanted to learn some dark magic?” Melody asked with a grin on her face.

“What!” Twilight shot up in her seat. “No! It’s not that kind of forbidden section. That's just the place where they keep the books only meant for adult eyes.”

“So… Sex spells and stuff?” Melody asked, which made Twilight’s face turn as red as Big Macintosh’s coat. “Kinky. Did they catch you before or after you learned something?” Twilight’s blush was more than enough of an answer. “Well, come on. What kind of spell did you learn?” Twilight mumbled something. “You can’t start to tell such an interest story and stop at the best moment. Tell us. We’re your friends. We won’t judge you. Much.”

“A teat enlargement spell,” Twilight mumbled again, this time loud enough for Applejack and Melody to catch.

For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of the train rushing towards Canterlot every passing second. “So, huge teats are a thing?” Melody asked, looking down at her chest. “Why didn’t anyone tell me that?”

“It’s more of a Manehatten thing. You should see the local Playcolt,” Applejack answered and, by the glint in Melody’s eyes, noticed her mistake a moment too late.

Applejack had seen Canterlot more often than she could count by now. There had been trips with her folks when she was younger, one visit with her aunt and uncle, and several business trips had led her to the capital of Equestria. Not to mention the events of the last two years. She also knew that Melody had been here only once, when she had applied for welfare. Everypony could see that the denizens of Canterlot weren’t used to her. The so-called nobility seemed to forget their manners as many of them stared, pointed, and whispered while they left the train.

Applejack didn’t like it one bit. So fine, there was a being they had never seen before, but that wasn’t a reason to be unfriendly. It wasn’t like she was wearing a dark cape and only green glowing eyes were visible. She also hadn’t come out of the Everfree.

“This place reminds me so much of London.” The human didn’t seem to notice or care. It was hard to tell with her sometimes. She stretched while Twilight levitated their luggage out behind her. “So full of life, old buildings that are nice to look at, and the gentle aura of history. I could spend the whole weekend just drawing the city.”

“It is amazing, isn’t it?” Twilight chimed in. “While Canterlot isn’t the oldest city in Equestria, it certainly has some of the most amazing sights to see. There is the fountain of wisdom in the centre of the market square. It pays homage to Shimmer Glimmer, the unicorn who basically invented jewellery. Before the formerly were only used as spell gems but she worked them into earrings, torcs, and other pieces. When Canterlot was first built, it was called the jewel of Equestria because of her. Then there’s the national library. An earth pony noble named Ink Print was a collector of books, as they were very rare in the Early Age. That’s what the three hundred years after the foundation of Equestria are called, by the way,” Twilight added as they headed for the exit of the train station. “He built his mansion entirely around his hobby. His son, Quick Wit, made it into a library after his death and charged an entry fee. Still, it was the first time that such a large collection was available for everypony. In the two hundred and ninth year of the Early Era, Princess Celestia bought the entire estate with everything in it for a still unknown number of bits from Quick Wit and made the entry free for every citizen. His family is still around today and rumours say that they still live off that money nearly eight hundred years later. Then there’s—”

“We get it, Twilight,” Applejack interrupted. “If we want to take a tour of the city, we’ll ask you and avoid the tourist trap tours. Could we please drop this off at the castle first?” She shook her back where her heavy saddleback chafed. She had carried far heavier loads, but it was still very uncomfortable. Still, a pony had to take some things with her for a weekend trip. Following advice from Rarity, there was even a dress in there, next to a spare hat, some hygiene products, an apple tree sapling for Apple family emergencies, and some apples. Only two dozen though. Then Apple Bloom had insisted that Applejack take her school history book with her to ask Princess Celestia to sign it so that she had something for show and tell next week. Then there were two of Granny’s pies, and last but not least, the only thing she originally had actually intended to take with her: the book about arboriculture she had been reading. All this made her saddlebags ‘ready to blow’, as Pinkie Pie would say.

“Yes, of course. I have to get to my parent’s place… any… way. Shining!” Both Applejack and Melody jumped at Twilight’s sudden outcry. The unicorn rushed past them both towards a snowy stallion, who had turned at Twilight’s call. The rather lanky mare next to him looked their way as well, but before Applejack could get a better look at her, Twilight and the stallion obviously named Shining blocked her view. “What are you doing here, B.B.B.F.F.?” Twilight asked and pulled the unicorn stallion into a hug.

‘Must be family,’ Applejack thought. After all, she knew a family hug when she saw one.

“Twily!” the stallion answered and returned the hug. He had a smooth, deep voice, but there was a hint of something in it, something she couldn’t place. “I could ask you the same. What are you doing here?”

“No, I asked first,” she instantly retorted.

“Well, he’s on a date with me,” a new voice joined the conversation, and the pony that had been behind the unicorns stepped next to them. Twilight’s head turned to her, and her eyes widened. “Hello, little lady bug.”

“Cadance!” And there she went again. Twilight jumped at the pink mare and hugged her as well. Two large wings were splayed outwards as Cadance balanced herself, and with the horn on her head, there was only one conclusion left. There in front of Applejack was the mysterious third Princess of Equestria, the Princess of Love, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. She returned Twilight’s hug.

Applejack nearly jumped again when Melody whispered into her ear, “Should we bow?”

The farmer looked back at the display that was unfurling in the middle of the street just beyond the exit of the train station. Other ponies looked on as the princess and unicorn hugged and giggled like fillies high on sugar. She shook her head no.

“Sunshine, sunshine…” Twilight and Cadance began to sing as they danced on the spot. “Ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake.” And with the last part, they wiggled their rumps at each other.

“And to think, she was embarrassed at telling us about a teat enlargement spell,” Melody muttered before letting out a giggle herself. Applejack couldn’t resist and joined in.

“So what are you guys doing here?” Twilight asked again, looking from the stallion to the alicorn.

“W-Well,” the stallion stammered. “Like Cadance said, w-we are…” He looked over to Cadance with a look every mare knew. It was a stallion out of his wits.

“Like I said, Twilight, your brother and I are on a date,” Cadance said with a slight smile and placed a wing on Shining’s back.

A squee could be heard, the universal sound of a very excited pony. It only could have come from Twilight, because she was shaking like Pinkie when she had one of her predictions. “Oh, this is so great! How long have you two been together? How many dates have you had? Do our parents know?” she asked rapidly, not waiting to get an answer.

“Oh, this isn’t a normal date Twilight.” Cadance puffed out her chest. “This is a very special one because it is our first as—” The stallion next to her coughed and shook his head as Cadance looked over. “Why not?” Shining answered with a slicing motion across his neck with his hoof. “Oh well, tonight then.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Why don’t you introduce us to your friends then?” Twilight looked back at them and seemed to realize that she had indeed come to Canterlot with company. Applejack imagined that it didn’t help that both of them were waving at the trio.

“Oh. Cadance, Shining,” she began and pointed at her friends as they came up to the group. “This is Applejack, and she’s Melody. They are both friends from Ponyville.”

“Hi,” both of them said at the same time.

“We came here to… unwind. Well, Melody and I did. We sort of both had a few eventful days, and when Princess Celestia invited her to Canterlot, we jumped at the opportunity to spend the weekend here. I wanted to visit our parents, and Applejack…”

“Wanted to spend time with her marefriend,” Cadance finished for her. “Believe me, I understand completely. It’s nice to meet you both.” The pretty pink princess extended a hoof. Melody shook first, then Applejack. “My name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess of Love, but friends call me Cadance.”

“Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard,” the stallion said, following his marefriend’s example.

“So, what’s taking place tonight?” Twilight asked, visibly curious.

“Oh, just a little party.” Cadance winked. “You are invited of course, all of you. Your parents will come as well, Twilight.” Applejack looked over to Melody, who had a huge grin on her face. “Why don’t you join us for tea and we can talk a little more? I’m especially curious about your story, Melody.”

“Well, if that isn’t the nicest way someone ever asked ‘What are you?’, I don’t know what is. But sure thing, princess. You and Twilight also seem to have a lot of catching up to do.” Applejack meanwhile was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Twilight had a brother and had never told them. Also, he was hot, something she had never really thought about a stallion before, even though she had dated a few. It unnerved her.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Melody released a sigh of contentment. “Well, you can say what you want about rich people, but they sure know how to make life enjoyable.” Applejack, who was lying on her bed and had taken a bath just before her marefriend, couldn’t agree more.

“You said it. I liked our little outdoors shower back home a lot, ‘specially after a hard day’s work, but the bathrooms here in the castle are something else,” she said without looking up from the book she was reading. She had just reached an interesting section about how earth ponies in the past used to graft different plants together to create a new one, an idea she planned to use herself. An apple with the sweetness of a braeburn combined with the size of a royal gala—the thought alone made her mouth water.

“Are you drooling because of me or the book, ‘Twilight’?” Wiping her mouth, Applejack looked up to Melody, who loomed over her, her hair wet and slightly dripping and only covered by a towel that was wrapped around her chest. How it stayed there was a mystery in itself.

“Very funny. It’s just that this here book has given me plenty of ideas. I can’t wait to get back and try some of them. These could give us the boost in sales we need.” Melody bent forward and closed the book between her front hooves. While it was mightily upsetting, the view she got more than made up for it. Also, now that Melody knew she had a little thing for large teats, she didn’t need excuses anymore for sneaking a peak.

“While I can understand that, we’re here to relax and take a break.” Before Applejack could protest, the book was also taken away and thrown onto an armchair that stood next to a small table in the corner of the room. “So, come on and get ready. We’re expected at a royal party, after all.” She knew Melody was right, and her look wandered over to the end of the bed she was lying on. Her dress was hung there, the white and green over-elaborate outfit that Rarity had made for the Gala last year. “Want me to help you?”

“If you don’t mind,” the mare answered and hopped off the bed. Melody had taken the dress in the meantime and held it up for her to slide in. Ponies were social critters, Applejack idly noted. Not only do they strive for friendship and companionship, as Melody said, they really needed each other. Without the help of at least another pony, getting into this dress, of all things, would be a near impossible task. At least for an earth pony. They were the physically strongest of all the races, and one wrong move could end up with a hoof tearing a new hole into their clothes. Therefore, she was cautious as she placed her front legs in the sleeves of the dress as Melody pulled the rest over her body.

“We have to do something with your hair,” the human mused as she smoothed the skirt over her haunches. “Your tail too. Could comb them or we could do a braid. I used to braid the hair of a friend of mine when we were younger and she with mine. I bet I could get it done.” Her hand caressed Applejack’s mane and played with the strands for a bit. “On the other hand, you look good with your mane down like this…” The human looked over to the mirror in the room, and Applejack followed her gaze. There they were, she in her dress and the human next to her on her knees. The mare looking back at her was one she nearly didn’t recognize. In the past, she had always worn her hair in one style or another. Usually it was in her trademark ponytail, or stuck up into a mess of knots when out with her Aunt and Uncle Orange. The only pony who had said the same as Melody had been Rarity, one of her best friends over the years. That Melody could say what looked good on her and was actually something Applejack liked at the same time was a feat in itself, at least for her.

Her marefriend had stated that there wouldn’t be any action until the third date, but in that moment, she had to kiss her. Applejack spun around and pressed her lips gently against the surprised human’s. There wasn’t any tongue, since this wasn’t a messy make-out session in a barn full of hay—this was a token of affection and gratitude. It only took Melody a few seconds to return the gesture and press back.

“That was nice,” the human stated a moment later when they parted to breathe. “But what brought that on?”

Applejack could only smile right now. “For knowing me so well. For being with me and for being you, I guess.” Melody smiled back and for a few seconds they just looked each other in the eyes. “I… I love you, Melody Williams. Loved you for a long time now.”

The woman’s face fell slightly. “I love you too, Applejack. But I’m still coming to terms with a lot of things, about myself and about your world in general. And I’m thankful for you sticking with the mess of feelings that I am.” She took a deep breath. “I really want this to work and I have a plan. I want us all to be happy.” Applejack moved to embrace her, but Melody put her hand on her shoulders and pressed her back. “Whoa there. Not if you want to wear that dress tonight. It will get wrinkled. Even if you don’t care, I do. As an English girl, being invited by a princess is a dream of mine. So, sit down and stay still while I get a comb.” The farmer rolled her eyes. “And if you’ll be a good little pony, I may let you help me get dressed.” With that, Melody stood up and went to the dresser, pulling a little at her towel. She not only had bountiful teats, but a nice butt as well.

The sun was already down when they entered the ballroom, which was heavily decorated in rich pink and light blue. A large banner hung over the buffet table that read “Congratulations!”, and the few ponies that were already there were mingling about. There were around thirty ponies, a large gathering by Ponyville standards, but here it made the room look slightly empty. At least they had no problem finding Twilight. Her friend wore a simple azure-coloured dress and was talking with a greyish mare with purple and white streaks in her mane and an inky-blue stallion next to the bowl of punch.

“I feel even more special now. Look how empty it is. This is really a small party, a close circle.” Applejack looked up to Melody, who walked next to her in a stunning one-piece dress of glittering crimson that hugged her form and left little to the imagination. The thing was held up by two little strings that were connected with a knot just below her neck, leaving her entire back bare. It didn’t even entirely hide her teats, showing off a good part of them. On either side of her haunches was a cut in the fabric that allowed her more mobility and would have also displayed her cutie mark if she had one.

Melody said she had gotten the dress from Rarity only yesterday, hours after the fashionista had asked her about humanity’s formal attire. Applejack had to think back to what Melody said this morning about Twilight—not her being embarrassed about wiggling her rump, but about a little kinky spell. From Melody, she knew that humans usually felt embarrassed without clothes, but if that was normal formal attire for a human mare, she had to laugh. The dress was barely even there. The only other thing Melody wore was the sandals on her feet. Applejack would know—she helped her dress, after all.

“Applejack, Melody!” Twilight called and waved at them before Applejack could say anything in return, which suited her fine. She too was a little lost and over her head with the situation. Why were a farmer and an artist at a royal party? It sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. They followed Twilight’s call over to the other two unicorns with her. More family, Applejack realized after a closer look at them. The mare had to be Twilight’s mother; there was little doubt about that. If the she had been a few years younger, they could be siblings. With the stallion, on the other hoof, she had to guess. Either her father or an uncle.

“Applejack Apple, Melody Williams, these are my parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Mom, Dad, these are two of my friends from Ponyville.” Twilight Velvet, honouring her name, wore a white velvet dress that was nearly indistinguishable with coat. Her husband had simply donned a tuxedo with a white tie.

“It’s nice to finally have a face to all the stories my little Twilight writes about,” the mare said as she greeted Applejack with a smile and a hoofshake.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Applejack replied. The same routine repeated with Melody while she shook hooves with Twilight’s father.

“To be honest,” Velvet started when she released Melody’s hand. “When Twilight wrote me a week ago about you, I thought you were a griffon. Your name and all. Indulge an old mare’s professional curiosity and tell me a bit about yourself.”

“I’m a human, Miss Velvet. Only one here at the moment.” The eyes of the mare widened slightly. “Something wrong?”

“No, it’s just…” She looked over to her husband, who simply nodded. “A friend of mine, who is an archaeologist, mentioned a species called humans before in one of her… letters to me.”

“While I’m the only one here now, I’m not the first. At least, Princess Celestia told me so. There were others before me.” Velvet nodded. So, the princess wasn’t the only one who knew about humans. If they really had contributed to pony society as much as she claimed, they deserved more recognition.

There was a high-pitched sound and then a stallion could be heard clearing his throat. “Good evening, ladies and gentlestallions, friends and family. It’s nice to have you all here tonight.” All ponies in the room turned to the stairs, where Shining Armor stood together with Princess Cadance. Surprisingly, they both didn’t wear any clothing, only a golden ring on each of their horns. “We have a small announcement to make.” He levitated the microphone over to the princess, who thanked him briefly.

“We’ve been dating for almost a year now, and two days ago, Shining Armor finally managed to ask the question.” She smiled and paused for a moment. “We’re getting married!” she then cried into the hall, and a burst of light blue magic swept over them. The audience erupted into cheering and hoof-stomping for the newly engaged couple. Twilight and her parents rushed past them to the stairs, ponies congratulating and dancing around the two. All Applejack could do was gaze at the spectacle and imagine herself and Melody in the middle of all of that. Her friends happily congratulating her. Her family patting her on the back and wishing them only the best. Her brother hugging her to death, nearly ruining her tux.

“Well, Cadance is happy mare,” Melody stated next to her. “Fine piece of stallion she’s got there,” she added with a chuckle. Applejack nodded. “You with me?”

Blinking, she shook her head and looked up at her marefriend. “Yeah, I’m good.” Melody nodded and started to walk over to the couple. Twilight was still switching between hugging her brother and her soon to be sister-in-law. Twilight Velvet seemed to be talking to both of them while Night Light had a content smile on his face. The other stallions around, as she noticed now since they all stood together, were the muscled, trained sort, most likely friends of Shining Armor from the Royal Guard. The mares in the room were friends of Cadance then. She was surprised to see Lyra Heartstrings, one of Ponyville’s local musicians, among them.

“…and you could have warned us!” she heard Velvet say. “My only son is getting married and the moment I hear about it is as the same as everypony else. A mother could think she’s nothing special, you know.”

“I’m sorry, Velvet.” Cadance hugged the grinning mare, who had tears running down her face.

“Oh, you have nothing to be sorry about, dear.” She shot a brief mock-glare at her son.

“Congratulations,” Melody said to Shining as he looked at them when they approached. “I wish you only the best for your future together.”

“Me too,” Applejack chimed in. “If I had known, I would have brought something. I have a sapling in our room upstairs. It’s an old earth pony tradition to plant a tree together when you’re getting hitched. Maybe you’re interested?”

“That’s sounds like a nice tradition, Miss Apple. I’m sure Cadance would love to do that.” He smiled at her, and she shuddered. Why did she get butterflies with this stallion? “And thanks to you as well, Miss Williams.” It wasn’t an Apple family emergency, but the family would understand if she used the sapling this way.

If she were a more educated and cultivated pony, Applejack would probably have described her current situation more eloquently than ‘heavenly’. It was a perfect assessment, though. Here, dancing in the great hall of the palace, wearing a fancy dress and holding Melody’s hand with her hoof while she led them over the marble floor, was bliss incarnate. The slight buzz from the imbibed refreshments didn’t hurt the atmosphere as well. For the most part, it was just the both of them and the music. Right now, it didn’t matter that there were other ponies around them. They were just patches of colour in the corner of her eyes. In the centre of her focus was Melody. The woman smiled down at her, still a head higher even when the mare was on her hind legs.

In the back of her mind, Applejack made a note to write a nice letter to her aunt and uncle to thank them for the dancing lesson they had forced her to take while she had lived with them in Manehatten.

Applejack returned the smile and turned her right hind leg as the two of them began another slow turn, following the rhythm of the music in the background. Melody wasn’t a good dancer. Her feet sometimes found its way between Applejack’s hooves, causing her to stumble a bit, but she had gotten better since their first try. She wouldn’t have expected that sort of clumsiness from someone who looked so nimble like Melody.

With one last twirl, the music ended and the ponies in the room parted, fell back on four hooves, and bowed to their partners. “That was nice,” Melody said as she also bowed slightly to Applejack. “And again, I’m sorry for nearly making you fall. Twice. Dancing with a pony is slightly different than with another human.”

Applejack, a bit curious, tilted her head. “How so?”

The woman started walking towards the buffet, near which was a small area with chairs for ponies to sit down. “Well, for one, we don’t make a game of balance out of it. Don’t take it the wrong way, but you’re pretty heavy.” Applejack blinked, not understanding what her marefriend meant, something Melody seemed to pick up upon. “You see, when you’re on two hooves, you still tilt slightly forward. The only thing to hold you up was me.”

“Isn’t that how you’re supposed to dance? My teacher always told me that holding your partner up was all about trust and all that. Makes it romantic and whatnot. How do you humans dance?”

Melody sat down in one of the chairs and grabbed one of the glasses of water laid out for the thirsty dancers. “We hold each other, press together, feel each other up. It’s about being close.” Applejack tried to picture that as she also sat down. Two humans holding each other close, their legs intervened and hands running down each other’s body. Well, no surprise then that they had had trouble, with Melody trying to get closer while Applejack tried to hold her up. Seeing the smirk on her lips as Melody sipped her water, she must have realized it as well. “Next time we should talk about it before we actually do it,” she finally said.

“Would probably for the best.” Applejack looked past Melody into the room. Another group had started dancing to a new piece of music, while others mingled amongst themselves. She could see Princess Cadance standing together with her future husband, talking with an older mare and stallion they seemed to know well. They weren’t the ones she hoped to find. She had to look up the stairs where Twilight was with her parents and Princess Luna. The latter must have snuck in since nopony else seemed to have noticed her. The cobalt alicorn smiled at something Twilight just said and looked towards Velvet. However, the important detail was that Twilight seemed happy again. It had been a long time since Applejack had seen her like this.

“You’re a good friend, Applejack,” Melody said. The woman’s elbows rested on the table. “She needed this. Not the fancy party, but her family and her friends. Humans often seem to forget that. It was also one of the first things I learned about you ponies: the value you put on family and friends. It’s like Princess Celestia was literal when she said friendship was magic.”

“It was your idea coming here. That would make you a good friend too.”

“Am I?” Melody sounded thoughtful.

That was a loaded question. “Well, I can’t rightfully answer that. I’m biased, you know. I’m terrible in love with the woman in question.” Applejack leaned over the table and planted a kiss on Melody’s lips, only a slight peck to cheer her up. Two hands grabbed her head and held it in position, their lips locked. After what seemed to a minute or more, Melody pulled free. She smacked her lips, savouring the kiss they just shared.

“That was for coming here with me and for the dance. I know you don’t like any of this.”

“No, but I like you,” came out of Applejack’s mouth faster than she could think.

“Somepony ate a smooth talker this morning.” Melody giggled slightly. “Go on, see where it gets you.”

The door slammed open as they stumbled into their shared room. Melody hands ran though Applejack’s mane while the latter held onto the human to remain bipedal as they kissed. The couple, still clinging to each other, made their way over to the closest bed and dropped onto it, where Melody finally released her. If they had done this only on the way up here, Applejack wouldn’t have minded, but they had already made out for fifteen minutes in a random closet they had found. “Wooh-wee, girl, what’s gotten into you?” Applejack adjusted her position on the bed and brought her legs under her. The pony loaf position, as Melody had called it once.

The woman, lying on the bed with her arms stretched out as far as they could, stared at the ceiling. “The atmosphere, I guess. All these couples, dancing, the engagement—it does things to a girl.”

Not only to a girl. Applejack could feel her own body getting pretty heated. Her tail swished agitatedly, something Melody seemed to have noticed since she tried to catch it with a hand. “I agreed to your terms, Melody. I won’t try anything, and you don’t have to feel bad if you don’t want to continue. A cold shower’ll take care of my problem.”

“Applejack, you wouldn’t believe how horny I am right now.” The mare gulped. “I was really considering taking you right there in the closet, regardless of how uncomfortable it would have been. And I’m fighting with myself right now as well. You saying nice things like that doesn’t help at all.” She finally managed to catch Applejack’s tail and brought it to her nose. “Apples…”

“I’m sure Princess Celestia would give us a second room to get rid of the temptation.” She looked at the Melody, who seemed rather subdued now, and freed her tail with a slight pull. “I won’t break the promise I made to you.”

“Do you know why I made that rule?” Melody asked, locking eyes with the mare. Applejack thought about it for a moment, but had to shake her head in the end. There were many possibilities, but none sounded right. “Because I tried to fill the emptiness in me with sex. I used it as a substitute for love. Worse still, I wasn’t the only one hurt by that decision. Twilight made me see that. We humans say the first step to get rid of a problem is to acknowledge that you have one. The truth is that that isn’t even the only reason. I’m planning something very egotistical, something very selfish… something very human. It’s a plan benefits mostly myself, and I know that you could end up hurt because of it.” Melody sat up on the bed and grabbed Applejack’s hooves from under her body. “I also know you love me, and I don’t want to use that against you. I don’t want to use sex to lead you along with what I’m planning to do.”

Applejack waited for a moment for Melody to continue before speaking. “You’re a bit dense, are you, Sugarcube?” Melody’s brown eyes looked into her own green ones with mild surprise in them. “I want you to be human. If you’re a little egotistical, then be that way. I want you, Melody, because of who you are, not what you are. That’s just something that comes along with you. You could be a griffon, dragon, or even minotaur for all I care. I love you because of who you are, not what you are. You’re a considerate, kind, and funny girl. You always try to think of others. You even hurt yourself because of it. I saw how you were with Apple Bloom. Foals know when somepony isn’t nice, like some sort of instinct. You’re everything I could—” The farmer’s rant was interrupted when Melody pressed her lips against hers with surprising force. She couldn’t remember her ever being this insistent about anything. Melody forced her upon her back and was crawling on top of her.

“Melody…” she mumbled in the kiss, trying to make her stop. She wouldn’t let her break her own rule and her promise along with it. Right now, it wouldn’t take much more for her to do so. Her face flushed red as there was an audible squelch when her nethers winked, her tail swishing around and spreading her musky scent around in the room.

Finally, Melody parted, but her head stayed close to Applejack’s. “I won’t make you break your promise. I won’t break my rules. Just lay back and enjoy.” Melody’s hand grabbed the hem of Applejack’s dress and peeled it off her body, leaving her on the bed like the day she was born. She threw the fabric aside and then loosened the knot behind her neck, allowing her own dress to drop from her waist. For the second time that day, the mare was treated to the sight of her marefriend’s chest. This time, the nipples on her teats were hard, slightly pointing outwards. Melody slipped all the way out of her dress, now as nude as Applejack. Bending her knees, she shot the mare an alluring smile, a wicked glint in her eyes. Applejack gulped as her heart pounded in her chest. This was a rather intimate daydream of hers come to life.

Melody smiled as Applejack brazenly ogled her for a moment, before she leaned forward again, her hands now next to her belly. Her mouth wandered to her neck, where she planted a kiss, then another a bit lower. The mare twitched, electricity running through her body. Melody went further south with her teasing, reaching her chest. She buried her face in the fluff of fur and pinched her skin with her teeth. “Melody…” Applejack groaned and dug her hooves into the fabric of the bed. One of her hind legs twitched and rubbed on the inside Melody’s calf. Using one of her hands, she scratched her fingers along Applejack’s side and down towards her cutie mark. She reached the first of the three apples, circled to the second, and then to the third, all the while still nibbling and kissing her chest. Suddenly her fingers groped the flesh around her cutie mark, squishing and pulling at it, Applejack’s breath catching in her throat.

Melody’s head travelled further down to her stomach, kissing around her navel a few times before tonguing the small hollow, making Applejack growl. Her mind was hazy with the sensations coursing through her body, unable to concentrate on a single one. Her body ached deliciously as she could feel her core heating up. Her flanks were raised high in the air, gripped by her marefriend’s hands, and the next kiss landed right between her teats, breaking the dam. Her entire body jerked as ecstasy overwhelmed her, the pressure finally released in a crescendo. Stars blinded her vision as her vulva winked like crazy, her inner muscles futilely trying to grip something that wasn’t there.

After what felt like a few minutes, the sensation ebbed away and Melody came back into focus. The human was caressing her flanks as she watched her ride out her orgasm. “That…” Applejack was finally able to say, “was something else.”

“Oh, I’m not finished.” Melody granted her a sensuous smile, a lazy little thing that spoke of unfulfilled promises. “That was just foreplay.” Applejack’s eyes widened as Melody lowered herself again before she could protest, this time between her legs. She rubbed her thighs together, feeling the mess she had left. Her marefriend didn’t seem to mind as she lowered her head right to her core, her tongue teasing the outer lips of her marehood.

“Woah nelly… be careful, I’m still sensitive!” Applejack cried out, her hips shifting and arching.

Melody looked up and grinned, the sight of her sharp teeth sending a thrill through Applejack’s body. “I’m counting on that.” She went back down again, bathing her sensitive flesh with kisses. Applejack released a low moan, gripping the bed sheets harder. She could feel herself winking furiously, the squelching sounds echoing lewdly in her mind. Melody continued her assault, adding two fingers that slid into her with ease, her inner core firmly gripping them before bathing them in a light massage. Her mouth and fingers alternated and were rewarded by Applejack’s copious juices, eventually seeping out to the sheets. Good sex was messy, after all. It was half the fun.

With a final lick, Melody ceased her ministrations. “Did you know that the clitoris is more than just this nub of flesh?” she asked before planting a kiss right on it as Applejack winked again, causing the farmer to give a ragged shout. “It goes along the inner walls of the vulva and even inside the vagina itself, eventually forming what scientists call the mysterious G-spot?” Applejack didn’t get a chance to answer as Melody dove forward and planted another kiss on the sensitive bundle of nerves as it peeked out again. Both her hands spread open her marehood, exposing her to the world, before a short, thick tongue entered her. For a moment, it felt like it was darting around in her without direction, but she soon realized Melody was using a technique as old as ponykind and was writing the alphabet. Her thumb joined the fun and rubbed gently on her clit.

“Melody, I’m… I’m…” She came again, her entire body tensing, but the human didn’t stop. In fact, Melody began to eat her out with renewed enthusiasm, rubbing her love button for all it was worth. Applejack’s hind legs kicked in the air, her back arching and nearly lifting her off the bed. It seemed the human’s sole purpose was to prolong her climax for as long as possible. “Melody!” she cried out again and her muscles finally started to relax, but the human reacted instantly. She pulled her head back, her face soaked, and buried two her fingers where her tongue had just left, pistoning into her. Her body reacted and she could already feel a third orgasm coming. The two fingers were joined by a third one and then a fourth and finally, with a loud squishing sound, her entire hand vanished. At that moment, Melody leaned forward and forced her tongue into her mouth. Applejack could do nothing, her body jerking as pleasure was forced onto her ravaged body again and again. This time it wasn’t just stars that danced across her eyes. Instead, she saw white and then nothing.

As silently as I could, I closed the door to our shared guest room, leaving a sleeping and satisfied mare behind. Maybe I had been a bit too aggressive, but Applejack hadn't complained. Not that I gave her much opportunity to do so, I now realized. I headed to the bathroom to wash my face, staring at my reflection in silence. Feeling somewhat stifled, the desire to get fresh air gripped me. From the ballroom, I had seen the beautiful gardens around the castle, and since sleep eluded me tonight, it was a convenient time as any to explore them. Feeling the tendrils of humidity cling to me, I didn't put on any of my clothes. One couldn't live without clothing for years and not become something of an exhibitionist.

The guards, mostly mares, I encountered as I slowly walked down the hallways didn't acknowledge me, but I could feel their eyes on me. It didn't faze me as I took the time to admire the architecture of the castle itself. The solid slabs of the ancient walls almost seemed to exude its reputation as almost impenetrable. Its spires seemed to pierce the heavens and the hallways were littered with enough ancient paraphernalia to make my history professor weep. It apparently also came with a built-in labyrinth as well since I was pretty sure I had walked past the same guard twice now. It was a bit unsettling how they strongly resembled each other.

“Excuse me, Ma’am.” The mare in question glanced up at me but remained silent. “I wanted to take a stroll in the gardens. Can you give me some directions?”

“Of course, Lady Williams,” she murmured. Ah, right, ponies and their sense of hearing—I had forgotten. I hoped that I didn't wake anyone with my question. “Just down the hall to the right, you will find the stairs. One floor down and then just take a right turn.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

She saluted. “No problem, Lady Williams. I would advise you to not enter the garden labyrinth at this hour, however.”

“The castle is enough of a maze for me. Thank you again,” I whispered back and continued on my way, now with an idea of where to go. Sure enough, following the guard’s directions, I found my way to the gardens not five minutes later. The trees and other plants were illuminated by torches, and as soon as my naked feet touched the grass, I heard a bird chirp not far away from my position. I looked up, catching sight of the bird and the stars that framed her. It was a beautiful sight, something that I felt branding itself in my brain for eternity. The golden eyes of the red and yellow bird seemed to glow as it looked back at me, and for a moment, I thought I saw flames as it ruffled its wings.

“Hush, you little pest,” a deep feminine voice suddenly chided, nearly causing me to jump out of my skin. This was the second time I didn't hear a pony sneaking up on me. “Go back to your cage before you singe even more trees.” The bird squawked in indignation, which sounded nothing like the chip I had heard before, and flew off. I looked to my left where no one else but Princess Celestia’s sister, Princes Luna, stood. She wasn't alone. Next to her was a blue-coated stallion, Twilight’s father, if I remembered correctly.

Seemingly satisfied that the bird was gone, the princess turned her gaze on me and smiled. “Good night to you, Melody Williams,” she greeted.

“Your Highness.” I bowed slightly. “Night Light, right?” The stallion nodded, but averted his gaze from me. Had I said something wrong? “Can I help you somehow?”

“You can indeed.” Luna nodded towards her right where two benches stood opposite of each other. “Let’s take a seat.” Slightly confused, I followed both ponies. Luna was the first to take a seat and Night Light sat himself immediately next to her, leaving me the only option to sit across from them. “First, I must apologize. It’s our fault that sleep didn't find you this night. We wished to speak with you on a very personal matter, and believed doing this at night would be the best.” She glanced at the stallion next to her. “Did I say that correctly?”

“Yes, you used the pronouns correctly, your Majesty,” Night Light answered, still without really looking at me. Now that I had heard more than one or two syllables from him, I noticed the slight accent in his voice. It was barely noticeable, indicating that he had been speaking Equestrian for a significant time. I could even pinpoint where the accent originated, having heard it in Germany during a trip to the Oktoberfest.

I leaned slightly forward. “So, you two have something to discuss? Is it about the thing with Twilight? I thought we cleared up that misunderstanding.”

“Yes and no,” Night Light answered again. His eyes glanced at me for a moment and then darted away. Now that the area around us was illuminated, I noticed his blush. I was making him uncomfortable, most likely due to my nudity. My skin flushed as I crossed my legs and held my arms in front of my chest, all while leaning back against the backrest. “It’s about her heritage and about yours.” He pointed at my stomach.

“What does Twilight have to do with my child?” I asked, hearing the bemusement in my own voice.

“So much.” Night Light sighed. “So, so much.” He shook his head slightly.

“Maybe we should wait for yon wife?” Luna suggested.

“Your wife,” a new voice called from the castle’s exit. “And no need, I’m here.” The alabaster-coated mare I knew as Twilight’s mother joined us. Luna instantly made room for her by joining me on my bench. The mare sat down next to her husband, pressed a small kiss on his check, and nuzzled into his neck.

“You all really know how to make a girl nervous,” I stated, swallowing the lump in my throat caused by my rising anxiety. Someone needed to be thick-skulled not to notice that they had something heavy to say, their prolonging the issue only served to make me more worried.

Luna cleared her throat and turned to the couple. “May I?” Glancing at each other, both nodded. “Lady Williams, I’m sure my sister has told you by now of the other humans?”

“Yes, about a week ago,” I confirmed. “Applejack and I originally came to Canterlot to look at the diaries of Amelia Earhart. She’d left them for the next human who would find themselves here.” I cast my mind back to the conversation. “Twilight called her Airheart though.”

“I know,” Night Light muttered darkly. “Bei dem Allmächtigen im Himmel, ich weiß.”

“It’s alright, honey,” Velvet interjected gently.

“Twilight wasn't wrong, Miss Williams,” the stallion continued, his muzzle twisting slightly. “The woman known as Amelia Earhart became the pegasus known as Airheart. It eventually happens to all humans.”

“What? How do you…” I looked at him again, at his wife, and then at Luna. My mouth opened and closed dumbly as I searched for the right words. They never came, so I had to make do. “You were a human,” I finally managed to croak out as I stared at the blue stallion. Now I understood why he felt uncomfortable about my nudity. He didn't confirm my words in any way. He didn't need to.

“It’s already started with you. That’s how you could become pregnant in the first place. Your body adapts, and I estimate that in a few more years, the changes will start to manifest in a more… noticeable ways.”

“How? Why?” I managed to say. A cold numbness seemed to have settled over me, but my body refused to react.

“You probably know about cell regeneration, right?” I just nodded again. “So you know that every seven years or so, every cell in your body would have been replaced, built from what you've ingested. You literally are what you eat. All the food, the air, everything in this world—I guess dimension would be a more accurate term—is infused with magic. After seven years, you’re just as magical as any other being here. Then you start to absorb magic. It’s a thing all humans do, from what I've researched.”

My face felt like it had been carved out of stone as I stared at the stallion. “And because I don’t have any of my own and don’t filter it out…”

“It stays with you, shapes you. In my time as a human here, I remained in Canterlot. I absorbed a lot of magic from the large number of unicorns living here. A few years later, I could cast spells. Another year later, a horn grew out of my head and my right hand turned into a hoof.” Night Light gripped his wife in a hug. “Without Velvet here, I think I would have gone mad at the time.”

“And it didn't help that I was pregnant again with my little Sparkle at that time,” the mare added.

“What I’m trying to get at,” Night continued, “is that there can be… complications. Shining had two tails when he was born. It was removed very early and no other deformations were found. My daughter didn't have such luck.” He seemed to expect me to say something, his ears folding against his head when I remained silent. “It’s because your genome is only partially compatible at the moment. Enough to get pregnant, but eventually not enough to get everything… right.” His eyes widened. “T-That doesn't have to mean that it has to be like that!” he quickly spluttered. “But you should be prepared, nonetheless.”

I felt something warm and wet hit my thigh. “Why? How did you keep yourself a secret?”

The stallion shook his head. “I didn't. I was just a student when I was transported here. To cope with the loss, I did what I do best: I studied. I buried my nose in the books Equestria had to offer. It’s where I met Velvet. She was the librarian’s assistant at the time. I was there, but always in the back. After I married Velvet and Shiny was on the way, Princess Celestia offered me the diaries as well. I refused. I didn't believe in destiny at the time; I didn't want to. I couldn't stomach that I was meant to lose everything. Even when I held my son for the first time, I refused to believe, even though I had been handed something so much better.” Velvet smiled at that. “And then it was too late.”

There was a moment of silent as I rubbed some of my tears away.

“We normally wouldn't have burdened you with such knowledge, but unlike my sister, I don’t believe that allowing destiny to run its course is the best solution. I, for one, would have much welcomed somepony warning me before I took the dark path I chose.”

I took a shuddering breath. “So you don’t think we’re here for a reason?”

The dark alicorn ruffled her wings. “Perhaps. Who knows? I do not, and neither does my sister. However, she was always the optimistic one between the two of us. She is right in one regard. Every human who has come here contributed something invaluable to our world, whether it be flight for everypony, a cure for a disease that plagued us for hundreds of years, or simply siring a very talented filly into the world.” She looked at Night Light at her last sentence. “Still, in a community as ours, one can argue that everypony contributes something worthwhile. What about the doctors and nurses who save numerous lives every day? Or the matrons at all the orphanages across our fair land? Our very own royal guard who protect us, or even the small taxi pony that brings you home after a long day at work. Everypony is doing their part. So did you, Night Light, and I’m sure you will too, Melody Williams. I know you’re currently making a certain pony very happy, one who undoubtedly deserves it. Let your mind be at ease. We will be with you and with your child. Should your offspring have any illness or complications at all, we will help in any way possible.”

“We will too,” added Twilight Velvet. “My little Sparkle told me about the problems you have with money. My husband and I had a talk this evening, and we want to help you in that regard. We have more than we could ever spend in our lifetimes, or our great-grandchildren’s for that matter. It wouldn't hurt us in any way to send some your way to help you out.”

I felt the tears coming again. “Just like that?”

She nodded. “Just like that. Well, maybe you could come over once in a while to chat a little, especially when the little one is born. I so miss the sound of children in the house.”

“I think I can do that.” I smiled at the white blob through my tears. I stood up and hugged the mare. She knew it was coming since she had opened her hooves for me even before I was near her. “Thank you,” I whispered over and over.

“You have a very troubled time ahead of you, Miss Williams. As someone who experienced it myself, I wish to help. I can offer advice and, like my wife said, money, both in a vast amount. If you ever need another human mind to talk to, just pay us a visit. We’ll always have an open door for you, a warm drink, and if needed, a warm bed.”

“The same goes for me,” I heard Luna say from behind me. “If you ever need help, our door is open as well.”

“My door,” whispered Night Light.

“Tis what we said!” Luna exclaimed loudly and cleared her throat. “I mean, that’s what I said.” The stallion rolled his eyes.

“Come on, cheer up! There are so many mares; you’ll find the right one someday.” Gale gripped the mug the barmare had dropped in front of her and shoved it over to Celsius. “You were way too good for her anyway. My little brother needs a proper mare, not some deformed minotaur.”

Celsius rolled his eyes. “She’s a human, the only one on the planet. Unique, so very unique. She’s a good mare.” He took the offered drink and gulped down half the cider in one go. “And we didn’t really break up. We decided to take a break.”

Winter Gale, his older sister by five minutes, sighed and motioned for the barmare to bring a drink for her as well. Then she took off her golden helmet, allowing her long white mane to fall free and her fur to turn blue. She opened the first buckle of her golden armour and laid the helmet on the counter.

“I know you can be a little slow at times, but that’s what all mares say when they want to break up and don’t know how. It’s cheap and, yeah, I’ve said it a few times myself. In my defence, you stallions can get clingy pretty fast and you instantly bring out the puppy-dog eyes when you realize it’s over.” She patted him on the shoulder. “But like I said, you’ll find the right one someday. What mare would say no to an ex-royal guard who’s now seasonal manager in a famous town like Ponyville. I mean, it’s where the freaking Elements of Harmony live.” Winter Gale hummed for a moment. “Maybe you should try with one of them. I hear the fashion designer one is always looking for the right stallion. It was hilarious watching her go at Prince Blueblood at the Gala. It was like she didn’t even know he was gay. I also could hook you up with a friend of mine, and I know just the…”

As his sister continued to ramble, Celsius thought back to his own time in the force. He had just been a logistics guy, the one who counted the spears, how many bottles of weapon and armour polish were still left, and to requisition new stock if necessary. His sister, on the other hoof, went straight to officer school and had become a major soon after. Even hundreds of years after equal rights for both genders had been declared, the royal guard was still a mare’s club. Stallions often found themselves in the kitchens, logistics like himself, or patrol duty in the city. There were only two ways for a stallion to get to the higher ranks. Either you signed up for the house guard of one of the princesses as eye candy, or you got lucky in the form of the mare above you getting pregnant and needing to be replaced. That was how Shining Armor had become captain. Well, it helped that one of the princesses was his marefriend. To the stallion’s credit, he’d had the magic skill for the job, just like his sister. For Celsius, after three years of checking list after list, it had become clear that Shining’s fortune wasn’t his fortune. He’d handed in his papers and took the first job that had been offered to him.

He looked back at his sister. “I really don’t know why you left the force, you know? You had a clean record, and I’m sure you could have been promoted any day.” Since she was still at it, he lifted his mug again and emptied the rest of the cider. Sometimes he wondered how his life would be if he had been born as a mare. Would he still be with the Royal Guard? Maybe he would be major by now as well. On the other hoof, he liked being a stallion, and the time he had spent with Melody had made him realize that every day. When he had been with her, the world was more than fine. The sun was brighter and the night full of love. He missed just resting his head on her full teats and hearing her heart beat at the same time. And wasn’t that why they had agreed on a break? To make sure they liked each other? Celsius didn’t just like the human mare, he loved her. She was smart, funny, and good-looking too—just about everything he wanted in a mare.

“Just a little break. If you still want to come back, then I’ll be here. I need to know if you’ll be here for me, for my child, if I can count on you. Think long and hard,” he remembered Melody saying. And now, nearly two weeks later, he was sure. He would go back, make Melody his mare, and claim that foal as his own. After all, it really could be his. He never told her, but he hadn’t seen her for the first time in Berry’s Bar. It had been a few weeks prior, at the start of spring when he was alone and horny. That was when he had seen her for the first time, this exotic beauty of a mare. She had been just lying on her stomach on a towel in the middle of a small field.

“Want to have some fun?” she had said and wiggled her butt at him without even looking up. “No need to be shy; it’s the same as any other mare, maybe even tighter.” And how right she had been. Celsius had even returned later that day to find her in the same position. He didn’t know if she had been with any other stallion, so that foal could very likely be his. He had burned with a desire to see her after that, and when she walked into the bar with the Element of Honesty at her side, he had jumped at the chance to talk to her.

“—And Stellar Night likes to watch the sky, just like you did as a little colt. She also—”

“I’m going home,” he interrupted his sister and stood up. He scooped up some bits from his bag and threw them on the counter without looking. “See you later.”

“Just think about it!” she cried after him, but since he didn’t really listen, he couldn’t even if he wanted to. No, his thoughts circled around Melody as he walked the streets of Canterlot. Night had since reigned supreme from when he had entered the bar, and the streetlights made the old city glow sombrely, as if the city reflected his mood. Not many ponies were out after the sun went down aside from several taxi drivers, ponies heading for the nearby movie theatre, and the guards, of course. One even waved to him, a stallion he couldn’t recognize with the cloaking spell on. Celsius waved back anyway, even if it was only half-hearted. All in all, it took him nearly half an hour to reach his parents’ cosy city home, the one they had bought after he and his sister had moved out. It was in the lower district, but still retained that noble visage. This was Canterlot, after all. Even the smallest of homes had to look fit for royalty. Celsius grabbed the spare key from under the flower pot on the windowsill and stepped inside.

“Is that you, Celsius?” he heard his mother yell from the kitchen. “I thought you wanted to spend the evening with your sister?”

“That was before she wanted to introduce me to all of her friends,” he called back and rubbed his hooves on the doormat.

He could almost hear his mother’s eyes roll. “And would that be so bad? I can’t take it that my cute little baby colt isn’t married still.” He joined his mother in the kitchen, eyeing the food she was making. His father sat at the table, reading the newspaper. The same newspaper that he had been reading this morning.

“Hey, dad,” he greeted the stallion, who instantly reacted by coughing.

“Oh hey, Celsius. Didn’t even notice you’re back. Really thrilling article.”

“Sky, tell your son that he should take his sister’s offer. He should be going home to his own wife by now, not to us. Well, at least not without grandfoals.” Blazing Sky rolled his eyes before he trained them on Celsius, a frown marring his face.

If his dad was getting involved, he knew he was in trouble. “Your mother is right. I know you had a bad breakup with this hooman mare, but it’s time to get back into the game, my boy. Just ask Gale to set you up with a nice mare. Even if it’s just to get our guest room empty again.”

“I suddenly don’t feel hungry anymore,” Celsius muttered and turned around to leave.

“Oh, before I forget. There was a letter for you in the mail.” His father shoved a piece of paper over the table. “From Ponyville’s weather office. Didn’t you take overtime leave?”

He was right. Celsius had worked the entire previous winter without missing an hour, going beyond what had been required of him. He had been bunking with his parents for the past two weeks, and could remain for one more without any issues. With that in mind, the letter could only be concerning an emergency. But what kind of emergency had befallen Ponyville this time that they needed their winter expert back? And even if it was an emergency in the first place, he’d already had a few ciders too many to be flying in the dark. Nonetheless, he took the letter and opened it.

Dear Celsius,
How are you doing? I hope you’ve missed me as much as I miss you, and that you’ve been thinking about us. I’ve done a lot of thinking myself over the last few weeks and have so much to tell you, things better said in person. I booked us a table at a restaurant for this Friday evening. It’s called ‘The Prancing Pony’, and from what I was told, it’s a good place. A new friend I made was so kind to help me with that. The reservation is for 8pm, just after sunset. I hope to see you soon.

With love,
Melody

PS: You totally forgot to tell me your address in Canterlot. I had to ask one of your work friends to send this.

PSS: I have a big surprise for you.

“Looks like that hooman mare has come to her senses!” Celsius winced at the voice of his mother from right next to him. “Looks like she noticed what she lost. Taking you to The Prancing Pony is a good start.”

“I’ve heard about that place,” his father muttered from the other side. “Very fancy, very expensive. You need to make reservations months in advance. I’ve never been taken to a place like that.” Sky glanced over to his wife.

Storm Front rolled her eyes again. “If we ever win the Celestial Lottery, we’ll go, promise.”

“Do you mind? Personal letter. Personal.” Celsius folded the letter and hid it under his right wing. “I’m going up to my room.” As he left, he still could hear his parents bickering in the kitchen, and even in the guest room upstairs, he could still make out their voices. However, his slightly cider-fogged mind was elsewhere. With all the talk about how Melody had actually broken up with him, he had been on the verge of believing it himself. But here he had proof that that wasn’t the case. She clearly just wanted some time to herself to get her life in order, just as she had promised. A weight fell from his heart that he hadn’t even noticed until now.

With a relieved sigh, Celsius fell onto his bed and kicked his hooves in the air. The letter came out from under his wing, and his eyes continually scanned the lines just to be certain. He would need to get a suit. Other stallions would just borrow one from their fathers, but with him being nearly a head shorter than most stallions, that wasn’t a possibility. He would have more luck fitting in one of his sister’s dresses. Renting one was the only option since Friday was the day after tomorrow. He’d also need to visit the spa and get his mane and hooves done. He didn’t want to look like a slob… or like a stallion that had rarely left his parents’ guestroom for the past few weeks.

Yes, he would show Melody how good of a stallion he was.

“Dad!” Celsius growled. “I can tie a tie by myself just fine.” He shooed the older stallion’s hooves away with a wing. “I’m not a colt anymore.”

His father shot him an apologetic look. “A father has his concerns when his boy is going on a date. Especially when it’s with a mare that already broke his heart once.”

“We’ve been over this already. We didn’t break up. She’s pregnant and wanted to make sure I’m committed. We took a short break to think about everything. Now you and Mom will get the grandfoal you want. Can’t you be happy for me just once?”

Blazing Sky ruffled his son’s mane and sat down on the guest bed Celsius had been using the last weeks. “Son, we don’t want just any grandfoal; we want yours. We want you to be happy and cared for, like your mother cares for me.”

“We don’t live in the last century anymore. Why can’t I care for my mare too? Why can’t I be the one working while she’s at home with the foals?” His father averted his eyes to the floor and took a step back. “Sorry. I’m just sick of you badmouthing Melody.”

“You’re right, I’m the product of another time. And I know things are changing. Still, look at who’s in charge. We have three princesses, but not one prince, at least on the throne. The highest ranking stallion in the world is Blueblood, and he’s only called prince because of a distant relation to Platinum. So be realistic. Maybe the grandfoals of your grandfoals will have that luxury someday, but right now, it is what it is.” The older stallion sighed.

“You know, where Melody is from, the stallions rule the world. Well, not really rule, but they are the providers and protectors most of the time.” He faced the mirror again, fumbling with his tie.

“Maybe that is true, but we’re in Equestria, not wherever this hooman of yours used to live. Plus, I don’t see an artist without of a stable income taking good care of my son. You deserve better—in that, your mother and I agree.”

“Maybe, but this is what makes me happy. Doesn’t that count?” Celsius turned around and displayed his suit. “How do I look?”

Sky shook his head. “The knot it all wrong and the shirt should show at least three inches from under the suit at your hooves. Here, let me.” His father walked over and made a few adjustments. “Now look again.” Celsius checked his reflection in the mirror again and frowned. He had learned dress code back in basic. Why couldn’t he do that like his dad? “Don’t make a face like that—it could stick. I dated a lot of lovely mares back in the day. They like it when a stallion is nicely dressed. In the end, I got the best one,” he added after a short pause. Celsius, getting the hint, glanced over to the door where his mother smiled at them.

“Real smooth, darling,” she said with a chuckle and walked over to her husband, kissing him on the cheek. Sky nuzzled her for a moment before she sat down next to him.

“Well, it’s true. And you got the best stallion after all.” Celsius rolled his eyes as his parents started to make out on the bed. He closed the door behind him and walked downstairs. The only light came from the kitchen, where a clock as old as him ticked away. Melody should be here any minute now. The remainder of his parents’ dinner was still on the kitchen table, and he had the urge to clean the mess. However, he was already wearing his rather expensive rented suit. He couldn’t afford any stains, so he resisted the urge. As a foal, he had always helped his father in the kitchen and always hoped his mother would praise him for his good work. It was such a minor thing, a normal thing. Thousands of colts probably did the same thing everywhere, every day. Celsius realized that his father had been right. For now, that was the world for stallions, and it would need a lot of time to change things for the better. Still, somepony had to take the first step. He could raise his daughters to respect stallions and his sons to dream big.

That was an issue for later. He already could hear a pair of very unique hooves walking up to the front door. The sound her feet made were new to him, but that there were only two hooves was unmistakable. Celsius stumbled out of the kitchen and made to rip the door out of the frame, only to stop at the last second. He was a gentlestallion, and as such, one did not rush to the door.

So he waited and listened to her footsteps. In his mind, he counted down the seconds until the doorbell was finally rung. He gripped the doorknob and slowly opened the door. There she stood, Melody, his human mare. She wore a dark blue dress that bared much of her shoulders and one of her legs. All that prevented him from getting a salacious view of her womanhood was a flimsy string of fabric that tied the dress to her hips. She smiled down at him and leaned forward as he met her halfway. Her velvety soft lips touched his for a moment that seemed all too brief for Celsius. “I missed you,” she finally said.

“I missed you too,” he whispered back. A sound behind him caused his ear to twitch, and Celsius was certain that his parents were on the stairs behind him, watching, judging.

Melody’s eyes flickered past him for a moment, but found his again a few seconds later. “Would the fine stallion care for a stroll to the establishment?” Celsius had to hold back a giggle at her attempt at a Canterlot accent.

“Why yes, that would be lovely.” He stepped out of the house and closed the door behind him, perhaps with a bit too much force. “Lead the way, my lady.”

Melody, true to his words, went ahead and winked at a nearby cab. “We’ll walk the rest of the way.” She walked over to the mare pulling the cart, handed her a few bits, and waved as she vanished down the street.

He frowned. “I didn’t know you had hired a driver. We could have taken the cab if you already went through the trouble organizing one.” There weren’t many taxi drivers on the road this late, and they would be charging extra. Celsius also knew that Melody wasn’t swimming in money to throw away like that. Then again, neither was he.

They started walking. The usual Canterlot crowd had long deserted the streets, and the only sound that accompanied them was that of moths and other insects hitting the lanterns that lined their path.

“So,” Melody started, “how has your time in Canterlot treated you?”

“Ah, you know, the usual. Nosy parents, an irritating sister, and a few faces I hadn’t seen in a while.” Melody snickered.

“I hope you had time to think about us. It sounds like you’ve been rather busy.” Celsius gulped. That was the million bit question. Melody hastened to add, “You don’t have to answer now. I’d like for you to hear what I’ve been up to first.”

“I guess you have more to tell than I do?”

Melody thought for a moment. “Well, I met all the three princesses recently. Not that I want this to be a competition.” She paused. “Because I know I would win anyway.”

The stallion whistled, the sound echoing slightly in the emptiness of the streets. “Wow.” Not even in his time in the guard had he met all three of them. He was missing Princess Mi Amore Cadenza to complete the set. Even then, he had met Princess Luna and Princess Celestia years apart. Plus, claiming he had met them was a pretty loose claim. He had been in the same room while they had addressed the whole company. “Yeah, you would take the cake.”

“What? Take the cake?” She cocked her head in confusion.

“You know? You would win and the winner gets the cake? Winner, winner, cake for dinner?” he attempted to explain.

“Never heard that one. Do you know ‘when the shit hits the fan’?”

Celsius grimaced. “Who would throw shit at their fans? One wouldn’t stay popular for long, that’s for sure.”

“No, it’s used to mean when things get really bad. It’s fascinating that even with a near identical language, we have different sayings. Still, I guess that could be explained by the different way our ancestors lived. Different times make for different sayings.”

“I guess.” Celsius felt stupid. Why didn’t he know about things like that? Sure, he had completed school, but that had been about it. He joined the guard after that since it was something of a pegasi tradition. His father had met his mother during his time there. Melody, on the other hoof, had gone to university, something akin to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. There weren’t many such institutions in Equestria. There was the Cloudsdale School of Rain and Lightning, the Manehatten College of the Fine Arts and the Baltimare Circle of Learning. All were associated with a high quality of learning and costing a veritable fortune to attend. That wasn’t fair.

Melody seemed to pick up on his mood and changed the topic. “Want me to tell you a secret?”

“You know, if you tell me, it isn’t really a secret anymore.” His eyes darted from left to right quickly. “Shoot.”

The woman shook her head and giggled. “Equestria will have a new prince in about a year.” Celsius’ eyes widened. “Princess Cadance eloped about a week ago.”

Mouth open, tail wagging, he couldn’t hold back the question. “To whom?” After a moment of thinking, the answer came to him. “Shining Armor,” they both said at the same time. “You knew about them being together?”

“Who doesn’t?” he exclaimed giddily. “When a stallion gets promoted to captain, it’s a big thing. Plus, when his papers are recommendations from a princess, the news got around fast. I think the whole of the Royal Guard knew at that point.” They laughed together, warming Celsius’ heart. “But that the princess would pop the question so fast is a little surprising.”

“Well, don’t tell anyone, but they were already dating before his promotion. They only waited so long because of all the crazy stuff that happened over the past few years. And it wasn’t Cadance who asked the question, but Shining.”

“How do you know all that?”

“I was at the party where they made the announcement. I came to Canterlot because Princess Celestia invited me. Twilight joined in to visit her family, and guess who we met at the train station? Cadance and Shining out on a date. Faster that I could think, I was invited to a royal party as a friend of the sister of the groom-to-be. See, I have connections now.” She laughed and stuck her nose up haughtily in the air. “Better suck up to me now before I’m famous.” She shifted her gait slightly, setting one foot directly in front of the other. Then she spun around on the back of her heel and opened a door to her right. “After you, good sir.”

Blinking, Celsius needed a moment to comprehend what happened before he realized that they had reached their destination. The exterior of The Prancing Pony was beautifully carved from marble and layered with gold. Everything, from the door to the carpet to the napkins, repeatedly screamed the word ‘expensive’.

The maître d'hôtel, a stallion in a fine white tux, red tie, and a thin moustache, bowed as they entered. “Good evening, sir and madam. How can I be of service this evening?” In contrast to Melody’s fake Canterlot accent earlier, his was as thick as his father stew.

“We have a reservation under the name Williams,” Melody answered as she stepped next to Celsius.

The stallion nodded without hesitation and scanned the list on the lectern he stood behind. “Ah yes, here you are. If you would follow me please, I will escort to your table.” Celsius nodded, still a bit out of it. There was so much wealth in one building that a pony wouldn’t have to work or worry about money for the rest of his life. That was not counting the personal wealth the other guest had around their horns, on their ears, or around their necks. His eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw Sapphire Shores sitting at a table they walked past. She was having a conversation with Countess Coloratura of all ponies.

“Your table,” the maître announced and pointed at a secluded corner booth separated from the rest of the restaurant through a painted, paper wall with a golden flower pattern. Given the establishment they were in, it was probably made from real gold. However, it was what he noticed next that made him think the maître had made a mistake. There was already a mare sitting at the table, wearing an extravagant green dress with golden trimming. Her golden mane was done in a braid, just as her tail. Combined with her orange coat, Celsius was certain he had seen her before, somewhere.

“Howdy,” the mare greeted him with a hesitant smile. For the second time this evening, Celsius needed a moment to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. This was Applejack, the Element of Honesty. Of course he knew the mare—everyone who worked and lived in Ponyville did. However, he was certain none of them had ever seen her dressed up like this. She always had been a beautiful mare, even drenched in sweat and mud, but seeing her like this nearly made him whimper. He gulped down the emotion—after all, he was here with his mare. But why was Applejack here?

“Celsius, I think you know Applejack. She will be joining us.” Melody held out a chair for him, and he accepted the gesture. After that, Melody sat down next him on the bench of the booth.

A thousand questions ran through the stallion’s mind, but a new voice interrupted his thoughts. “My name is Golden Grace, and I will be your waitress tonight. Do you wish to order some refreshments?” The mare levitated a notepad in front of her, politely awaiting their answers.

“We will have a cider and two waters,” Melody ordered and returned the drinks menu that had been on the table.

The waitress bowed. “I will be right back with your refreshments and the menu.” And with that, the two ponies and human were alone.

After nearly ten seconds of silence, Celsius couldn’t take it anymore. “So… Why exactly is Applejack joining us tonight? Not that I’m complaining, but I thought we were far beyond the point of needing a chaperone.”

Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but a pat from Melody on her hoof halted her. “It’s because of me that she’s here. I wanted her here because, well, she’s as much a part of this as you.” The woman took a deep breath. “It’s because I love her.”

Something inside of him crumbled. He was certain it was his heart. “Well, this is still the nicest way I’ve ever been dumped,” he murmured as his gaze lowered to the floor. He should have listened to his parents.

“No one is dumping anyone, Celsius. Like I said, she is as much a part of this mess as you. I love you too.”

“So, you’re deciding at dinner?” He was surprised over how much venom his voice contained. Way too much, as he saw how Melody flinched.

“No, I already made my decision. I want you both.”

There was another ten seconds of silence. “Both?” He glanced over to Applejack, who seemed embarrassed by the whole situation.

“It’s like old times, ya know?” The mare sighed. “Look, I’m not good at speaking about feelings and all that jazz. Melody explained it to me and I’m willing to give it a try.”

“Herd,” Melody said sharply. “The term is a herd, and I want you in mine.”

The waitress chose that moment to return with their drinks. She placed the water in front of him and Melody, and the cider before Applejack. Then she placed three menus on the table. “I will be back in a few minutes so you can order.” If she had overheard their conversation, she gave nothing away.

Melody waited a few seconds until she was out of earshot to continue. “As I was about to say, I’m building a herd. Applejack is in. What we now want is a stallion. I don’t want any old stallion; I want you.”

“Why?” was all he could croak out before he took a sip from the water.

“Because Applejack and I share a dream. We want a loving home full of children, and those don’t appear out of thin air. Plus, children need a father, in my opinion. But most importantly, I fucking love you, you dolt. I want you to be happy, I want Applejack to be happy, and I want to be happy. I plan to get what I want too. You will get to know each other, and you will like each other. How do I know that? I know the both of you. I’ve seen you looking at Shining, Applejack, so don’t pretend you didn’t think about him with the two of us. And you, you little blue pervert.” She half-mockingly glared at Celsius. “You are a sucker for the unique and exotic. This is your chance at getting not one, but two mares that fit both descriptions. Where I come from, men dream about being in your situation. Get your act together and be the charming young stallion I know you are.” With that Melody stood up and rushed away, leaving him alone with Applejack.

I was standing in the kitchen, preparing the breakfast for those very dear to me, when there was a knock at the door. Rolling my eyes, I wiped my hooves on the towel hanging from the handle of the oven and stepped down from the small stool that helped me reach the counter. Carefully, I trotted out of the kitchen and opened the door for my early visitor. I already had a good guess of who it would be.

“Morning, Twilight,” I greeted the Princess of Friendship with a whisper. “Everypony else is still in bed, so try to be quiet.”

“Morning,” she greeted back with an excited grin and stepped inside. “Where can I drop this?” A wrapped gift levitated in front of my muzzle, a book no doubt.

“With the others under the sink.” I nudged her towards the kitchen. She stopped again as she saw the cake on the table, causing me to run nose first into her backside. Ponies, not knowing the concept of nudity or personal space, were at least adamant about being clean. Anything otherwise would mean an unpleasant experience since I was now eye level with their backsides, especially since smell plays a significant role in their society.

“Sorry,” she whispered and made room for me to pass. “That’s a very nice cake. Did you make it yourself?”

I had to stifle a giggle. “No, my bits made it. And probably Pinkie’s hooves over at Sugarcube Corner.” After all these years, I was still at a basic level with my hooves. Grabbing a spatula was the best I could do. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please.” Twilight sat down at the table and with a pop, the gift vanished. A faint glow from under the sink told me where it went. “How are Mom and Dad? I heard you visited them in Canterlot the other week.”

Climbing back up the stool, I went back to making hay bacon, though not before pressing a button on our new coffee maker. “Oh you know them, always busy. Mom decided to pick up gardening. With varying success, I must add.” We still didn’t know how Velvet had gotten her hooves on the seed of a Venus flytrap, but as long as it kept eating the bugbears it attracted, it was fine. “And Dad finally got time to redo the family’s history. He gave me a copy for you too. It’s in my saddle—” I paused as I heard the typical pop of a teleport. In my mind, I started to count, and at three, there was another pop. “…which is hanging in the closet next to the stairs.” And there she went again. This time, it took her five seconds to return. The heavy book was dropped on the table and pages flipped faster than the naked eye could see, or so I imagined. I was still fighting with the spatula and the hay bacon.

A small bell chimed to signal the coffee was done. Again, I slowly stepped down from the stool, grabbed the coffee pot with a hoof, and waddled a three-legged gait to the table. “Look!” Twilight exclaimed as I placed her cup down.

“I’ve already seen it.” As if she didn’t hear me, her wing snatched me and pulled me close. Every member of House Sparkle had their own page in this book. My page was special—not only was I adopted, but there were two pictures of me. One was of my old human self, and one of the bright beige earth pony with the dark brown curly mane I was now. Both smiled with a twinkle in their green eyes at whoever had taken the picture. Also on the page was a cut-out of the family tree that explained my relationship to the rest of the family. Twilight Velvet, my mother and Nightlight as my father. Shining and Twilight as my siblings. The only difference was that my line was dotted, highlighting that I wasn’t related by blood.

Twilight squeed and wiggled up and down on the chair, still pressing my cheek to hers. “Now it’s official! I have a little sister!”

I sighed. “I’m pretty sure it was official three years ago when we all signed the paperwork. Also, I’m older than you.” Velvet and Night both had helped me a lot during my pregnancy, so much so that the Equestrian Tax Agency assumed I was a shell company somewhere on the Horseshoe Isles. Acting on that belief, they had demanded the Sparkles, who were just helping a woman down on her luck, pay taxes for all the money they had spent or gifted to me. Affairs had even progressed to the point where charges of tax evasion had been threatened. I, of course, had asked how I could help, and their lawyer pointed out the simplest solution. Gifting money between family members was tax free in Equestria, after all. Still, being Melody Sparkle had taken years to adjust to, and even now I sometimes felt like I was only halfway there. For instance, I only had partial mastery of my hooves, not to mention my tail. The pesky thing had a mind of its own, and if a mare wasn’t careful, she could send the wrong signals to the wrong stallion. Or mare.

“But you were adopted after I was born, which makes you the younger sister.” She hugged me even tighter. “I always wanted to be a big sister. We should participate in the next Sisterhooves Social coming up. And we need to do sleepovers! So many sleepovers I missed not having a younger sister to stay up with all night, talking about books!”

“I think sisters are supposed to talk about guys, or stallions,” I remarked, which totally got ignored. “That reminds me, Mom wanted me to ask you when she can expect a grandfoal out of you.”

“Plus we need to invent our own secret language that only we can understand,” Twilight droned on, nearly suffocating me. “And I like I’ve learned from our BBBFF, sometimes the smaller sibling needs a noogie.” With that, she brought her hoof down on my head and started rubbing. I tried to wrestle out of her grip, but I was only a lowly earth pony and she a living demigod.

“Mornin’,” Applejack half-yawned as she stepped into the kitchen.

“Help!” I pleaded, only to be ignored. My treacherous wife simply walked past without giving us a second glance and pressed the button on the coffee maker.

“Morning, Applejack,” Twilight greeted back without stopping her torture. “How did you sleep?”

The orange mare levelled us with a deadpan stare. “I would still be sleeping if someponies weren’t making such a ruckus in the kitchen.” Twilight finally stopped and I managed to get free. I hastily took a step away and, as the responsible adult I was, stuck out my tongue at her. “Wouldn’t be so bad if the little kicker hadn’t decided to learn step dancing tonight.” The last part was directed at her visibly swollen belly. “If you don’t come outta there next month, I’ll come in, ya hear?!”

Smelling the hay bacon, I went back to the stove and lowered the flame. “Well, at least you’re up at the right time. Breakfast is ready.”

“That’s my cue.” Celsius joined us in the kitchen. He looked somewhat dishevelled, most likely thanks to last night’s activities. His beard, white stubbles that grew along his jawline from between his sky blue coat, had gotten longer again, giving him a slightly rugged appearance that I quite appreciated. “I woke because the bed got cold, and then I heard one of my beautiful wives squealing in the kitchen. To be honest, I was expecting something different.”

“Oh, I can see that,” I pointed out. “And so can my sister.”

With widened eyes, Celsius looked over to the table. “Princess!” He scrambled to change the angle he stood at. “Didn’t see you there.”

Twilight’s cheeks looked rather warm. “A totally natural occurrence. Happens to most stallions.” She waved it off, still focusing on the ceiling. “Happened to my father or my brother all the time. Nothing I haven’t seen yet.”

Yeah, only that this wasn’t her brother or her father. Well, he was her brother-in-law, but still not a blood-related stallion. My poor younger sister was in dire need of a dicking. It helped that boner time was only a few weeks away. Maybe I should play matchmaker this year.

“Yes. W-Well,” Celsius stammered, a slight blush also on his cheeks. “I’ll, uh, go freshen up.”

It was silent in the kitchen until we heard the lock click on the bathroom door. “Is that normal? Your stallion walking in the kitchen expecting sex?” Twilight asked, sipping at her coffee. The blush was still there.

I looked over for permission from Applejack, who just gave a shrug. “Yes? Sex is natural and healthy. And fun, a lot of fun. And as long as Samsa is still asleep, I don’t see any reason not to use… the opportunity.” Applejack coughed and pointed at her belly. “Hey, you wanted a foal—we all wanted it. And you insisted to be the mother this time, if I remember correctly.”

“Ah was young, stupid, and needed the rutting,” she answered without missing a beat. “Now that ya can, thanks to your fancy wings and all, don’t let a stallion come near ya. It may be fun at first, but it’s eleven months of Tartarus afterwards.”

“Don’t listen to her—that’s just the hormones and the lack of sleep. Yeah, a pregnancy can be hard on a mare, but I personally think it’s worth it.” I pointed an accusing hoof at Applejack. “And I lost a lot more than some blood and my dignity when I pressed a hoofball out of me.” I turned back to Twilight. “Point is, sex can be fun and out of season even more so, without the risk. I remember you telling me that you learned a few protection spells after becoming an alicorn. So why not go out there and find a nice stallion? Maybe even one to keep?”

The princess mumbled something inaudible, even for my pony ears. “I don’t know how,” she repeated louder at my stare. “I never thought I would even want a stallion. I was perfectly fine being the old mare in the library with her one thousand cats when THIS,” she pointed at her wings, “happened. Now I have this gigantic castle, rule alongside Princess Celestia and Luna over Equestria, and at this very moment, a school is being built which I will also be the headmaster of. I don’t even know if I have the time for a stallion or any relationship. What stallion would even bother with a mare that won’t have a lot of time for him?”

“Next week,” I started while getting plates on the table, one at a time of course, “we’re going to visit Shining and Cadance, and we girls will have a long talk about your confidence issues. Here she is, the freaking Element of Magic, the Princess of Friendship who has beaten Discord, Sombra, Chrysalis, the Storm King—“

“You missed Nightmare Moon,” Twilight pointed out.

“I can’t even remember how many villains you defeated. And you think you’re not good enough for a stallion?” I snorted. “We’ll find you a nice lay for Hearts and Hooves Day if it’s the last thing we do.”

“Mama!” a young voice yelled, and I heard hooves clambering down the stairs. In the blink of an eye, the three of us in the kitchen stood in front of the table, hiding the cake behind us. “Mama, mama, it’s my birthday!” Samsa rushed into the kitchen, hands outstretched and grabbing me around my chest hard enough to force the air out of my lungs. What was it today with family wanting to suffocate me, I wondered.

I hugged her back with a foreleg, nuzzling the top of her head. “I know, honey. Happy birthday.” She released me and stood in front of me, allowing me to notice just how much she had grown. Her hair looked much like mine when I had been her age, and her wide blue eyes she shared with her father. Somehow, Samsa had freckles around her cute little nose. I blamed Applejack for that.

Her four hooves tapped on the floor excitedly. “Can I have my gifts? Please, please, please?” she begged.

“Well, why don’t you hug Mama Applejack and Aunt Twilight first?” Blinking, my young centaur finally noticed the other two ponies next to me and promptly did as I asked.

“Is that my cake? I want cake!” came out of her mouth as she was finished with Twilight. “Can I have cake for breakfast?”

“No, honey, the cake is for the afternoon when your friends are coming over,” I chided. “You’ll have to do with hay bacon and pancakes.”

“Yay!” If there was anything my girl loved as much as cake, it was pancakes with maple syrup and butter.

“But first, show me how old you are,” I challenged.

Samsa had to think for a moment, before showing four fingers. Then she quickly added her thumb too. “So old!”

“Five,” Twilight corrected.

“Five,” she repeated. “Now can I have my presents? And pancakes!”

“Why don’t we wait until your father return—”

“No!”

I grinned and shrugged. “Oh well.” Twilight opened the cupboard under the sink, and four presents floated in a neat row towards my little girl. Her wide eyes scanned the boxes, not able to decide which to open first.

I felt a wave of contentment wash over me as I observed my family, Samsa ripping off the box’s cover from her first gift, which promptly smacked into the face of my returning husband. My husband, who had chosen to walk along the path of life with Applejack and me. I had already endured my fair share of hardship these past few years, and knew that I would have even more in the future, protecting my little girl, the first centaur in Equestria. Eventually, I would no longer be able to directly shield her from her trials and tribulation, and would be relegated to cheering her on as she forged her own path.

For now, though, in my cozy house with my loving family, life was perfect.