Warmth practically surrounded Michelle as she slowly came back to consciousness, a massive yawn bubbling out as she stretched out her wings. A shy smile rose on her lips as she remembered the night before: Trixie had been more than eager to cook the pair of ponies a fabulous meal that had allowed Michelle to test out her new pony palette. Hay fries, when seasoned properly with just a pinch of salt and a few more exotic spices, were absolutely delicious and very addictive, blowing french fries out of the water. Many forms of flowers had been brought up, including daisies, which Michelle knew were poisonous to humans, but turned out to be rather delicious to a pony, with a taste that couldn’t be compared to a human analogue. Cheese was very big among ponies, and Trixie had been more than happy to smear soft cheese all over the fresh baked bread she had brought out for her guests.
“Is e-everything made fresh?” she had asked, hoof-deep in a divine green salad, “Nothing pre-packaged?”
“Not a thing,” Twilight had replied, a bit of pride in her voice, “Pony parents make it a point of pride for all fillies and colts to learn to cook in some way, at least to make basic foodstuffs. Bread, butter, cheese… and with the abundance of edible grasses and leaves usually outside your door, there’s usually no point in spreading out pre-packaged… garbage, like in the Griffin Empire.”
Darn. No more Twinkies for her. But still… Equestria seemed to be a paradise. After dinner, the trio had settled down around a small table, with Twilight eagerly spreading out a map to highlight points on their trip. As promised, she was going to teach Michelle how to fly and how to manipulate cloud matter. Once she was satisfied with her progress, they would fly to Cloudsdale on their own.
“B-but what if I don’t have the stamina to make it?” Michelle had brought up shyly, ears laying back as she winced, “You can’t fly for us both…”
“Then we’ll take the Cloud Highway,” Twilight told her soothingly, petting her leg, “It’s a small roadway of clouds the pegasi leave up all year around, so young pegasi or weak fliers can safely get from one city to another.”
That had settled Michelle’s nerves, at least somewhat. After Cloudsdale, they would meet up with Trixie at the ground-based Cloudsdale train station, and take a train trip to see both Fillydelphia, and Manehatten. After a few weeks there, they’d loop the route back around, pass back through Canterlot, and hit up Los Pegasus, something that sent the two native ponies into conspiratorial giggles and winks. Even Michelle grinned a bit at the naming pun, and wondered if the city was anything at all like the city she knew from her own… from her old world. ...that would take some getting used to, too.
The bed situation had left Michelle a spluttering, blushing mess. She had assumed, Twilight and Trixie being the already established couple, that they would take the lovely, soft bed, while Michelle would sleep on the couch. But Trixie would have none of that. Dressed in light purple socks that reached up to her knees, the sky-blue mare had lounged back on the mattress, grinning widely as she patted the space between her and Twilight, who was dressed in light blue socks of her own.
“You are most certainly not sleeping all by yourself, Michelle,” she admonished playfully, “Come on, snuggle on in.”
Glancing at Twilight for permission, Michelle found herself quivering at the soft, inviting smile on the lips of her best friend, or slightly lidded, warm gleam of her violet eyes. Struggling to contain her wings, which kept trying to raise out for some reason, Michelle had sheepishly crawled onto the bed, snuggling her lithe body in between the more fully built unicorn, and the slightly pudgy alicorn. Not exactly ‘pudgy.’ Curvy! Curvy was a better word. Trixie had seemed to be used to wings, and gently used her hooves to smooth them back against Michelle’s side, while Twilight had simply slid her primaries into Michelle’s, a hoof gently circling her barrel as the alicorn curled into a spooning position.
But that wasn’t was left Michelle an utter mess. No, it was the grooming that followed that did that, quite well. Trixie’s tongue was soft and quite warm in the dark, gently lapping across the silky fur and driving a soft gasp out of the pale mare. Twilight’s tongue went down to her wings, and every little lap and tug made a delicious bolt of pleasure lance down her spine. There was simply nothing she could do, and she certainly wasn’t going to tell them to stop. Trixie’s tongue was more wonderful than any massage, lapping away the stress of the past week one lick at a time, leaving her neck and ears a quivery mess. Twilight was an exceptional preener, and it felt like her wings controlled Michelle’s entire nervous system; every gentle tug and nibble was absolute heaven, and it wasn’t long till the dual methods had sent her spiraling to dream-land.
Peeking her eyes open, Michelle was surprised to find herself alone in the spacious bed, and she quickly sat up.
Nervousness colored her voice as she called out for Trixie or Twilight, though she tried her best to temper it with logic. She was twenty-five for goodness sake, she certainly didn’t need to be watched every- ohthankgod there’s Twilight. Twilight had come galloping into the room by the second call, a soothing smile already on her lips as she nuzzled a relieved Michelle’s neck.
“Sorry about that, Trixie and I needed to run out and get a few things,” Twilight explained softly, gently guiding Michelle out of the bed, and over to the bathroom, “For our meeting with the princess.”
Oh. Right. That certainly did not help the quivery feeling running down Michelle’s spine.
“Don’t you worry, Princess Celestia is going to love you. Come on, I’ll show you how to work the shower.”
Twilight was getting good at reading her mood and… Michelle was perfectly fine with that. The bathroom was much larger than the typical human bathroom, as was the shower, which was a wide, circular basin, protected by a glass barrier, much like some of the high-end showers had back on Earth. Carefully setting her lightning bolt pendant and glasses on the sink, Michelle carefully stepped into the shower, blushing crimson as Twilight followed her in, shutting the glass door behind her. With a soft gleam of violet magic, warm water poured out of the faucet head, soaking the two ponies in an instant.
But Michelle was hardly noticing that. Twilight had the same gleam in her eye as the night before, and Michelle’s wings were spreading again. Quivering softly, the lithe pegasus reached up with her hoof, gently stroking along Twilight’s cheek, her mouth suddenly dry.
“I… Tw-twilight…” She whispered breathily, leaning in a bit closer, “A-all of this… t-thank you, I-”
Anything else she might have stammered was silenced with a firm kiss; Twilight had stepped up quickly, rising up on two hooves as her forehooves gently lifted Michelle. Her back pressed on the sturdy glass, and one hoof carefully supporting herself, Michelle lost herself in the kiss. Twilight was eager and firm, her tongue seeking entrance, which Michelle was all too eager to give her. A long mrr rose from Michelle’s chest as Twilight leaned against her, their wings reaching forward to intertwine. Michelle had never had many partners, and only one had been female before. This was… entirely different, entirely alien… and completely right. Twilight broke the kiss for only moment, catching her breath and giving Michelle’s flopping ear a tiny nibble before diving in for seconds, dominating Michelle’s mouth and mind. Maybe cleaning could wait for a few more minutes…
***********************
Thirty minutes later, the two mares stumbled out of the bathroom, giggling softly and shivering; Trixie’s hot water had run out halfway through the actual washing part of the shower, and they had had to scramble to finish and get out before they froze. Trixie had been patiently waiting at her kitchen table, a knowing grin threatening to split her muzzle as she looked the two mares over.
“Good shower?” she asked innocently, sipping a small mug of tea.
“I-I uh… um… w-well, it…” Michelle stammered lamely, tucking between her legs.
“It was perfect,” Twilight finished warmly, laying her wing over Michelle’s back, “Did you get Michelle’s clothes ready?”
“Of course,” Trixie replied happily, hopping to her hooves; an azure glow lit up her horn, and pony outfit floated over from its hiding place behind her.
It was a sleek fox-red dress that matched her mane perfectly, with a series of flame-like highlights around the edge of the shortened hem. Beneath that was a set of golden shoes for her hooves, which wrapped a series of golden laces in fanciful patterns up to the knee. Before Michelle could protest at the beauty, and probable cost, of the dress, she was swept up in the other mares’ magic. It was like being in a tornado, but one controlled and far less deadly. As the last lace was tied and set in place, Trixie happily pulled a full body mirror from her living room, setting it in front of Michelle.
“...okay, nice magic mirror, Trixie,” Michelle mumbled weakly, eyes widening as she drank in the beautiful mare in front of her.
Michelle looked gorgeous. The dress accented her styled and lightly curled mane perfectly, and it expertly hugged her every curve, while at the same time hiding her emaciated barrel and stomach from view. The hem was shortened, settling just past where her cutie mark would be, if she had one. During the flurry of activity, somepony had settled a small lattice of golden and crimson faux-feathers into each wing, adding to the image. With each turn in front of the mirror, Michelle’s smile grew.
“I-I look… I look…”
“Beautiful,” both mares said at once, glancing at each.
“Did it again!”
“Gah!”
*********************
The castle was even more magnificent than Michelle had imagined during their train trip into Canterlot. With several high spires, rising gracefully into the sky, and a massive garden that surrounded it, it was both imposing, and strangely approachable. If Twilight was to be believed, it mirrored the Princesses themselves. She… rather hoped so. At least they could be more approachable than the guards who, while they let them inside easily enough, watched Michelle and Trixie closely, hooves on their spears.
“Don’t worry about them,” Twilight whispered soothingly when she had noticed Michelle quivering, “They’re just doing their duty. They wouldn’t hurt you.”
Michelle wasn’t quite sure of that, but at least with Twilight and Trixie at her side, it was less likely to happen. Inside, the opulence was more apparent. Gold and bronze shimmered on the walls like spiderwebs, and clung to staircases and walkways. There were dozens of side passages, but, thankfully enough, they seemed to be going straight for the entire trip, towards a series of massive doors. The doors seemed to be recent, and painted in three different colors: one a brilliant gold, with the image of a rayed sun stamped onto it; another silver, with a crescent moon and two stars stamped in the center. And finally, a light purple, with Twilight’s starburst cutie mark stamped in place. The twin guards at the doors, one in light silver armor and sporting bat wings, the other in the golden armor of the stallions out front, nodding respectfully to Twilight, quickly opening the tri-colored doors.
“May we present Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her party!” The golden-armored guard shouted, bowing low to the ground.
Michelle’s eyes were instantly drawn to the end of the throne room; more importantly, the ponies sitting there. One was far larger in stature than any pony Michelle had seen before, easily rivalling the size of a human in their prime. Her fur was the same pristine white as Michelle’s, while her mane seemed to be made up of moving, shimmering rainbows. Golden regalia sat on her barrel and a crown on her forehead, just behind her gracefully elongated horn. Her eyes and smile were kind and motherly, and any nervousness Michelle had vanished in an instant. Twilight had been right about her.
Celestia.
To Celestia’s right sat a darker pony, though only in appearance. She was a cobalt blue, with a star-studded, breezy mane; to Michelle’s amazed eyes, she could swear she saw a nebulae passing through it. Her regalia was the deepest black of night, broken by the silver gleam of a crescent moon; her crown was black as well, and settled behind her horn, which was longer than Twilight’s, but not nearly as pike-like as her sister’s. Her blue eyes were more curious than Celestia’s, but there wasn’t a hint of hostility or arrogance in their azure depths.
Luna.
With a shaky breath, Michelle bowed as Twilight had showed her, wings spread out wide.
“Your Highnesses.”
“Rise, my little pony,” Celestia replied warmly, chuckling, “There is no need for bowing here. Your name is Michelle, yes?”
Blushing, Michelle stood up straight, nodding quickly, “Y-yes, Your Highness, Michelle Winters.”
“So my student’s mysterious pen pal finally shows herself,” Celestia teased, grinning at Twilight as she blushed deeply, “I must say, Twilight. Interdimensional travel is no mean feat, even with letters to start. I’m impressed.”
“I actually didn’t begin it, Princess,” Twilight replied quickly, grinning over at a reddening Michelle, “It was Michelle. She opened the portal on her world.”
“I-it was just curiosity, really,” Michelle added quickly, “I f-found the ritual in some old books, pieced it together… I had no clue that it would actually work as well as it did.”
“But you’re a pegasus,” Luna pointed out, frowning curiously, “I’m surprised the portal did not turn you into a unicorn, which such a proclivity for magic.”
“I-I kind of was too, Your Majesty,” Michelle admitted sheepishly, flexing her wings, “Not that I’m complaining. Twilight has told me a lot about pegasi and their culture. I’m… I’m eager to learn, if that’s alright.”
“Far be it from me to dissuade somepony from learning,” Celestia replied with a soft giggle, “Of course it’s fine, my dear. But there is the matter of a few formalities. You do not wish to return to your home world, that is correct?”
“Yes ma’am.”
The reply was swift, and firm, surprising a small part of Michelle. Did she really not want to go back? Earth was where she was born, where she lived. She had been human there. ...but, it was also the world that had taken everything from her. Her career, her family… nearly her life. Hrm.
“I’m… certain,” she added softly after a small moment, “There’s nothing for me there… and a lot for me here.”
That brought a small smile to Celestia’s lips, and she nodded, “Very well. In that case, I must make you a proper citizen of Equestria. The paperwork I can handle, but we must do one thing first. Repeat after me: ‘I, state your name.’”
“I, Michelle Winters.”
“Do solemnly swear to uphold the laws and dignity of the land of Equestria. To strive to live in balance with my fellow ponies, and all my kin upon our world. I will protect our young from harm, and raise them in the glory of the sun, the majesty of the moon, and the future that is magic. May they, I, and all ponies live in harmony and friendship, so help me Gods, Goddesses, and Spirits All.”
By the end of the oath, Michelle was in tears, a wide smile spread across her muzzle. Glancing to her sides, she was greeted by the tearful grins of both Twilight and Trixie, who rushed to hug tightly onto the pegasi’s neck, nuzzling her cheek. Celestia and Luna’s chuckles were musical, and pleasing to the ear.
“Welcome to Equestria, Michelle.”