He who laughs first

"I'm sorry ladies, I guess it just isn't your night."

Richard let out a small chuckle as he swept up a large pile of different coloured chips with his hands. He began to add them to the different piles already set before him based on their colours when a pair of hooves slammed onto the table knocking all chips over.

"Dammit, Dick! Six hands! Six fricken hands! How can you win so many?!" Rainbow Dash shouted, glaring at him from across the table.

"I don't know, Dashie, I guess I'm just running hot tonight." said Richard as he began to sort the chips back into piles, a smile on his face. He really did enjoy antagonizing his friends during poker. Especially Rainbow Dash. Her hotheadedness, combined with the alcohol they regularly consumed during their games nights not only made her a sloppy player, but also led to her getting really angry whenever she lost, especially when she thought she had a winning hand.

"Running hot my ass!" declared Rainbow Dash. "You must be cheating to do that well. And you know I hate it when ‘you’ call me Dashie."

A loud snort filled the room at Rainbow's accusation, and all the heads in the room turned to face the orange pony sat directly to Richard's right. Currently half way through taking a rather large drink from a mug of cider, customary hat perched on her head, Applejack glared angrily at Rainbow Dash and after draining her mug she slammed it down onto the table, once again knocking the chips over.

"Dammit, Rainbow, calm your horses. Rick ain't cheating." said the cowpony.

"And how the hay would you know, AJ?" asked Rainbow Dash

"Because I've been watching him ya feather brain." replied Applejack

"Oh yeah?! Well I reckon you're in on it with him." said Rainbow Dash accusingly.

"I seriously think you need to calm down, Rainbow Dash, darling. You're starting to sound like a madmare, accusing everyone of cheating." said Rarity. The pristine white unicorn was sitting on directly to Richard's left and as she spoke, picked the cards up from the table in her telekinetic grip and proceeded to shuffle them for the next hand.

"Yeah, Dashie, you seriously need to calm down." said Richard with a large grin plastered across his face. "Besides, the only reason I'm winning is because Fluttershy isn't here. If she was, she'd be beating you instead. Where is she anyway?"

"Oh, she's busy with something." replied Pinkie Pie as she walked into the room balancing a large tray, laden with several new mugs of cider, precariously on her mane .

"Oh really?" asked Richard. "What with? I spoke to her the other day and she never mentioned having anything else planned."

The whole room suddenly went silent as each of the ponies shared a knowing look with each other. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Richard.

"Wait, what was that?" he asked.

"It's something private, sugar cube, and I'm not sure she'd want us telling anypony about it." said Applejack.

"Yes, Applejack's right, darling. Besides, it's nothing important anyway." said Rarity.

"Hmm..." said Pinkie. "I'm not sure she'd mind him knowing, after all, it's hardly a big secret. Besides, he'd find out sometime anyway."

"If Fluttershy wanted him to know she would have told him herself, Pinkie, I say we leave it up to her." said Rainbow Dash.

"What should Fluttershy tell me herself?" asked Richard as he scratched his chin, quite confused by the current situation.

Once again an eerie silence settled in the room as the 5 ponies looked at each other. When it looked like none of the ponies were willing to answer his question Richard pushed his chair back from the table, the legs scraping against the wooden floor, and pushed himself up.

"Fine, if you won't tell me, I'll ask her myself." He hastily pushed his mound of chips towards Twilight, who was sat next to their box, and turned to leave the room. "Cash me out, I'll pick up my winnings tomorrow."

He began to leave the room but soon found his route impeded as the door closed itself in front of him, the wood surrounded by a violet field of magic.

"You're not going anywhere," Twilight snorted. "Fluttershy won't want anyone disturbing her. Besides, we've got a game to finish. I want to win some of my money back."

Richard turned back to the group and leaned back against the door. He fixed Twilight with a look of disdain and gave a snort of his own.

"I'm not playing anything unless you tell me what's going on." he said. "Fluttershy is my friend too and, by the way, I'm not your prisoner to do with what you want, you can't keep me here against my will. I'm a free person, and if I want to see her, I will do so."

A faint groan escaped from Twilight's lips as she clutched her face in her hooves for a moment.

"Fine, I'll tell you why she isn't here. But, please don't mention it to her, she would be incredibly embarrassed and you know how skittish she can be." said Twilight, exasperatedly. "And after I tell you, we're going to play some more hands. You owe me a chance to win my money back."

Richard reluctantly moved away from the door and took his seat once more, his chips floating into piles before him as Twilight gave him his chips back.

"Okay, so spill the beans already." said Richard as he pulled his chair forward, bringing himself closer to the table.

"Alright," said Twilight. "The reason Fluttershy can't be with us tonight is she's too busy trying to cope with being in heat."

"Is that it?" said Richard. "I don't see why that's stopping her play poker."

"Is that it?!" squeaked Rainbow Dash. "You do realize what the heat is, right?!"

“That time you girls get really horny because it’s the short time you’re able to reproduce?” he shrugged. “Sure, I know what it is, but I hardly think that’s reason to miss a poker game.”

“It’s more than just ‘really horny’, darling.” said Rarity. “When a mare goes into heat, they experience an internal burning of desire the likes of which no stallion or ‘man’ could ever experience.” As Rarity spoke, her eyes glazed over, thought clearly swirling through her mind.

“Oh please.” said Richard as he let out a small chuckle. “You realize stallions are constantly horny, right? I think I have at least as much experience with being horny as you girls do.”

“Hah!” snorted Applejack. “Y’all don’t know what you’re talking about. What stallions experience is like being in the sun on a cool spring day. What mares go through is like standing in the middle of a blazing inferno. Stallions aint got nothing on mares.”

“Come off it, even if mares do experience a greater intensity, you still only experience it for one week each month. Imagine every day.” said Richard

“What a mare goes through in one week is worth a year of what a stallion goes through.” said Rainbow Dash.

“I seriously doubt that.” Richard laughed.

“Oh really?” asked Twilight menacingly, an evil glint in her eye as. “Are you prepared to put your money where your mouth is?”

“W-what do you mean, Twilight?” Richard stammered, not expecting the question.

“I mean, are you willing to make a bet based on your assumption that going through heat isn’t that bad?” said Twilight. “Or are you chicken?!”

“Hah! You sure are desperate to lose your bits to me. Alright, I’ll take your bet, so how much are we staking?”

“Oh, we’re not staking bits.” said Twilight offhandedly.

“What are we betting then?” asked Richard

“Well, how about we make this interesting, shall we?” said Twilight slowly, as she got up off her chair and stalked around the table towards Richard. “I’m so confident that I’ll easily beat you that if you win, you can name your terms after the fact.”

“Alright, a bit cocky, but I’m down with that. But what if you win?” asked Richard.

By now, Twilight had walked around the table and was standing right next to Richard. For a moment she didn’t respond, instead choosing to fix him with a piercing gaze.

“Twilight..?” asked Richard, one of his hands subconsciously tugging at his collar nervously.

Twilight responded to his question by leaning forward until her muzzle was barely an inch away from his lips. Her hot breath washing over his face and the smell of alcohol filled his nose sending shivers down his spine.

“If I win.” said Twilight, grinning evilly, her voice barely above a whisper. “I get to turn you into a mare, for a whole week.” Twilight punctuated her sentence by licking her lips, agonisingly slowly, the sight causing Richard to visibly gulp as small beads of sweat appeared on his face.

“So...” said Twilight. “Are you game?”

“Y-yes.” said Richard shakingly, his voice coming out as little more than a strangled groan.

“Good.” said Twilight. “Well, here is how we will do it. I’ll get things ready tonight, and tomorrow morning, shall we say at nine? we’ll meet at the doors to my palace to induce the heat and start the bet. You girls can come too.” she said as she turned to her friends. “And Pinkie can be the bet’s official, watch for cheating and make any rulings we might need. Does that sound fair to you?”

Richard opened his mouth to speak but all he could do was let out a muted whine, instead he settled for a nod of his head.

“Good.” chuckled Twilight. “Well, I suggest you go home and get some sleep. After all, you’ve got a big week ahead of you. And don’t worry.” Twilght picked up a single poker chip from his pile in her telekinetic grip. “I’ll bring your winnings along with me.”

The moment Twilight finished speaking, there was a blinding flash of light robbing Richard of his sight and filling his mouth with the tangy taste of ozone.

As the light began to fade, Richard found the warmth that previously surrounded him was replaced with a chilling cold and as his eyesight returned he noticed that no longer was he sitting in the beautiful and cozy dining room of Twilight’s crystal palace. Instead, he was standing outside looking directly at the palace’s main door, beyond which the sound of laughter could be faintly heard.

As the realization of what had just occurred sank in, Richard began to shiver and it wasn’t from the cold.

“I’ll show you, Twilight.” he muttered under his breath. “I’ll win that bet, just you wait and see.”

With purpose, Richard turned and strode swiftly off into the night. His home wasn’t far and Ponyville wasn’t a dangerous place. However, Twilight was probably right about one thing. He was exhausted and was probably going to need all the sleep he could get.

The potion

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Twilight shut the front door to her palace with a final wave of goodbye to her friends as they walked off into the night. The door shut with an audible click and after a quick flash of magic there was a scraping sound as the door was bolted shut. With the palace secure, Twilight turned away from the entrance and started walking towards the library, a visible bounce in her step. As she walked she couldn't help let out a small chuckle, it had been a fun and rather crazy night and only now were the events catching up to her.

Thinking over the event's of the night, she couldn't help but continue to laugh. Their poker nights were usually fun and often included some hilarious events to add to her ever growing case of 'party stories' , but tonight was something else entirely. She just couldn't believe Richard's boasting, usually he was so quiet and calculated, especially in the middle of a hand. But tonight? He seemed a lot more like Rainbow Dash, so self confident and sure of himself each time he played. Most likely because, for once, he was winning.

But the bet...

Twilight let out a sigh as she considered her actions. She had to admit, it was completely unlike her. Normally she wouldn't ever consider making such a bet, in fact the weekly poker session with Richard and the girls was the only gambling she ever partook of. And she only started participating to ensure she could watch over Richard when he first wanted to join her friends in gambling away what meager bits he earned as a 'handy man' around Ponyville. However, when she saw him that night, a smug grin annoyingly plastered across his face and a tremendous pile of chips (of which a not insignificant amount of which were hers) in front of him, something insider herself snapped and she felt the overwhelming need to get back at him. The mocking of their heat cycle had simply been the straw that broke the camel's back. So to speak.

As she walked down the crystal hallways towards the library, the sharp clatter of her hoofsteps echoing all around, she felt a non zero amount of regret at her actions. Still, the bet had been made and with Pinkie as the bet commissioner she could hardly back down. Not if she didn't want to pay the forfeit, and she was loath if she would let him win her bits and her pride as he made her do whatever he wanted.

No, the die had been cast and she would just have to deal with the outcome whatever it may be.

First though, she would have to learn a spell to induce the symptoms of heat in her soon to be incredibly hot and bothered friend.

After several more minutes of quiet walking, her mind constantly replaying the events of the night, she reached a pair of rather large and prismatic doors. Turning her focus to them, for a moment blanking out all other thoughts, she reached out with her magic causing her horn to glow with her customary violet aura, the same colour as the aura that also enveloped the doors as they slowly opened silently before her.

The sight of the library beyond brought a huge smile to her face, as it always did, and though it would never truly replace Golden Oaks the mere fact she was surrounded by parchment and vellum - her two oldest friends - still filled her with a sense of inner peace.

Stepping over the threshold she both shut and locked the doors behind her, after all she wouldn't want Spike to accidentally wonder in and see something too mature for his baby dragon eyes. That task accomplished, she immediately made her way over to the nearest bookshelf and began looking for any books that could provide any useful information for her heat induction needs.

Three hours later and with seriously heavy bags under her eyes, Twilight sat reading the 20th book of the night. The past nineteen books had proved fruitless in the quest of finding a spell to induce the symptoms of heat on another being. The best she had found was a spell to ensure that Richard didn't cheat and help her know if and when he lost the bet. But that wouldn't help if she couldn't find a way to put the heat in him in the first place.

Twilight let out a low groan of frustration which quickly turned into a startled scream as a brown blur of feathers landed on her desk in a whirl-storm which caused the pages of the book to rapidly turn.

"Who?" the feathered creature cooed.

"Oh." said Twilight, clutching a hoof to her chest right above her rapidly beating heart. "It's just you Owlicious, you scared me for a second."

"Who?" Owlicious asked.

"Oh this?" Twilight asked pointing to the pile of books. "I'm searching for a particular spell. With not much luck I'm afraid."

"Who?" Owlicious repeated.

"It's for a bet I made with Richard." Twilight groaned.

"Who?"

"Yeah." Twilight's ears flattened against her head. "It was rather stupid. Still, at least I'm not likely to lose."

"Who?" said Owlicious, his head turning slightly.

"Of course I'm sure I'll win. There's no way he can deal with the heat as easily as he claims."

"Who?" asked Owlicious again, causing Twilight to turn a shade of red which would put a beetroot to shame.

"Y-yeah, that's the b-bet." she stammered. "He has to try and endure a week being in heat without trying to succumb to it."

"Who?" asked Owlicious, his hoot somewhat more terse than before.

"I don't know what I was thinking, alright! It just sort of happened. One second I'm looking at his smug face and hearing him dismissing what us mares go through and the next I'm making this stupid bet."

"Who." said Owlicious angrily.

"No I can't back out of it, not now, not with Pinkie overseeing it all!" shouted Twilight, the force rustling many of Owlicious' feathers. "Besides, he agreed to the bet. I didn't force him."

"Who." said Owlicious, his hoot muffled by a wing which was covering his face.

"Look, I know you don't approve, but you could at least help me. I need to find a way to induce heat by sunrise or else my goose is cooked. Metaphorically speaking of course, unless Richard is particularly cruel with his demands."

"Who." Owlicious' hooted sharply causing Twilight to look down in shame, her cheeks tinged with rouge.

"Yes, Owlicious." she mumbled. "I know I'd deserve what I get. And really? You're sure we don't have a book with such a spell? How exactly would you know that?"

"Who." Owlicious cooed.

"Yes, I guess you're right. I doubt Princess Celestia would give me such a book as well." Twilight looked down at the floor dejected. "So what do I do now?"

"Who?" Owlicious asked.

"Zecora?" said Twilight questioningly. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask her." Twilight spared a quick glance at a nearby clock. "But it's two in the morning. Do you reckon she would help?"

"Who!" hooted Owlicious angrily.

"Eurgh!" Twilight groaned. "I know I don't have another choice, but what if she doesn't help me?"

"Who." said Owlicious pointing a wing a Twilight.

"Yes, I guess I would have to concede defeat. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." Twilight offered Owlicious a small, timid smile. "Thanks Owlicious, you truly are a helpful assistant." Twilight pushed her chair back from the desk, giving the owl a quick, affectionate nuzzle as she rose to her hooves.

"I guess I should go pay Zecora a quick visit." said Twilight as she turned towards the library's doors before quickly pausing to face the owl once more. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to put out some food and water before I leave."

At her declaration, Owlicious leaped into the air, instantly taking flight and beginning to coo happily as she followed Twilight out of the library.

"Yeah, Owlicious, I love you too."

Twenty minutes later, after leaving behind a rather happy Owl, Twilight found herself standing in the chilly early morning and staring at the entrance to Everfree Forest. A sight that could still send shivers through her spine despite the fact she had made this journey many times over recent months in her frequent journeys to the Palace of the Two Sisters and Zecora's hut. Though she had to admit she usually made the trek during the day, when Celestia's sun was high in the sky and all the nocturnal terrors were all in their homes sleeping.

The more she looked at the gap in the trees and near pitch-black darkness that lay beyond, the more she felt she would rather rush home, leap into bed and bury herself under the covers. But that would mean losing the bet, and she could not let that happen. So Twilight did the only thing she could do, she swallowed her fear, illuminated her horn and stepped towards the gaping maw of the forest, trying desperately to keep Pinkie's advice to 'giggle at the ghosties' at the fore of her mind.

As Twilight trotted through the forest, each step a precisely calculated hoof placement as she attempted to avoid the various hazards of the forest floor, from tripping roots to the ever annoying Poison Joke, she began to appreciate just how beautiful the place could be at night. With moonlight filtering through the canopy above casting a silvery glow everywhere it landed, combined with the violet glow of Twilight's horn, the place looked like a dream.

A short while later Twilight found herself standing safely outside the hollowed out tree that Zecora called home. Unfortunately all was dark, the lights that usually radiated from the twin windows either side of the door snuffed out, suggesting that potion master was asleep. Twilight sighed, she had hoped that Zecora had still been up for some reason, now she would have to wake Zecora from her sleep and hope she was willing to help despite the intrusion.

Carefully and as quietly as possible, Twilight crept up to the door, it wouldn't do for some undue snap of a twig to wake Zecora and have herself be mistaken as some beast of the forest. Once she reached the door she raised her hoof to the wood, pausing briefly as the sounds of a gently snoozing zebra could be heard and she was filled with doubt.

'Should I do this?' Twilight thought to herself. 'I'm almost certain I could convince everyone else to just call the bet off if I say I couldn't find a spell. They would understand, right?' But even as the thoughts filled Twilight's mind, she knew she wouldn't be able to forgive herself, not easily anyway. She'd made the bet and she'd been willing, if for a moment, to turn him into a mare for a week. As she considered this fact, she played the scene over in her head again. Richard sitting there, his smug grin.

'No, I have to do this, I can't let Richard beat me again. '

Swallowing her pride Twilight knocked on the door, her hoof striking the wood three times creating a noise that seemed to echo around the surrounding forest. Almost instantly the sounds of action could be heard from inside the hut, action being the mixed sounds of hoofsteps and muttered cursing. After a few moments of noise Twilight was almost blinded as the light poured out of the windows, illuminating the forest around the hut and seconds later the door swung open to reveal a rather angry Zecora, her large bamboo pole wielded in one hoof threateningly.

"Who dares disturb my slumber?!" shouted Zecora, her cry causing several nesting birds to take flight, as she struggled to focus her eyes the figure before her.

"Um, Zecora." Said Twilight timidly as she wilted under Zecora's gaze. "It's me, Twilight Sparkle."

Tension hung thick in the air for a few silent seconds as Zecora continued to stare menacingly at Twilight. Eventually however, her gaze softened and she set her pole down by the doorway as a smile graced her face.

"Ahh, Princess, please forgive me, but tired as I am I must have forgotten we had arranged a meeting." said Zecora as she used her now free hoof to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Actually, Zecora." Twilight coughed, a small blush appearing on her cheeks. "We didn't have a meeting planned."

"Then may I please ask, and do forgive any rudeness on my part, what the fuck you are doing waking me up at three o'clock in the morning?" asked Zecora grumpily.

"Well." said Twilight, the blush spreading to cover her entire face. "The thing is, I find myself with a bit of a problem. One which I think you might be able to help me with."

"Hmm." said Zecora with a mixture annoyance and thoughtfulness. "I suppose you should come in and tell me all about it and I'll see what I can do to help. But first, would you like some tea?" Zecora stepped aside to allow entrance to her visitor

"Oh, that would be lovely, thanks." said Twilight gratefully as she crossed the threshold into Zecora's hut. "I could really go for some right now."

"Another late night?" asked Zecora with a chuckle as she shut the door behind Twilight and trotted across the room to where a small, obviously well used kettle resided and set about preparing some tea.

"I'm afraid so." said Twilight as she helped herself to a seat on the floor next to the table which stood in the centre of the room. "I've been busy in the library trying to find a solution to the problem myself. Believe me, waking you up in the middle of the night wouldn't be my first choice."

"Hmm." hummed Zecora thoughtfully as she crossed the room and placed the kettle on a stand in the hut's single fireplace before setting about lighting a fire beneath it. "It must be something very important to trouble you so."

"Well, yes and no really." said Twilight quietly before a sudden realization hit her. "Wait, Zecora, are you feeling alright?"

"Indeed I am, Twilight. Apart from feeling rather tired I'm quite well. Why do you ask?" Zecora replied.

"Y-you're not rhyming like you usually do." said Twilight, nervously.

Zecora let out a long slow chuckle as she made her way over to the table and sat down opposite Twilight.

"Wait, what's so funny?" asked Twilight.

"Apart from you thinking that not talking in poetry means I might be ill?" said Zecora rhetorically.

"Well..." said Twilight as she nervously rubbed her forehooves together. "You've always spoken that way every time I see you, so I just assumed that was how you talked."

"You need not fear me Twilight, in fact I'm surprised it's taken this long for somepony to ask." laughed Zecora. "It's true I usually speak in calculated verse. However, doing so requires a lot of concentration, so it is a habit I sometimes fall out of when tired. Perhaps when I'm more awake I'll begin rhyming once more."

"Ahh." said Twilight. "Well that answers that then."

"Indeed." said Zecora, smiling gently.

"So, about my problem..." Twilight began to speak but was quickly interrupted by Zecora.

"Hush, Princess. First we drink some delicious tea and then we solve your problem."

As if on cue, the kettle above the fire began emitting a whistling sound.

"Ahh." Zecora sighed as she stood up and headed over to the fireplace. "It seems that time has come already."

Carefully, lifting the kettle from the fireplace she carried it over to the long surface which lined one of the walls of her hut and placed it down on a stand while she busied herself with a teapot. When she had finished preparing the tea, she placed the pot on a tray with two mugs and carried it over to the table.

"Tea is served." said Zecora as she poured for both Twilight and herself.

"This smells delicious, Zecora." said Twilight, picking her mug in her telekinetic grip and inhaling deeply. "Thank you very much."

Zecora nodded before quickly drinking her tea, Twilight following suite. Soon enough, both teas had been drunk and both ponies sat in silence, basking as the warmth spread throughout their bodies and the caffeine drove away their tiredness.

"So." said Zecora, the first to speak. "Tell me, what exactly is your problem?"

"Well, it's a little bit complicated I'm afraid. It all started earlier last night when I was playing poker with my friends. We were having a really nice time, laughing and joking, until one of my friends made comments about Fluttershy and how she was overreacting because she wasn't there due to trying to deal with the heat. Well anyway, they said some things, I said some things and we made a bet that he couldn't cope with being in heat for a whole week." said Twilight.

"I assume this friend of yours is a stallion?" asked Zecora.

"Of sorts, yes." answered Twilight. "But here's the problem, I can't find a single spell to induce the symptoms..."

"And you thought I might know of a potion that would be able to do it?" Zecora finished.

"Exactly," said Twilight. "Do you?"

Zecora hummed and stared at the dregs of her tea as she considered Twilight's question. For several minutes they both sat in silence, Twilight nervously drumming on the table with one of her hooves as she waited for an answer.

"I do indeed know of a brew, but it comes with costs attached to you. Unlike times of need in past, some payment I will ask at last." said Zecora, eventually breaking the silence.

"Of course," said Twilight. "I have more than enough bit's to pay for it."

"It's not that type of payment that I do seek." said Zecora. "You have a friend I'd like to meet."

"What do you mean?" asked Twilight, eyebrows raised.

"To this land I was sent I was sent to seek, of magic my kind had yet to meet. From a world afar I hear they're from, the furless one you call human. If a meeting you could arrange, the potion I'd consider paid." answered Zecora.

"Is that all?" Twilight asked. "It doesn't seem like much."

Zecora chuckled.

"Like I said, just before. I seek knowledge, nothing more."

"But I thought you traded potions for food and supplies?" said Twilight.

"Sometimes yes, that is true." Zecora nodded. "But right now I want nothing else from you."

"Well, I'm sure that could be arranged. Richard's nice." said Twilight. "Most of the time at least."

"Thank you, Twilight, mare I call friend. I'm glad on you I can depend." said Zecora with a chuckle. "Now if you can just bear with me, I shall check the recipe."

Zecora stood up from the table and and made her way over to a bookshelf that hung on one of the walls, upon which sat a whole host of books. Twilight had seen them all before in her various visits to Zecora and in fact owned many of them herself. However, the book that Zecora selected and began to read from was one that Twilight didn't recognize. It was a small leather bound tome, more akin to a diary than a published book and as Zecora returned to sit opposite her, Twilight noticed the book was filled with faded hand written scribbles that she found illegible. Most likely they were written in Zecora's native language.

"Ahh, here it is, that potion which you seek. To trigger estrus for a week." said Zecora flicking to a page which to Twilight looked no different than any of the others that Zecora had flicked past.

Twilight watched on as Zecora read the recipe, the zebra muttering under her breath as she recited the ingredients the potion required.

"I have all ingredients, save but one, required to concoct this serum. But the one I'm missing is quite nearby, an easy gather, that is no lie." said Zecora as she finished reading.

"What one are you missing?" asked Twilight.

"The last ingredient I do declare, is fresh dew caressed from a Mare." answered Zecora.

Almost instantly, Twilight's turned a deep shade of claret, and in that moment she was glad Zecora had waited until after tea to discuss the problem. Had they been drinking at that second, Twilight feared she would have drenched Zecora.

"You need what?"

"Are your ears failing you? I told you I need fresh Mare dew." said Zecora calmly.

"Mare dew?" asked Twilight. "A-are you sure we need that for the potion."

"Yes, of this I'm quite sure. We need this dew for our elixir." said Zecora.

Twilight gulped, she was getting redder by the second and small beads of sweat had begun to form on her forehead.

"Who of us..." Twilight started to ask before deciding to feign innocence on the subject. "I mean, where do get this 'Mare dew'?"

Twilight's eyes went wide as Zecora began to lick her lips.

"The delicious nectar is close at hoof. Twenty minutes away, that is the truth."

"W-wow." stuttered Twilight. "Twenty minutes? I've never lasted that long before."

Zecora looked at Twilight confused.

"How is it that you tire so quickly, a walk that short should be quite easy."

"Wait." Twilight coughed. "What do you mean walk?"

"The flower we seek lies a short walk from here, didn't I make my meaning clear?" said Zecora, still clearly confused.

"Flower? Wait, so you didn't mean..." Twilight trailed off into silence, leaving Zecora no wiser than before.

"The Mare flower, also know as Virgin Rose. Such a fragile thing, in darkness grows." said Zecora turning the page of her book and pointing a hoof at a large sketch of a flower. "From this flower, it's dew we need. What did you think I meant, indeed?"

Twilight looked down at the ground, averting Zecora's daze.

'How could I be so foolish? she thought to herself. 'Of course it was a flower, Zecora would never ask me to help with 'that'... '

After taking several deep breaths to regain her composure Twilight eventually looked back up at Zecora.

"Don't worry about it. I just misunderstood you for a second. Must be more tired than I thought."

Zecora shook her head as she let out a small laugh causing a sheepish grin to creep across Twilight's face. Luckily for Twilight, Zecora thought it wiser to not press any more on the subject. Instead, she stood up from the table and made her way out of the hut, holding the door open for Twilight to follow behind.

"Come, we must gather soon, while the flower is still in bloom. For soon the sun shall dawn a new day, and the Virgin Rose shall hide away."

The morning after.

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Twilight stood outside her palace doors, her coat standing on end as she shivered in the biting cold of the early morning breeze. She had been standing still for the last ten minutes, thankful that the biting chill was keeping her awake after her night time exploits. Yawning and slowly rubbing her eyes with a forehoof Twilight recalled the events of the night. The misunderstanding with Zecora; the walk to what Zecora had called a moon glade, the place where the Mare Flower grew; the gathering of the nectar, a beautiful golden substance which reminded Twilight of honey; and the subsequent brewing of the potion. It had been a tiring and long night and by the time Twilight had got back to the palace she'd only had time for two hours sleep before having to get up and ready for meeting her friends at nine.

Looking over to the large clock tower that stood in the center of town she could see it was still only 8:50 causing her to sigh, she had expected at least one of her friends to be here by now.

As if on cue, Twilight heard the rustle of feathers followed by the sound of hooves on cobble.

"Hey, Twi, sleep well?" said the rather familiar voice of Rainbow Dash.

Twilight turned to her face her friend.

"Wow, Twi, what happened to you?" Rainbow Dash asked the moment she caught sight of Twilight's face. "You look like you've been saddled up and ridden hard."

"It's nothing, Rainbow, just stayed up a little late." said Twilight.

"A little? I could carry a weeks shopping with those bags under your eyes." said Rainbow with a smirk.

"I've have worst nights before." said Twilight with a smile. "You don't need to worry about me."

Rainbow just shrugged in response and both fell into a dull silence as they waited for the others to turn up.

The next to turn up was Rarity, the white unicorn showcasing her latest fashions as she walked up the path wearing a thick woolen jacket; faux leather shoes; socks; and matching earmuffs.

"Hello you two." Rarity said cheerily. "What do you think of my ensemble?"

"It looks silly." replied Rainbow Dash.

"How dare you say such a thing, Rainbow Dash! I'll have you know this outfit is a stylish blend of function and fashion."

"Pfft. You wouldn't catch me dead in an outfit like that." said Rainbow.

"That's because you have no discernible sense of fashion." sighed Rarity.

"Incoming!"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to retort but was quickly interrupted as a screaming pink blur whizzed passed and crashed into the ground in front of her.

"I'm okay!" the pink shape shouted before quickly picking herself up the ground.

"Pinkie..." sighed Twilight. "What on Equestria was that about?"

"Oh, well you see Twi..." Pinkie's mouth shot into overdrive as she described the events that led to her current situation without a single pause or taking a single break.

"So you shot yourself out of a cannon?!" shouted Twilight. "To not be late? That has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"I do agree, darling, it was a rather foolish thing to do. I'm just glad you're okay." said Rarity, embracing Pinkie in a rather large hug.

"What are you girls talking about?" asked Rainbow Dash enthusiastically. "That was the best entrance I've ever seen."

Both Rarity and Twilight shot a disapproving glance towards Rainbow which went unnoticed as Rainbow shot over to high five Pinkie.

"So, is this it? Where's everypony else?" asked Pinkie. "The bet starts soon. Richard better not be late."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll turn up soon." said Rarity.

A moment later all four ponies turned to look down the path as the sound of laughter began to flow through the air and after several minutes the duo of Applejack and Fluttershy came into view. However, something was off about the two. Walking side by side, Applejack's customary hat appeared to be perched on Fluttershy's head with one of the pegasus' wings draped over the cowpony's back, laughing as they walked. The whole scene probably would have been cute if it wasn't so surreal.

"Twilight, you don't suppose their's a chance our two friends are...?" asked Rarity, trailing off into stunned silence.

"Oh, I don't believe so." answered Twilight. "After all, doesn't Fluttershy have a crush on that pony who works in the clock shop? Time Turner I think his name was."

"Yeah, you're right darling, I don't know why I even thought about that for a moment." said Rarity.

"I do." said Rainbow Dash. "It's all that terrible porn you read. Filled your head with mushy crap like that."

"Rainbow!" shouted Rarity. "I am a lady, and ladies do not read porn. What I read are romance novels that just so happen to contain some tasteful sex scenes."

"Yeah, so tasteful." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Oh Sir Henry, please use your massive tool of destruction and make me your mare." Rainbow mocked in her most fake feminine tone.

"How did you..." Rarity began before noticing the grin that began to form on Rainbow Dash's face. "I mean, I have exactly no idea what you could possibly be referring to."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes again before pointing at Twilight.

"Hey Twi, what's that hanging around your neck?" asked Rainbow.

"What this?" said Twilight lifting up a crystal flask filled with a golden liquid that hung on a lanyard around her neck. A tired but wicked smile spread across her face as Rainbow nodded. "This little thing is what's going to make the whole bet possible. Sadly, I wasn't able to find a spell to induce the effects of heat onto poor Richard. But, luckily Zecora was able to provide me with this little concoction which she assures me will do the job nicely."

"Um, does anyone mind telling me what's going on? I mean, if that's okay?" asked Fluttershy as she and Applejack finally reached the group, the two ponies separating and Applejack reclaiming her hat and flipping it onto her head with practiced ease.

"Sure, Fluttershy, but I'm a little confused Applejack hasn't filled you in." said Twilight.

"Oh, I bet she filled her in." Rainbow whispered to Pinkie Pie, loud enough so Rarity could hear and causing Pinkie to giggle. Luckily, no pony else seemed to hear.

"Ah thought it better to wait till we're all together." said Applejack. "Besides, I had a bit to drink last night and ah was afraid ah'd miss something."

"Hmm." Twilight hummed thoughtfully. "Well, you see last night at poker..."

"Richard was a big dick." Rainbow Dash interrupted. "He joked about your not being there because you were in heat, so Twilight made a bet with him that he couldn't go a week in heat without giving in."

"Oh my." said Fluttershy. "I hope the poor thing's okay."

"Poor thing?" asked Rarity. "Darling, he said he didn't think that being in heat should have stopped you playing poker with us. He showed no sympathy for your situation at all."

"I'm sure he was just joking." said Fluttershy with a shy smile. "Besides, it's never stopped you five from playing. He was probably just inferring from that."

"That doesn't excuse him." said Rainbow angrily. "He shouldn't just assume things are the same for everypony. Just because we can deal with it easily doesn't mean you can."

"Where is he anyway?" Pinkie asked, looking towards the town. "It's already five minutes past nine. If he doesn't get here soon, he's going to forfeit."

Suddenly, there was a loud crack and a blinding flash of light.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance?" offered a voice all six ponies found familiar.

As the blinding light vanished and their ears stopped ringing, the six ponies noticed that a large serpentine figure had appeared in their midst. He sitting on a folding chair a box of popcorn clutched in his talons.

"Discord?" asked Twilight. "What on Equestria are you doing here?"

"The moment I heard there was going to be a bet involving my favorite human I knew I just had to be here to watch." Discord picked up a grip full of popcorn and started munching happily.

"And what kind of assistance are yer offering?" asked Applejack warily.

"I'm simply offering to go and bring him here. After all, as much as I would love to see him become a mare for a week, I'd much rather see his struggles as he tries to win first." said Discord. "Unless you want me to do something else to him, that is."

"No, no. Bringing him here will be fine, Discord." said Twilight. "And thanks."

"No bother." said Discord with a smile. There was a second flash of light and he was gone.

"Well, he's certainly being more helpful than usual." said Rarity with a slight smile.

"Oh, he's much better behaved after that whole incident with Tirek." said Fluttershy proudly. "Besides, you know how much he wants a throne in the palace for himself."

The whole group started laughing as they remembered Discords reaction to not getting a throne in the palace when it appeared. However, the laughter ended suddenly with a third flash of light.

"Dammit, get off me you beast!" shouted Richard.

"Now, now. That's no way to talk in front of six young, beautiful ladies." said Discord, causing all six ponies to blush as he deposited Richard, wearing what appeared to be a pair of dark blue pajamas, on the ground in front of the group.

"Grrr..." Richard growled. "Why on earth did you bring me here, Discord? I was sleeping you know."

"I was only ensuring you got to a prior appointment on time, Ricky my boy." said Discord as he plopped himself down in his chair once again. "Or did you forget the bet you made?"

"Bet..." Richard trailed off as he remembered the events of the night before. "Dammit! Don't tell me I slept through my alarm."

"Indeed you did." said Rarity with a smirk. "Luckily for you, Discord brought you here before Pinkie decided to forfeit you."

"Yes... Lucky..." said Richard.

"Of course it is you silly filly." giggled Pinkie. "Unless you wanted to spend a week as a filly."

"Of course I do Pinkie." said Richard, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's always been a secret fetish of mine to become a female horse."

"I wouldn't put it past you." said Rainbow Dash, a wry smile across her face. "I mean, we've all scene how you stare at Twilight's flanks, you big pervert."

Both Richard's and Twilight's faces became tinged with a slight blush.

"Ahem." Twilight coughed, trying her best to control her blush. "Now that we're all here, perhaps we could begin?"

"I guess." said Richard. "So what's going to happen? You going to cast a spell on me and suddenly I'll feel or hot and horny?"

Twilight shook her head.

"Nope, sadly couldn't find a spell to do it. Luckily, Zecora was able to brew a potion which should do the trick." Twilight picked up the flask hanging around her neck with a hoof.

"So I just drink that?" asked Richard

"Yes." said Twilight. "You think you can manage that?"

"Hmm." Richard hummed as walked over and took the flask from Twilight. Lifting it into the light and swirling it around, he inspected the golden fluid which glinted in the sun. "Looks quite delicious actually."

"Hah!" laughed Discord. "Did you just say heat looks delicious?"

"No." said Richard defensively. "I said the liquid looks delicious."

"And that liquid induces the symptoms of heat. So it is liquid heat, if you will. Which means you just said heat looks delicious." chuckled Discord.

"You know that's not what I mean." said Richard as his face turned bright red. "Lets just get this over with."

Richard uncorked the flask, letting out a small sigh as the bouquet of the liquid filled his nose. The smell was hard to describe, like something he had never felt before and at the same time so familiar. Even as he struggled to place it, he felt it reach deep within him and trigger some primal need to consume the liquid. Noticing he was starting to drool and that everypony was looking at him expectantly, he lifted the flask to his lips and greedily devoured its contents.

As Richard corked the flask everypony watched on expectantly, waiting with baited breath for any symptoms to appear. However, to the annoyance of one particular rainbow coloured pegasus, nothing seemed to happen.

"Hmm." hummed Discord disappointingly. "I was expecting more wanton lust, but it appears we've done nothing more than give Richard here a delicious early morning beverage."

Discord stood up, picked his chair and folded it under one arm.

"Do call me when he get to the 'begging to be rutted' stage." and with a flash of light, Discord disappeared, leaving everyone else in stunned silence.

"So..." said Rainbow Dash eventually breaking the silence. "What's everypony else's plan for the day? Anypony want to come and watch me practice some stunts?"

"Sorry, no can do sugarcube." said Applejack. "New shoots are coming through and they need a lot of care at this stage."

"What about you, Rarity?"

"Sorry, darling, I need to finish the last of my spring season orders for a client in Canterlot." answered Rarity.

"Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow, her voice filled with desperation.

"Um, I'm sorry Rainbow, but I got to go deal with my animals. Mr Grizzly has an upset tummy and I need to go care for him." said Fluttershy.

"Twilight?"

"I'm sorry, Rainbow, I didn't sleep much last night." Twilight yawned. "Actually, Rarity, do you mind if I accompany you to Carousel Boutique? I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Sure darling." replied Rarity.

"What about you Pinkie, I know you'd never leave me hanging." Rainbow pleaded.

"Sorry Dashie, the cakes need me to watch the twins while they finish up an important order." said Pinkie.

One by one, the ponies left, leaving just Rainbow Dash and Richard standing outside the palace.

"Richard..." Rainbow started, siding up to him and putting a hoof around his shoulder.

"Nope." said Richard, prying her hoof from his shoulder as he began to walk down the path towards town.

"You know I was only joking about those insults right?" said Rainbow, flying along side him.

"Rainbow, as much as I would like to stroke your ego by telling you that your insults are the reason I'm not going to watch your practice, it might interest you to know that I do indeed have plans for the day."

"Like what?" asked Rainbow. "You're always free."

Richard burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"How you would know I'm always free. In the six months I've been in Equestria, I can count on one hand the amount of times you've asked me personally to do anything with you." Richard said. "Two of those were you asking me to help you tidy your house under the pretense of finding Tank under all the mess."

"So?"

"My point is you know next to nothing about me, such as the fact I have a job which is why I'm busy today."

"You have a job? Since when?"

"Since like five months ago, Rainbow, how else do you think I afford my house?" asked Richard.

"I just assumed the Princesses gave it to you."

"Why would you assume that?"

"Well, Twilight did rip you from your world as a result of one of her spells going wrong."

"Which is why they paid my first two months rent." said Richard. "However, since then, I've been relying on my job to make ends meet."

"Hmm..." hummed Rainbow thoughtfully. "That's interesting. So what do you do?"

"I'm a what you could call a handy man." Richard paused as he stroked his chin with one of his hands. "In fact, compared to you ponies, I guess I'm a very handy handy man."

"What does that mean?" asked Rainbow.

"It means I do odd jobs for a living."

"Doesn't sound like it pays much."

"You'd be surprised. After all, this town is mostly earth ponies, right, and most unicorns - all bar one in fact, don't have magic as a talent. As such, there are a lot of tasks, big and small, which most ponies struggle to do. Most of these tasks happen to be something that hands make light work of. So I asked around and found a lot of ponies willing to pay for my help. Quite well in some cases."

"At least your playing to your strengths." said Rainbow. "So what are you doing today?"

"Today I'm tearing down an old fence and putting up a new one for a lovely mare called Roseluck. Apparently her old fence has become rotten and rabbits are getting into her flower beds. "

"Roseluck, huh? Who's she?" asked Rainbow, causing Richard to chuckle.

"I'm not surprised you don't know, after all, you rarely come down from your clouds. She's the mare who runs the flower stall in the market and she's really quite nice."

"Heh, well have fun I guess." Rainbow gave a wave as she turned to go on her own way.

"I'll try." sighed Richard. "Hey, Rainbow?"

"Yes?" asked Rainbow, looking back over her shoulder at Richard.

"Maybe if I manage to finish early I could watch you practice this evening?"

"Heh, yeah, that sounds nice." said Rainbow as she flew off. Probably to find some cloud to nap on, Richard presumed.

"See you later then." Richard waved to Rainbow as she flew off.

Keep them keen

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"So darling, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Rarity as soon as they were out of earshot of the nearest ponies.

"It's nothing really... In fact, I'm sure you're going to tell me I'm over reacting. I don't even know why I'm bothering you with it..."

"Twilight, would you stop babbling and please just tell me what's wrong?"

"Well... It's just... You know how Richard didn't seem to be responding to the potion? Do you think there's a chance he wasn't joking last night? That he could deal with the heat as easily as he said? That I could lose?"

"Hmm," Rarity hummed thoughtfully as they passed the first few buildings. "Well, I suppose it's possible. But I do think you're rather fussing over nothing. I mean, when we're in heat, it doesn't come on thick and fast does it? It normally builds up over the week. I'm guessing that's how it will work for him."

"But what if it doesn't?" asked Twilight, an edge of panic. "What if he deals with it easily? I can't afford to lose. After what we've put him through, I wouldn't be surprised if he puts me through Tarturus."

"Well, 'if' that is the case, which I highly doubt, you'll just need to ignite the spark to turn his heat into an inferno."

"And how do you suppose I do that Rarity?"

"Why, you use you feminine wiles of course."

"My what?" Twilight spluttered as her cheeks blushed crimson. "You know as well as I do, Rarity, that I have absolutely no experience in that field whatsoever."

"Well then, it's good you have a friend who can teach you these things, isn't it?" Rarity punctuated her remark with a small sway of the hips and a precisely calibrated flick of the tale which immediately caught the eye of the nearest stallion, who was immediately berated by the mare accompanying him. "See?"

"But I only have a week. How do you expect me to learn enough in the week? I suck with this sort of stuff, it's why I could never ask Flash Sentry out."

"Well, it's not as if you'd be flirting with Richard for real, darling. Besides, I'm sure what you'd lack in experience you'd make up in attraction."

"What in Equestria do you mean by that, Rarity?"

"I mean, all joking by Rainbow aside, Richard does seem to have taken rather a liking to you."

"Well duh, we're friends." said Twilight causing Rarity to roll her eyes.

"No, Twilight, I mean he has taking a 'liking' to you." Rarity repeated, hoping her emphasis wasn't lost on her companion.

"Oh..." Twilight's cheeks turning an even darker shade of red as she understood. "But... Why..?"

"Why not?" asked Rarity with a smile. "You're a very attractive and well read mare. You're kind, loving, and lets not forget the fact you're a Princess. I'm actually surprised there aren't droves of ponies outside your palace day and night trying to be your suitor." Twilight's blush extended from her cheeks to consume her whole head as she dealt with the barrage of compliments.

"I'm really not..."

"Nonsense, darling, you really are quite a catch."

"But I'm not even the same species as him."

"Doesn't stop little Spikey Wikey now, does it?"

"That's different, Spike is..."

"Spike is what exactly? Young? A dragon? A perfect example of a gentledrake? None of which explain why it's okay for him to like me and not okay for Richard to like you."

"Spike's from our world, Richard isn't. And I didn't say it's wrong for Richard to like me, I'm just saying Spike has more reason to like a pony since he's been raised among them."

"They had pony's back in his world didn't they?"

"Well, yes. But the ponies on his world are nothing more than animals, hardly a fair comparison. In fact, it's just another reason why it makes no sense for him to like me."

Rarity let out a sorrowful sigh.

"I'm sorry Twilight, as much as I'd love to spend time convincing you of your attractive qualities, I've got a lot of work to do and you need to catch up on some sleep." Twilight nodded sleepily in agreement. "Still, I suppose if I hurry my work up and miss my mid morning tea I can be ready to meet you for a late lunch, say around three?"

"That sounds lovely, Rarity, thanks."

"Just glad I can be of help, darling," Rarity said with a smile. "Now you trot along and get yourself some sleep. I'll meet you at the small café in town and we can discuss how to handle the situation from there."

Twilight gave Rarity another tired nod before heading back up the path towards the palace, leaving Rarity alone on what remained of the short walk to Carousel Boutique.

'Now, how to push Richard's buttons?' Rarity asked herself. 'He's always so... shy, I suppose that's the best word for it, around Twilight. I mean, it's clear to anyone apart from Twilight he's smitten with her, but if I could work out the exact reason, everything will be so much easier.'

Finally reaching her destination, Rarity opened the door to her home, chewing on her cheek as she mulled over the problem.

"Sweetie Belle, darling, I'm home!"

Twilight approached the café nervously, her stomach a knot of discomfort filled butterflies as she considered what she was about to learn. How to flirt. Something she'd never really ever paid much interest too. Sure, she'd been interested in a couple of stallions in her life, but she'd never had the confidence to try and 'attract' their attention. And now here she was, about to learn how to do it for a bet.

Spotting Rarity waving at her from a table, she swallowed. This was it, she was going to learn how to manipulate the members of the opposite sex. Passing quickly past the greeter at the entrance to the café, she made her way over to Rarity's table and took her seat opposite her friend.

"Good afternoon, Rarity, I hope you got your dresses done okay."

"Indeed I did, Twilight, and might I say you look a lot better than you did this morning. It seems you slept well." Twilight nodded her agreement.

"Yes I did. Now, about Richard..."

Rarity silenced Twilight with a raised hoof.

"Please can that wait until after we eat? After a morning of running around my workshop I'm absolutely famished."

"That sounds nice, I haven't actually eaten myself yet today." Twilight said with a smile as she picked up a menu from the table and opened it up, quickly gazing down the list of foods on offer.

As they both looked over their menus, neither one noticed as a waiter approached their table.

"Ahem," the waiter coughed, announcing his presence. Placing down her menu to take the waiter in, Twilight was immediately struck by his smile, it was blinding white and stretched to the point where it moved beyond genuine into cheesy.

"Good afternoon ladies, I'm Silver Platter and I shall be waiting on you today. Are you ready to order or do you need some more time?"

Doing her best to stifle a chuckle, Twilight glanced at Rarity to see if she was ready to order and was surprised to find her friend staring at the waiter, Rarity's jaw hanging slightly open as she did her best to respond.

"Um..." said Twilight trying to come to her friends rescue. "I think we need a few more minutes, thank you."

"Very well, If you need me, you need only call and I'll be here right away."

The moment he left, Twilight turned to her friend once more to find her gasping.

"Wow..." whispered Rarity as she began giggling like a school filly.

"Wow?" asked Twilight confused. "What in Equestria do you mean?"

"Did you not see him, Twilight? He's absolutely, positively handsome."

"You really think so? He just looked so cheesy to me."

"Well, darling, every mare has different tastes I suppose. But that suit... And those muscles... What I wouldn't give to design for a stallion like him."

"Rarity..." Twilight sighed. "I thought you said we were going to eat before we got to flirting."

Rarity's cheeks blushed for a second before getting herself under control again.

"Well, yes of course, darling. But a lady can appreciate the view while she eats."

"You haven't even ordered yet..."

"All in due time, Twilight, you should never rush a lady."

"Fine." said Twilight picking up her menu once more. "Do you have any idea what you'd like to order?"

"Hmm, I feel in the mood for a bit of foreign cuisine today, I think. Perhaps the kebabs..."

Twilight scanned the menu and quickly found the kebabs. Skewered pieces of fruits and vegetables cooked over an open flame and glazed with sweet and sour sauce. Her mouth already salivating at the thought.

"Hmm, they sound lovely Rarity, I think I might order some as well."

"Very well, shall we order then?"

"Sure."

Rarity raised her hoof and let out a rather dainty cough, immediately drawing the attention of their waiter who hastily made his way over to their table.

"So, what can I get you two?" he asked, once more flashing his eye wateringly blinding grin.

"I'll have the kebabs, please." said Rarity.

"Certainly, and to drink?"

"I'll have some mineral water."

"And for you miss," he said turning to Twilight. "What would you like to eat?"

"I'll also have some kebabs as well please."

"And to drink?"

"I'll have a strawberry milkshake please."

"Certainly. Is that everything?" Both mares nodded in response. "Very well, I'll just go and get your drinks now and bring your food over when it's cooked." With a quick bow he turned and left them to their own devices.

"Well, that certainly was wonderful wasn't it?" Rarity said rhetorically as she lowered her last empty skewer to the plate, her meal now devoured.

"Yes." agreed Twilight. "That wasn't half bad."

Pushing their empty plate forwards, both of which were taken almost immediately by Silver.

'Say what you want about his behavior,' thought Twilight. 'But the level of service he provides is stellar.'

"So..." said Rarity

"So..." parroted Twilight.

"I believe I was going to teach you how to get Richard all hot and bothered." Rarity's openness of the subject causing Twilight to go red.

"Y-yes." Twilight stuttered. "I-I believe w-we w-were."

"Now, I spent all morning thinking about this while working and I think the main problem we're faced with is your lack of confidence. It's clear from our small chat this morning that you don't think there's a reason for him to be attracted to you, which is clearly preposterous as I said. You really are an attractive mare."

Rarity flashed Twilight a comforting smile as she started turning beet red

"This really is an easy problem to solve. Though, for your sake, I'm going to take it slowly. After all, he's already attracted to you so there's no need to grab his attention. Instead your aim should be to get him thinking you might be interested back."

"How do I do that?"

"It all depends on your experience level. Mares with more experience might be able to signal with a sway of a hips or a twitch of a tail or a flutter of the eyelashes. But for you, I think we will start off with a gentle touch."

"A gentle touch?"

"You know what I mean Twilight. Gently touching his arm in conversation, letting a hug linger a little longer than normal, that sort of thing."

"Oh... Okay, I think I can do that."

"Well, go on then." purred Rarity

"What now?"

"No time like the present."

"But I don't even know where he is." said Twilight.

"Hmm, that is a little bit of a problem. Maybe one of our friends has seen him." Rarity glanced at the town around them before eventually spotting a dash of rainbow hanging over the edge of a nearby cloud.

"Hey Rainbow Dash, is that you?!" Rarity called.

"Huh, Rarity?!" Rainbow Dash called back as she poked her head over the clouds edge. Noticing her friends sat at the table below, she took flight and within seconds landed on the ground next to their table, much to the distress of several other customers. "What's up?"

"Aren't you supposed to be practicing your stunts?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah, well, it's a bit dull with no one to watch, so decided to laze around until later. Richard said he would watch me when he's done. So what did you two want? I was about to nap you know."

"Actually, it's about Richard." said Rarity. "You wouldn't happen to know where he is?"

"He said he was spending the day building a fence for some mare called Roseluck. My guess is he's still there."

"Thanks Rainbow, you can get back to your napping now if you want." said Rarity.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Seeya later." Rainbow took to the air, eager to get some sleep.

"Oh, this is perfect." Rarity squeed, clapping her hooves excitedly together the moment Rainbow Dash reached her cloud.

"How?"

"Because, now not only do we know where he is, but we also have a reason for you to visit him."

"What do you mean?"

"Use your head Twilight, he's been building a fence all day, standing in the sun, he's going to be boiling."

"So..?" asked Twilight confused.

"So, you're going to go and take him something to drink. It gives you a excuse to visit him, and you can practice your 'gentle touch' as you pass him the glass."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am, Twilight. Oh waiter?" Rarity stuck her hoof in the air drawing the attention of their waiter once more.

"Yes miss?"

"Could we have a pitcher of your finest lemonade please?"

"Of course, miss, coming right up."

"Rarity, I'm really not sure about this." Twilight said as the waiter walked off.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, Rarity. It just feels... weird."

"Oh, Twilight, that's natural. It only feels weird because you don't have much experience. Trust me, after this week, you'll not only win the bet, but feel a lot better about flirting."

Twilight gulped, her stomach becoming a nervous pit of butterflies.

"I guess you might be right." Twilight rubbed a hoof nervously across her shoulder

"Oh, don't worry darling. Of course I am." Rarity fixed Twilight with her most comforting smile as the waiter arrived with the pitcher of lemonade which she pushed towards Twilight. "Now, go get him tiger."

"There you go, Miss, that should be the last of it." Richard smiled at the cream coloured mare standing before him as he wiped the sweat from his brow with the shirt held loosely in his hand.

"Hmm." Roseluck hummed as she inspected the newly erected fence, testing it carefully with a hoof. After a couple of tests, she seemed satisfied and pulled her hoof away from the wood with a smile. "You did a good job. A really good job." She positively beamed at him. "You know, when you told me you could get it done in a day, I didn't believe you, not for a second. But the discount you offered if you didn't, well that made it a hard bargain."

"I aim to please, miss." Richard said as he stretched out his various limbs.

"It shows, and please, just call me Roseluck. Makes me feel old with you calling me miss all the time."

"Fair enough then, Roseluck. Now, about my payment..."

"Oh, but of course, silly me. Wait here, I'll just go and get it." Roseluck turned and trotted towards the open backdoor to her home, muttering quietly under her breath. "Now, where did I put my purse?"

Richard watched, almost too attentively, as Roseluck walked into the darkness of her home. Because of this, he was surprised by the gentle tapping of a hoof on his shoulder.

"Hi Richard."

Twilight's familiar voice from behind caused him to turn and see the violet unicorn just standing there, a large smile pasted across her face and a jug of yellow liquid held in her magical grip.

"Um. Hi Twilight, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, a little birdy told me you were out in the sun building a fence and I thought you might be a little hot and bothered so I decided to bring you something to drink."

Richard couldn't help but notice as Twilight pawed at the ground with a hoof as a slight blush appeared on her face.

"Twilight, are you feeling okay?"

"Of course, never felt better. So, how about some lemonade?"

Fixing her with a gaze, Twilight refused to meet his eyes, making it hard for him to believe her. Despite this, he had to admit he was rather hot and bothered and something to drink would definitely hit the spot.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind a glass. It isn't more potion though is it?"

"Nope," Twilight answered with a smile. "It's lemonade."

"Cool, hit me then."

Twilight's horn flared for a split second and Richard watched as a glass appeared next to the jug. Carefully, she filled the glass with lemonade, the glass quickly frosting from the cold liquid. The glass now full, Richard fully expected her to just levitate it into his hands like she usually would, however what happened next shocked him.

Instead of just passing the glass to Richard, Twilight reached up with one hoof and plucked the glass out of her field. Then she reared up on her rear legs, placed her other hoof against Richard's chest for support and personally placed the glass into his open hand.

"Twilight..?" Richard gasped, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just handing you some lemonade," she said innocently. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you have a hoof on my chest."

Twilight bit her lip and avoided looking straight at him as her blush deepened.

"Do you not like it?"

It was Richard's turn to blush as he contemplated Twilight's question. Her hoof was warm, soft and gentle, certainly not an unpleasant experience. Yet, at the same time, there was something else. Like a stirring deep inside that emanated from the spot where her hoof contacted his skin. It was strange feeling, both warm and comforting but at the same time left him feeling vulnerable and scared.

Opening his mouth, Richard was saved the embarrassment of answering by the sound of gangling coins as Roseluck returned.

"I'm back, sorry for keeping you busy."

Richard turned to find Roseluck staring at them opened mouthed. For a moment he was terrified she'd seen the awkward moment, but a quick glance down showed Twilight's hoof thankfully absent.

"P-princess," stuttered Roseluck as she bowed. "I w-wasn't expecting you."

"Please, just call me Twilight. And I'm sorry for intruding, Roseluck, I just wanted to bring my friend here a glass of lemonade. Would you like some?" Twilight offered Roseluck as she summoned a second glass, filled it and held it in front of the mare.

"T-thanks." Roseluck nervously plucked the glass from the air before taking a quick sip. "And it's okay, you're always welcome."

"Most kind," Twilight nodded to the mare."Have a good evening Richard, and you too Roseluck."

"You're leaving?" Richard asked, more than a note of disappointment in his voice.

"Yes, sorry. I need to meet up and discuss something with Rarity. I might see you later though."

Before he could respond, there was a flash of light and Twilight was gone, temporarily blinding both Richard and Roseluck. Slowly their eyesight returned, both of them staring at each other over their glasses of lemonade.

"Well, that was certainly strange," said Roseluck, taking another sip of her drink.

"That's one way of putting it," agreed Richard, taking another sip himself. "Mmmm. Nice lemonade though." Roseluck nodded in agreement.

The other view

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Applejack wiped her brow with her hoof, coming away with copious amounts of sweat.

"Oh boy, sure is hot today Mac, almost as if summer's come early or something." She smiled at her brother as he passed, his body straining under a heavy load as he hauled a large cart of farming equipment towards the barn.

"Eyuup," Bic Macintosh agreed as he ground to a halt, resting for a moment in front of his sister, also taking the chance to wipe his own brow.

"Say, aint that Miss Fluttershy over there." He pointed with his hoof towards the horizon.

Applejack followed his gaze and sure enough, in the haze of shimmering heat, she could see the winged form of Fluttershy hovering gently towards them.

"Say, what do you suppose she wants?" Applejack mused out loud.

"Why don't you ask her?" asked Big Mac.

"It was one of those fancy type of questions I didn't expect an answer to, Mac." Sighed Applejack. "Anyway, you sure you can handle all that on your own."

"Eyuup," Big Mac nodded. "T'aint nothing."

"Thanks, Big Mac, owe you one."

"Are you alright, Sugarcube?" asked Applejack as she reached Fluttershy, the pegasus sweating profusely.

"No." Fluttershy shook her head, panting. "I need to talk to you about something?"

"Well, what's the matter, Fluttershy? Is this about last night?" Applejack asked, gently nuzzling her.

"No." Squeaked Fluttershy a little bit too quickly, pulling away from Applejack. "Well, yes, but it's not about us. It's about this whole situation with the bet."

"What d'ya mean?" Applejack asked, confused

"I mean it's not fair to him, Applejack, Richard's already suffered enough." A single tear began to fall down Fluttershy's cheek as her eyes began to fill with water.

"Suffered? In what way has he suffered? And if you remember, the bet was made because of what he said about you." Applejack reached out with a hoof, carefully wiping away the tear.

"And how do you think that makes me feel?" asked Fluttershy with a sob. "So what if he was making some comments, he was right after all. You girls have never missed a poker night since he started coming. And as for his suffering? He's trapped on an alien world with no way back to his family."

"The only reason we haven't missed a poker game was because it was winter, none of us have had a fierce heat yet, but I guarantee you we will soon. And the Princesses are trying to find a way to send him home, I doubt he'll be stuck here forever." Applejack said quietly, gently stroking Fluttershy's mane in an attempt to sooth her.

"But they've been at it for a couple of months, Applejack. If they were going to find a way to send him back, they would have found it by now. Besides, Twilight told me that as more time passes, the magical trail left by his arrival gets fainter. Soon, even if they find a way to send him back, they won't be able to locate his home. If it's not too late already."

"You shouldn't give up hope, Fluttershy, the Princesses have never let us down before." Applejack whispered in her ear. "And about this bet thing, I can understand why you don't like it, but why has it got you so worked up?"

"You've seen how he looks at Twilight sometimes, right?" Applejack nodded a response causing Fluttershy to sniff. "Well, what chance has he got of winning the bet? He'll lose and then... and then he'll be turned into a pony." Fluttershy burst out into tears.

The sight of Fluttershy crying was too much for Applejack who instantly wrapped her in a hug and began to kiss Fluttershy's tear stained face repeatedly. After several minutes of this, Fluttershy eventually calmed down.

"I'm sorry," said Fluttershy shyly.

"It's okay, Fluttershy." Applejack smiled gently at her as she cradled Fluttershy in her hooves. "But why did you start crying?"

"Because the thought of him losing who he is, even for just a week, after all he's been through. It's too much, Applejack." Fluttershy let out another whimper, quickly burying herself into Applejack's shoulder.

"That's okay, Fluttershy, we'll just have to make sure he doesn't lose."

"But what about Twilight, if he wins, he can make her do whatever he wants."

"Richard's a reasonable sort, I'm sure we can convince him to not do anything unreasonable." Applejack leaned down and gently kissed Fluttershy, causing her to squeak and turn a bright shade of pink to match her hair. "Are you up for that?"

"Okay." Fluttershy mumbled through her occupied lips.

"Alrighty then, I'll work on a plan tonight and we can meet tomorrow to discuss it, okay?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"Cool, well you better get going before Big Mac sees either of us, I'm sure he'll need some help locking up the barn." Applejack reluctantly let go of Fluttershy who quickly rose to her hooves and turned to head off home. "And Flutters? Be sure to get some sleep."

The Bet

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"So, how'd you like them moves?" Rainbow smirked as she glided calmly to a stop in front of Richard, a cocky smile plastered across her face.

"Wow..." Richard whispered under his breath, his mouth hanging slightly open. "That was definitely something."

"I thought you'd like them, though I couldn't be completely sure. I've never shown these moves to anyone before, you see." Rainbow planed herself on the grass next to Richard.

"So I'm..?" Richard started.

"Special?" Rainbow finished with a chuckle. "Nah, you're just the least busy."

"Oh wow, real mature Rainbow." Richard poked Rainbow in the side, earning him a smack around a head with one of her wings causing both of them to burst out into laughter.

After a couple of minutes, the laughter died down giving way to awkward silence.

"So..." said Rainbow breaking the silence. "How's the heat affecting you, or has it not kicked in yet?"

"It's okay. I mean it's definitely started, but it's just a small internal tingling at the moment."

Rainbow gave Richard a smile, draping a wing over him.

"I just want you to know, whatever happens, I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks." Richard leaned in Rainbow, resting his head on her shoulder.

"But not for the heat, before you get any funny ideas." Rainbow stuck her tongue out at Richard, which he returned in kind.

"Don't worry, I doubt the three of us would fit in one bed."

"Three of us?" asked Rainbow confused.

"Yeah. You, me and your ego."

"Very funny wise guy. But I'll have you know my ego is a very good lover. You'd be lucky to spend a night with it." Rainbow whispered, her wing gently stroking up and down Richard's side causing him to shiver.

"Rainbow..?" Richard whispered in strangled tones.

"Don't worry, just teasing." She said with a laugh, before pushing him over.

"Hey."

Rainbow stopped momentarily as she heard the call, turning her head to see a rather enthusiastic young mare running her way.

"Hey?" she called back, somewhat confused. The mare didn't reply, instead running up and stopping next to Rainbow, taking several deep breaths.

"Hey?" asked Rainbow once more as the mare recovered.

"Hey," the mare replied sheepishly. "You're friends with the Princess and Miss Rarity, right?"

"Yeah I am, what about it?" asked Rainbow defensively.

"Well, I was having lunch next to them in a cafe this afternoon and couldn't help but overhearing something about a bet." Said the mare nervously

"Yeah?" asked Rainbow. "What's that got to do with me?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could get me in on the action."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, can I place a bet as well?" asked the mare. "I've got plenty of bits, and I don't even need to know the full bet, just who it's between."

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're cool," said the mare. "Everypony in town knows it. And I know plenty of ponies who'd also want to get in on the action. It could make you a very rich mare."

"I don't know if I should." Rainbow sighed. "I mean, I couldn't afford to pay you if you won, and I wouldn't want to betray their trust like that."

"You wouldn't have to betray anypony, like I said you wouldn't have to give the details of the bet, just the participants. And about the payment, I know plenty of ponies who would be willing to place bets. Just make the odds 2:1 or something, maybe only 1.5:1 and make sure even bets are placed and you'd come out even or on top." The pony looked at her eagerly. "Please?"

Rainbow looked down at the ground, pawing it nervously with a hoof. She had to admit having a secret bet going on could be fun, and it would be nice to shore up her savings in time for cider season.

"Alright," she said eventually. "But on two conditions. First, you don't tell Rarity, Twilight or any of my other friends about it. You got that?" The mare nodded in response. "And second, all bets are final. I don't want ponies crying to me when they lose. Alright?" The mare nodded once more. "Good."

"Thanks, Miss. Should I place the bet now?"

"Nah, it's late and I need sleep. Tell you what, gather everypony you know who'd be interested and have them meet under my house tomorrow afternoon. You know where I live right?"

"Yeah, the fancy cloud house at the edge of town."

"Cool, well, meet you tomorrow then. Just, make sure you don't draw too much attention. I'd like to keep this as secret as possible."

"Alright, miss, I'll see you tomorrow."

Heating Up

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Hot and sweaty, moisture pouring from his pores, Richard squirmed under the covers as he lay in bed. He had already cracked open the window as wide as he could, and judging by the fluttering of the curtains there was quite a breeze blowing, yet still he felt like he was in a sauna.

"Fuck this," groaned Richard as he peeled his covers from body, sighing in relief the moment the he felt the breeze caress his bare areas of skin.

"That's much better," he whispered to no one in particular

Feeling cooler, and far more comfortable, Richard lay his head back against the pillow (after quickly turning it over). However, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't fall asleep. As he lay there willing his mind blank, he found himself wondering over the events of the day, quickly coming to rest on Twilight's strange behaviour. What was particularly strange however was the fact his skin began to tingle, but only in the places where Twilight had touched him.

"Hmm, " he thought to himself. "That's rather weird." While the tingling was strange, it was hardly unpleasant. In fact, the only reason it concerned him at all was because he'd never felt anything like it before.

For a moment he considered asking his friends about it, but quickly pushed the idea out of his mind. He could already imagine their answers, and most of them would leave him feeling childish and embarrassed.

Twilight was an automatic no go zone, ignoring the fact he would be subjected to a lecture if he asked her any question with a slightly complex answer, he was getting these feelings because of her. It was hardly fair to subject her to that sort of questioning.

Rarity of course would instantly turn to romance for her answer. "Well, darling, to me it sounds like you're rather fond of Twilight. In fact, I'd even dare to say you 'like' her, if you know what I mean." Of course, such a thought was ludicrous.

Rainbow would probably a little more practical. "Sounds like you just worked too hard, maybe got a little heat stroke and your mind is playing tricks on you." A better reply, and more probably, but it didn't explain why he kept thinking about Twilight, or her rather purple eyes.

Fluttershy would probably not even provide an answer at all, instead she would probably just ply him with tea and biscuits and ask "Are you, um, okay?" over and over again.

Pinkie Pie would be the weirdest of the bunch. He'd been around her long enough to know about her 'pinkie sense' and she would probably assume he'd developed something similar. "Ooh! You've got a Pinkie sense now? Well, I guess technically it's a Richard sense, but still, this is so cool. You've got to show it to me. Please?"

Applejack would probably be the most sensible pony of the six, at least in his imagination. "Hmm, I'm not exactly sure why you'd be tingling, but there could be multiple reasons. Though, to be honest, it's probably nothing. Just wait a couple of days and it'll probably go away."

Then again, there was the far more obvious reason, a reason he wasn't considering them talking about because he didn't want to consider it. The heat potion.

Richard groaned, of course it was the heat potion.

Though it didn't quite explain why he was thinking about Twilight.

"Sure, she's a good friend," he thought. "But I don't like her like that." Even as the thought filled his head he began to doubt it. Memories flitted through his minds eye. The first time he met Twilight shinning brightest of them all.

He had just woken up in Equestria and was already soaked to the skin, having woken up in one of the worst storms in the Everfree Forests' history. Alone, wet and in the middle of a pitch black forest, he had luckily found himself on a path that he blindly followed for hours until eventually both the rain and forest gave up. What he saw before him, a beautiful picturesque town, probably would have taken his breath away if he hadn't just desperately stumbled towards the nearest light for answers; heat; and food.

That light, he soon found out, rested in the window of Fluttershy's cottage.

Walking half dead, up the path, shivering and dripping water everywhere, he weakly knocked on the door. The tiny sound was barely audible over the wheeze of his labored breathing and worried that his knock had gone unheard he raised his fist to knock once more. However, just before he could knock once more, the door swung open and he saw her standing there like a beautiful angel in the light, shock dancing across her features.

As she stood there in stunned silence, he opened his mouth to try and ask, no, beg, for help. However, he must have slipped or something because he found himself tipping forward, bashing his head in the process. The last thing he remembered as blackness crept on him was the touch of Twilight as she turned him over and cradled him, calling out to the others for help.

A small smile cracked across his face as the memory finished, he had been incredibly lucky that he had stumbled in on the girls poker night. Had Fluttershy just been there on her own, then he might very well have not made it. According to the Doctors when he'd woken up several days later, he'd had a very serious case of pneumonia and had they not gotten him to the hospital as quickly as they did, they might have been too late. And while Fluttershy would have done her best to get him to the hospital or nurse him back to health herself, she didn't have the medical training or the strength to carry out either course of action.

As that memory faded others rushed to replace its place in his head. He remembered the times he and Twilight had spent an afternoon reading together; the times he had helped her with an experiment or two; and he also remembered the one time, on Hearths Warming Eve, when he'd been in Equestria just a month or two, falling asleep in front of the fireplace in the Library next to her, his arms wrapped around her middle. All in all, pleasant memories.

"But does it mean I like her?"

He considered it for a second, and came to the conclusion that it didn't. At least, not necessarily. But yet, the doubt still lingered. Why was he doubting how he felt about Twilight. She was just a friend wasn't she?

"No!" screamed a small voice at the back of his head, terrifying him.

"Where did that come from?" he muttered quietly.

Thankfully the little voice was silent, but he was still disturbed.

"I can't deal with this," he sighed. "I'll deal with it in the morning."

Turning over, he buried his face into his pillow and tried his best to will himself to sleep.

Shytime

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"You sure you're fine to start the chores on your own this morning, Big Mac?" asked Applejack over the breakfast table.

"Eeyup," Big Mac answered with a nod. "Just make sure you're back for the afternoon's work. I ain't against you having your fun, as long as you continue to work anyway."

"I... I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Mac." Applejack wavered under her brothers stern gaze.

"You've never been a good liar Applejack." Said Big Mac matter of factually.

"I... I..." Applejack gulped before sighing and looking down at her breakfast. "Alright, you're right, Big Mac. But, in my defense, it's not just fun."

"Hmm," Big Mac hummed over a slice of toast before swallowing. "So, you really like her?"

"What?" Applejack sprayed Big Mac with half a glass of orange juice. "Of course I like her, she wouldn't be my friend if I didn't."

"You know very well that's not what I meant, Applejack." Applejack shivered as Big Mac's unamused glare reminded her of Pinkie's sister, Maud.

"I... I know, Big Mac, and I'm sorry." Applejack stood up from the table and moved over to the sink, picking up a cloth and tossing it to her brother.

"It's just, I don't really know how I feel about her at the moment. I mean, sure we had fun the other night, but I'm not sure if it was just a roll in the hay or if I really like her. Then, even if I do like her, I don't know if she likes me."

"Well, I'm sure you know your friends better than I do. But Miss Fluttershy doesn't seem like the kind of pony to fool around. I'm sure whatever you to did, she only allowed it because she truly cares for you."

"Hmmm..." Applejack hummed in thought as she retook her seat at the table. "I guess you're right, but I should still probably ask her when I see her."

"Well, be careful when you do. Especially if you realize she ain't more than a friend. There's a lot more at stake than just a 'roll in the hay'." said Big Mac calmly.

"Don't worry, I don't want to lose her or any of my other friends. I promise you, I wont do anything more with her until I work out how I feel. And if I don't love her, I'll let her off as gently as possible." said Applejack before turning to her breakfast, Big Mac simply nodding his approval.

The rest of breakfast passed quietly, and soon Applejack stood up from the table, carrying her plate over to the sink. She began to turn on the water when Mac's hoof stopped her.

"I told you, I can handle the chores this morning. You said you had something important to talk to Miss Fluttershy about and you better not keep the poor mare waiting."

Applejack smiled and wrapped her hooves around her brothers neck. "Thanks again Big Mac."

"You're welcome, sis. Now hurry along and leave me be."

Applejack let go of her brother's neck as he turned his attention to the washing up. Leaving the kitchen, she paused only to pick up her trusty Stetson before leaving the house, the light of a new dawn greeting her over the top of the nearby apple trees. And, after taking a deep breath of crisp; clear; new morning air, she set off into town.

Richard sighed in relief as he heard the cry of the cock through the open window. After roughly eight hours of restless tossing and turning; sweat pouring from his every poor despite the open window and the blankets thrown aside; he was glad to have an excuse to stop trying. Flimsy as that excuse may be.

Slowly, he rose from the bed and groaned as his bed sheets came with him. Plastered by sweat to his skin. Peeling the sheet from his back and balling it up, Richard stood from his bed and threw the sheets in the corner.

'I'll deal with that later.' He thought to himself. 'Right now, I need to have a shower and then I want a coffee.'

Leaving his bedroom behind him, Richard plodded his way to the bathroom, his foot steps echoing through his one floor house. Opening the door and turning on the light, he was greeted to a sea swirl of colour of blue and green tiles.

Shutting the door behind him and locking out of habit (and respect of a certain curious pink pony) he turned the shower on to warm up while he relieved himself of a nights worth of waste. That task quickly taken care of, he was delight to see the room filling with steam and eagerly launched himself under the piping hot stream of water.

As he lathered himself up with soap and began to scrub away at his skin, feeling less filthy and sweat ridden with each stroke, he sighed in gentle pleasure as if the worries of the night before were running down the drain. Unfortunately, this thought brought the worries of the night before to the fore of his mind, causing him to chew his cheek as he mulled them over.

Firstly, he was clearly wrong about how easy it would be to deal with being in heat. Already a lump of guilt for his remarks about Fluttershy was beginning to form in the pit of his stomach. Not much he could do now however, he didn't want to do anything to even risk being seen as admitting defeat. He definitely didn't want to become a mare; even for just a week.

Richard sighed again. Thinking of mares brought a certain violet hue to mind. The same hue that had been haunting what little sleeping time he had managed last night. A colour which just so happened to match his opponent in the bet.

"Why do I keep thinking about Twilight," he said to no pony in particular. "I mean, sure, I like her as a friend. But it's not as if I spend that much time thinking about Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow or any of the others."

Richard shook his head, trying to remove that thought from it, as well as water from his hair, as he picked up the shampoo bottle and squirted some of the lavender scented liquid onto his scalp before rubbing in.

"I don't know what to think anymore. I mean, I don't think I like her more than a friend." Richard let out a growl of frustration as he dipped his head under the stream once more to rinse his hair.

"Eurgh... It's probably just the potion making me think about her so much. I mean it's only natural my mind would jump to her first after all she's done for me. Especially after her crazy display yesterday."

After a few more moments of letting the water cascade over him, he finally felt clean enough to face what the day could throw at him. Though, he had to admit, his schedule was pretty empty. Being a handy man for hire who depended on ponies being willing to hire him often left him with some empty days here and there.

Stepping out of the shower and toweling himself down even as he left the bathroom and headed for the combined kitchen/dining and living room, he mulled over what to do. First things first however, he took the empty kettle from its place on the stove and filled it with water before setting back in it's place and igniting the hob beneath it.

Leaving the water to boil, Richard busied himself with putting some coffee granules in a mug along with a dash of milk and a teaspoon. He also poured himself a bowl of cereal. Silently thanking Celestia that Equestria had cereals fit for human consumption. Though, not the healthiest of the available, sugar coated corn flakes were definitely his favourite.

Sitting at the table with his cereal, he began to eat his breakfast while waiting for the kettle to boil. He didn't have to wait long, and a few spoonfulls of sugar coated tastiness later, a shrill whistling filled the room.

Standing back up and moving over to the stove, he turned the hob off and removed the kettle, taking care to not burn himself as he filled the nearby waiting mug. After returning the kettle to the stove once more; this time to a cold hob; he carried his coffee over to the table, the teaspoon clinking as he stirred it.

Sitting back down, he carried on with his breakfast; finishing his bowl of cereal as he let his brew cool down slightly to avoid scalding his tongue.

Soon after the empty bowl sat washed and drying on the kitchen sideboard. Richard was sat in a battered old arm chair, clutching his mug tightly and sipping the brew steadily as he peered through a curtain at the world outside. The streets outside were still quiet, only a couple of ponies with bulging saddlebags walking towards the center of town could be seen. As he watched them walk out of sight, he thought he could vaguely recognize them as stall owners from his trips to the market.

Looking at the now empty streets, finally starting to perk up as the caffeine began to flow through his system, he let his mind wander once more. The more he thought about the events of the night and day previously, the more he realized that as reluctant as he was last night, he really needed to talk to somepony. And right now he needed some honest opinions. Which meant there was only one pony to visit.

Finishing his drink and quickly rinsing the mug, leaving it on the side to dry. He headed back to the bedroom to get dressed before heading out towards his first destination of the day. Sweet Apple Acres.

The streets of Ponyville were relatively quiet as Applejack headed through the center towards the other side of town. The only other ponies out and about were fellow farmers who happened to be setting their stalls up ready for when the market opened. Applejack waved to the few she knew more closely in passing, receiving a mixture of waves and friendly nods in return.

Applejack loved this time of day. Not only was it cool enough to make the hard work of the farm a lot easier to bear, but being one of the few ponies awake allowed her to run away with her own thoughts. Currently she had two things on her mind.

The first was Fluttershy, she wasn't sure how she felt about her yet, but she was determined to make her mind up as quickly as possible. The second was Richard. While she didn't exactly care about the bet - the human had made his own stupid mistake after all - Fluttershy didn't want him to suffer the indignity of being a mare for a week, and that was enough for her.

She had spent all night trying to work out a plan of action, and while she had had an idea, it didn't quite sit right with her. Betraying family tradition never did. She was had come up with something she was almost certain would work. There was also a plan b, but she felt Fluttershy wouldn't be too happy with that plan.

Not that she was completely against flirting with Richard, but she'd rather not have to resort to that. Upsetting Fluttershy and playing with the human's feelings in one move, even for the greater good, wasn't something she would do lightly. No, she had to hope plan A would be good enough.

Soon she was leaving the market place behind, the houses getting more sparse as she reached the far edge of the town proper, nothing more than the Everfree forest and a small cottage ahead of her.

Applejack shivered.

Free from the protective cover of the houses all around her, she became aware of a gentle but chilling breeze coming from the direction of the forest. And, though it was strange, she could swear she could hear the sweet but unintelligible notes of an faintly familiar song hanging on the wind.

Heading towards the distant cottage, she could swear the singing got louder with each passing minute. Soon it had become loud enough to recognize the words and she instantly knew who it was. Fluttershy was singing as she performed her morning chores.

"There's music in the treetops, and there's music in the vale..." The song sounded like the sweetest apples in her ears, and like a sailor following the sirens call to their doom, she followed the music.

Step by step, letting the music lead the way, Applejack found herself a short distance from Fluttershy's cottage and just before her was the mare herself. She was placing a large bee's hive on a rock in front of a dark and foreboding cave just as she reached a high point in her song. Standing there awestruck at the beautiful sigh, she gasped in excitement as Fluttershy launched herself into the air, the sun framing her.

Unfortunately the gasp didn't go unheard and Fluttershy's song turned into a strangled scream as she dove back to the ground as she realized she was being watched. For a few seconds, Fluttershy lay on the ground shivering and hiding behind her mane before Applejack had the good sense to go up and embrace her terrified friend.

"It's only me, Fluttershy." Said Applejack as Fluttershy flinched at the touch of her hoof. "I'm sorry for scaring you sugarcube."

"Oh, Applejack." Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief as she appeared from behind her mane. "It's okay, I was just worried for a second that somepony was spying on me."

Applejack let out a nervous cough. "Well, I kinda was to be honest. I'm sorry, but your voice... It's so beautiful." Applejack couldn't help notice the small blush that appeared on Fluttershy's face, nor the heat she felt rising in her own face.

"You're too kind, Applejack." Fluttershy let out a sigh as she pulled Applejack into a deep hug. "But thank you."

Applejack opened her mouth to respond but couldn't think of anything to say. Her heart had suddenly started beating a samba in her chest at the closeness, especially after the beautiful singing. Unfortunately Fluttershy seemed to misinterpret her silence and quickly let go, backing away quickly.

"I'm sorry Applejack, I didn't mean to upset you." Fluttershy hung her head and pawed nervously at the ground with her hoof.

The scene of her friend upset too much to bear, Applejack found herself quickly closing the distance and bringing Fluttershy into a deep hug of her own, the pegasus letting a out cute squeak in response.

"You didn't upset me 'shy." Whispered Applejack in her ear, easing Fluttershy's concern. "It's just, when you hugged me I felt all weird and I didn't know how to respond."

"You didn't know how to respond?" Fluttershy asked, a tinge of sadness to her voice.

"No," replied Applejack as an idea popped into her head. "But now I do." Slowly, Applejack nuzzled up the side of Fluttershy's muzzle, feeling the pegasus' hot breath tickle her ear with each exhale. Silently, Fluttershy stood perfectly still until they stood nose to nose with Applejack's forehooves wrapped tightly around her neck. For a second they stood like that, staring deeply into each others eyes as their breathing became ragged and desperate.

Then, with a little twist of Applejack's hooves, their lips met in a slow; passionate kiss; both mares closing their eyes as they melted into the moment. All at once, the doubts and fears plaguing Applejack were washed away. Eventually, desperate for air, Applejack reluctantly broke the kiss; taking in deep breaths as Fluttershy let out a moan of frustration.

Opening her eyes, Applejack felt a shiver run down her spine as she took in Fluttershy's hungry, desperate longing gaze. "I hope that was okay?" she whispered as she rested her forehead against Fluttershy's.

"That was wonderful, AJ." Said Fluttershy. "But is there any chance we could continue? Please? If it's okay with you, I mean?"

Something about the way she asked caused a yearning to rise within Appleajck. Perhaps it was the softness of her voice? Or maybe it was the look of sheer desperation? But Applejack wanted nothing more than to lay Fluttershy flat on the ground fulfill her request. Oh how she wanted to run her hooves over that yellow coat and caress those pretty pink butterflies, but even as thoughts of the other night filled her mind she had to remember who this was.

This is Fluttershy. Precious, beautiful, fragile Fluttershy. And she couldn't bare to think how she would live with herself if she did something to hurt this delicate little flower in her grasp by moving too fast.

"I'm more than willin' to continue, Fluttershy, and to do lots more. But are you absolutely sure you're okay with this? I don't want to do anything to hurt you by moving too fast."

"Oh Applejack..." Fluttershy's eyes began to glisten as they filled with moisture. "I've never been so certain about anything in my life. Ever since the other night, I can think of nothing but holding you in my hooves and making love to you again. I don't think I've ever felt as good during my heat as you made me feel that night." Fluttershy gulped as Applejack brushed a loose strand of mane away from her eyes.

"I know you may not want the same thing in the long term as I do. That's okay, you're a wonderful mare and I doubt I'd deserve you anyway. But please, make love to me, Applejack?"

An awkward silence filled the clearing as a cold gust of wind caused both mares to shiver. For a horrifyingly long moment Fluttershy was worried she'd scared Applejack off, but then the Earth Pony leaned forwards and once more their lips were locked. Unlike before, this kiss was fast and fierce, but no less intense as Applejack pushed relentlessly forward, forcing Fluttershy backwards and over onto the ground.

Breaking from the kiss, Applejack continued her ravishment of Fluttershy's body as she nipped repeatedly down her jaw line. As she reached Fluttershy's neck, she bit gently down on the area of flesh above the jugular, causing Fluttershy to shudder and cry out in ecstasy.

"Oh, Applejack... Please, more?" Fluttershy whimpered. Struggling to find her voice through the pleasure she felt coursing through her veins.

More than willing to oblige, Applejack moved on, nipping and kissing down Fluttershy's collar bone as she removed one of her hooves from her lovers neck trailing it down Fluttershy's chest towards a more intimate area. Deciding to take her time and stretch the moment out, she settled her hoof into a gentle circular caress of Fluttershy's stomach as her other hoof also left its spot on Fluttershy's neck to rub across the edge of one of her wings causing it to snap open in excitement.

Fluttershy was in heaven, the bites and caresses from Applejack driving her to height of passion she'd never felt before, her need building to an inferno she longed to have quenched by the mare in who's hooves she writhed and shrieked. Looking downwards, she stared longingly at the hoof drawing a circle in the fur of her stomach. So close to her aching pussy and yet still so far. She wanted to yell or beg, anything to get it to move to her quivering sex but her words failed her as Applejack bit down on her extended wing.

The cry of pleasure shook the nearby forest, startled birds taking flight as the sound of her lover caused Applejacks own pussy to leak excitedly. Realizing she'd been teasing Fluttershy long enough, she let her hoof trail lower, eventually reaching the raging heat and dampness of her slit. Gently, she caressed Fluttershy's quivering flesh, catching her cry before it formed, launching herself forward to smother her lips in a kiss.

Applejack gazed deeply into her lovers eyes as Fluttershy broke the kiss to cry out in pleasure once more as Applejack's hoof brushed against the small nub of her clit.

"Sweet Celestia, you're drivin' me wild with your squealing, Shy." Said Applejack, turning her full attention to Fluttershy's wanting sex. "But if you think you've been feelin' pleasure so far, you've got another thin' comin', sugarcube."

Applejack removed her hoof from Fluttershy's pussy, causing the pegasus to whine. However, the whine quickly turned into a coo of pleasure as Applejack's hot breath washed over it as she moved her muzzle mere inches away from it.

"I hope you're ready for this." Teased Applejack with a wink before giving the slit a tentative lick causing Fluttershy to let out another cute squeak. A second lick quickly followed the first and then a third and soon Applejack was happily lapping at Fluttershy's dripping sex, greedily devouring her nectar.

Craving more, Applejack placed her forehooves either side of Fluttershy's pussy, gently teasing the slit open to expose the beautiful pink flesh inside. "Oh Fluttershy," Applejack crooned. "You look so beautiful in the morning night."

Fluttershy could only whimper in response, the pleasure reducing her to a gibbering mess. Applejack inhaled deeply, shivering as the smell of Fluttershy consumed her. Slowly, and unafraid of the mess, she inched forwards and buried her muzzle into Fluttershy sticking her tongue as deeply as she could to taste as much of her lover as possible.

Crack

Applejack froze at the sound, the warm wetness of Fluttershy's folds torn away from her grasp as Fluttershy jumped in fright.

"Richard..." Fluttershy whimpered.

Looking up at Fluttershy, Applejack found her staring wide eyed in fright at the nearby hill. Following her gaze, Applejack turned in time to see a dash of brown hair disappearing quickly out of sight.

"Oh horseapples!" Applejack swore. "You don't suppose he saw us, do you?"

The morning talk

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"What did I just see?" Richard asked himself rhetorically as he ran as fast as he could towards home. "Since when have Applejack and Fluttershy been an item? Perhaps I should ask Twilight later?"

"Oh no, you can't do that." Richard almost jumped out of his skin, turning to find Fluttershy floating gracefully next to him, easily keeping pace. "I mean, please don't tell anyone."

"Look, Fluttershy, I'm really sorry for running in on you and Applejack back there, but I really have somewhere to be, so if you don't mind..." Richard spotted a nearby alley way, one narrow enough that Fluttershy wouldn't be able to follow him in the air but after just a couple of steps he felt his feet being yanked from underneath him and he fell to the ground heavily.

"Oh no you don't, you varmin."

Richard barely had time to register the loop of rope caught around his legs before Applejack was looming over him, her frame casting him in shadow.

"Now, I'm going to untie your legs and help you up, but no running away now, you hear?" Richard just nodded in response. "Good."

"Oh, Richard, are you alright?" Asked Fluttershy as she stepped up next to Applejack and gave him the once over. "That looked like a nasty fall."

"He's fine, Fluttershy." Replied Applejack before Richard even had chance to open his mouth. "He can hardly have been hurt just falling over in the middle of the street."

"You yanked his feet from under him. He could have hit his head, or broken a bone. You really need to be more careful." Said Fluttershy.

"I had to do it, Fluttershy, I didn't want him to get away."

"Get away?! We all know you could outrun him in your sleep. You just wanted to hurt him because he interrupted us." Fluttershy harrumphed.

"No I didn't. And how could you suggest such a thing. I may have wanted to scare him, but that's all."

"Scare him? What on Equestria for?" asked Fluttershy. "If anything, it's me that should be frustrated, all that build up and no release."

"Alright fine, would it make you happy if I apologized to him?"

"That would be a good start."

"Fine," said Applejack, turning to Richard, who'd been standing there looking at them dumbstruck. "Look, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to hurt you, but please don't tell our friends about this."

"Wait, you're saying they don't know about you two?" asked Richard.

Applejack and Fluttershy looked sheepishly at each other, Richard noticing a tinge of crimson on each of their cheeks.

"No, they don't," said Applejack.

"At least not yet," said Fluttershy. "We're still not sure what we are yet, and we don't want to cause any issues until we know for certain what this is. So please don't tell anyone."

Richard just stood their amazed as they both stared at him expectantly, a slight tinge of worry creeping on the Applejack's features as he stood silently.

"Alright," said Richard, taking a deep breath. "I wont, but I'd advise you next time to not have sex outdoors if you want to keep it a secret."

"It's pretty much just after dawn," said Applejack.

"And no one normally goes that close to the forest either," added Fluttershy.

"Actually, thinking about it, I've never seen you up this early before," mused Applejack. "What in Equestria are you doing up this early? And what were you doing out by the Everfree forest."

"Actually," said Richard. "I was coming to find you Applejack, I went to the farm but he told me you'd be over at Fluttershy's."

"And how did you find us near the forest?" asked Fluttershy

"Oh, that? Angel pointed me in the right direction. Anyway, I can see you two have plans so I guess I'll head on home..." Richard had barely took a step before a Fluttershy blocked his path with one of her wings.

"Our plans can wait, Richard," said Fluttershy kindly. "Whatever you wanted to talk to Applejack about must be important if you got up at this time of the morning."

"Fluttershy's right," said Applejack fixing him with a stern glare. "Besides, you look like you've been ridden hard and put away wet. Whatever you need, I'm sure we can help. Nothing to do with that silly bet of yours perhaps?"

RIchard sighed, "Not exactly, no. Well, I mean, it might be but the whole thing is just so confusing."

"Hmm," Fluttershy hummed happily. "How about we go back to mine and talk about this over some tea. I don't really think an alleyway is the best place to have a comfortable discussion."

"That sounds mighty nice, Sugarcube." Applejack nuzzled Fluttershy who draped a wing over her in return.

"Sure, I'm actually quite thirsty. Though I would advise you not to look too obvious if you want to keep it a secret."

"Right, so what exactly is the problem, Richard?" asked Fluttershy as she placed a tray carrying three mugs and a tea pot down on the living room table before taking a seat next to Applejack and across from Richard.

"Where to start?" he asked Rhetorically before pouring himself some tea and taking a testing sip.

"How about at the beginning," said Applejack with a smirk before getting her own tea.

"Ha. Ha." Richard laughed sarcastically. "Well I guess it started yesterday, I was just finishing my job fixing a fence for Roseluck when Twilight came out of nowhere with a jug of lemonade and just started acting really weird."

"Weird how?" asked Applejack. "I mean Twi's not the most social of ponies, so maybe it was that?"

"Oh no, this wasn't social awkwardness, she kept leaning on me. I mean she was almost stroking me." Richard paused to take another sip. "You know, if I didn't know better I might have assumed it had something to do with her meeting with Rarity."

"A meeting with Rarity?" asked Applejack.

"Yeah, she said she had to rush off for a meeting with her after she gave me the lemonade."

"Hmm," hummed Applejack, turning to face Fluttershy. "You don't suppose..."

"That Rarity is trying to help Twilight win the bet?" finished Fluttershy. "I dunno, would Rarity really do that?"

"Oh please," said Applejack. "A chance to try and teach someone else how to act all silly like one of her trashy novels? Of course she would."

"Wait, are you trying to say Rarity wants me to lose?" exclaimed Richard. "Why? What did I do? Does she not like me?"

"No, it's nothing like that," soothed Fluttershy as Richard looked on the verge on panic. "Rarity just has something of a 'fetish' for romance. She's probably imagining the whole situation as basically a real life 'My Fair Stallion'."

"Hmm, okay then," said Richard as he calmed down. "But that's not even the bad part though. I mean I think whatever Twilight did might have had some sort of weird effect with the potion and everything." Richard braced himself as he considered carefully what he was going to say.

"Last night I struggled to fall asleep. I just felt so hot and sweaty and I'm almost certain its the effects of the potion. However, even when I managed to fall asleep I had some 'weird' dreams."

"What kind of dreams?" asked Applejack.

"Weird ones." said Richard evasively.

"Oh no, sugarcube. You don't ask for our help with something and then not give us the details." Applejack paused as she felt Fluttershy's eyes boring into the side of her head. "What I mean is, it's hard for us to help if we don't know everything. I promise, nothing you say will be mentioned outside of this meeting."

"O-okay," Richard said bashfully. "The dreams were of a more 'passionate' nature, involving me and, ahem, Twilight."

"Oh my," gasped Fluttershy. "So you dreamed that you and Twilight were having..."

"Sex?" asked Richard. "No, not really that far, just a lot of her, and it seemed really intense. Like, when I woke up I could almost still see her right there in front of me, her eyes haunting me."

"And this worries you?" asked Applejack.

"Well, a bit. Quite a lot actually. I just can't help but wonder..."

"That these feelings aren't just from the potion," Finished Applejack. "Well unfortunately relationships aren't my forte but I might have some help for you."

"What kind of help?" asked Richard enthusiastically. "I'd take any help if it helped me get to sleep. Without losing the bet of course."

"Of course," Applejack smirked. "First, however, I need to ask that you don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Or you Fluttershy." Applejack paused, prompting both of them to mime out a Pinkie promise. Satisfied, Applejack continued.

"Well, you see, the Apples have for generations had their own secret recipe for a 'tonic' that helps us mares get through our heat. It aint fancy and sure tastes like dirt but it takes the edge off it and I was planning on sneaking some out of grannies cabinet and letting you have it."

Richard looked at Applejack with a mixture of emotions across playing across his face. Finally however he settled and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Applejack, I can't accept." Richard sighed. "Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing gesture, and I really appreciate it. But I can't help but think of it as cheating, and if not, it still goes against the spirit of the bet. I said I should be able to cope and I will. Besides, that's not my biggest issue, it's this whole sudden fascination with Twilight."

Fluttershy giggled, "Oh Richard, it's not sudden. We've all seen you stare at Twilight's 'features' even if you didn't notice it yourself."

"Wait, really?"

"Yes," Fluttershy giggled again. "Even if you've not been actively attracted to her before now, your subconscious has appreciated her from afar."

"So you're saying these feelings are genuine?" Richard asked.

"No, or at least not entirely. I'm not exactly versed in relationships either. More that at least part of you finds her pleasant to look at." Fluttershy growled in frustration at his vacant expression. "I'm sorry, I'm probably not explaining it right. If only Cadance was here, she'd probably be able to find an answer in a flash."

"Cadance! That's it." exclaimed Applejack. "Why don't you send her a letter. As a princess I'm sure she'd love to hear from you, and I know she'd be able to answer your questions."

"I don't know," said Richard quietly. "If I send the letter regularly, I doubt they'll get it anytime soon. And if I send it via Spike, he or Twilight will ask questions and I definitely don't want them to know about this."

"Well, why don't you go and visit her?" asked Fluttershy. "She's the only princess you haven't met yet and I know she'd happily help you. Especially since it involves her sister in law."

Richards eyes shrank. "Sister in law? Oh crap, what if she hates the fact I've even looked at Twilight. And lets not forget Shining Armor."

"You needn't worry about Cadance, she's an extremely nice and understanding pony. Especially when it comes to matters of love and relationships," said Fluttershy. "She'll treat you well.

"And with Shining Armour, don't make it sound like you're lusting after his sister and I'm sure you'll be fine," added Applejack.

"Alright, fine, you've twisted my arm." said Richard, causing both Applejack and Fluttershy to beam. "But if I wind up dead or worse, I'm holding you two responsible."

"Oh stop being such a filly," teased Applejack. "You'll be fine. Besides, I bet you'll love the Crystal Kingdom, it really is a beautiful place."

"Uh-huh," agreed Fluttershy.

"Okay, I'm going. But one quick question before I leave. Do either of you know how much a ticket costs?"

The Crystal Empire

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The train ride up to the Crystal Empire was long and mostly uneventful. The cool clear morning gave way to a bright sunny afternoon and then a cold but clear day as the train traveled further north. Richard spent most of the time alternating between trying to read a book, and planning exactly what he'd say to Princess Cadance when he eventually arrived. What little time remained was spent walking up and down the aisle of the train to try and calm the butterflies in his stomach, trying to block out the stares and hushed whispers of ponies who'd never seen a human before.

It was early evening by the time the train finally rolled into the station, slowing down and coming to a lurching stop.

"Last stop, Crystal Empire!" Yelled the guard. "I repeat, last stop, Crystal Empire!"

Marking his place in his book, Richard put it away in his bag - a hoof-stitched shoulder strapped satchel made of faux leather, it had been a particularly handy Hearthswarming gift from Rarity - and waited for the rush of other ponies leaving the train to die down before standing up. Not feeling in a particular rush, he just watched and waited as several whole family's retrieved their luggage from the other head racks or from beneath their benches, before following them out into the surprisingly warm early evening.

Staring around in fascinated confusion, Richard couldn't help but notice how the endless tundra they'd been traveling through for the last couple of hours ended in what appeared to be a perfect circle around the city, what he could see of it from the station at any rate.

"Wow, this place is amazing," he gasped under his breath, looking around in wonder.

"I take you've never been here before then?" Richard jumped and looked around to see a pony wearing a porters uniform standing a couple of feet away looking directly at him.

"Who me?" Richard asked somewhat embarrassed.

"Of course you," said the porter. "Who else could I be talking to?"

Richard looked around him at the platform and was amazed to see it already clear, the other ponies who'd departed the train with him having already rushed off.

"I guess no one," replied Richard. "Sorry, I didn't realize everypony else had left already."

The porter chuckled, "It's alright. So, if you don't mind me asking, what brings you to the Crystal Empire? I've not seen the likes of you around here before."

"Umm..." Richard hummed nervously, glancing around him while considering his answer. "Well, I kind of have an 'issue' which I was told Princess Cadance might be able to help me with."

"Ahh, is that so? Well, in that case I'd get a move on if I were you." said the porter as he pulled a fob watch out of his jacket pocket and carefully inspected it. "There's only an hour or so left of Court and there is bound to be a queue."

"Thank you very much," said Richard gratefully. "You wouldn't perhaps know the way to the 'court'?"

"That would be at the royal palace," the porter chuckled. "The large crystal structure in the center of town. Go straight from the train station and you can't miss it. Royal guards should be able to help you from there."

"Thanks again. Hope you have a nice rest of the day," said Richard.

"You too, and good luck. I hope the Princess can solve your problem." replied the guard.

'You and me both,' Thought Richard as he turned his back to the guard and made his way out of the station.

As Richard walked down the main thoroughfare , he couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful the Crystal Empire looked. Everyway he turned, there were beautiful buildings all made out of various types of precious gems, all reflecting the early evening sunlight in a dazzling array of colours. He also found that ponies up here - who all looked like they too were made of crystal - were extremely friendly. Instead of the usually stares, pointing, and whispers he had already been greeted several times and even had a few offers to tours of the city. At any other time perhaps he would have taken them up on their offer, however today he was on a mission.

However, Richard was soon stopped in his tracks by an unexpected sight. There, right in the center of the square in front of the royal palace was a large, crystal statue of Spike. At least it looked like him. Since when did Spike get a statue? And why had he never been told? Thinking it might be a case of mistaken identity, Richard spotted a passing female earth pony guard and flagged her down.

"Excuse me, miss. I'm sorta new around here and I was wondering, could you tell me anything about this statue?" Richard asked while pointing.

"What? You mean the statue of Spike, the Brave and Glorious?" The mare asked and he quickly nodded. "Well, the statue of Spike, the dragon, brave hero of the Crystal Kingdom was built in his honour the second time he saved the kingdom."

"Wait," Richard interrupted, "Spike's a hero and he's saved you twice?"

"Why yes," answered the mare. "The first time he saved the kingdom, he kept the crystal heart safe, ripping it from the claws of the dreaded King Sombra. The second time, he saved a stadium full of ponies from a falling ice cloud during the Equestria Games."

"Wow," exclaimed Richard. "That does sound heroic."

"It sure was," agreed the mare. "I was in the crowd myself, was all I could do not to faint when the pegasi failed to hold it up."

Richard smiled, "Well, thanks for answering my questions, sorry to bother you."

"It's okay, the guard are here to help. Anything else I can do for you?"

"Actually," Richard nodded. "Yes their is, I'm looking for the court, I have something I wanted to discuss with the Princess."

"The royal court of Princess Cadance is in the main chamber," replied the guard. "Just go through the main doors and continue up the stairs. You should eventually reach the main chamber, though there might be a queue and I can't guarantee you'll get to see her today."

"Thanks," Richard bowed slightly. "You've certainly been quite helpful."

"Anytime. Anyway, I have rounds to do, so good luck."

As the guard walked off, Richard turned towards the palace and, following the guards directions, proceeded through the main doorway of the palace.

"Wow!" Richard stood stunned as he came to a sudden halt.

While from outside Richard had thought the palace was beautiful, it was nothing compared to the interior. A marvelous feat of engineering, with many walkways and bridges spanning over and leading off the main corridor into the depths of the palace. There were guards everywhere he looked as well, either standing guard, or going about their business.

Following the corridor up a fight of stairs he assumed were what the guard had mentioned moments ago, he found it turning around to the right and around the corner there was a large set of open, double doors that stretched from floor to ceiling. Considering they were made of what Richard could only guess as solid diamond, they must have weighed a tonne.

Assuming that the massive room beyond filled with guard, and the throne at the far end, meant this was the right place, Richard approached it. Not too fast however, he didn't want to accidentally trigger the guards.

"Excuse me, may I help you?" A bright pink, crystal, pegasus stallion stopped in front of him. Hovering in mid air, he clutched a large open tome in his forehooves.

"Hi," replied Richard. "Actually yes, I was hoping to chat to Cadance - sorry - Princess Cadance. I kind of have a problem I was told she might be able to help with.

"Certainly sir, you're quite fortunate that the court is empty at the moment. In fact I think you might be the last petitioner she'll be seeing today. First however, I need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?"

Resisting the urge to mention that asking him if it was okay to ask questions was in and of itself a question, Richard simply nodded.

"Excellent," the pegasus exclaimed enthusiastically. "So first, may I ask what your name is, please?"

"Richard, Richard Dastardly Dent."

"That's an interesting name, Mr Dent." The pegasus said with raised eyebrows.

"Ehh," Richard shrugged. "My parents were cartoon fans."

"Right..." the pegasus trailed off. "Anyway, next up, town or country of residence?"

"Ponyville."

"Thank you. And finally, what is your purpose of talking to the Princess?"

"Um..." Richard shifted nervously.

"If you don't feel confident saying, I can just put down personal." said the Pegasus kindly.

"Okay, personal then, please."

"Excellent," the Pegasus closed the book, a beaming smile plastered across his face. "If you could just wait here for me please, I'll go and let the Princess know you're here and I'll be back shortly to collect you."

RIchard waited silently, watching as the pegasus zoomed across the room, apparoaching the throne. Now that he was paying closer attention he could see the pink form of what he'd seen in papers of Princess Cadance, sitting patiently. Although he could have imagined it, he could have sworn a smiled etched it's way onto the Princess's face as the pegasus talked to her and indicated in his direction. Surprisingly instead of the pegasus coming back to escort him, the Princess waved him off and rose from the throne, crossing the room herself.

Standing there, watching Cadance cross the court, a sly smile across her face, Richard was certain he should have been terrified and yet he wasn't. Instead looking at Cadance filled him with a burning sensation that spread from deep within and begun to make him sweat.

Richard didn't have long to deal with it however as soon enough Cadance was standing before him, fixing him with a piercing gaze and humming a musical tune.

"So, might I presume by your name and strange appearance that you're the human my sister has written to me so much about?" she finally asked after several heart stopping seconds.

"Y-yes," Richard mumbled,. "I mean, I guess so. Thought I didn't know Twilight had written to you about me."

"Oh yes, she certainly has," said Cadance, Richard noticing a mischievous glint in her eyes. "She has sent me many a letter about the poor alien who has found themselves so far away from home. Such a sad story. I so desperately wanted to see you when I first heard, but my dear Aunts suggested it would be better to let you acclimatize yourself to Equestria first. It's so great to see you at last."

Richard blinked nervously, beads of sweat dripping into his eyes as the fire within him intensified. "It is?"

"Of course it is," Cadance rose up onto her hind legs and pulled him into a deep hug, which did nothing to help the fire within him. "Like I said, your situation is so sad, and yet you've managed to adjust quite nicely from what I've read."

The beaming smile that grew on her face as she retreated and held him at 'arms' length not only warmed Richard's heart but added even more fuel to the fire.

"So, tell me. What is it that prompted you to take the long journey from sunny Ponyville to the frigid north? I doubt it was just to say hello. Not that I'd mind that of course."

"Well, it's kind of a personal matter..." RIchard started, but Cadance quickly raised a hoof to hush him.

"Say no more, why don't we go and talk about this in private? I'll even bring the drinks."

"Sure," said Richard with a smile. "That sounds lovely, but what about the court?"

"Oh don't you worry about that," Cadance shook her head. "Today's been really quiet and besides, I was planning on seeing only one last pony anyway. Don't see why that pony can't be a human instead. Now follow me, I know somewhere perfect."

Cadance's help

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Richard followed Princess Cadance into a room which almost defied description. One second he was standing inside a crystal hallway, the next he was standing on a beautiful, scenic hillside complete with a babbling brook and glorious midday sun. Hearing the door shut behind him, Richard turned and came face to face with a large tree, the outline of a door barely visible in its trunk.

"Wow, where in Equestria are we?" he asked as he turned to see Cadance walking down a small dirt track.

"Why, we're still in the palace of course, silly." Cadance giggled, glancing briefly over her shoulder to stick her tongue out at Richard, causing the fires inside him to do a back flip. "Couldn't you tell?"

"What do you mean we're in the Palace? We're on a freaking hillside!" yelled Richard as he quickly followed after down the path down the hill.

"Well, yes and no." replied Cadance. "Yes we're on a hillside, but it's not real. Not really. It's a replica of a hillside from outside the town I grew up in. Rather beautiful don't you agree?"

"Yes. Yes it is," Richard agreed. "So this is just a room in your palace? If I walked far enough I'd hit the walls?"

"Eventually, yes. Though I've never managed it myself. My aunts really did build this place well. Ahh, here we go, this is a lovely spot." Cadence ducked through a veil of leaves and took a seat underneath a willow, next to the trickling stream.

Richard followed her, pushing through the veil himself and taking his own seat on the grass next to Cadance, leaning back against the trunk for support.

"I think this would be a suitable place for a talk, don't you agree?" Cadance asked, Richard, so shocked by the sudden intense stare she fixed him with that he could only nod. "So tell me, what can I do for you?"

"It's kind of a complicated situation," Richard ran his hands through his hair. "I don't even know where to begin."

"Perhaps you should begin with the moment you made a drunken bet with my sister in law?" asked Cadence with a small smile spreading across her muzzle.

"You know?" Richard gulped. "You know about the bet?"

"Naturally. Twilight tells me everything, but that's beside the point. I believe we're meant to be talking about you, not Twilight. So what happened after the bet?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say it has nothing to do with Twilight," Richard shifted nervously. "But you're right, it all started after that bet. Or more correctly after I drank that potion that Twilight had for me, the next day."

"It started off pretty good, maybe a slight tingle across my skin but otherwise I felt fine. But as the day went on it just got worse and worse. It didn't help at all that Twilight decide to get all weird and start rubbing my chest up and down after I finished helping Roseluck with her fence."

Cadance's eyebrows raised slightly, "Oh, and why exactly did Twilight rubbing you up and down not help at all? Did it get you all hot an bothered?" she chuckled.

"Actually, yes, kind of." Richard looked down ashamed. "Last night, I couldn't stop thinking about her. And even when I fell asleep, my dreams included her, what little I can remember anyway. That's why I wanted to see you."

"Really?" Cadance hummed, and Richard was surprised, expecting her to chastise him for his thoughts about her sister-in-law. "And how can I help you with that?"

"I want to know if those thoughts are my own, or if they're caused by the potion? The last couple of days have been incredibly confusing, and I would feel better knowing how I really feel." Richard looked at Cadance hopefully.

"I can certainly help you with that," said Cadance with a rueful smile. "But in return I must ask you for one favor, nothing big, but I need you to agree to it before I tell you what it is. That's my price. What do you say?"

Richard took a deep breath as he considered his response, running his hands through his hair again as Cadance just gazed at him with a warm smile on her face. He considered his answer carefully, thinking over all the options in his head. On one hand he was from a world where you didn't just agree to do anything a person - or pony - you just met twenty minutes ago asked you to do.

On the other hand, Applejack had told him that the Princess could be trusted, and he'd never known Applejack to lie to him before. There was also the fact Cadance was Twilight's sister in law, and after everything she'd done for him, he trusted Twilight more than anypony he'd met.

"Okay," he said finally. "I'll do it."

"Good, and don't worry, it's nothing strenuous. All I want you to do is answer one simple question, do that and I'll help you work out how you feel." Cadance paused. "Alright, the question is, which result do you hope is the answer to your question? Do you want it to be the potion, or your own feelings?"

"I don't know." Richard shook his head.

"Yes you do, Richard." said Cadance. "You may not know how you feel, but I'm certain there's one answer you want to hear and another you'd prefer not to."

"I'm not sure," said Richard, hesitantly.

"Well then, I can't help you," Cadance fixed him with a small frown before rising to her hooves and turning to leave. Richard looked at her hesitantly for a second before throwing his hands up in frustration.

"Wait!" he yelled, causing Cadance to pause and turn back towards him. "Okay, I'll tell you, but please, just don't judge me."

"Don't worry," Cadance sat back down and fixed him with a soothing gaze, "Nothing you say will leave this room unless you permit it."

"Thanks," said Richard gratefully.

"So, about that answer..." Cadance rolled her hoof through the air.

"I want it to be the potion." Richard whispered. "Don't get me wrong, Twilight is great, but..."

"But..?" asked Cadance.

"I don't know how I'd cope if I was in love with a pony."

"And that offends you? The idea of loving another species? A pony?"

"No," Richard turned away from Cadance. "It doesn't offend me, it terrifies me."

"How come?"

Richard didn't answer, at least not immediately. Instead he got and walked over the stream and dipped his hand in it, feeling the cooling water drive away the worst of his heat. Allowing him to think a little more clearly. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw Cadance just sitting there patiently, her face fixed in an expression that seemed a mix of curiosity and concern. It actually filled him with a great sense of awe. After a couple of minutes watching some fish in the stream dance around his dangling fingers, he went back to Cadance and sat down once more.

"I'm not sure you'll understand why I'm afraid," said RIchard. "Where I come from, my world, we're the only sentient species. Because of this, we view it as wrong to have relations with other species. Bestiality we call it."

"And you think of us like beasts?" Cadance asked accusingly, "Perhaps you'd prefer to force Twilight to wear a saddle and ride her around as a prized steed?"

"Of course not!" Richard shouted. "I'm sorry but I didn't mean it like that, I would never, could never think that about Twilight, or any of you. You took me in when I needed it most. But like I've told Twilight before, my world had horses and ponies of its own, but without the sentience you all possess. I know you and them are not the same, but it's a struggle to get over so many years of culture."

"And that is all?"

"Not quite. The other reason I don't want to be in love with Twilight is the fact that it's possible one day I'll be able to go home. I don't think I could put myself into a relationship knowing that I might have to leave them."

"Have to leave? Or want to leave?" mused Cadance.

"I wouldn't want to leave Equestria, this place is wonderful. The three months or so I've been here have been the best in my life. But I have a family back home. A mom, dad and a brother who I miss and must be missing me too."

"I see, and if you're so set against being in love with Twilight, why are you trying to find out what it is you feel? Why not just say it's the potion and be done with it."

"Because I need to know the truth. Even if it doesn't change anything, the truth is important." Said Richard.

Cadance laughed. "You remind me of Twilight, saying something like that. She used to say very similar things when I babysat her." Cadance stood up and reshaped her mane into a simulacrum of Twilight and posed heroically.

"When all else fails, Cadance, the truth will set you free!" she said in a frighteningly close portrayal of Twilight. "You know, I don't think you two would be a bad match."

"Ha, ha." Richard laughed sarcastically. "Not funny."

"I wasn't joking Richard, in your own weird way, you would make a cute couple."

"Right." Richard shook his head. "So how can you help me find out about my feelings for Twilight?"

"Me? I'm not going to do anything. You're going to work it out yourself, I'm just going to give you a push in the right direction."

"What kind of push?"

"Fancy some tea?" asked Cadance as she reached over to the trunk of the nearby tree and pressed a concealed button, causing a panel in the tree to open up. Inside the recess was a finely decorated tea set, steam pouring gently from the tea pot.

"I'd love some, but what about that push?"

"The tea is the push," said Cadance as she levitated the tea set out and placed it gently on the grass in front of them. "Although I must confess it's not a ordinary tea."

"Then what kind of tea is it?" asked Richard.

"Well, the literal translation from Neighpali is 'brew of sleepless dream that also reveals the innermost desires of those who imbibe it'. Not the snappiest title, but I guess it describes the brew perfectly. Personally I call it 'Hearts Desire'."

"So I drink the tea, and I find out if I like Twilight?"

"Well, it's a little bit more complex than that. But, with my help, and my personal modifications to the ancient Neighpalese recipe, yes." said Cadnace with a smile.

"That sounds good. Shall we get started?" Richard reached for the tea pot, however was stopped short by one of Cadance's hooves.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Richard? Despite what you said before, sometimes the truth isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Richard shook his head, "I'm not sure about any of this, Cadance. I'm in a magical land of talking Equine; am experiencing heat due to a drunken bet and might just be in love with the Princess I made that bet with. I'm not sure I'll how I'll ultimately feel about this, all I know is I couldn't sleep last night and if I want to sleep tonight, I need to deal with this."

"Okay, then all you need to do is drink an entire cup of this tea; close your eyes and think about Twilight until you slip into unconsciousness." As Cadance spoke, she picked up the tea pot in her telekinesis and poured a single mug of tea. "The next thing you know, you'll be in a dream realm where your subconscious, combined with the magic of the drink, will reveal your deepest desire in regards to Twilight." Cadance finished just as the last drop of tea filled the mug near to the brim.

The sound of the babbling stream filled the silence as Richard stared at the mug of tea before him, even though he had committed himself to it, he was struggling to force his hands to perform the actions. 'Just pick up the tea and drink it, that's all you have to do, Richard. Just pick up the tea and drink'.

Slowly, Richard reached out with shaking hands and grasped the mug between them. Its distinct warmth flowing through the china into him, along with a faintly familiar tingle that he last felt when he had been taken the Hospital when he first arrived in Equestria. It was a mostly pleasant feeling, though it was slightly poisoned by the memories of pain it brought to the surface. It was the feeling of magic flowing through him.

'Wow,' Richard thought. 'Must be potent if I can feel it through the mug. I hope it doesn't cause me harm.'

Richard could distinctly remember as he was discharged by the hospital, how the doctor had explained to him how their preliminary tests seemed promising, that his body had shown minimal reactions to both the background magic of Equestria as well as the small bursts of concentrated magic they'd exposed him to. That being said, they'd advised him to avoid too much magical exposure due to the fact they had no idea what the long term effects of magical exposure on his body would be.

Still, he hadn't suffered any harm yet and he spent a lot of his free time with one of the most powerful Unicorns turned Alicorns ever to exist. It was probably safe to drink.

"Bottoms up," Richard whispered, fixing an image of Twilight in his mind as he raised the mug to his lips.

The first thing to hit him, as he titled the mug backwards, was the scent of the tea. It smelled, to him at least, uncannily like old parchment and melted candle wax. Then came the sugary sweet taste of 'Parma violets' as the warm liquid poured into his mouth. He paused for a second, letting himself savor the taste before swallowing. He repeated this action twice more, drinking and savoring the taste before the mug was empty. Each time he did so, his head became fuzzier and it became harder and harder to focus on anything apart from the image of Twilight; which grew brighter as the world around him grew darker.

When at last the mug was empty, he felt himself falling backwards into oblivion. The last two things he would remember were the vivid violet of Twilight's eyes before him, and the sensation of magic as Cadance eased his fall.

Twilight's day had started no different from usual. She awoke, like always, to the sound of Spike knocking politely on her door, his cheery call of 'Rise and Shine, Twilight' thankfully muffled slightly by the thick oak wood. And, as she usually did, Twilight ignored the call; turned over; and buried her head in her pillow. Next came the sound of the door opening, before closing again with a click, followed by the gentle clack of claws on marble as Spike crossed the room and slowly peeled back the drapes.

Twilight shifted and squired as the watery sunlight, and the heat it provided, slowly inched its way across the back of neck and shoulders.

'Treacherous Lizard,' Twilight thought, 'Why does he insist on torturing me every morning.'

"Come on Twilight," Chirped Spike. "It's time for you to get up. Or did you forget you have an appointment with Rarity this morning."

"Burgh, fine." Twilight spat a wad of pillow out of her mouth, before slowly lifting her head up and blinking angrily at the bright room. Bringing her hooves up to rub the sleep from her eye, she couldn't help but notice Spike, badly trying to conceal a chuckle behind his claws. A quick glance at the mirror across the room showed her why. Her mane was a messy heap of tangles and knots. Clearly her late night reading session had not be kind to her.

"Spike, could you please prepare some breakfast while I quickly take a shower? The last thing I want to do is give Rarity a heart attack by letting her see me like this."

"Certainly, Twilight," tittered Spike with a slight bow. "After all, what else is the worlds number one assistant for?"

"Thanks, Spike."

Twilight waited for the echo's of Spikes claw steps to disappear to nothing before, with great effort, pushing aside her covers and hauling herself out of bed. Yawning as she stretched her aching body, she looked eagerly across the room towards the bathroom door, but her attention was caught by the glinting of the mirror once more.

Making her way over to stand before the mirror, Twilight inspected her whole body for the first time in years. In fact she couldn't remember the last time she stood in front of a mirror and really looked at herself. Starting at her head and moving to her hooves, she rotated on the spot to try and inspect as much of herself as she could, and what she saw made her frown.

She'd never really considered herself from a 'beauty' standpoint before, but as Rarity had politely put it the day before, she had no flirting experience. Which in turn highlighted the point she'd never once in all her life been asked out, not even since she had become a Princess. Because of that she could only surmise she didn't exactly match up to traditional standards of beauty.

Studying herself carefully she could see why; even though her friends had often talked about, in private, of their many interactions with members of the opposite sex; she was often left unnoticed. She didn't have the predilection of fashion sense or glossy, well groomed coat of Rarity; nor did she have the exaggerated curves of Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, had the lithe and toned body of an experienced Athlete, while Applejack had the perfectly sculpted muscle of a hard working farm pony. Then there was Fluttershy, who's shy nature was anything but off putting if her many tales were anything to go by.

Instead, as she looked over herself, while she did have curves; they were nowhere as near as voluptuous as Pinkies nor where they as perfectly placed. Her curves, instead of being carefully managed by the mix of candy and constant movement of her pink friend were the result of the occasional binge eating and far more common binge reading sessions. Then there was her coat. Whereas Rarity's coat had a bright, healthy gleam, hers had the muted grey tinge that was indicative of too much time spent indoors. Obviously she'd hardly been the most outgoing pony in the world, and the recent winter hadn't helped things, but she really should get out more.

Finally, ignoring Fluttershy's adorable nature since it wasn't a trait that could really be worked upon without changing her personality, there was her lack of exercise. Sure, the days of locking herself up for weeks at time in a room with a box of candles and a stack of books was behind her, but that didn't change the fact she often sent Spike out to do most of the basic errands.

Twilight sighed and turned her back on the mirror, hoping to wash away her new worries away with a quick blast of hot water and a thorough cleansing. However, as she shut the bathroom door and set the water running at a temperature just below scalding, one thought still clung to the back of her mind.

"Why on earth does Rarity think I will have any effect on Richard," she muttered to herself as she prepared herself a fresh towel ready for after the shower. "I know they all joke about him looking at me, but that can't be more than a joke right? I mean, why would he look at me compared to them?"

Twilight shook her head as she tested the water temperature with her hoof, flinching at the intense heat of the spray.

'Perfect,' she thought. 'Just what I need to get my mind off this.'

Stepping carefully into the shower, Twilight allowed herself a few seconds to get used to the water before spending the next few minutes vigorously cleaning herself. Starting with her mane, she used copious amounts of a special shampoo. Not special like Rarity's 'froo froo' shampoos from Prance, but a special Canterlot blend designed to clean hair while providing as little interference with her spell casting. Or as the bottle snappily mentions, 'No more surges'. Though of course, Twilight knew that was an exaggeration, shampoo wasn't likely to increase the chance of magical surges, not even in the most powerful and untrained toddler alive, unless it contained a large amount of sapphire.

'Or emerald," Twilight thought as she considered the possible debris that, if located near the horn, could cause major havoc with spell casting.

That said, however, recent studies had shown that the condition of a unicorns hair immediately surrounding the horn could have minor effects both positive and negative. Plus, because the shampoo contained micro-beads, it felt simply wonderful against the skin of her scalp as she worked it in.

Once the shampoo had been both worked in and her mane rinsed clean, it was time to work on the rest of her body. For this, Twilight used a violet scented body wash, once again complete with micro-beads. She just couldn't get enough of that feeling as it scrubbed her skin clean.

When this task was also finished and Twilight was as clean as she could be, she stood face up under the stream, running through a checklist in her head and preparing herself mentally for the day ahead. Which turns out was a mistake as she remembered that she was due to meet Rarity soon and continue her lessons on seducing Richard.

'He's a human anyway,' thought Twilight, continuing the train from earlier. 'He probably wouldn't like ponies anyway.'

"So why did do they all say he looks at me like, like he's interested?" she whispered.

Twilight stood like that for a few more minutes, water running down her body as she considered the current situation. On one hoof she doubted that Richard liked her as much as her friends had joked about. On the other she didn't know how to react if he did.

'Should I be flattered?' she wondered. 'And if he was to ever ask me out, how would I answer?'

By the time Twilight turned off the shower and stepped out to dry herself, she was more confused than before she had begun. Now, not only did she think she was unattractive, but she was questioning her feelings towards her friend.

Sighing, she gripped her towel in her magic and began to dry herself. For a moment, she was able to forget her problems again as she relished the feeling of the clothe against her fur and skin. When that was done, she moved over to the bathroom mirror and cleaned the steam from it with the damp towel. Next, she picked up a comb and started to brush her mane to its usual style, taking extra care to get the edge of her fringe just perfect. The last thing she needed today was Rarity to comment on her looks as well.

Once that was done, she began the process of combing her fur flat, however she had barely started when she was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Twilight," said Spike. "Sorry to bother you, but I thought you'd like to know Rarity is here."

"Thanks, Spike. Could you please go downstairs and tell her I'll be down in a minute?"

"Well, actually Twilight..." began Spike.

"I'm up here, Darling." Finished Rarity.

"Wait, Rarity, what are you doing up here?" asked Twilight, confused. "I thought we would be doing more stuff to do with the bet."

"We are," said Rarity. "But I think it would be better to start off in your bedroom."

Hearing this caused a small blush to rise to Twilight's cheeks.

"My b-bedroom, Rarity? Why would you want to start t-there?"

"I'd rather not say with Spike here, darling, I don't think it's suitable for such young ears." Then clearly Rarity had leaned up close to the door because Twilight heard her whisper. "But I can say it involves a idea I had late last night."

Twilight gulped, and started staring around the room in panic, hundreds of worries running through her head at once. 'Why does Rarity want to use my bedroom? Does she think I need to be willing to go all the way to win the bet?'

Taking several deep breaths, Twilight turned to the door and did her best to avoid her voice cracking and revealing her anxiety as she answered.

"Okay, Rarity, I'll be out in a minute."

'What do I do? How do I tell her I'm not interested?' Thought Twilight. 'And what if it's worse than I think? What if she wants to do it in my bedroom to give me practical experience help? She does know I'm a virgin, but I don't think i could let her close to me. Or what if she wants to demonstrate using herself?'

Twilight began panicking, the attack hitting her so fast and so hard that her breathing was almost causing her to pass out. Her salvation only came when she heard a click from the room outside and there was another soft knock at the door.

"Spikes gone now, Twilight. Everything okay in there?"

"Uh." Twilight took a deep breath. "Huh."

"Okay." Said Rarity, a note of skepticism in her voice. "Only it sounds like you're trying to blow down this castle. And I don't think I need to remind the most read pony in Equestria that the story doesn't end very well for the Diamond Dog who tried that."

Several seconds of nothing but the sound of Twilight's frantic breathing filled the two rooms with Rarity growing more worried by the second.

"Darling, would you please let me in? Whatever's wrong, I'm sure I can help you."

Twilight didn't answer, instead she used what little concentration she had left to unlock the door as darkness closed in on her vision.

What appeared to be only seconds later, but was more likely minutes, Twilight opened her eyes and found herself lying on her bed with Rarity mopping her forehead with a wet cloth. Noticing she was awake, Rarity wasted no chance in drawing Twilight into a hug.

"Celestia above Twilight, you almost gave me a heart attack fainting like that. Are you feeling better?"

"Much," said Twilight, smiling weakly, glad she could breath normally again.

"That's good to hear, Twilight. But what in Equestria happened to you?"

"It's nothing, Rarity. It was just a small panic attack."

"Small panic attack?" Rarity shook her head. "Celestia above, what I went through was a small panic attack. Watching my friend gulping down gallons of air a second and pass out. No, darling, what you went through was a serious issue. What in Equestria would have caused such a thing?"

"Actually, Rarity," said Twilight as she broke the hug and lay back down on the bed. "It was just me being silly. Can we just forget about it?"

"No, Twilight, I'm not just going to forget about it. Whatever it is, it was serious enough to trigger an episode and I would be remiss as a friend if I let the issue continue unabated."

Twilight sighed, and steeled herself by taking a single; measured; deep breath.

"Fine, Rarity, I'll tell you. What caused my panic attack was me worrying about this whole thing with Richard."

"Oh, Twilight. Why would that cause a panic attack?"

"Because I worried you would..." the end of Twilight's sentence was lost as her voice trailed off into a whisper that would make Fluttershy seem loud.

"Sorry, darling, but I'm afraid I didn't quite catch that."

"I said, I was worried you were going to teach me how to have sex with Richard." Her voice was still a whisper but just barely audible this time, which was unfortunate because Rarity suddenly burst out into laughing.

"You thought I was going to... And that caused you to..." Rarity struggled to keep herself on her hooves with how vigorously her body shook.

"It's not funny, Rarity."

"Actually, Twi, it's very funny." Said Rarity wiping tears from her eyes with her hoof. "You just can't appreciate it because you're the one involved."

"Well, if you weren't going to teach me that... stuff," Twilight rolled her hoof through the air. "Why did you want to do your next 'winning the bet' lesson in my bedroom?"

"Two reasons my petit dejeuner." said Rarity as she moved over to a large, black cloth covered shape near the door. "Reason one, there are several lessons I'm going to impart today that aren't fit for a young gentledrakes ears. Reason two, the first lesson of your training into seduction today is, dress to impress." Rarity punctuated the last statement by whipping the cloth off the object to reveal a rack of mylar covered clothing.

"Wow, Rarity, it looks like you went through a lot of work." said Twilight as she started to get out of bed.

"It was no trouble darling," said Rarity. "Anything to help you win this bet."

"You, know, about that," said Twilight as she walked over to inspect the clothes. "I'm not sure this will work."

"Of course it will, Twilight," said Rarity, fixing Twilight with a fierce gaze. "If there are two things I know it's fashion and romance. There is no chance this will fail."

"I'm sure your clothes are excellent, Rarity, that's not why I think it wont work."

"Then why?" asked Rarity.

"Because of me, Rarity." Twilight glanced over her shoulder at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. "I've been thinking and I don't think there's any chance I'll catch his eye."

"That's nonsense Twilight, you've already caught his eye. He stares at you all the time."

"That can't be true."

"Of course it's true, why wouldn't it be true?" asked Rarity, a note of concern in her voice.

"Because, look at me, Rarity. Who would look at me compared to one of you girls? Compared to you five I'm not noticeable."

Rarity shook her head.

"That's simply not true, darling, you're a pony of very exquisite beauty. I'm sure there a hundreds of ponies interested in you."

"Then how come nopony has every asked me out? How come every time we have a sleepover you all have stories about your suitors and I have nothing to add to the conversation?" Twilight sat roughly down on her haunches and tears began to fill her eye. "Truth is, even if Richard was interested in ponies; and that's not a guarantee; he wouldn't even think about failing the bet to me. It would be better if you tried."

Rarity looked at her defeated friend, unsure on how to proceed. It always upset her when ponies failed to see their own beauty, even more so when it was somepony she cared about. Helpless, she stared on as her friend looked hopelessly at her own reflection when an idea came to her head. Walking over to Twilight, she embraced her from behind and whispered gently in her ear.

"Do you trust me Twilight?" Twilight nodded in response. "Then please, give me a chance to show you just how beautiful you can be. When I'm finished, I'm certain you'll realize how foolish you've been and how sexy you really are."

"Okay," hiccuped Twilight, as she ran a hoof across her damp muzzle. "But I still think Richard wouldn't look twice at me."

"Twilight," Rarity whispered, her voice dripping with sex. "When I'm finished with you, you'll be able to easily wrap Richard around your hoof, or anywhere else you want for that matter."

Twilight blinked the last tears from her eyes and turned to look at her friend, the look of intense determination in Rarity's eyes causing her to shiver.

'What have I gotten myself into'

The dream

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One moment Richard is sitting under a willow tree, closing his eyes next to Princess Cadance, the next he was opening his eyes in a familiar location.

"Huh, my living room, why am I here?" Richard muttered, clutching his head as the room swam around him. For a moment he groaned in pain while he waited for his vision to clear. Using the time to wonder what had happened. One moment he was sitting there, talking to Cadance, drinking the tea...

"Of course, the tea." said Richard. "Heh, I guess the dream worked."

Richard stood up and marveled at the room around him, it all look so realistic. He cautiously ran his hand across the living room table. It felt realistic too. "Wow, Cadance really did a good job with that potion."

Continuing to look around the room, Richards wonder quickly turned to confusion. He was alone. "Huh, wan't that potion meant to reveal my hearts desire in relation to Twilight? Is this it? Or is something else meant to happen?"

As Richard stood contemplating the situation, he began to hear the gentle ring of bells from somewhere outside.

"Huh, what's going on?"

Moving over to the window, he saw ponies milling around the street as a gentle flurry of snow filled the air. Everywhere he looked, the street was a rush of colour. There were trees on every corner, and little foals waved bells in their mouths as they danced in and out of their parents legs.

"Wow, it's hearthswarming." Richard gaped at the scene outside. "But why?"

As if in answer to his question, the doorbell rang.

"Huh, who could that be?"

Richard crossed the room and answered the door, instantly he was engulfed by a large pink puffball.

"Hey Richard, how are you? Can you believe it's hearthswarming? Isn't it amazing?"

"Hehe, yes, Pinkie. I'm sure it is. But why are you here?"

"Did you forget about the movie silly?"

"Movie?" Richard scratched his head. "What movie?"

"The super duper fantastical Christmas movie from your world, of course, duh." giggled Pinkie.

"But I don't have such a movie."

"But of course you do darling. Twilight managed to get it from that weird device you had when you came over here?"

"Rarity, is that you?" asked Richard peeking over Pinkie's mane.

"Of course, hope it's okay if I let myself in? The door is wide open."

"Well, look at miss big shot over here. Barely through the door and acting out like she owns the place." said Applejack as she stepped through the door.

"Applejack, you're here too?"

"Of course, I ain't going to miss a movie from your world. Not for all the zap apple jam in Equestria."

"But I didn't even have a Christmas movie on my phone."

"Really, Richard, then how did I get this?"

Richard looked beyond the three ponies in front of him and there, at the end of the garden path with a film reel floating in her telekinetic grip, was Twilight. For some reason, the image of her standing there in the snow, a red cloak wrapped around her shoulders made him freeze.

"Cat got your tongue?" whispered Rarity leaning in close so no one else would hear. "You know it's rude to stare at a lady."

"I'm not staring," Richard replied, his voice as quiet as he could make it.

"Please," Rarity rolled her eyes. "You're just lucky she's so naive she can't tell why you look at her. But you're not fooling anypony else."

Fortunately, Richard was saved from Rarity's accusations by a loud yell.

"Incoming!"

Richard and the others barely had time to duck before a rainbow coloured blur barreled into the hallway, skidding on the floor and tumbling head over heels into the living room with a crash. Everyone stood around in worried, nervous silence until Rainbow Dash called out.

"I'm okay."

"How crude," Rarity moved a strand of mane out of her eyes. "But you know, you won't always be saved from my teasing by dramatic entrances."

"So, how have you been Richard?" asked Twilight cheerily. Richard glad she'd not heard anything Rarity had said.

"Good thanks, though I'm still a little confused. I know for a fact I never had a Christmas movie on my phone."

"Well, just shows what you know." Twilight giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. "So we all ready?"

"Well..." Richard scratched the back of his hand nervously. "I might have forgotten we were meeting tonight and fallen asleep."

"Oh you..." Twilight shook her head. "Well, no point crying over spilled milk, what do we need to be ready?"

"Umm..." Richard glanced looked into the living room, where Rainbow and Rarity were already getting to work moving his furniture for the film. "I guess we just need the projector set up, and some snacks. Oh and Fluttershy to arrive, of course."

"Of course, well I'm sure, Rainbow, Rarity and I could handle the projector. Why don't you and Pinkie sort out the snacks?"

Richard glanced over at the pink mare, who was rummaging through his mail, humming a cheerful tune.

"What do you think, Pinkie? Up for helping me make some snacks for the movie?"

"Huh, me?" Pinkie perked up. "Of course, Richard. What kind of party pony doesn't like making snacks?"

"That's settled then, you two get the snacks and we'll get the room ready." Twilight beamed before turning to head into the living room. "Just don't take too long." With that Twilight walked away with a surprising wiggle in her hips Richard had never seen before.

"Oh Richard, you're so obvious." Pinkie giggled.

"I have no idea what you mean." Richard said hastily, turning a deep crimson.

"Of course not," Pinkie said in a sing song voice. "Anyway, lets get those snacks ready."

Richard was kneeling in front of a cupboard, carefully trying to extract a large bowl for popcorn without causing the entire stack to collapse when he felt a shadow fall across his back, a shiver going down his spine.

“So why don’t you admit it?” Pinkie asked, causing him to jump, and the stack of crockery to fall over.

“Pinkie...” Richard sighed. “Don’t jump on me like that.”

“Sorry...” Pinkie smiled sheepishly.

Richard shook his head, his anger disappearing as he looked at Pinkie's face.

"It's okay, no harm done." Richard picked up the desired bowl and put it on the counter top before returning to tidy up the mess. "Anyway, what do you mean? Why don't I admit what?"

"That you love Twilight, silly," answered Pinkie as she poured a bag of microwave popcorn into the bowl.

"I." Richard took a deep breath as an image of Twilight's smiling face filled his head. "I don't love her."

"Of course you don't." Hummed Pinkie unconvinced, as she picked the bowl up with her mane and balanced it on her head as she carried it over to the microwave. "So, do you reckon we'll have enough snacks?"

"I dunno, Pinkie." said Richard sarcastically, appreciating the change of subject. "Once that's finished in the microwave we'll have popcorn; chocolate cake; hay crisps, which I can't eat; seven bottles of cider; and carrot sticks to pretend we're eating healthy tonight."

Pinkie narrowed her eyes. "So you're saying not enough?"

"No, I'm saying we have more than enough. Any more and you'll bankrupt me."

"If that did happen, you could always move in with Twilight. I'm sure you would 'like' that."

"I don't love, Twilight."

"I didn't say you did," said Pinkie, doing her best innocent expression. "I mean who wouldn't like to live in a palace made of crystal."

Richard opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted by a knock at his door.

"You win this round, Pinkie." said Richard as he turned to answer the door. "But I'll win this war."

"_{Only if war is a synonym for Twi's heart}." Pinkie muttered under her breath, as Richard walked into the hall.

Richard grumbled about Pinkie all the way to the front door, where he forced a smile as he opened it slowly.

"Hello, Fluttershy." he said, preempting the shivering yellow mare standing on his doorstep, her hat, scarf and boots doing little it seemed to keep her warm.

"Oh, hi Richard," she said with a timid smile. "How did you know it was me?"

"Because you were the only one not here," he answered. "Please, come in before you catch a cold."

"Thanks," she said gratefully as she slipped through the gap and he quickly closed the door behind her to stop the cold from creeping into the house. "Sorry I'm late, has the movie been going long?"

"Not started actually," Richard smiled, reaching his hand out to take her scarf and hat and hang them up. "Needed to get snacks ready, and you know how fussy Pinkie is about snack." Fluttershy giggled at his comment. "Besides, we wouldn't start without everyone here."

"That's nice, thank you for hosting by the way."

"No problem, everyone else is in the living room, everything should be set up by now so as soon as Pinkie and I bring the snacks through we should be ready to begin."

"Sounds good," Fluttershy quietly trotted off to the living room, leaving Richard to return to the kitchen.

Richard entered the kitchen to the sound of frantic popping.

"Pinkie, stop that, or we wont be able to hear when the popcorn's finished."

"Oh, Richard," Pinkie laughed. "I always know when the popcorn is finished."

"Don't tell me," Richard sighed. "You have a 'Pinkie Sense' that tells you when popcorn is finished? What is it, a crunchy feeling in your left ankle?"

"No silly," Pinkie jumped up and booped him in the nose. "That's for salty popcorn, we're doing sweet, duh. No for sweet popcorn its three twitches of my left ear followed by a shiver down my spine."

Richard looked at her deadpanned.

"Are you being serious?"

"Of course not, you silly filly." Pinkie kicked the microwave with a hind leg, causing it to open just as it went 'ding'. "I'm just good at making snacks. It's kind of my job."

"Of course it is," Richard groaned inwardly. "Need a hand with that?" he asked as she placed the bowl of popcorn on a tray with the rest of the goodies and, in a miraculous physics defying feat, balanced the tray on her back.

"No need, I've got everything in hoof."

"Okay, well I guess you should lead the wa..." Richard had barely finished speaking before she had sped past in a pink blur.

By the time Richard made it to the living room, everypony else was seated and the tray of snacks was reduced to a single bottle of cider.

'Typical,' thought Richard. 'Spend fifteen minutes making snacks, get to eat none of them.'

"There you are Richard," said Rarity, who was sitting on a chair next to the projector. "Take a seat and we can start the film."

Richard made his way over to the tray, picked up his bottle of cider, and quickly sat on the only empty seat. The vacant couch at the back of the room. His view was somewhat obstructed, but at least he would have plenty of room to stretch out. Though he was curious to see what film Twilight had gotten from his phone.

Once he was seated, Rarity looked at him in a way he could only decipher as a non verbal 'Ready?' to which Richard nodded. Rarity smiled in response and with a 'click' the projector began as if by magic. Which, given it belonged to Twilight, it probably did.

Ten minutes later, Richard was sitting back and enjoying the ponies confusion to Bruce Willis swaggering into Nakatomi Plaza.

"I thought this was meant to be a 'Christmas' film?" whispered Rainbow Dash to Applejack. "Where's the snow, the cheer?"

"Maybe they do things differently over where he's from." said Applejack.

"Would you two shut up, some of us are trying to watch the film," hissed Rarity, just as John McClain walked out of the elevator. "Ahh, classical music, this is my type of film."

Richard was so distracted by the riveting colour commentary going on that he barely registered the shift of the sofa as a second weight sat down, it wasn't until a bowl of half eaten popcorn levitating in a purple field of magic appeared in his peripheral vision that he turned and noticed Twilight sitting next to him.

"Wha..." Richard opened his mouth to ask what she was doing there, but was silenced as she place the tip of one of her wings against his lips.

"Popcorn?" she whispered, shaking the bowl. Richard took it gratefully and instantly consumed a handful of the deliciously sweet snack.

Smiling, Twilight shifted her weight and slid slightly towards Richard, close enough to whisper directly into his ear, her hot breath making him blush and a shiver run down his spine.

"Enjoying the show?" she whispered.

"The movie or the argument?" he asked just as Rarity flew out of her chair, knocking both Rainbow and herself to the floor, Pinkie and Applejack chanting 'Fight, fight, fight,' and the movie all but forgotten.

Twilight laughed, and slid across the sofa again, now barely a sliver between her body and his; causing his face to go almost beet red.

"Both are equally exciting," she muttered as she rested her head on his shoulders, causing him to stiffen. Noticing his reaction to her she whispered, "Is this alright?"

"Y-yes," he stuttered.

"What about this?" she asked as she stretched out her right wing, wrapping it around his shoulders.

"That's f-fine too," he had to resist the urge to sigh, the soft sensation of her feathers against the side of his neck was particularly comforting.

"And what about this?" Twilight placed one of her forehooves on his shoulder and another on his chest to support her weight as she pulled herself up and slowly nuzzled the nape of his neck, a low growl building in the bottom of her throat.

"T-Twilight?" Richard asked, his voice broken as sweat began to form on his brow and his face turned so red he was almost certain it could light the room. "W-what are you d-doing?"

"Hmm?" Twilight hummed, the pleasant sensation forcing Richard to close his eyes and swallow nervously. "I'm just being friendly."

"I-I've never seen you nuzzle your other friends like this."

"Well, none of them worship my flank do they?" she asked suggestively, her eyes half lidded.

"I don't..." Richard heard his voice squeak and coughed to try and sort it out. "I mean, I don't worship your flank."

"Really?" She asked mockingly."Then maybe you should tell that to your hand."

Richard looked down and noticed one of his hands, enveloped in a purple aura being moved and left to rest on her flank just above her cutie mark. The soft fur and warm pliable flesh felt like heaven under his touch and he couldn't resist squeezing just a little.

"Mmm," Twilight moaned under his touch. "I've known how you've felt about me for a while, but I've never had the chance to show you how I felt."

"H-how you've felt?" Richard asked, a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.

"Mhmm," Twilight answered, slowly nuzzling up from his neck to his ear. "How about I show you? Would you like that?"

Richard found himself unable to speak, his mouth suddenly dry and his tongue tied into knots. It was all he could do to nod.

"Good," whispered Twilight. "But not here, somewhere more private and I know just the place."

Richard barely registered what she had said when there was a flash of light and the sensation of being squeezed through a rubber tube. When the light receded, Richard found himself sitting on the edge of his bed, Twilight still pressed against his side, her hot breath still driving him crazy.

Finally realizing he was free to move without disturbing anyone, he attempted to extract himself from Twilight's clutches but found his will rapidly fade as Twilight gently bit down on his ear lobe and begin to tug lightly. A small moan passed his lips involuntarily causing Twilight to smile.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked lustily.

"Yes..." Richard groaned before he could help himself. "But wont the others notice we've gone?"

"Them?" Twilight scoffed. "Didn't you see them? They're probably all over each other by now, I always thought there was some sexual tension between Rarity and Rainbow, didn't you?"

"Yes..." Richard replied warily. "But..."

"But of course," Twilight interrupted, as she released Richard and leapt to the floor in front of him. "Why should they have all the fun?"

Richard didn't have chance to react as Twilight pushed him with her forehooves, sending him sprawling onto the bed, before pouncing on top of him with a hungry look in her eye.

"Twilight," Richard gulped, "we can't do this."

"Why not?" she asked huskily. "After all, this is only a dream."

"How..."

"How do I know?" asked Twilight as she leaned down give his left ear a slow, teasing lick. "I'm a manifestation of subconscious, you silly person."

"Oh..." Richard fell silent at this realization. Seeing him finally stop struggling, Twilight moved over to the other to gently nibble on it.

"Wait, please..." Richard pleaded as she tugged his other ear, the sensation travelling south down his body.

"Why?" whisper Twilight. "we just discussed..."

"It doesn't matter if this is a dream."

"Oh, so this is about that other issue, the one where you and Twilight are a different species." Twilight said, sitting up to look him in face.

"Well, that is one of the reasons, yes."

"It doesn't bother your friend down here," said Twilight as she stared greedily at the bulge in his jeans. "In fact, I think he wants out to play." Twilight softly placed a hoof on the tip of the bulge and began to rotate it in a slow circle, the sensation causing him to shake his head as he tried to resist.

"Don't you agree?" She whispered, leaning down, her lips a hairs width above his crotch.

"No!" Richard shouted, startling Twilight. "Alright, I admit it, I love you Twilight. Every time I see you smile, my heart skips a beat, but please stop."

"Why?" said Twilight, her magic enveloping his belt buckle. "You just said you loved you."

"Because I don't want my first time like this, I want it to be with the real Twilight. Her real eyes I stare into as I confess my feelings."

Twilight paused trying to undo his belt and smiled warmly, moving back up his body until her lips were mere millimeters away from his.

"Then what are you waiting for, you big idiot. Go and get me!" Twilight punctuated her remark by closing the gap and stealing his lips with hers.

'Huh,' Richard thought, as he closed his eyes. 'Her lips are a lot wetter than I imagined.'

Richard woke up spluttering, his face completely drenched with something he hoped was water. Slowly he opened his eyes and pushed himself into a seating position with one hand while at the same time reaching for something dry his face with with the other.

"Here," said Cadance, offering him a towel.

Wordlessly, Richard took it and dried himself off, all the while glaring at Cadance who had a bucket of water held aloft in her magical grip. Once dry, he stood up and did his best to brush off any dirt and grass from his clothes before turning to address the Princess.

"What on earth was that?" he asked accusingly.

"What, this?" Cadance said innocently, indicating to the bucket with a hoof. "I was just applying the antidote to the potion."

"And the antidote is a bucket of ice cold water?" Richard sighed. "How did you even know when to use it?"

"A quirk of the potion," said Cadance. "Those who drink it say everything aloud as well as in the dream."

"And you didn't think to tell me that before I drank the potion?" asked Richard, turning slightly red with shame at what the Princess must have heard.

"And risk you holding back?" Cadance smiled warmly. "Of course not. And don't worry everything I heard is entirely confidential and stays between us. Even the bit about you worshiping Twilight's flank."

"I said I didn't worship her flank. Didn't." he repeated heatedly.

"And I didn't believe it for one second. Especially not after you professed your love for her. So..." Cadance trailed off, rotating her hoof slowly in the air.

"So... what?" asked Richard curiously.

"So... how are you planning on winning the fair maiden's heart?" replied Cadance causing Richard's face to turn bright red.

Richard took a deep breath.

"I'm not."

"You're not?" Cadance was confused. "But the dream... The potion... Why go through all that to realize you love her and not pursue her."

"I do love her," Richard blushed and a bead of sweat ran its way down his brow, the admission released the knot of tension he'd been feeling since last night but at the same timed fanned the flame of his heat as it returned in full force after the dream. "And the dream helped a lot, especially with the whole different species thing, Cadance, thank you so much."

"Then why not go and say sweet nothings to her?" asked Cadance. "If it's because of Shining Armour, I can personally assure you he will be completely okay with it."

"Because my stay here is only temporary," sighed Richard. "Let's pretendfor a second somepony as intelligent and beautiful as Twilight would say yes, how can I claim to care about her if I would be willing to put her through the pain of me leaving?"

"Hmm, that is a tricky situation." hummed Cadance. "Though I'm certain if you were to ask her, she wouldn't mind. Besides, maybe you'd want to stay? I mean, would you really have to go?"

"Yes." Said Richard. "Don't get me wrong, I love Equetsria, in many ways it's better than Earth, but I can't just abandon my family."

"I understand, I imagine they probably miss you a lot, though I'm curious about something." Said Cadance. "THe letters Twilight sent me said you didn't like talking about your family."

"I don't really," Richard shook his head.

"Why not?" asked Cadance. "If you don't mind me asking?"

"Because I feel the pain of remembering them would distract me from enjoying my time here. Sure, I miss my family, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I didn't want to waste my chance here."

"Seems rather wise," Cadance smiled, placing a comforting hoof on Richard's shoulder. "But perhaps when you get back to Ponyville you should tell Twilight that at least? Would help you two bond even if you don't want to ask her out."

"I think that could be a bit dangerous, getting too close to Twilight this week. Now that I know I love her, this potion is going to make being around her rather difficult."

"Ahh, but you can't avoid her, not unless you want to give her a panic attack." Cadance and Richard both smiled. "Speaking of avoiding Twilight, it is getting on in the day, and it probably wont be long until the last train back, perhaps it would be time to go."

"I suppose you're right," Richard approached Cadance and held out his hand for her to shake. "Thank you very much for everything, I don't know how I can repay you."

Cadance looked at his hand, eyebrow raised in amusement before knocking it aside and embracing him in a hug.

"Don't mention it," she crooned, "knowing my sister in law has captured someone's heart is worth every second. Gives me a gossip trump card next time I meet up with my aunts."

Cadance let go and Richard looked around in confusion.

"So... how do I get out of here?"

Cadance laughed.

"Come, I'll show you out."

Twilight had never been more glad she'd never been that interested in attracting colts than she felt right now. If the torture she was suffering at Rarity's hoof was anything to go by, most mares must have been masochists.

"Stop squirming, Twilight," Scolded Rarity as one of Twilight's cheek muscles gave an involuntary twitch. "Applying makeup as masterfully as I do isn't an easy feat."

"Sorry, Rarity," Twilight said sarcastically through gritted teeth. "But I've been doing my best to not move a facial muscle for the last half an hour. I'm dangerously close to getting cramp."

"Oh, stop being such an old nag," giggled Rarity. "Anypony would think you've never worn makeup before."

"Only once, and that was my brother's wedding." sighed Twilight as she remembered that blissful day. "And it didn't take thirty minutes to apply."

"I remember, Twilight, I was there. And that's why I went home with Fancy Pants and you went home alone." Rarity carefully re-positioned Twilight's head a fraction. "Now hold still or else."

"Or else what?" growled Twilight.

"Or else the makeup will smudge and we'll have to start again. Understood?"

Twilight grunted her agreement.

"Good. Now just a couple more strokes..." Rarity stuck out her tongue in concentration as she expertly blended the blush on Twilight's cheek. "And done."

With a flurry, Rarity span Twilight's chair around to face the mirror behind her, and what she saw took Twilight's breath away.

"Wow..." Twilight gasped, amazed. "Is that really me?"

Though she knew it was her own reflection, Twilight could barely believe the mare in the mirror was in fact her. The first thing she noticed was her eyes. Deep violet pools framed by purple eye shadow so dark it was almost back couldn't help but draw the attention. Next her gaze moved down to her cheeks, where the blush blended perfectly with her skin, but yet still managed to highlight a hint of youthful cheekiness. Finally there was the pink lipstick that matched the stripe in her mane and she had to admit, her lips had never looked so kissable.

"Of course it's you," beamed Rarity. "And you do look rather ravishing if I do say so myself."

"Thank you, Rarity," Twilight smiled, "Thank you so much. It almost makes all that pain worth it."

"Almost worth it?" Rarity asked in mock insult. "Well, I guess it's not the worst description of my work I've ever heard."

"Oh, Rarity, I'm sorry." Twilight looked down at the floor. "But you know what I meant."

"I do," said Rarity. "And it makes me so happy to see you so happy. But your transformation isn't complete yet. We still need to find the right outfit to go with your new look to make Richard's heart explode."

"You think we'll find one?" asked Twilight curiously.

"Of course I do. In fact, I think I have just the thing." Rarity walked over to the rack of cloths and pulled a pair of glasses out of the top pocket of a white blouse. Returning to Twilight, she carefully placed them on her friend's face before inspecting Twilight's reflection in the mirror.

"Hmm, I've always thought you could pull off the sexy librarian look." Hummed Rarity. "And it looks like I could be right. Let's try on the rest of the outfit shall we?"

"Sure," said Twilight, not really listening, too distracted by her reflection. She had never worn glasses before, her vision being perfect, but as she looked at how they framed her face, her heart began to beat faster. Looking at herself now she could just about believe everything Rarity had been saying about her.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

Twilight was brought out of her ruminations by a polite knocking at the door followed by the voice of her assistant.

"Twilight, I'm sorry to interrupt you." Spike apologised. "But a letter just arrived from Princess Celestia, and I thought you might want to see it as soon as possible."

"Of course Spike, just a second." Twilight replied, before quickly rising to her hooves and crossing the room. Reaching the door, she opened it a crack, just enough to let Spike's claw reach through and hand her the scroll.

"Thanks, Spike," she said.

"You're welcome," said Spike. "Have fun you two."

"We will Spike," replied Rarity. "So, what does the Princess have to say?"

"I dunno," said Twilight, breaking the seal on the scroll. "Lets have a look."

Twilight opened the scroll and began to read, the atmosphere instantly changing. Rarity could have sworn the room grew colder causing a shiver to run down Rarity's spine. Rarity watched as Twilight read the scroll, her eyes growing wider and looking more distressed with each word.

Finishing the letter and rolling the scroll up, Twilight stood perfectly still, her face as white as a sheet despite the makeup. Seeing her friend so shocked by a letter began to Rarity, who reached out with a hoof to comfort her.

"Twilight, what's wro..."

"Sorry, Rarity," Twilight interrupted, her voice broken and tears beginning to form at the edges of her eyes. "I've got to go."

Before Rarity could say another word, there was a flash of light, and Twilight was gone.

The letter

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Twilight soared through the sky, her heart beating a mile a minute, tears stinging her eyes. Circling the town Twilight located her target and plummeted to the ground, skidding to a halt just in front of Richards front gate. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Twilight tucked the scroll under her wing and opened the gate.

The place seemed eerily quiet as she walked up the garden path. On her past visits, as infrequent as they were, there were always small noises around the house, the creak of a pipe, or the hiss of a kettle, but now it was silent. It made her shiver.

Reaching the front door, Twilight knocked with a shaking hoof, desperately trying to work out what to say as she waited for the inevitable difficult discussion. Seconds pass and with no answer, Twilight knocks again. With no response, she wondered what to do next.

"Someone must have seen him," Twilight muttered, "but who?"

As if in answer, a prismatic blur past overhead, rapidly clearly clouds from the sky above.

"Hey Rainbow!" Twilight yelled, the blur quickly coming to a halt to scan the streets below her. "Over here," Twilight yelled again, waving a hoof to draw Rainbow's attention. It took a couple of seconds, but eventually Rainbow spotted her, and after only a moment, was hovering above Twilight.

"Hey, Twi, whats up?" asked Rainbow, frowning slightly as she spotted the tear stained makeup on Twi's face. "Why are you upset?"

"It's..." Twilight paused as she worked out exactly how much to tell Rainbow. "It's nothing. Have you seen Richard today at all?"

"Richard?" Rainbow eyed Twilight suspiciously, "not today. Why? Was he the one who upset you?" Twilight shook her head.

"Nopony upset me, Rainbow, I just need to find him."

"And I take it you're not going to tell me why?"

"I'm sorry, Rainbow. It's kind of private."

"Like, something to do with the bet, private?" asked Rainbow curious.

"No," said Twilight, frustrated. "Something that I really wished you'd stop asking about, private."

"Okay, Twilight, chill." Said Rainbow with a roll of her eyes. "Curiosity never hurt anyone."

Twilight opened her mouth, ready to correct Rainbow with the tale of 'Faulty Spark, the Curious,' when Rainbow interrupted her.

"Well, If you need to find Richard, word on the street is he had a 'run in' with Applejack this morning. Some even say it involved rope, though I never thought Richard was that kinky, so who knows what to believe?"

At Rainbows suggestion of Richard and Applejack being involved somehow, she felt a mild pang of an emotion she'd never felt before, and had no idea how to process.

"Thank you, Rainbow," she said, shaking her head to clear it. "Have a good afternoon."

"Will do." Rainbow grinned cheekily before her face becoming more serious. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," said Twilight gratefully. "But thank you for asking."

"Okay," nodded Rainbow, "But if Richard does hurt you, let me know and I'll kick his flank for you."

"Rainbow..." Twilight groaned

"Oh, and you might want to look for Applejack over near the stalls." Rainbow interrupted before beating a hasty retreat.

Twilight watched as Rainbow flew off, and let out a frustrated huff of air before turning away from Richard's house and back towards the market.

The walk to the market was short but cramped, the town filled with ponies filling their day-to-day shopping needs. Making her way through the crowd of ponies, she eventually reached the stalls selling various fruits and vegetables and there, as promised, was Applejack standing next to a wagon proudly displaying a series of glass bottles; a moderate queue of ponies in front of it waiting to be served.

Twilight paused, uncertainly if she should approach Applejack directly or wait in the queue herself. Fortunately, her questioned was answered as Applejack thanked a customer and spotted Twilight out of the corner of her eye, waving her hoof in greeting.

Blushing, and apologizing bashfully, Twilight skipped the queue and approached Applejack, the cowpony's smile quickly fading as she noticed the state of her friend.

"Twilight, are y'all okay?"

"I'm fine," said Twilight, brushing off the question with a move of her hoof.

"Hmm," Applejack hummed, unconvinced. "So what can ah do for ya?"

"A little birdie told me you might know where Richard is."

"Really?" asked Applejack, "Well ah'm afraid ah can't help ya."

"Oh," Twilight looked down at the ground gloomily. "So you don't know where he is?"

"Ah didn't say that, sugarcube. Ah just said ah couldn't help ya."

Twilight looked up.

"So you know where he is?"

"Ah do," replied Applejack. "But ah can't tell ya."

"Wait," Twilight looked hurt. "Why can't you? I really need to find him."

"Ah don't think it would be right, I imagine he'd rather ah kept it private." said Applejack.

"Do you know when he'll be back at least?" asked Twilight.

Applejack raised her hoof to her muzzle, doing her best to work out the times and distances involved.

"Ah'm not quite sure," she said after a few moments of silence. "Ah'd expect sometime today, probably late. Or maybe very early tomorrow morning."

"Are you sure?" asked Twilight, her voice strained.

"As sure as ah can be." A look of concern appeared on Applejack's face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," replied Twilight, a little too quickly. "I just need to get an important message to Richard."

"Message?" Applejack was curious. "What kind of message?"

"I... I can't tell you," Twilight stuttered. "Sorry."

"But something serious ah imagine?" Applejack asked understandingly. Twilight simply nodded in response.

"Alright, ah'll make sure to keep an eye out for him and point him in your direction if ah do." said Applejack, causing Twilight to smile gratefully.

"Thanks, Applejack. And I'll make sure to put a note through his door telling him to come to the castle as soon as he can. Between the two of us, we should catch him I guess."

Twilight turned to leave, but was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder. Turning back, slightly confused, she was quickly embraced in a hug.

"Ah know the news can't be good if it's gotten you this bothered, but ah'm sure Richard will appreciate the news coming from you."

Stepping onto the platform, a ticket clutched in his hands Richard couldn't help but admire the dark blue train in front of him. He'd seen the regular train several times, but this is the first time he'd seen the sleeper train. A recent addition, or so he'd heard from the ticket officer as he'd bought his ticket moments ago, part of the new investments from Luna's own funds.

The sleeper train was the colour of Luna's mane, the steel it was crafted from specked with small shards of a silver substance that shone like the stars in the night sky. It was a beautiful machine.

Approaching the train, he saw the guard do a double take as he passed. He couldn't blame her, he was surprised when he first saw a Thestral, and he was no less alien to her as she was to him. Richard smiled and went over towards her.

"Busy night?" he asked as casually as he could.

"No sir," she replied, her professionalism impressing him. "Just two others on the train right now, and I doubt we'll have another passenger tonight."

Richard nodded, he would prefer a ride not being gawked at right now, along with a stiff drink, which prompted another question before turning to board the train.

"Is there a bar on board?"

"Certainly sir," the guard answered with a proud smile. "The 'Lunar Express' is equipped to provide for all manner of night time services and entertainment options, including alcohol. You'll find the bar in coach B, behind the first class cabin." She indicated the correct cabin with her hoof.

"Thank you very much," Richard bowed his head slightly, "hope you have a pleasant night."

"You too sir."

Richard stepped away from the guard, and following the directions she'd given him, boarded the train. The cabin he entered was large and luxurious. The walls were draped with heavy dark blue curtains, and the room was filled with sturdy ebony tables. He noticed two ponies sitting at a table in the middle of the space, obviously in the middle of a heated discussion about something.

One of the ponies had a bright white coat with a vivid electric blue mane and a pair of glasses covering her eyes despite darkened surroundings. The other pony by comparison looked far more composed, with a grey coat, a black mane combed back behind her ears and a pink bow tied around her neck. They were an odd pair but Richard did his best to avoid meeting their gaze as he made his way over to the bar.

The bar was crafted from the most beautiful granite he'd ever seen, it was so dark it seemed to darken the round around him and it fitted his mood perfectly. He sat down on a stool, and within moments a Thestral appeared as if from nowhere, a broad smile across her face.

"Vhat can I get for you?" she asked with a thick accent he'd never heard before.

"A glass of neat scotch," he said gloomily, "If you have any?"

"Certainly, sir, it will be coming right up." The Thestral knelt under the bar, and after a moments of chinking glasses she came back up with a glass bottle of amber liquid clamped in her mouth, and a glass balancing on one of her leathery wings.

With a flick of her wing, the glass slid expertly onto the bar and she set about making his drink. Richard watched her as she pulled the stopper out of the scotch bottle and carefully used her front hooves to pour the drink into the glass. The amber fluid was thick and settled quickly within the container, not a single drop wasted due to splashing. Once the glass was full, she placed the bottle back on the counter and replaced the stopper, before pushing the glass over to him.

"Zhat vill be 6 bits if you would be pleased."

"Thanks," said Richard as he reached into his pocket, pulled out his coin purse and sorted through the change until he found 2 silver coins and slid them over the counter towards her. "Keep the change."

"Zhanks you mister, please be enjoying your drink." The bartender swept the coins with a happy hum and moved to busy herself at the other end of the bar.

Richard picked up the glass and swirled the liquid around, watching a small whirlpool form in the liquid, a question forming on the tip of his tongue.

"Excuse me?" he called the bartender back, as he placed the drink back on the granite top.

"Yes?" the bartender asked as she returned. "Is zher being something wrong vith your drink?"

"No, nothing like that," Richard shook his head. "I was just curious, about something."

"Vhat?"

"You have a lovely accent," he complimented her, causing a slight blush to form on her cheeks. "I was just curious where you're from?"

"Oh zhat?" The bartender smiled. "I am being from zhe country of Letyucha."

"Letyucha?" Richard asked, curious about its pronunciation.

"You have not been hearing of it?"

"There is a lot I haven't heard of if I'm being honest, not in Equestira anyway."

"Ahh," she nodded knowingly. "I take it you are also not being, how do zhey say it... from around here?"

"You could say that."

"So, where is it you being from?" she asked. "If I can be asking?"

"I'm from somewhere called Earth."

"Like zhe dirt? It be sounding like a very dirty country."

He shook his head. "It's not a country. I'm from a different world."

"Wait, you're the human?!" shouted a voice from behind him.

"Vinyl, could you please be quiet, can't you see he's in the middle of a conversation."

Richard groaned and turned around on his stool to see the white mare standing on her chair, one forehoof on the table and the other pointed at him.

"What?" The white mare, who was obviously 'vinyl' asked. "I was only asking him a question."

"You didn't just ask..." The other mare shook her head and stood up. "You know what, Vinyl, I'm not having this conversation again." Turning her back on her friend, she made her way over to Richard and stopped in front of him offering her hoof in greeting.

"I'm very sorry for my friend, she definitely should know better by now" she said, her voice filled with disappointment. "Anyway, I'm Octavia, Octavia Melody."

"Wait," Richard gave her a second look over as he reached for her hoof. "Not the Octavia Melody?"

"Oh, you've heard of me?" Octavia blushed. "I wouldn't have expected someone of your 'status' to be interested in Equestrian music. No offense."

"None taken," he smiled. "I admit I'm not a huge classical fan, but I came to love your music the first few days I was in Equestria?"

"First few days?" she asked herself with a tone of surprise. "I didn't expect to be considered good enough to be the first of our wide array of musical talent for you to be exposed to."

Richard rocked his head from side to side. "It wasn't really intentional. I spent my first couple of days recovering in Fluttershy's cottage while they decided what to do with me. She said classical music helped her animals relax and recover, so she hoped it would help me too."

"And did it?" asked Octavia curiously.

"Well," Richard smiled. "It was either that or the pills."

Octavia giggled. "You know, if you're travelling alone, you should join us."

"Are you sure?" Richard looked unsure. "What about your friend?"

"Oh Vinyl?" Octavia pointed back at her friend. "She's a nice mare really, she just gets a bit rowdy when drinking. But don't worry she doesn't bite." Octavia started walking towards the table, before pausing and looking back at him and winking. "But I might, if you're lucky."

Richard felt suddenly uncomfortable as the tickling heat inside him became an inferno.

'Is she flirting with me?'

Taking deep breath and wiping the sweat from his brow he made his way over to their table to join them. As he pulled up a chair, the half lidded smile Octavia fixed him with made him shivered.

"Vinyl, this is..." Octavia trailed her hoof through the air.

"Richard," he said, finishing her sentence for her. "Nice to meet you lovely ladies."

"Dude," Vinyl lifted her glasses to fix him with a pair of red eyes. "Sorry about, ya know, before. I may or may not have done some pre drinking earlier."

"Ah, you girls on a night out then?"

"Nah, but every night is drinking night, which means during the day is pre drinking." Vinyl smiled. "Speaking of drinks... Barkeeper, another round for me and my friends here. You like vodka right?" she asked Richard.

"So, what do you?" Vinyl burped, slamming a shot glass onto the table in front of her.

"Vinyl!" Octavia exclaimed, scrunching her muzzle.

"What?" asked Vinyl.

"Manners..." Richard couldn't help but smile as Octavia fixed him with a 'See what I have to deal with?' look.

"Not everyone is as refined and cultured as you are, Octyl."

"I don't know if I should be insulted by that," muttered Richard, looking down at his own empty, blinking a bead of sweat out of his eye.

"Nah," smirked Vinyl. "If I was going to insult you, I would comment on how you've visibly sweating more than I do at the gym."

"Only because you don't actually do anything at the gym, Vinyl." said Octavia.

"I do plenty at the gym." growled Vinyl.

"Fucking your personal trainer does not count as exercise." Octavia rolled her eyes.

"You only say that because the last time you got fucked was when Fluttershy's birds were chosen to play for Celestia instead of you."

Silence filled the cabin and Richard felt his heat suddenly drained away by a sudden intense dislike of Vinyl.

"That..." Octavia sniffed. Her ears pinned back and tears welling in her eyes, she suddenly looked like a completely different pony than the one moments ago.

Richard sat silently, watching as Octavia opened her mouth to complete her sentence but seconds later she gave up as she burst into tears and ran from the train car.

"Octyl wait," Vinyl tried in vain to stop her. "I'm sorry."

Shame etched onto her features, she looked at Richard imploringly for some amount of support but he simply shook his head and wordlessly left to follow Octavia out of the car.

Walking down the car, Richard felt numb and barely noticed the plush interior of the first class cabin. He had no idea why he was chasing after a pony he barely knew, he was just following some feeling that told him that it was the thing he should be doing.

Following the sounds of sobs, he found himself standing outside a stained mahogany wood door. The sounds of muffled crying echoed out of the room, and Richard raised his hand to the door. For a moment he hesitated, his hand hovering over the wood as a moment of doubt ran through his mind, then it passed and he knocked on the door three times.

"Go away Vinyl," Octaiva muttered. "Haven't you done enough?"

Richard coughed.

"Actually, it's not Vinyl."

Richard heard a the sound of a snort as the crying stopped, followed by the sound of muffled hoof steps and finally the scrape of the lock before the door opened before him.

"Richard? W-what are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure," Richard shrugged. "I know we only just met, but it seemed you could use some support. So, I'm here if you need me."

Octavia smiled weakly, "Thanks, but you don't need to do this. Like you said, we've only just met and the train journey is only a couple of hours. I'll be fine."

"Okay," said Richard. "I guess I'll go to the bar and try and avoid Vinyl."

At the mention of Vinyl's name, Octaiva's ears pinned back and she started dancing on her hooves as she chewed the inside of her cheek in thought. Richard had only gone a couple of meters back down the corridor when Octavia jumped out of the cabin and called out to him.

"On second thoughts, you better come in." Octavia stepped aside and held the door open for him. "I couldn't in good consciousness force you to spend any more time in that nags company."

"Are you sure? I don't want to be an imposition if you'd rather be by yourself."

"I'm absolutely sure, and it wont be an imposition. As long as you don't mind me asking questions about yourself?"

Richard paused a beat as he crossed the threshold of the cabin, the plus velvet lined interior felt far more welcoming than the bar and he struggled to resist its allure.

"I don't mind," Richard smiled as Octavia closed and locked the door behind him. "Just nothing too personal please."

"You have my word as a lady. As little as that may count to you after hearing Vinyl." Octavia, placed a hoof on hear heart before pointing to a sofa that ran the length of one wall of the cabin. "Please take a seat." She said as she took her own place in a comfortable looking arm chair.

"So...?" asked Richard as he took his seat. "What would you like to know?"

"Hmm," Octavia hummed, "How about family? I presume you have family back home, wherever home is?"

Richard frowned slightly at that question, an icy chill descending down his spine as thoughts of his family flitted through his mind.

"I'm sorry," Octavia frowned noticing him shivering. "I shouldn't have asked..."

"It's okay," Richard interrupted, "It's just hard, you know, being so far away from them." he took a deep breath to collect himself.

"I have my parents, obviously, both still alive and together when I last saw them. My father was a church minister, which wont really mean anything to anyone here I suppose and my mother was a stay at home parent. Though she moved into door to door sales once me and my brother got older."

"I also have the one brother, he'd recently started his first year of university studying music. Not really sure what he plans to do to be honest."

"Interesting, and how do you feel about your family?"

"What do you mean?" asked Richard.

"Do you like them?"

"I guess," Richard shrugged. "I mean I loved them, but that's just family isn't it? What about you? Tell me about your family?"

"Mom and dad, like you said, obviously. Both of them were musicians which I guess isn't a surprise given my profession. No siblings, I was an only child. Which has its ups and downs. Plenty of parental supervision, but meant I couldn't party as hard as my school friends. Though I guess that helped me get to where I am today."

"And did you like them?"

"Yes," Octavia nodded. "In fact, I'd go as far as to say that they were my idols. They always made sure I had everything I needed, and were both eager for me to pursue my own path. They didn't even complain when I chose the cello over their own preferred instrument; the piano."

"Sounds lovely."

"It was," Octavia, starting to smile. "So, moving on from your family, what about you? What were you doing before you ended up here?"

"Not much, sadly. I had spent most of the last year before coming here unemployed. I had graduated from university with a 'BEng' in mechanical engineering the year before but while the jobs were there, I didn't have the experience companies wanted."

"Okay, and what do you do now that you're here?"

"Handy man, I do odd jobs around Ponyville."

"Wait?!" Octavia shouted. "You're a qualified engineer and you do odd jobs for a living?" Richard nodded sheepishly. "Why?"

"It's a bit hard to explain."

"Try me, I'm not as dumb as Vinyl claims I am."

"That's not the issue," Richard sighed. "I can't imagine anyone in your position being dumb."

"You should see the chair of Royal Canterlot Philharmonic then," Octavia giggled, causing Richard to smile. "So what's the issue."

"Well, there are several reasons but the big one is I'm trying to avoid large connections to Equestria."

"Why would you want to do that?" asked Octavia.

"Because, one of these day's I'm going to get a letter from Celestia saying that she's found a way for me to return home. When that happens, I don't want my sudden absence to cause any problems here."

"So, you would definitely leave if you had the chance? I thought you liked Equestria?"

"I do, but I had a life back home. Not much of one at the time, I admit, but I had family and friends who no doubt miss me. That said, I'm also worried about going home."

"How so?" Octavia as she leaned forward intently, fixing Richard with her piercing purple eyes.

"How do I explain this?" he asked, waving his hands all around him. "How do I explain that I was missing for three months in a land filled with cute talking equine and magic? I'd be thought off as a madman. But if I don't explain where I be, there would be constant questions and suspicions."

"That would be difficult I suppose," said Octavia, raising a hoof to muzzle in thought. "Perhaps you could lie to everyone?"

"And say what? Sorry I disappeared everyone, but it's okay, I was living in a forest to try and find myself?"

"Well, when you put it like that, anything will sound silly." huffed Octavia, though Richard noticed she still had a small smile.

"So, what more is their to tell about you, Richard? Got a special sweetheart back home?"

For a fleeting moment, an image of Twilight, sat where Octavia was sitting and reading one of her favorite novels, one he'd seen her read many times, it's cover worn and faded to a dull brown though he suspected it had once been bright read, appeared into his head. Then he shook it out, she had asked about 'back home', not Equestria.

"Not back home, no." answered Richard, Octavia's eyes going wide as she noticed the nugget he'd given.

"Ooh, so someone in Equestria then?" She asked. "How scandalous, and you said you didn't want any ties a moment ago."

Richard blushed slightly, the heat beginning to return.

"We're not dating," he whispered. "I only really found out how I felt about her today, it's actually why I was visiting the Crystal Empire."

"Oh, a Crystal Pony has your eye?" Richard shook his head in response.

"Not a Crystal Pony, I was up here to speak with Princess Cadance to see if she could help me understand my feelings for a pony."

"I see," hummed Octavia. "And did she?"

Richard's face turned completely red.

"Did she ever..."

"Ahh," she exclaimed knowingly. "That might explain the constant sweating and blushing."

"Ahh, yes, that would explain it." Richard nodded.

"She must be a spectacular mare," Octavia looked down at her hooves. "To capture your mind like that."

"I'd be lying if I said she wasn't."

"And you have no plan to woo this fair maiden?"

"Like I said, I can't afford to many connections to Equestria." Richard sighed. "Not that she'd like me anyway."

Octavia looked back up at him and studied him carefully.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I'm hardly a prize catch, I'm not even a pony for crying out loud."

"I dunno," she said thoughtfully, rotating one forehoof in a gentle circle on the arm of her chair. "I can imagine some ponies wouldn't mind that. In fact some ponies I know prefer non pony partners."

"Really?" Richard was curious.

"Yes," she whispered. "Not that the pony you like will be Xenophile, but she may not be put off by that fact."

"That... that bears some thinking about."

"Not that you want a connection to Equestria."

"No..." Richards eyes wondered the room, and spotted a large case which he could only assume was her cello case, sparking an idea.

"I'm sorry, and please feel free to say no, but I just spotted your cello case and I wonder if there is a chance I could hear you play?"

Octavia smiled craftily, "You know tickets for my shows go for literally dozens of bits, don't you?"

"I have bits if you want payment."

"Payment for a private show? What do you think I am, some common harlot?" She got up from her chair and headed over to her cello case. "I actually have a much better offer. Come work for me."

"Sorry?" Richard looked at her confused as she bent down to undo the cases latches. "Work for you?"

"Yes, as a qualified engineer you deserve a much better job than doing odd things around the town. Ponyville Academy of Music, which I happen to be owner of, is in need of a manager."

"But I have no musical talent." Richard protested.

"Not a problem, I handle most of the musical stuff, I just need someone more academically minded to run some of the business side of things, organizing the place, that kind of thing." Octavia was practically beaming as she bent down to pick up her cello and bow.

"Besides, the role will involve a lot of time with me, so I can teach you anything musical you'd need. Frankly I think with those fingers of yours you'd make a great pianist. Especially after I trained you. And I wont hear anything about creating ties to Equestria, if the need to return home comes up, you'd have my blessings to leave."

"I don't know," Richard scratched his head.

"Just promise me you'll think about it, that's all I ask."

"Okay then, I'll think about it."

Octavia smiled brightly. "Thank you. Now, is there any song in particular you'd like to hear?"

"I'm not sure," Richard shrugged. "I don't have a particular favorite, I love listening to all your music."

"Oh you flatterer. You know exactly what a lady wants to hear." Octavia hefted her cello upwards, lifting herself up onto her hind legs, using the instrument to support herself. "How about something new from my upcoming album?"

"Certainly," Richard sat back and got himself comfortable as the music began to play.

Richard smiled as he stepped off the train at Ponyville station, turning around, he offered his hand to help Octavia down behind him.

"Ohh, what a gentleman," she giggled.

"I do try sometimes."

She gently took his hand with her left hoof and made the small leap down to the platform, landing next to him.

"Thank you," she leaned up on her hind legs and hugged him around his neck, her bulk causing him to lean down slightly. "I'm so glad I met you tonight."

Octavia hung there for a second, her rear hooves stretched as far as she could manage, then she jumped slightly and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to turn bright red and have to hold his hand back as the heat pumping through his system made him momentarily forget where he was.

"You're welcome," he replied as she let go and he placed a hand on his cheek where her lips had been a moment before.

"Promise me you'll think about my offer?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly," he said placing his hand on his heart, copying a move he'd seen Pinkie perform several times, causing Octavia to giggle which in turn caused him to blush harder.

"That's good enough for me," Octavia said as she turned and left to go and collect her luggage from where it was being unloaded by a couple of tired looking train company staff. "Have a good night."

"You too," Richard wished her well and turned towards the exit of the train station, the dark and silent town greeting him ahead.

Making his way back to his house took longer than he expected it to. He hadn't been to the station many times before and returning from that part of town in darkness of night left him lost several times, forcing him to gain his bearings again before continuing.

After close to 20 minutes, Richard finally got home, closing the door behind him. Flicking the light on, and turning to lock the door behind him, he notice a roll of parchment lying on the welcome mat below the letter box. Ordinarily he would have ignored the letter until the morning, but a small purple seal marked it as a letter from Twilight.

'Curious,' he thought to himself. 'What is she writing to me for?'

Picking up the scroll and breaking the seal, he opened the letter and was shocked. Where there would normally be the eloquent sentences of a pony who had literally read a thesaurus, or the carefully written words of Spike, there was a hastily written note splattered with ink and what appeared to water stains.

'Richard.

Come to castle as soon as possible.

It's urgent.

Twilight'

As Richard read and reread the note, he felt a chill run down his spine. What had happened while he had been away? Gulping nervously, Richard rolled up the note and put it into his pocket and opening the door, stepped back into the night.

Half jogging and half running, Richard made his way as quickly as possible to the castle and before long, he was standing panting outside the great crystal door. From the front the castle looked dead and shut up tight and for a second he doubted whether or not he should knock, then he remembered how unusual the hasty writing of the note was and knocked three times, each knock seeming to echo into the night around him before trailing off into fresh silence.

Several seconds passed as Richard stood listening to the silent night, and just as he was wondering if he should go home and come back in the morning, there was a pop of displaced air. This was followed by a grinding as the door was unlocked and opened to reveal a tired Twilight who peered out from behind her hoof that was rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Huh, Richard?" she muttered. "What are you doing here?"

"I, um, got the note you sent me." he replied sheepishly, put off by the fact he'd clearly woken her up.

"Note? What note?" She yawned. Richard went to retrieve the note in response and as he pulled it out a sudden transformation came over Twilight, her sleepiness disappearing almost instantly to be replaced with severe concerned expression.

"Oh that note," she exclaimed, fear clear in her voice. "You better come in."

She stepped aside to let him in, and quickly closed the door behind him.

"Follow me, I think it would be easier to discuss this over a drink."

Filled with a mix of equal parts worry and curiosity, Richard followed Twilight through the dark castle; their footsteps echoing around the corridors as her horn lit the way. The route was familiar to Richard, having traveled this route only a couple of nights previously. After a couple of minutes, Twilight stopped before a simple door and led him into same cosy room from their recent poker game.

"Please, take a seat." Instructed Twilight as she flipped rooms light switch, and made her way over to the fireplace to start the fire going.

"Anything I can do?"

"No. Ah, it's okay, I've got it covered." Twilight said as she sparked a fire with her horn, and placed some fresh wood onto the flames to feed it. "Anything in particular you'd like to drink?"

"Ahh, hot chocolate would be fine, please."

"Coming right up."

Richard spent the next couple of minutes quietly watching Twilight as she prepared them both a drink, doing his best to avoid staring at her flank as it wiggled while she worked. It wasn't until Twilight had sat down and placed his drink before him that either one of them spoke.

"So," said Twilight breaking the uneasy silence. "I suppose you're wondering why I left that note for you."

"Yes, although all of this," Richard motioned to the room they were sitting in and the drink before him, "has me worried. Though I'm probably just being paranoid."

"Actually," Twilight gulped nervously, "you're not being completely paranoid. I have something to show you."

"Show me what?" asked Richard, taking a sip of the hot chocolate.

"This," Twilight scrunched her face up in concentration and with a flash of magic a loose scroll appeared on the table before her. Richard could see several lines of text written on it, along with more water stains, however before he could read any of it, Twilight flipped it over.

"What is that?" Richard pointed at the note before her.

"That..." Twilight paused to take a quick drink of her own hot chocolate to settle her nerves. Richard growing increasingly worried as he noticed a slight tremor in her hoof clutching the drink, and tears forming at the edges of her eye.

"That, is a letter I received earlier today, well technically yesterday I guess now, from Princess Celestia."

"Okay," Richard said warily. "How does this concern me?"

"Well," Twilight sniffed and wiped the newly formed tears from her eyes. "You know how when you first came here Celestia set up a research project to find a way to get you home?" Richard nodded. "Well, she sent an update and..." Twilight's voice broke and she shook her head unable to speak as she started sobbing.

"I can't..." she gasped between sobs, pushing the letter towards him. "Read."

Richard took the letter, his own hands shaking nervously after seeing Twilight's response. It was as he turned it over to read it that he realized the water stains were caused by tears and he gulped.

'Dear Twilight', the letter began.

'I am writing to you today regarding your friend, the human Richard.

As you are well aware, once informed of his arrival and the situations surrounding it, I formed a research group here in Canterlot who took the information you had gathered from Richard himself to try and establish a route back to his home world so that he may return to his own life.

Not that I was adverse to his staying in Equestria, especially given its necessity, however it is beyond question that he would likely flourish back on his own world surrounded by his own kind. Your own foray into 'Canterlot High', while not his world of origin, should have shown you that humans; despite their similarities to us; have many differences. I can only imagine these differences are exaggerated when these 'humans' are no longer 'mirror images' of ponies present in Equestria. But this is neither here nor there.

Today I received a new update from this team regarding the project and it is with a heavy heart I must write that it is not good news. Not good at all. Though not exactly certain why; and I have been presented with many hypothesis regarding the issue, I can assure you; the project has failed in locating Richards world. It goes without saying that without locating his world, it will be impossible to return Richard home.

I'm very sorry, my former student, but due to your unique position with Richard I must ask you to inform him that; at least for foreseeable future; he is bound to our realm and stuck in Equestria. I know this will not be an easy task, but it is the nature of leadership that sometimes our roles will involve challenge of hardship. However, please know this, I have every confidence in your ability to pass this information along though if you would indulge me; I have a word of advice to impart.

This will be a challenging time for Richard. In my experience he will need his friends more than a Princess. Having read your many letters on the subject of friendship I'm certain you will pass this next test presented before you.

Finally, I know Richard will have many questions about his place in Equestria, how he fits in and what will happen to him with this revelation. I would like to reaffirm, despite what I have previously stated about the best place for him being his own world, that he will be more than welcome to remain in our fair land should he wish. I would also like to affirm that should that be his wish, the crown will eagerly support; and given the circumstance - expedite; any application made for Equestrian citizenship.

Know that I am always just a quick message away should you need any advice and support in this matter.

Your friend and former mentor.

Princess Celestia.'

Placing the letter down on the table when finished, Richard's world shattered and tears started to stream down his face as he began to openly cry. He was filled with several emotions, fear; confusion; anger; doubt; and most of all - despair. He wanted to scream and shout. He was so confused and he didn't even know he had stood up and left the room until he felt the chill of night surround him and heard the slam as the castle door closed behind him.

Twilight was struggling not to cry. She had tried to catch Richard as he fled the room but had been too slow, her own sadness paralyzing her as tears began to pour from his eyes and he'd risen from his chair. Now she sat alone in the small room, the only noise was the crackle of the fire and her repeated sniffing. She was a hairs width away from breaking down in tears herself but she knew she had to do her best to resist. Richard needed her right now and she'd be no good to him if she just sat here crying.

Taking several deep gulps of breath to compose herself, Twilight wiped the tears from her eyes again and stood up. Moving over to the fire, she quickly banished the flames with a gust of magically conjured wind and left the room, turning off the light behind her.

She started down the corridor and knew from the silence of the castle around her that he had left.

"Should have locked the door," she muttered to herself as she started her pursuit of her friend.

Leaving the castle, she paused only to lock the door behind her and launched herself into the sky. As she reached the zenith of her arch she span in a circle and scanned the area below her. Frowning, she quickly knew this would be a useless exercise. Despite the moon being up, the land below was too dark for her to have any chance of spotting Richard. Fortunately, a lack of light was a problem she could easily solve.

Focusing on her regulating her breathing, she settled herself into a pattern of Inhale, flap, exhale and began to charge her magic. Despite her current mental state, she couldn't help but feel a little excited as she felt the magical energy build at the base of her horn, filling her head a pleasurable tingle she'd never felt from anything else.

After several moments and she felt the energy build to a suitable level, she closed her eyes and released the energy in a wave of pure white light. Quickly she opened here eyes and scanned town below her while it was briefly illuminated. There, a flash of movement over near edge of town heading towards Whitetail Wood. Entering into a graceful dive, she chased after him even as the light began to fade leaving her with only a faint memory of the direction she thought he'd been heading.

Night flying was something Rainbow Dash never recommended, so she made sure to keep to safe measured pace to avoid any possible collisions with nocturnal creatures as best as possible. Because of this, it was nearly ten minutes before she landed at edge of Whitetail Wood and proceeded in on hoof.

Sticking to the main path that run through the wood, as she hope Richard had done also, she headed deeper into the trees. Despite the chill in the air she was thankful it was early spring. It meant the moon was clearly visible through the foliage providing just enough light to safely see the outlines of any obstacles and avoid any accidents.

For twenty minutes she walked through the silent forest. Despite the situation she couldn't help but admire the quiet beauty of the place as the moon reflected off of the white bark of the tree's. For a moment it appeared as if winter had returned, she could even swear she could hear the sound of Hearth's Warming singing as her ears flicked at the imaginary noise.

A couple more minutes of walking and she realized that the sound wasn't imaginary, there was somepony singing in the wood. Though she couldn't clearly make out any words it was unmistakably a masculine voice and the song sounded so sad.

'Richard!' her thoughts screamed to herself. 'It must be Richard singing.'

Increasing her speed and changing direction towards the sound, she dashed through the tree line as quickly as she dared, the sound of singing increasing with each second. Soon she found she could make out the words being sung, it spoke of loneliness and a desire to go home. While she doubted his singing would win any awards, she couldn't help but but be captivated by the honesty and emotion the song carried. She was so enraptured that when she came out of the trees into a clearing by a small lake with a shadowy figure that could only be Richard slumped next to a rock at the edge of water, she didn't dare interrupt.

Standing there, she closed her eyes and let the words of the song wash over her.

When it came to an end, she heard Richard mutter, "Mum. Dad. Steve. I miss you," before he lapsed into silence

"Richard," her call cut through the air and she saw him physically tense up at her words. "It's me."

"Twilight?" he asked. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Twilight took a cautious step forward, followed by another when Richard didn't immediately bolt.

"I heard you singing and followed it," she whispered. "It was... it was beautiful."

"Hah," Richard hiccoughed sarcastically. "I'm a terrible singer."

"No you're not," she said soothingly. "Besides, it was the emotion of it. It was really moving."

"Hmmm," Richard hummed disapprovingly.

"It's true," Twilight insisted, risking another couple of steps forward. "I'm sure your family would be touched by how you miss them."

"I doubt it," Richard sniffed. "They probably think I'm dead by now."

Twilight nodded, after three months disappearance with no evidence as to why, he was likely right. But she knew confirming it was a terrible idea.

"I couldn't possibly say." Twilight took another step. "But if saw how you were doing here, I'm sure they'd be proud."

"Proud of what?" Richard asked rhetorically. "A son who's sitting here crying? A son so emotionally unstable he had to go to the Crystal Empire and speak to Princess Cadance to find out how he felt about a pony?"

'He went to speak to Cadance about a pony?' Twilight was shocked. He couldn't have possibly intended to say that, especially given how private Applejack had been about the issue earlier. 'He probably doesn't even realize he said it.'

"No," said Twilight forcefully, now only a couple of steps away. "The son who's managed to make a new life on an alien world. The son who has managed to learn to adjust to a completely new culture. And the son who has six friends who care deeply about him."

"I don't know," Richard sobbed.

"Well I do," insisted Twilight, now only one step away. "And I'm sure the others will agree with me. You've done an amazing job to adjust to such a drastic change in such little time. Plenty of others would have gone crazy in your hooves, er feet."

"That's because I always expected to be going home someday," Richard looked up at her and the sight of him there, an empty shell of the person who had been even only a day before broke her heart. "What do I do now?"

"I don't know," Twilight replied honestly, taking the final step forward. "But you're not going to be doing it alone."

Twilight lowered herself down onto the ground next to Richard and placed her hooves onto his shoulders to draw him into a hug. He flinched as her hooves made contact, and for a moment she was worried she'd crossed a line, but he quickly relaxed and let her draw him towards her. As their bodies made contact, she could feel him shivering in the evening cold so she rolled her body over slightly to free her wings and wrap them around him.

"I miss them so much," Richard cried, burying his head into her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her neck.

"I know," soothed Twilight. "But I'm here for you."

The picnic.

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Richard returned to the world slowly, darkness replaced by light a little at a time. As he regained consciousness, he realized two things. Firstly, he felt numb and empty, not a single glimmer of sweat on his forehead from the heat flowing through his system. The second, he had no idea where he was. The last thing he remembered was sitting in a forest, Twilight's wings wrapped around him.

'Twilight...'

Richard tried to sit up, but found he couldn't. Something was preventing him from moving more than a couple of inches before he stopped dead in his tracks. It's almost as if something heavy was lying on his chest.

Slowly he opened his eyes and his heart almost skipped a beat. Lying there, her mane a mess and breathing softly was Twilight.

His mind was running a mile a minute. Where was he? What was Twilight doing sleeping on his chest?

Hypnotized, he lay there and watched her as she slept, there was a strand of mane over her eyes that was swaying in and out with each breath. She looked so beautiful that he couldn't help himself as he slowly raised one hand to move the strand of hair out of her eyes.

"I wondered when you'd wake up?" said Twilight smiling.

"You're awake?" asked Richard nervously. "For how long?"

"About half an hour." she hummed. "But you felt so comfortable and after the night you had I didn't want to accidentally wake you.

"So, you waited for me to move?"

Twilight nodded.

"I'm not exactly a master of telling when people wake up, it was the only way to really tell."

"I see," Richard said quietly. "So where exactly are we."

"Where do you think I'd go when the world is all trouble and strife?"

Richard nodded knowingly.

"The library," he said causing Twilight's smile to grow. "You're such a book worm."

Twilight laughed. "You should try sometime."

Richard didn't reply, causing Twilight to frown.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Numb," he replied quietly. "Empty."

He felt Twilight's weight shift and looked down to see her open her eyes as she moved forwards to nuzzle his neck.

"I'm here for you, Richard." said Twilight soothingly. "And I'm sure the rest of the girls will be as well."

"Thank you, Twilight." Richard struggled to respond as he felt the flames of heat starting to come back. As it did so, he tried desperately to avoid blood flushing to a different part of his anatomy.

"I don't mean to sound rude," she said lifting her head up to look him in the eyes. "But do you have any idea what you're going to do about all of 'this'?" She twirled a hoof through the air as she finished her sentence.

"I don't know," Richard shook his head. "I'm not even sure I've fully come to grips with the fact I'm stuck here."

"I'd say I know how you feel," Twilight said as she swung her hind hooves onto the floor and struggled to get up without hurting Richard. "But my situation wasn't quite as bad as yours."

"Your situation?" Richard was curious.

"Yeah, I once feared I was stuck on an alien world. In fact, it's almost ironic really."

"How come?"

"It was a human world," said Twilight, who quickly held her hooves up as Richard opened his mouth to speak. "But not your human world. It was more like a human mirror of Equestria."

"How did that happen?"

"Hmm," Twilight yawned as she stretched away from Richard, causing blood to rush to his face and other parts of his anatomy as her flank wiggled only inches from his face.

"Well, it happened just after I was 'ascended'," she started, before returning to the sofa Richard was lying on and moving his legs over to sit down. "I was staying in the Crystal Empire and one night a pony ran snuck into my room and stole the my crown. I followed her through a portal and found out that if I couldn't get the crown back I'd likely be stuck there."

"Why'd she steal your crown?" Richard was confused. "And why did you do all that to get it back? I know it looks good on you, but you could have made another."

"Well, at the time, it was an element of harmony." Twilight smiled at Richard.

"Oh," Richard nodded. "well I'm glad you got back. I'd have hated to have never met you."

Twilight blushed.

"I'm glad to have met you too. Speaking of which, back to the point at hand, I'm thinking of getting the girls together for a picnic this afternoon. I hope you can join us."

Richard frowned.

"I'm not sure if I'm up for that yet."

Twilight placed her hoof on his arm. "Like I said before, I understand. But if you don't mind me saying, I don't think shutting yourself out from others is the best thing for you, the only way through situations like this is forward."

"I'll think about it," Richard did his best to smile.

"That's all I'm asking, and don't worry, I won't tell them about any of this until you're ready."

"I don't mind you telling them," Richard shrug, "It's not as if I can hide this from them. Especially after all the help you girls have given me."

"Thank you," Twilight ran her hoof up and down his arm. A pleasant silence filled the air for a few minutes but it was broken by the sound of a clock striking.

"Damn, is that the time?" Twilight looked at the clock and back to him. "Sorry, I have to go, I promised to give a talk at the school house."

"That's okay, you shouldn't disappoint the school foals."

"Don't worry, I don't intend to. Please don't feel the need to rush off, take all the time you need, and if you need anything I'm sure Spike will be able to help you." Twilight stood up. "If you do decide to join the picnic we will be up at the pool at the edge of town at around 1 o'clock."

"I'll see how I'm feeling. Otherwise, we'll talk soon."

"We better," Twilight poked him. "Anyway, see you later."

And with a look of concentration and a flash of light, Twilight was gone, leaving Richard alone in the library and his thoughts.

Not knowing what else to do, stood up and walked over to one of the staggering array of bookshelves. He'd always been considered a bit of a bookworm back home on Earth, but with the hope of going home at any time he didn't want to start a book and have to abandon it halfway through. Now though, things were different. Maybe he would finally start that 'Daring Do' series he'd heard both Twilight and Rainbow practically gushing about.

He was just trying to find the fiction section when he heard a 'thud' behind him. He span around, worried for a moment, before he spotted a book lying open on the floor.

It was a large, heavy volume made of thick paper bound in what must have been faux-leather. The book looked fairly new, almost unread. Richard made his way over to it, bent down to pick it up and studied its cover. Its cover read 'A Treaties of Technomancy - Magic in the Modern age Of Technology'.

"Huh," Richard muttered to himself. "I wonder how you fell down off the shelf."

He moved to find a ladder, aiming to find a way to put it back on its shelf. He imagined Twilight was one of those ponies with enough OCD to notice when a book was out of place in her library. However, as he began to turn his head he could of sworn a he saw a rainbow shimmer run down the cover out of the corner of his eye. But when he turned his head back, the book looked completely normal.

"Curious..."

Now Richard's interest was seriously piqued. A book that fell by itself before glowing with a rainbow sheen was something he needed to take a look at.

"I hope Twilight wont mind if I borrow this."

"I'm sure she wont."

Richard froze before slowly turning around and letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in.

"Spike? How long have you been there?"

"Not long," the young drake stood leaning in the doorway. "I heard the crash and wondered what was happening. Where's Twilight?"

"Um, she just left. She said she has a thing at the school?"

"Ahh, yes, the Friendship lesson." Spike smiled. "So how come you're here?"

"I, uh, guess I spent the night." said Richard shrugging. "Me and Twilight were talking last night and I guess I fell asleep."

"Hmm," Spike hummed. "Well, if you need anything let me know."

"Thanks Spike, but I think I'm going to go home to shower and have a think."

"Okay, well let me just show you out."

"Lead the way."

Richard ran his hands through his hair, sighing as he enjoyed the feeling of the warm water against his skin. Though he still had a long way to go before he felt good, washing away the dirt from the previous day was doing a lot to a help.

"What do I do now?" he muttered to himself, reaching for a bottle of shower gel. He thought back over the previous days events and nodded slowly.

"I guess I should go and accept Octavia's offer. Now that I'm stuck here I can't just do odd jobs for the rest of my life."

He supposed it wouldn't be that bad working for the musical mare, however he'd never really worked a proper job before, jumping straight from regular education to higher education, and straight from higher education to a portal to another world.

The rest of the shower was spent thinking about the previous few days. They really had been an eye opener in regards to his feelings for Twilight. Even thinking about her name suddenly brought a blush to his face as he couldn't help but think about the way she'd stretched earlier. Her lithe body taught as she arched her back. Her rump only inches from his face. The sigh of satisfaction as her muscles relaxed and joints popped back into place. The come hither look as she begged him to mount her.

Richard reached for the cold tap as he felt his imagination begin to run away from him, the sudden icy shock of the change in temperature bringing him back to his shower stall. Shaking his head he turned off the taps and stepped out of the shower reaching for a towel.

"I better get to Octavia's academy quickly. I think I'm starting to lose my mind."

*Knock, Knock*

Richard waited a beat after knocking on the simple wooden door.

"Who's there?"

"It's Richard, I've decided to take that job if you're still offering?"

There was a loud sound of something crashing to the floor.

"Celestia, dammit."

"Octavia?"

There was the sound of stuff being moved, followed by pained grunting and then the door opened.

"Richard?" Octavia smiled painfully at him, trying to smooth down her messy mane. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you okay?" Richard looked concerned.

"Of course I am," Octavia waved a hoof then shuddered as a spasm of pain ran up her.

"Okay, maybe I fell out of my chair and sprained my ankle when you told me you were here."

Richard sighed, and slowly placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, we're getting you back into a chair."

"No, really, I'm alright," she hissed as Richard helped her limp back over to a chair to sit down.

"And yet you're eagerly letting me help you into a chair?"

"Maybe I don't want to hurt your feelings?" she asked rhetorically, a cheeky smile forming on her muzzle.

"I'm glad you care," Richard smiled briefly as he lowered her into her chair.

"So, what made you change your mind?" asked Octavia as she shifted in her seat.

Richards face's darkened and Octavia looked at him confused as she noticed his mood change.

"Sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"No," Richard muttered. "It's just..." Richard sighed. "I got some bad news last night."

Octavia's eyes went wide. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sure, I will be, I just need time."

"If it's not prying too much, does the news have anything to do with going back home?"

Richards eyes became damp.

"How did you know?"

"Last night you said you couldn't take the job because you were worried about being able to go home. But now you're here accepting the job. You'd have to be Vinyl to not put two and two together."

"I see..." Richard hummed. "Well if the offer is still open?"

"Oh Richard," Octavia took his arm in her hooves and gently pulled him down into a hug. "Of course it is, but are you sure this is the right time to be thinking about that?"

Richard blushed as he felt her soft warm fur pressed into his cheek. He had never been hugged as much as he had in the last 24 hours, not that he minded. After all, what warm blooded man would complain when beautiful mares want to put their hooves around you?

"No time like the present, right?" Richard sniffed. "Besides, I didn't do anything today, I'd probably collapse."

"I can sympathize. When I have a bad day I always find myself locking myself away and playing my cello for hours. This is probably a healthier response."

"So, when do I start?" Richard asked, pressed into her shoulder.

Octavia pushed him away and held him at arms length, studying him with an intensely piercing gaze. After a couple of seconds of intense silence she finally spoke.

"Let me get back to you on that, I think you could use a couple of days to get used to the news."

"Okay," Richard nodded, "But I do have the job?"

"Of course," Octavia smiled. "It can wait a few more days."

"Thanks." Richard felt a great wave of relief as he moved to sit down on a chair opposite the desk.

"So, anyway, please tell me if I'm overstepping my bounds, but what about the other topic we talked about that you said wasn't an option due to going home?"

"Which topic?" asked Richard, trying to remember what they talked about.

"The mare you liked, are you going to ask her out now?" Octavia's eyes practically sparkled as she asked her question, causing Richard's face to turn a deeper pink.

"I'll consider it, but I still seriously doubt I'm her type."

"Why's that?" Octavia looked at him curiously.

"Well, firstly, I'm sure I already explained about being human. And she's kind of above my station."

"Hmm," Octavia hummed. "I don't know why you let this 'human' thing be such a big thing. I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Besides, some mares might like that sort of thing, they might even prefer waking a walk on the wild side."

Richard looked at her confused, towards the end of her sentence she seemed to look off into the distance.

"Did you hit your head when you fell?"

"Oh," Octavia shook her head coming back to the present. "No, just my leg."

"So what was all that stuff about some mares walking on the wild side?"

"Umm," Octavia hummed nervously. "It's just something you hear about when you work in Canterlot."

"Okay..." Richard shrugged his shoulders. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay thanks." Octavia reached out and placed her hooves on his hands. "I'm sorry to hear about not being able to go home, but if you ever need anything, please let me know."

"Thank you," Richard smiled weakly. "Well, I think I've taken up enough of your time."

"Nonsense, Richard. My door is always open to you. But I understand that there are probably a few things you need to follow up on. She's a very lucky mare."

"If anything, I'd be the lucky one. But thanks again."

The walk to the park was slower than Richard had liked, but he had to make a couple of stops off on the way. First, to his house, to pick up that book on Technomancy. Second, he stopped at market to pick up some treats for the picnic; he knew they wouldn't mind if he didn't but he didn't want to turn up empty handed.

Walking away from the market with a bag full of various bits and pieces he couldn't help but wander if he had hit his head last night. Several times he noticed groups of ponies stop what they were doing and giggle and nudge each other when they saw him and he could have sworn Carrot Top had been flirting with him as they haggled over the price of her wares; much to her sisters annoyance.

Eventually though he found himself at the chosen picnic spot and noticed he was the first one there; which came with the large benefit of the best shady spot underneath a tree on the edge of the swimming pond. Sitting himself down he pulled out 'his' new book and opened it to the first page.

Almost immediately he started getting a headache.

The page was filled with a large color diagram of what appeared to be a pentagram with what appeared to be a different gem at each vertex. In between the gems were a series of different shapes and symbols of which he recognized at most one, something that looked like pi with a top hat and cane. Beneath the picture was the caption 'A childs guide to basic elemental concepts'.

"How come I did four years of university and can't even understand a 'childs' guide to magic?"

"Maybe because you're not a unicorn, darling."

Richard looked up to see Rarity walking across the grass, a pair of 'fashionable' sun glasses hiding her eyes and a large sun hat on hear head. Floating in her magical grip next to her was a large wicker basket which she placed on the grass between him and the pond and began to immediately unpack all the picnic supplies. Including a large, immaculate checkered blanket.

"I see you came prepared Rarity."

"A lady is always prepared for every eventually," Rarity smiled and pulled a large sun umbrella from her basket and opened it up pointed towards the water. "Like this for example."

"Like what?" Richard had barely opened his mouth before a large scream caused him to duck and hide the book behind his back.

"Incoming!"

Seconds later a large splash drenched him in water as a rainbow colored blur crashed into the pond.

"Woo, what a Rush. I didn't get you guys too wet did I?" Rainbow jumped onto the bank and started shaking the water off her wings.

"Well, thankfully for you and your childish antics you didn't get any water on me." said Rarity sticking her dripping umbrella into the ground near her blanket. "But I wouldn't say the same about poor Richard."

"Poor Richard?" asked Rainbow, looking up and spotting Richard who was already sitting in a puddle of the water dripping off him.

"Ahh Richard, I'm sorry about that. I figured the egghead reading a book under the tree was Twilight and she tends to have quick magic reflexes."

"Hmm," Richard hummed. "I don't know what should offend me more. The fact you just drenched me to the bone, or the fact you think I look like a mare."

"Well, you do have a certain womanly bearing, sugar." said Applejack as she joined the group, shrugging a set of bulging saddlebags off her back.

"Really?" Richard sighed. "Kick a man while he's down why don't you?"

"Trust me, Richard, if I had kicked you, you'd know."

"Only once he came around in the hospital." Laughed Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, um hi everyone."

Richard watched as Fluttershy glided over the grass, a small trail of birds and other creatures following in her wake. At that moment he couldn't help but compare her to any number of Disney princesses.

"Hey, do you guys have something called similar to 'Disney?' You know, something that produces animated films?" Richard asked, trying to remain calm.

"No," all four mares replied simultaneously, looking confused.

"Stop trying to change the subject, Richard. Hey Fluttershy, don't you think Richard looks like a mare?"

"Isn't a mare using looking like a mare as an insult a little ironic?" asked Pinkie, popping up out of nowhere. "Then again, I could be wrong, I struggled to listen when Twilight was explaining the definition to me."

Richard sighed, and quickly shook himself off before picking up the book starting to walk off.

"Hey, Sugar, where are you going?"

"I'm sorry, Applejack, I just remembered I have somewhere need to be."

"Really, Richard, running home because of a little insult?" Smirked Rainbow.

"No," Richard shook his head sadly before continuing on. "I'm not running 'home'."

Noticing his tone, the other girls looked at each other worriedly.

"Geez, what's his problem?" Rainbow joked.

Richard continued walking down the path towards the park's gate, but quickly felt a chill as a shadow grew around him, moments later there was a gust of wind blowing away leaves as the familiar shape of Twilight landed next to him.

"Hey Richard, you know the picnic is the other way right?" she smiled at him eagerly.

"I know, Twilight, where did you think I just came from? Thanks for the invite, but it's just too much for me today."

Richard started to move off but was halted by Twilight's hoof resting on his chest.

"Richard?" she looked at him concerned. "You're soaking wet, what happened?"

"Nothing, just some minor teasing you know."

"Richard?" Twilight asked more firmly.

"Well Rainbow soaked me with water and joked about me 'running of home' when I didn't appreciate the teasing. But it's no big deal, she doesn't know about me getting that ."

"I can't believe, Rainbow did that. Just give me a minute and I'll sort everything out."

"Twilight," Richard smiled weakly. "Please, it's okay, I don't want to turn this into anything."

"Okay, I'll let it be, but on one condition. You come back to the picnic and if you do, maybe we'll read that book together and I wont mention the fact you took it without asking."

"You're not leaving me much room for choice are you?" Twilight shook her head. "Alright, I'll come back up, but would you please explain about that letter. I can't really face telling everyone myself right now."

Richard felt Twilight bump his side with her flank. "Of course I will, what else are friends for. But first, let me dry you off." Twilight's horn flashed for a moment and then Richard felt his clothes dry within an instant.

As they walked back up to the picnic Richard started to feel terrible. The heat that had been kept at by by the sad news had started to return now that he was standing next to Twilight. By the time they had made it back to the pond and the others he was starting to sweat up a storm.

"Richard, why don't you go help set up the food and drinks while I have a quick word with everypony?" Richard nodded and moved to the where the others were currently setting up the picnic.

"Hey, everypony." Twilight smiled at the others and they all replied in greeting. "Any chance we can have a quick word before we start this picnic?"

"Sure, Twi, what's up?" asked Applejack as the mares stopped what they did and moved over to Twilight.

"It's about Richard," Twilight looked down at her hooves nervously. When she offered to tell everyone for Richard she hadn't realized how hard it would be. "He got some bad news last night."

"He lost the bet?" asked Rarity, her tone a little too hopeful.

"No," Twilight shook her head and made a mental note to try and resist throttling Rarity later. "He got a letter from Celestia, they've um..." she took a deep breath. "They've stopped the search for his world."

"Oh..." Rarity looked down guiltily as a awkward silence settled over the group. A silence that lasted about a minute before the sound of a hoof smacking the back of a head shattered it.

"What the hay, Applejack?!" Rainbow yelled, "That really hurt."

"You just had to go and open your big mouth didn't you?" Applejack seethed. "Mocking him for running of 'home' when that's the one place he can't go? No wonder he was so eager to leave."

"You think I'd have done that if I'd known?" Rainbow protested. "I mean sure, I'm a little rough around the edges, but not that rough. You believe me don't you, Twilight?"

"I do, Rainbow, but I still think you should probably apologize."

"Of course."

"Poor Richard," whispered Fluttershy. "How is he taking it?"

"He's holding up well," Twilight smiled weakly, "But you might want to ask him yourself."

"Ooh, ooh," Pinkie bounced excitedly. "I can throw him a 'Sorry you're stuck here party'."

"Hold it there, sugarcube," Applejack placed a hoof on her back and forcing her to stand still. "I think it might be a bit too soon for a party, besides, isn't there that other one coming up?"

Pinkie's eyes lit up.

"Ooh, yes, of course. Well I'll need to make it extra special now."

Twilight looked at the pair confused. "What party?" Rarity leaned other and whispered into her ear, causing Twilight to frown. "Oh, I can't believe I forgot."

"Ahem," Rarity coughed. "Ixnay on the artypay. Besides, don't we have a lunch to eat."

"Of course," Twilight nodded as the group started moving back towards the blanket Rarity had set up. "Hey, Richard, I think Rainbow has something to say to you. Rainbow?"

"Heh, yeah." Rainbow hovered in mid air, nervously running a hoof down her other arm. "I'm sorry, Richard, you know about before and the home thing."

"Don't sweat it," Richard replied. "You didn't know so no harm done."

"Thanks," Rainbow held out her hoof. "Buddies?"

Richard gave her a fist bump and nodded. "Buddies."

"Say, what do you say we get this picnic under way?" asked Pinkie as she reached into her saddle bags and pulled out a tray of cupcakes and added it to the sandwiches and bottles of spring water Rarity had already unpacked.

"Say Richard, I couldn't help but notice you brought a bag with you. You didn't happen to bring any food by any chance?" asked Rarity.

Richard shrugged, "Just a little something. But I'll go get it."

Richard went over and brought his bag back to the blanket, slowly he pulled out each of the items one at a time and by the time he'd finished he'd added a small feast to the blanket.

"You call that a little something?" asked Twilight, eyeing up the volume of food and drink.

Richard shrugged, "I'm a comfort eater. Besides, I needed to make sure there was some non cake food that a human can eat."

"And the tray of rose petals?" asked Rarity, her mouth watering at the sight.

Richard shrugged again, "I wanted to get you guys a treat as well."

"Yeah, but have you seen the price of Rose petals?" Rarity balked. "They're not exactly cheap." A comment which earned her a quick nudge in the side from Applejack.

"They're lovely," said Fluttershy appreciatively. "As are the chopped carrots and the cherry tomatoes."

"What the hay are we waiting for?" asked Rainbow Dash, bored already. "Can we please tuck in already."

An hour later, after they'd had their fill, each of them had moved away from the food and moved on to their own activities. Richard had returned to under the tree and was attempting to understand what little he could of the book he'd brought, meanwhile Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had set up an impromptu hoof ball court; while Rarity reclined on a lilo floating in the pool of water, doing her best to avoid falling in while Twilight splashed around .

Coming to the end of the first chapter, Richard shook his head, he had understood so little of it he was beginning to wonder if it was worth taking in the first place.

"Hey, need any help understanding that book?"

Richard looked up to see Twilight standing there and felt his heat go into overdrive. Glistening from the water still dripping off her body, he couldn't help but feel his heart beginning to beat like a drum while sweat beginning to form on his brow.

"Um, I'd love to, but I'm not sure how we'd read together."

Twilight smiled wryly, causing Richard to shiver.

"I think I have an idea, just follow my lead."

Richard just nodded nervously and let her take over as she took the book in her magical grip before she slowly nudged his legs apart with her hooves and placed herself down down in his lap. As she leaned backwards and rested her head in his chest he had to hold his breath as he did his best to avoid letting the heat getting the best of him.

Unaware of his situation, Twilight summoned a small book stand and lay the open book on it.

"How's that?" Twilight asked.

"Um, yes, that's um, quite suitable." Richard nodded.

"Good," Twilight smiled. "Now, we'll take it slowly, and I'll try to explain everything to you. If you ever get confused, just let me know."

Time to go?

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Twilight smiled happily as she closed the door and locked the castle up for the night.

"It looks like you had a good day," said a familiar voice from behind her.

"Oh, hi Spike," said Twilight, startled. "I didn't think you'd still be up."

"I'm almost not," Spike yawned. "But I couldn't sleep until the castle was locked up and I couldn't lock up until you were back."

"Thanks Spike," Twilight reached down to give the young drake a hug. "You really are the number number one assistant."

Her compliment was met by a shrill hoot from elsewhere in the castle causing Spike to grin.

"One of the number one assistants," clarified Twilight. A second, happier hoot could be heard through the castle.

"So, how was your afternoon?" asked Spike.

A dreamy smile unconsciously appeared on her muzzle as she thought back over the events of the afternoon. Reading the book with Richard had been far more fun than she had expected and she found herself enjoying his company more than usual.

"It was good." Twilight started towards the castle's kitchen, doing the best to hide the blush rising to her face.

"Just good?" probed Spike.

"What do you mean by that, Spike?" Twilight looked at him innocently.

"You were out later than the other girls. I heard Rainbow Dash flying home at least 2 hours ago."

Twilight froze in place, her eye twitching slightly.

"Well, I was having fun reading a book with Richard, and I guess we didn't notice the others leave."

"Oh, fun 'reading' with Richard?" Spike could barely stifle a chuckle as he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Spike" she replied bluntly. "I had fun spending time helping explain a book to Richard as we read."

Spike began to laugh openly as Twilight stormed off and disappeared through the door to the kitchen. The sound of laughter filled the entrance hall and echoed all around, only coming to an end when he hiccuped a burst of fire and nearly set a nearby tapestry ablaze. Looking around sheepishly to make sure nopony saw him, Spike waited a moment and when he was sure the coast was clear he wiped his face with claw to remove the tears that had poured from his eyes during the laughing fit.

Spike made his way towards the kitchen, entering just as Twilight closed the door to the fridge, a carton of milk held aloft in her telekentic grip.

"Want a hot cocoa?" she asked Spike dryly.

"Um, sure," Spike scratched the back of his claw nervously. "Want me to make it?"

Twilight eyed him carefully for a second, making him shift under her gaze before softening and sighing and breaking into a smile. "Sure."

Placing the milk down on the side, Twilight took a seat at the kitchen table as Spike scampered over to the stove and took the kettle down and moved it over to the milk carton to fill it. Crossing back over to the stove, Spike placed the kettle on the hob and set it going.

"Right," he said as he joined Twilight at the kitchen table. "Shouldn't be long."

Twilight nodded, "Thanks, Spike." Twilight smiled at him before sighing sadly.

"Whats wrong, Twilight?" asked Spike.

Twilight shook her head.

"It's this business with Richard."

"Which business? The fact he's stuck here forever or the fact he's madly in love with you? Because if it's the latter, you could do worse."

"He's not in love with me, Spike." Twilight glared at him.

"Is that your opinion, or just wishful thinking?"

Twilight opened and closed her mouth repeatedly to try and come up with an response when she was interrupted by the whistling of the kettle.

"Saved by the 'bell'," Spike chuckled as he scampered to go and make the hot cocoa.

The next several moments passed quietly with Spike preparing the cocoa, the only noises coming from the clatter of the spoons in the mugs. Soon though, the drinks were prepared and he returned to the table with his hot beverages.

"For you," he said placing a drink in front of Twilight. "And for me." He said as he placed the other drink in his space before hopping back into his chair.

"Thanks, Spike," Twilight clutched the mug between her forehooves and raised it to her lips, blowing briefly across the liquids surface before taking a cautious sip. "You're wrong though, Richard does like somepony, but it isn't me."

"Oh?" Spike replied with a hint of humour in his voice before taking his own first sip of his drink. "Who is it then?"

"I don't know," replied Twilight. "But... promise me you wont breath a word of what I'm about to tell you, not even to Rarity."

"Dragon's honour," Spike claimed, raising his right claw.

Twilight took a deep breath and nervously took a drink of cocoa before beginning to speak.

"Okay, last night, when I was trying to comfort Richard after he read that letter he let slip where he had gone yesturday."

"And where was that?" asked Spike, looking at her intently. "Wooing a secret sweetheart?"

"No," Twilight shook his head. "Apparantly he had gone to the Crystal Empire to speak to Cadance. He wanted her to help him work out how he felt about somepony."

"And did she?"

Twilight gave him a scathing look. "Of course she did, Spike, she's the Princess of Love. It's what she does." Twilight's withering remarks caused Spike to shrink back a little.

"Okay, but surely the issue isn't with her, it's with Richard. He might have refused to accept those feelings. Especially if they're for someone of a different species."

"That's true," said Twilight. "But I'd like to think we've helped him overcome any issues he's had with the species difference."

"Being a friend isn't the same as romance, Twilight," said Spike, his mind firmly fixed on Rarity. "Sometimes the possibility of interspecies relationships just isn't in their heads."

The room fell into silence as he finished speaking and they both continued to drink. Finishing first, Spike set his mug down with an 'ahhh' and turned back to Twilight.

"Still, you must be relieved, right Twilight?"

"Hmmm," Twilight hummed over the top of her mug. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you must be relieved if he doesn't like you?"

Twilight shrugged and began to nervously tug at her mane.

"You are relieved aren't you?"

"I don't know!" She threw her hooves up in the air before clutching her head on the table. "Everything is so confusing, I've never had anyone like me before and it would be nice to have a guy like me."

"What about Flash Sentry?" asked Spike. "The one through the mirror, I thought you and him hit it off."

"We did Spike," Twilight answered, memories of her journies to Canterlot High School filling her head. "But he only knew me for a couple of days, and never got to know this me, the real me. I've known Richard for months, and he's seen more than a couple of my 'episodes'."

"He's also seen your flank..."

"Everypony has seen my flank, Spike, we don't typically wear clothes. Yet I've not exactly had stallions queing up to court me."

"True," Spike nodded. "But that's probably because of Princess Celestia, you've been her student since you were a little filly. I imagine she's kept suitors away from you."

"Maybe," Twilight smiled slightly before frowning again. "But being a shy bookworm doesn't help. And I'm not her student any more."

"No, now you're a Princess who could imprison anypony who offends you," Spike rolled his eyes. "Look, all I'm saying is don't go jumping after the first stallion to show you any attention."

Twilight moved her head in what might have been a nod before silently drinking the rest of her hot chocolate. She swirled the warm liquid around her tongue, savoring the rich; sweet flavour before swallowing it with a gulp. Putting the empty cup down, she looked at it mournfully for a second before getting up from the bed.

"I'm off to bed, Spike, see you in the morning."

Spike opened his mouth to ask her a question, but she dissapeared in a flash of light before he could utter a single syllable.

"Oh, fine!" he shouted to the ceiling. "I'll do the washing up shall I?!"

Twilight slowly opened her eyes, shutting them again quickly and raising her foreleg to block the light streaming through the open curtains. Groaning, she resisted the urge to dive back beneath her bed covers and instead hurled them back, exposing herself to the slightly chilly air in the room. Hauling herself out of the bed, Twilight's hooves hit the gemstone floor with a light clatter and she began to make her way to her bathroom.

Reaching out with her magic, she turned the shower to hot and set the water running as she turned to face the mirror over the sink. She studied her own reflection for a few moments and hummed as she processed what she saw. She pulled several faces until the mirror began to fog over from the steam filling the room. Shaking her head, she turned away and entered the shower, releasing a pleasant sigh as she felt the hot water hit her fur.

"I still don't know what Rarity is talking about," she muttered as she just let the water wash over her. "There's no reason for Richard to like me."

'Why does it matter?' a little voice in her head asked. 'You don't like him, do you?'

Twilight just shrugged her shoulders in response and closed her eyes. Reaching out with her magic, she turned up the flow of water until the cascade falling down on her felt like it was massaging her muscles. Smiling, Twilight began to run through her regular daily routine.

She managed to push all thoughts about Richard aside as she finished up her showering and stepped out of the shower, carefully stepping onto mat to make sure she didn't drip any water over the crystal floor. She didn't know why exactly, but whenever she saw mess she felt an itch behind her eyes. Not when she had an entire library to scour for more things to help Richard learn the basics of Equestrian magic.

For a second she considered towling herself off but she thought better of it and instead scrunched her face up and, with a flash of magic, evaporated the water off her body. Now clean and dry, Twilight continued with the rest of her morning routine, including cleaning her teeth and combing her mane.

She'd just finished getting ready when she heard the distant sound of breaking glass, followed by the high pitched screech of the intruder alarm kicking in. Frowning in annoyance, Twilight reached out to the enchantments woven into the castle and teleported to the location of the intrusion.

"Alright, whoever you are, stop what you're doing..."

"Twilight!"

The breath was knocked out of Twilight's lungs as she was tackled to the ground by a rainblow blur.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight looked at her friend confused, her eyes stained with tears. "What are you doing? Have you been crying?"

"It's Richard," Rainbow Dash gasped a lungful of air. "They've found it."

"What did they find, Rainbow? And what about Richard?" Twilight studied her friends face carefully, whatever it was clearly upset her.

"The portal to take him home," said Rainbow. "They found the portal to his home world, they're getting him ready to send him home."

Darkness began to close in around her vision, panic clawing at the at the edge of her mind. For some reason the sudden thought of losing Richard forever filled her with sense of emptiness.

"But they can't..." she muttered. "They can't send him home."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "They've been preparing all night, he's all packed and ready to leave."

"Why did no one tell me?" asked Twilight, grabbing Rainbow and shaking her. "Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"It was chaos, I only just found out about it myself." Rainbow let out a brief sob. "I rushed to tell you as soon as I found out. You need to be there he goes."

"How..." Twilight paused and took a deep breath to try and push back the encroaching darkness. "How long do we have?"

"I don't know," Rainbow shrugged. "No one knows. Like I said, it's been chaos. You have to come now."

Twilight nodded and stood up.

"I just need to get one thing."

"Twilight, there's no time..."

"I won't be a minute, Rainbow, he can't leave without this."

In a flash of light Twilight teleported back to her personal chamber and started searching it in a frenzy.

"Where is it," she muttered. "I know I had it in here somewhere."

Then, just as she bent down to look under her bed, she saw it. A little brown book, on the floor under her dresser. She quickly ran over and scooped it up in her wing before teleporting back down to Rainbow Dash.

"Take me to him," she said before Rainbow Dash could get a single word in.

Rainbow Dash didn't even nod, she just took wing and flew back out of the broken window, knowing that Twilight would be right behind.

As they flew through the early morning sky, Twilight couldn't help but fall into a trance like state, her mind constantly drifting to the thought of Richard leaving. Just the idea of it filled her with dispair, like a bottomless pit opened beneath her and she was standing right above it, waiting to fall.

'Why do I feel like this?' she thought to herself. 'I knew he'd be going some time, and he's just a friend.'

Yet, even as the thought filled her head, she began to doubt it. After everything that had happened over the last couple of days she had no idea how she really felt about Richard. All she knew was he couldn't leave, he just couldn't.

Twilight followed Rainbow Dash as she flew away from the town and over the Everfree Forest. The canopy of trees looked eerily beautiful in the early dawn light, the shallow angle of the sun causing deep shadows just below the top layer of leaves. Further and further they continued on, until the town was nothing more than a dot on the horizon. She was just begining how much longer they were going to be flying when Rainbow began to slow down and started to descend towards a clearing.

As they landed, Twilight looked around in confusion. The clearing was completely empty.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Twilight asked Rainbow. "There's nopony here."

"I'm positive," Rainbow nodded. "Over there." Rainbow pointed a hoof towards a large tree on the edge of the clearing.

It looked ancient, its trunk worn and pitted with age and weather, and at the base of the tree there appeared to be some sort of entrance to a chamber. As she looked on, Twilight could almost swear she saw a tiny, almost impercetible glowing light coming from within.

Twilight looked at Rainbow as if to ask 'do we go in there', to which she nodded and started walking towards the opening. Twilight quickly checked she still had her package before following.

The entrance to the whatever lay beneath the tree was tight and Twilight had to be careful not to damage her wings as she entered. She barely had time to register quite how dark the space beneath the tree was before she heard a ear piercing scream.

"Twilight!" a pink shape sped out of the darkness to quickly pull her into an embrace and Twilight felt wetness against her shoulder as Pinkie Pie pressed her face against it.

"Oh Twilight, it's all wrong." Pinkie sobbed.

"It's okay, sugarcube," said Applejack, appearing out of the darkness to lay a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "We all knew this day could come."

"But the Princess' said they were going to stop looking for the portal." Pinkie sniffed. "And I didn't even get to throw him his party."

"Well, that is a travesty," said Rarity, "But sadly life can't all be parties."

Twilight did her best to look at her assembled friends over Pinkies mane but couldn't see Richard, instantly she began to worry.

"Where's Richard?" her voice came out strangled. "Did I miss..."

"You haven't missed anything, my faithful student." The warm and soothing voice of Princess Celestia filled the chamber as she appeared from behind a rock in the corner of the chamber they were in, a pale blue glow also coming from somewhere behind. "At least, not yet. Richard's just waiting through here."

Princess Celestia smiled at here before silently going back through to the other room, Twilight and her friends following quickly behind. As they came to the rock, Twilight noticed there was a second, larger chamber beyond with a bright blue disc of something that looked like water floating in the middle. There, standing next to the portal, was Richard currently in the middle of hugging Fluttershy.

Twilight watched as Richard looked over towards her, a huge smile spreading across his face as he saw her. The sight of him standing there looking at her like that filled her with a weird feeling. It felt like her stomach was doing cartwheels while her heart was dancing a cha-cha.

"Twilight, you're here!" the sound of the joy in his voice caused her to blush. "I was worried you weren't going to make it in time."

"How long do we have?" asked Twilight as she slowly approached him.

Richard shrugged. "The Princess' did all they could to stabalize the portal, but Princess Luna said it's likely only going to last for another ten minutes."

"About nine minutes now with all your chatting," said Luna from the other side of the room. "You arrived just in time, Princess Twilight. Please say your goodbyes so Richard can leave."

"Luna!" Celestia chided her sister. "You're not ordering around your Night Guard right now. Can't you see this is an emotional moment."

"My apologies sister, and to you both, Richard and Twilight. I merely meant that Twilight would need to say her goodbyes with haste so Richard doesn't miss the portal."

"That's better," Celestia nodded. "But my sister is right, Twilight, you two must be quick."

Richard let go of Fluttershy and turned to face Twilight, his smile faltering as he looked at her eyes.

"Twilight? Whats wrong?"

Twilight shook her head and launched herself at him, quickly wrapping her hooves around him.

"Please don't go, Richard," her eyes began to fill with tears. "You don't have to go home, you could stay here."

"Oh, Twilight," Richard knelt down and wrapped his arms around her. "You know I can't do that."

"But you belong here," Twilight sobbed.

"No, Twilight, I don't." Richard sighed, pointing towards the portal. "That's where I belong, with my family and my friends."

"I thought we were your friends." cried Twilight, looking down at the floors.

"Of course you are," Richard raised her head with a hand, cupping her face gently as he looked into her eyes. "Don't you ever dare say you're not. But put yourself in my shoes, what would you do if you were stuck in my world and the portal back here opened up."

"I guess," Twilight gave a small smile. "But I'm still going to miss you."

"And I'll miss you, Twilight, and the rest of you of course," he said, looking over her shoulder.

"We'll miss you too," the others said in unison.

"Well, I'll better get going," Richard let go of Twilight and started moving towards his bags.

"Wait!" Twilight yelled, "You can't go yet."

Richard stopped and turned to face her. "Twilight?"

"I got you something," Twilight pulled the small book from under her wing and presented it to Richard.

Richard took the book, his mouth falling open as he started glancing through it.

"Twilight, you did all this for me?"

Twilight nodded, "I thought you'd want to have a way to remember your time in Equestria."

Richard leaned down and kissed her cheek, causing her to turn bright red.

"Thank you, it's wonderful."

"Y-you're welcome," Twilight stammered.

For a moment the two just stood and stared, the chamber filled with an awkard silence until Luna broke the tension with a cough.

"I'm sorry, Richard, but it's time to go."

Richard nodded and picked up his bags, quickly zipping the book away.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, then."

Twilight watched as Richard took one last solemn look at everyone before stepping into the light. Then everything went black.

"Richard!"

Twilight sat up with a start, looking around in confusion.

"Where am I?" She asked aloud to nopony in particular. The room was cool and comfortable, a slight breeze blowing through an open window. The movement of the curtain allowed just enough light in so Twilight could see she was in her own bed chambers.

"My bedroom?" She muttered, "But how?"

Overture

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Octavia had struggled to sleep, images of being caught watching while Richard found comfort in the hooves of a violet mare, their forms entangled as things heated up as he started rutting her silly. Each time the dream reached that point she'd wake up, only to close her eyes and have the whole cycle repeat itself. Finally, the sight of the first rays of sun over the hills in the distance through her window provided the perfect excuse to get up and ready for the day. She quickly showered and dried off and then headed down to breakfast.

The house she shared with Vinyl was a fairly large affair, between the bits they both earned and all the musical equipment they both owned they could both easily afford and fill the space. The kitchen however was one of the only places that had a strict 'no work' rule. Not only did it provide a quiet place to eat and chat, but it ensured neither of them accidentally got food on any expensive piece of equipment.

Turning the light on as she entered, Octavia grunted at the bright white hue it gave off and made her way over to prepare breakfast. Normally she would have a healthy bowl of branflakes but given her foul mood she opted for a bowl of Vinyl's chocolate hoops. She quickly poured a rough amount of cereal into the bowl, added a dash of milk and then dropped herself into one of the sturdy kitchen table chairs and started to eat. Slowly.

An hour later, she was still nursing the same bowl as Vinyl stumbled noisily into the room.

"Woah," she said, spotting Octavia barely moving in the middle of the room. "You look like you got ridden hard and put away wet."

"Just don't, Vinyl, I'm not in the mood this morning," Octavia growled.

"What's wrong, Tavi?" asked Vinyl, concern clearly evident in her voice.

"I said, I don't want to talk about it." Octavia snapped.

"It doesn't have anything to do with your journey to the park yesterday does it?" Vinyl chuckled, causing Octavia to spit out her current mouthful of food.

"What do you mean?" she coughed, "I didn't go to the park yesterday."

"Ahh, I see," Vinyl moved towards the fridge and removed a carton of orange juice. "My mistake, it must have been another pony wearing your 'incognito outfit' then. The same outfit I helped you pick out, if you don't remember."

Octavia let out a long, slow sigh before sitting straight up and running a hoof through her mane to compose herself.

"So what if I was at the park, that doesn't mean anything happened." said Octavia, calmly.

"Normally it wouldn't, except I've never seen you wear that outfit unless you were sneaking out of a concert venue." Vinyl smiled cheekily. "So that leads me to one conclusion. Who you stalking?"

"Vinyl!" Octavia glared at her housemate with daggers. "How dare you accuse me something so... criminal."

"Pssh, criminal?" Vinyl chugged back a mouthful of juice. "There's nothing criminal about a little healthy stalking. Trust me sister, we've all done it."

"We most certainly have not all done it!" protested Octavia.

"Pfft," laughed Vinyl, "Says the pony I caught red hoofed. So, like I asked, who were you stalking?"

Vinyl raised a hoof to her muzzle in thought.

"It can't be that stallion at the music store. You've not been there in months. And I've not seen any griffins come into town recently..." Vinyl's eyes narrowed before stomping her hoof down in triumph. "I've got it."

"You don't have it," Octavia said dismissively. "Not that there's anything to get."

"It's so obvious. You have the hots for Richard, and here I am thinking you offered him a job out of the kindness of your heart."

"That's exactly why I hired him," glared Octavia. "How dare you suggest otherwise. I felt sorry for the poor man, and his fingers were going to waste working on pony's fences. Such marvelous limbs should be involved in music, where they belong."

"Snob," coughed Vinyl, earning another glare. "So it wasn't so he could spend more time around you, fall for your obviously irresistible charms and choose you over the princess?"

"No, of course not" she denied rather quickly. "Though, if that were to happen, I wouldn't say no. How about we call it an potential incidental perk?"

"Sure, what you need to tell yourself to ease your guilty conscience," Vinyl stuck out her tongue. "Though, I'd make a move on him quickly. If he's as good as you think he is, maybe his chosen mare will fall for him too."

"You're right," Octavia sighed. "But how can I ask him out now? He's just lost his home and family."

"Well," Vinyl smirked. "From what a certain weather pegasus told me this afternoon, it might be easier than you'd think."

Twilight sped above the town, her eyes filled with nervous tears. The moment she had woken up, she'd stormed out of the castle into the early morning dawn light. She just had to know if it had been a dream.

'Or a nightmare.' She thought to herself. She didn't know why, but the thought of Richard not being there scared her more than she ever thought it could. Twilight swallowed down her fear and focused on the target in front of her. Twilight retraced her route from the other night and before long was landing down nervously in front of the path up to his door.

Slowly, she trotted up the pathway and then raised her hoof to knock before pausing.

'Wait, what if he's here? What do I say to him?' she thought to herself. 'Oh good morning, Richard, I had a nightmare and thought you'd gone to your home dimension so I just needed to make sure it didn't happen?' Twilight shook her head.

'Stupid!' She chided herself.

'He won't care,' said another, quiet voice at the back of her mind. 'He'll just be happy to see you. You better decide soon though, you'll looks silly if he catches you just standing here.'

"You're right," she whispered to herself, before taking a deep breath. "I just have to go for it."

Slowly she moved her hoof towards the door, however just before she knocked a voiced called out behind her.

"Twilight?" the familiar bubbly voiced questioned. "What are you doing visiting Richard this early in the morning?"

"Um, no reason, Pinkie, why do you ask?"

Pinkie's eyes narrowed accusingly.

"You're not here to cheat on the bet are you?"

"What? Me? Cheat?" Twilight let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. "Of course not, Pinkie Pie, I was just..."

"Yes?" her eyes narrowed further.

"Promise you wont judge me?"

"As long as you're cheating, I promise not to judge you." Pinkie crossed a hoof across her heart.

"I know it sounds stupid, but last night I... I think I dreamt that Richard was sent home. But, it felt so real, that I needed to make sure it was just a dream."

"Oh," Pinkie looked down at the ground for a second before disappearing in a blur and reappearing and embracing Twilight tightly. "That's doesn't sound stupid at all, you silly filly, I think we'd all miss Richard if he went home. But don't worry, it was most definitely a dream. Unless I've had amnesia and forgotten a whole day again, which hardly ever happens."

Twilight chuckled.

"Oh, Pinkie, you always know just what to say." Twilight pried herself out of Pinkie's grip. "Though, I am curious why you're out here at this time of day?"

"Oh, I'm here to ask Richard a very important question."

"What question?" Twilight looked at her quizically.

"I need to ask him what his favorite sort of cake is." Twilight's eyes visibly twitched at the response.

"And you need to ask him at dawn, potentially waking him up? Couldn't it wait?"

"Of course not, silly," Pinkie Pie pushed past Twilight to knock on the door, the sound echoing through the quiet morning. "If I asked him later, I wouldn't be able to add the ingredients needed for the cake to today's supply order."

"And you need to order the supplies today?"

"Yeppers," chirped Pinkie, "After all, it's his birthday in three days. Need to get everything sorted for his surprise party."

"Wait, it's his birthday in three days?" asked Twilight.

"Yes," replied Pinkie, "Surprised you don't remember. He told us that when you were interviewing him when he first arrived."

"I guess it must have slipped my mind in all the chaos..."

"Shh," Pinkie quickly silenced Twilight with a hoof as the sound of footsteps approaching the door could be heard from the other side.

"Who's knocking my door at this time of the morn...?" Richard looked ready to start a grumpy tirade, sweat visible on his brow, but stopped as soon as he noticed who it was, visibly perking up as his eyes settled on Twilight.

"Good morning, Richard, quick question, what's your favorite sort of cake?" asked Pinkie, drawing his attention back to her.

"Oh, that's a random question." Richard grunted. "I guess, chocolate fudge cake."

"Oh goodie, nice choice." Said Pinkie before quickly turning and bouncing down the path.

"Wait!" Richard called after her. "Was that it?"

"Yep." Pinkie smiled cheekily before quickly bouncing out of earshot.

"Seriously, she woke me up for that?" muttered Richard, to no one in particular before turning his attention to Twilight, the beads of sweat on his face beginning to grow more numerous. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"Oh, nothing." Twilight squeaked, a small blush growing on her cheeks as she felt his gaze on her, and noticed his visible discomfort. "It was silly, don't worry about it."

Before Richard could respond, Twilight zoomed off into the sky, not even pausing at the sound of the door closing shut behind her.

A Triangle's a musical instrument: Part 1 (NSFW)

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Richard was in metaphorical hell, he'd barely gotten out of the shower and put on a fresh set of clothes and he was already sweating right through them.

"Fuck this heat," he muttered to himself.

Richard couldn't believe just how hard the heat had started hitting him. Even just half an hour ago, when Twilight and Pinkie had been standing at his door it had taken all his willpower to just keep his eyes on their faces, the siren's call of their many curves proving difficult to resist.

It didn't help that he'd had another night of dreams, more like fantasies, of him and Twilight involved in a wide array
of rather compromising situations. Part of him wished he could blame it all on the potion coursing through him, but he couldn't deny the truth. He loved Twilight. Though, he knew nothing could ever happen. Despite Cadance's encouragement, and the words of Twilight in that vision, he doubted Twilight would have any interest in him. She was an Element of Harmony, and a Princess. She could have the pick of any stallion in Equestria and he was just a human.

'But, she was flirting with you,' a small voice inside his head whispered. Richard shivered as he remembered Twilight touching his bare chest only days before.

"Twilight doesn't seem like the flirting type," he countered. "She was probably just trying to win the bet."

'Perhaps, but what if she was actually interested? You'll never know if you don't even try to find out.'

"I guess," Richard clutched his head in hands. "I just wish I knew what to do."

As if in punctuation to his statement, he heard the sound of his letter box opening and closing.

"Why is everyone up so early this morning?"

"Did we really have to do this at work?" Octavia looked back over her shoulder at Vinyl who was setting Octavia's tail up into a tight bun.

"Unless you want every stallion you pass in the street to see under your tail, then yes, we did." replied Vinyl, finishing her task and taking a step back to inspect her hoofwork. "Unless you're exhibitionist as well as a xenophile?"

"Of course not," huffed Octavia. "But what if someone walks in on us? There's already enough rumours about us being a couple going around."

"And why do you care what those gossiping nags think?" said Vinyl, as she shoved Octavia into her office chair. "Now sit still, this makeup is very expensive."

"You're not the kind of mare I ever expected to own expensive makeup," scoffed Octavia. "Since when do you wear any sort of makeup?"

"Since I play theme nights," replied Vinyl. "I need to make sure I look the part to get the booking. And as much as you may think of me as a cheapskate, the cheap stuff doesn't last when I begin to sweat in some of those stuffy locations."

"And you're sure eye shadow is the way to go? I thought red lipstick was the more traditional seduction methodology?"

"Yes, I am sure." stated Vinyl, blankly. "Besides which, since when did you know anything about seduction methodology? Now sit still, this stuff needs to be applied very carefully. It'll be a bitch to get out of your coat if my hoof slips."

Vinyl used her magic to levitate a small vial of a viscous black liquid into her eye level and give it a few shakes. Once satisfied that it had been prepared properly, she unscrewed it and removed the top, smiling as she saw the even coating of makeup on the applicator. Using her hooves to hold Octavia's head in place, she carefully and expertly applied the makeup to the underneath of her friends eyes.

Once done, she released her friends head, resealed the vial and then stepped back to once again inspect her handiwork. With a wry smile, she handed a mirror over to Octavia.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked.

Octavia's mouth hung open as she inspected her reflection.

"I hate to say this, Vinyl, but you definitely seem to know what you're doing. I look, dare I say it, sexy."

"Of course you do," said Vinyl. "The eye shadow only helps bring attention to your already sexy eyes."

"And you're sure I shouldn't use any lipstick?"

"No!" growled Vinyl. "Red lipstick is for whorses. It screams 'I'm a cheap slut who will suck your cock at the drop of a hat'. Black eye shadow on the other hoof says 'I want you to notice me, but I have standards.' I'm not having my friend mistaken for a harlot!"

"Wow, sorry, I didn't mean to touch a nerve, Vinyl." Octavia put a supporting hoof on her friend's shoulder.

"It's nothing," Vinyl shook her head and fixed her with a smile. "I overreacted. Anyway, now that we have the tail and makeup sorted, now we need to dress you up properly."

"Wait, we're not finished?"

"Of course not," Vinyl started rooting around in her saddle bag sitting on the office desk. "If we want you steal his affection away from that mystery mare, we need to go all out. Now, I'm thinking a simple blouse and a short black skirt will be perfect."

Vinyl threw a couple of garments towards Octavia.

"Here, try those on, they should fit you."

Octavia sighed and bit back a retort. Vinyl had been correct about the makeup after all.

"Ok, and once I'm ready, how are we going to get Richard here?" she asked, a little to sweetly.

"Pfft, that's easy." Vinyl waved a hoof dismissively. "I've already put a note through his letter box saying you're overloaded with work and asking him to come in if he was free. I'm sure any guy you have an eye on will be helpful enough to come to a damsels aid in her time of need."

Vinyl quickly glanced at the clock and took note of the time.

"And I'd put that on quickly if I was you, he'll be here soon and there's something else I want to teach you before that happens."

"Spike!" Twilight shouted out for the drake before she'd even finished closing the castle door behind her. "Where are you?!"

"I'm in the kitchen!" Spike yelled back. "Just finished making a fresh batch of coffee if you want one." Twilight smiled, Spike was always one step ahead of what she needed.

Heading into the kitchen, Twilight gratefully accepted a steaming mug from Spike in her telekinetic grip and quickly took gulped down a mouthful of bitter nectar.

"Thanks, Spike, just what I needed," said Twilight before slowly raising the mug to her lips again and savoring the drink more slowly.

"You're welcome, Twilight. After all, I am your number one assistant. So why did you call for me? Want me to make you breakfast?"

Twilight shook her head as she swallowed another mouthful of coffee before replying.

"Not today, Spike, I have other matters to attend to. I just wanted to know whether you remembered where Richard's bag was? You know, the one he arrived in Equestria with?"

"Oh that?" Spike tapped his claws together in thought. "Wasn't that sent to the Princesses' back before Hearths Warming?"

"That's right," Twilight nodded as the memory came back to her. "They wanted to see if any of his possessions could help the mages track the link to his world."

"Why did you want to know?" asked Spike. "Richard wants his stuff back?"

"Not yet, but apparently it's his birthday in a few days and I wanted to see if there was any hints of the kind of present to get him. After all he's been through recently, I want to make sure I get him something good."

"Well, if what Rarity says is anything to go by, he'd appreciate anything you get him." Spike laughed.

"Oh?" Twilight raised her eyebrows at him. "What has she been telling you?"

"Only that Richard wishes he could be your 'Paramour', whatever that means?" Spike shrugged, causing Twilight to snort and choke on her current mouthful of coffee. "Whenever Rarity speaks Prench I assume it's some frilly, girly romance nonsense."

"That's close enough," coughed Twilight. "At least if I'm remembering my Prench correctly."

Twilight fished her mug of coffee before passing the cup back to Spike who accepted eagerly before heading over to the sink to start cleaning it.

"Thanks again, Spike, I guess I'll be off to Canterlot today then. After freshening up of course. Will you be fine holding the fort today?"

"Of course, Twilight," Spike held up a single thumb. "Anything you need me to do while you're gone?"

"Nope," Twilight tussled his head with a hoof. "Have a day off, you've definitely earned it. Just make sure you lock the doors if you leave."

"Don't worry," Spike flexed his muscles. "No one will get past me."

Twilight chucked as she began to leave the kitchen.

"I'm sure they wont, Spike, I'm sure they wont."

Richard strolled casually through the streets of Ponyville, his hand clutching the letter he'd received a short while earlier. He was surprised, but strangely happy to receive the request from Octavia to come into work a few days earlier than expected. While he enjoyed the more laid back lifestyle in Equestria, he also enjoyed having a purpose.

Besides which, if it helped keep him preoccupied and his mind off of sex, he thought that would be a tremendous benefit. Though, as he walked towards Octavia's academy, he noticed something rather strange. Ponies were acting weirdly as he passed them in the street. He saw several ponies whisper and snicker before quickly avoiding his gaze as he looked at them.

There were stallions who nudged their mates before nodding their heads at him and mares who fluttered their eyelashes and blew kisses at him. And he was certain that at least one mare waited to see if he was looking her way before flicking her tail up, giving him an unobstructed view at her nether region; making his face go bright red and bringing a fresh coating of sweat to his body.

The most bizarre event though was when Roseluck came scampering up to him and thrust a bunch of flowers into his hands. "For you know who," she had said with a wink before returning back to her stall and ignoring questioning expression. Richard stood there baffled for a moment before just shrugging and continuing on his way.

Richard had no idea what was going on, but he decided to just ignore it. It's not like he's never had ponies stop and stare at him before. Even now, after months in the town, he'd notice young foals gawking at him like he was some sort of monster before parents would gently scald them and apologize for their rude behavior.

Before long, Richard arrived at his destination, just in time to pass Octavia's friend from the other night; Vinyl; as she left the building.

"Hey, Richard!" she called to him as she held the door open. "What are you doing here today?!"

"Oh, well, I don't know if you knew this or not, but Octavia offered me a job here as a manager and I accepted. I wasn't really expecting to start till next week but I got a letter this morning asking me to come in today if I was free." Richard shrugged. "I had nothing else planned and no harm in starting a few days early I guess."

"Ahh," Vinyl nodded. "And are flowers a usual thing to bring on a first day back where you're from?"

"These?" Richard looked at the hand holding the bunch of flowers. "Not really. Roseluck, one of the flower vendors gave them to me on my way over here. I have no idea why, really, but it felt rude to refuse them. You can have them, if you want?"

Richard offered them towards Vinyl but she just chuckled and shook her head.

"Do I look like a pony who enjoys flowers to you?" she replied, causing Richard to let out a laugh. "Though, I'm sure Octavia wouldn't say no. She needs to replace the flowers in her office anyway. Unless there's a special somepony you'd rather save them for?" she asked with a quick nudge of her hoof and a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"No," he denied, a little too quickly. "Anyway, do you know where I'd find Octavia at the moment?"

"Last I saw, she was up in her office, dealing with a stack of paperwork. Probably why she asked you to come in today, now that I think about it." Vinyl let go of the door as she spoke, nimbly passing Richard as he lunged to catch it with the hand that was still clutching the letter. "Well, it was nice to bump into you again, but I've got work to do. Gigs to plan and set lists to work out. Hope you have a good first day at work, but be careful you don't have too much fun."

"Ehh, I'll try not to," Richard looked at her questioningly as she walked off, but dismissed it as Vinyl just being Vinyl and carried on inside, letting the door shut behind him.

Waiting until she heard the click of the door, she looked back over her shoulder; and upon seeing the coast was clear she gave a quick hoofpump.

"Oh, Roseluck, you little minx. I see you've bet against Richard as well."

Richard paused for a moment to compose himself before gently knocking on the door to Octavia's office.

"Who is it?" asked Octavia.

"Richard," he replied. "I got your note asking me to come in today."

"Oh, Richard?" her voice sounded calm and cheery. "Come in."

Richard opened the door and the sight before him brought him immediately to a halt and sent his blood rushing south. Octavia was bent over riffling through a filing cabinet, her tail was tied up into a tight bun and despite the fact she was apparently wearing a skirt of some sorts, her wide legged stance had hiked it up her hips, leaving her nether regions of full display.

"Please, take a seat, I'll be with you in a moment." she said calmly, seemingly unaware of the show she was giving him.

"Um," Richard struggled to respond. He was started to sweat profusely and very aware that he was pitching a tent that would be noticed the moment she turned to face him. "Thanks."

He eventually managed to choke out a word as his brain started working again and he rushed to sit down before she noticed the effect she was having on him and mistook him for a pervert. Unbeknownst to him, however, she could see everything perfectly in the mirror she and Vinyl had spent several minutes positioning just right, so she could stealthily assess his response to the little act Vinyl had taught her.

A wry smile formed on her lips as she noticed, that even as he sat down, his eyes remained firmly glued to her backside.

'Perfect,' she thought to herself. If she played it just right, she'd having him eating out of her hoof in no time. 'Or somewhere lower down.'

That naughty thought thrilled her so much, that in the spur of the moment she decided to do something she'd never thought she would ever do in a million years. Slowly, she closed her eyes and let herself 'wink' at Richard, a shiver of pleasure running down her spine as she felt a drop of arousal drip out of her pussy and onto the carpet beneath her.

Behind her she heard Richard gulp, and she smiled as sensually licked her lips. However, the scrape of a chair caused her to stand up straight and face towards him as she feared she had pushed him into leaving. Instead, she noticed that he'd pushed his chair as far as it would go under the desk, clearly into an attempt to hide his own arousal, though his bright red and sweating face gave his reaction away.

"Sorry about that," she said as she closed the cabinet draw with a kick of one of her rear hooves before straightening out her skirt. "I was just trying to find a couple of files."

'Holy fuck,' Richard thought to himself at how calm she was behaving. 'Did she mean for me to see all that?'

Richard couldn't help but stare at her as she made her way over and calmly sat down behind the desk. While he half noticed that she was also wearing some sort of blouse to go with her skirt, it was her eyes he was drawn to. Each of those piercing pink pools was framed underneath was the blackest eye shadow he'd ever seen. And he'd be lying if she didn't look sexy as fuck.

"Oh, sorry, do I have something at my top?" she asked, dusting away at the garment with both her forehooves.

'Crap!' he though to himself, 'She's noticed me staring.'

"N-no!" he stammered as quickly as he could. "It's just, I'm not used to ponies wearing clothes really."

"Ahh," she nodded. "I don't normally dress up, but unfortunately I've had a rather important meeting with one of the academy's biggest donor's come up rather suddenly and I have to look the part."

'Wow,' Richard mused, 'That must be one hell of a donor to get her to dress up like that.'

"I see," Richard nodded stiffly, forcing himself to look at the desk. "And I guess that's why I'm here?"

Internally, Octavia breathed a sigh of relief. 'It seems like he's bought it, I must remember to thank Vinyl later for that cover story.'

"Yes," she replied while leaning over to pick up a file, making sure to 'accidently' touch Richard's arm as she reached for it. "Unfortunately I still have a lot of paperwork I need to get through, and as manager a lot of that will fall under your purview. So, if you're free and willing, I would appreciate a hoof - ah - hand today. You will be well compensated for your time of course."

"Of course," he forced a smile onto his face. "What exactly do I need to do?"

Octavia opened up the folder she had retrieved revealing a number of pages covered in writing, and turned it to face Richard.

"These are the operational receipts from the last calendar month. What I need you to do is create a copy of each of these documents using the special paper from over there," she pointed towards the back of the room, and he risked looking up to see her pointing at a shelf with stacks of pink paper. "When you've finished, I need you to put the copies you've made into a new, empty folder and then do the same for the next month in the stack, and so on."

"That seems easy enough," said Richard. "What do I do with the folders when I'm finished?"

"Just stack them up for now," Octavia said sweetly. "I'll show you where they go when I'm back from my meeting."

"You're the boss," Richard got to work, making sure to avoid eye contact as he got up to get some pink paper.

The moment the door to the staff room shut behind her, Octavia's knees buckled and she slid to the floor, all the confidence she'd been displaying moments ago leaving her in an instance.

"So, how did it go?" asked Vinyl, who was sat lounging on one of the staff sofa's. "Did you do everything exactly like I told you to?" Octavia nodded shackingly, before burying her face in her hooves.

"I can't believe I just did that, it's so embarrassing."

Vinyl tutted.

"There's nothing embarrassing about a little flashing in order to seduce somepony," stated Vinyl.

"Speaks the pony with no sense of shame," muttered Octavia, slowly dragging herself to her hooves and making her way over to sit next to Vinyl. "But I didn't just flash him."

"Wait, what?" Vinyl raised her glasses and looked at her questioningly, forcing Octavia to explain everything that had happened.

"You winked at him?" she stared at Octavia in shock. "You actually winked at Richard?"

Octavia nodded slowly, her face turning bright red.

"Damn, girl, I didn't know you had it in you."

"Not just that, but..." Octavia swallowed slowly, "But I also felt a drop of arousal fall out of me."

"Holy shit!" Vinyl cursed before falling back in open laughter. "That room must reek of musk, Poor Richard. I only hope you don't come back to find several pages of your documents stuck together, from... you know..."

Vinyl mimed jacking off.

"Vinyl!" Octavia reeled back in disgust. "How dare you suggest something so uncouth. Richard is a gentlecolt, not one of your nightclub frat jerks."

"Pfft," Vinyl waved a dismissive hoof. "All men are the same. So, how hung was he?"

"I don't know," Octavia replied, "I could tell he was hard, but the clothes he was wearing made it hard to judge the size."

"Damn," Vinyl said disappointedly, "Why does he wear them all the time? I mean what can he possibly be hiding?"

Octavia shrugged, "Maybe that's just what it's like where he's from? Maybe it's a lot colder back there?"

"Or... maybe he's hiding some hideous deformity?" suggested Vinyl. "Like some big scar. Or maybe he's considered small back on his world son he has to hide his shame?"

"As tactful as always, Vinyl," sighed Octavia. "I'm sure it's plenty big enough. If only I could get to see it."

"Not for long though, right?" Vinyl wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Or, are you planning on a lot of foreplay before you get him to bury it deep in your cunt?"

"Vinyl! I will not share my sexual desires with you," Octavia glared at her friend. "At least, no more than I have already."

"And here I was planning on helping you get his pants off," said Vinyl. "Figuratively speaking of course. I have no interest in watching your two sweaty bodies as you rut yourselves unconscious."

"Fine," Octavia relented through gritted teeth, "I'll tell you what I'd love to do with Richard, but only after you tell me your plan."

"Oh, it's quite simple really." Vinyl leaned in and whispered with a twinkle in her eye. "Do exactly as I tell you, and Richard will be balls deep in you before you know it."

POP

In a flash of light, Twilight appeared in the middle of the gardens of the Royal Palace in Canterlot. She felt a wave of nausea pass over for her and collapsed to the ground as she took several deep breaths to try and keep the vomit down. Drained, Twilight looked around with a smile as she realized she'd successfully reached her destination. Never before had she teleported such a great distance, but with only days until Richard's birthday, she believed time was of the essence.

"Twilight?" a familiar voice called out as a shadowy figure descended upon her from one of the nearby towers. "What are you doing here?"

"Princess Luna?" Twilight struggled to focus on the Princess before her, there appeared to be four ponies in swimming in and out of her vision. "Is that you?"

"Good, gracious Twilight. Please tell me you didn't teleport all the way here from Ponyville? I'd have thought my sister taught you better than that." Luna conjured a small bottle of a sparkling, pale blue liquid and placed it carefully before Twilight. "Here, drink that, it should restore you quickly enough."

"Thanks," Twilight unstoppered the bottle and quickly wolfed it down, feeling energy instantly rush back into her. "Wow, what is that stuff?"

"Just some crystalline aether mixed with sparkling spring water, it's just a tonic my sister and I developed way back as quick pick me up," Luna smiled warmly at Twilight. "So back to my previous question, to what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?"

"I need Richard's bag," Twilight replied as she stood up and brushed herself down. "Richard's birthday is coming up in a couple of days and I was hoping it could give me an idea on what to get him."

"Hmm," Luna hummed in thought. "I could retrieve it for you, but if it's a thoughtful present you seek, I might have a suggestion for you. If you'd permit?"

"Really? You have a suggestion?" Twilight looked at Luna with interest.

"Verily," Luna started walking off away from the palace, towards the city. "If you'd follow me, I have somepony you might find some interest in meeting."

A triangle's a musical instrument: Part 2 (NSFW)

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Luna lead Twilight deep into the backstreets of Canterlot, into a district which Twilight had never seen before. The shops either side of them had their windows blacked out with colourful and eye catching posters. And their signs were written in a language Twilight had never seen before. Luna noticed Twilight looking around in wonder and smiled.

"Welcome, Twilight, to little Nyctea," she said. "The largest population of Thestrals anywhere in Equestria outside the Northlands."

"Wow," said Twilight, "I knew Canterlot was home to a Thestral community, after all they comprise the majority of the 'Night Guard'. But I didn't expect anything like this. I also didn't know Thestrals had their own language."

"It's actually an old dialect of 'High Equestrian'," explained Luna. "It mostly died out shortly after Celestia and I ascended into Alicorns and took over controlling the sun and moon."

"So, why do the Thestrals still use it?" asked Twilight.

"Because Thestrals are a proud and stubborn group of ponies who still trace their lineage back to before Hearths Warming," answered Luna. "Ahh, we have arrived at our destination."

Luna walked up to and entered a small discrete shop that seemed intent to hide amongst its neighbors. While Twilight couldn't read the name of the shop, the symbols of a horse shoe and a dragon's claw were both visibly emblazoned on the door as she followed Luna into the storefront.

The room Twilight found herself in was dimly lit by floating candles giving off a watery silver light and the small space was filled with shelves lined with all sorts of objects. The most noticeable of which was a record player that sat on the shops service desk, playing a foreign music that sounded strangely familiar to Twilight's ears. Despite the fact the shop was open, Twilight and Luna appeared to be the only ponies present.

"Lumen must be in the back," said Luna, turning to face Twilight. "It might be best if you wait here while I go get him, he can be a little skittish around new ponies."

Luna stepped carefully through the chaos of the room and disappeared behind a shelf towards the back of the room, leaving Twilight alone with the irresistible urge to inspect the objects around her.

"Wow," Twilight whispered to herself as she inspected something that appeared to be an ancient shield. It was plain in design with a simple gryphon engraved onto the front but as she raised a hoof towards it she could feel a spark of magic.

"I didn't know gryphons could craft magical shields."

"Zere are not zo many ponies zhat do," the sudden voice from behind caused Twilight to jump, turning around to come face to face with Luna and the Thestral she could only assume was the owner of the store. "I am being zorry, Princez, I didn't mean to being scaring you. I am Lumen. Lumen Glow."

Lumen bowed politely before offering her a hoof that was adorned with more bracelets and bangles than she'd ever seen on one pony before.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said, shaking Lumen's hoof. "But you can just call me Twilight."

"Charmed," he flashed her a warm smile, his fangs seeming to sparkle in the room's silvery light. "I am hearing you vish to be zeeing ze little project I've been vorking on for ze Princess?"

"Um..." Twilight looked over his shoulder to see Luna nodding gently. "Yes?"

"Vonderful," Lumen seemed to positively brim with electricity as he let her hoof good and turn towards the back of the shop. "Please be following me, and please be being careful. Zome of these artifacts can become quite dangerous if not handled vith the most extreme of care."

Twilight followed Luman as he weaved his way towards where Luna disappeared previously, pausing for a moment as he stopped to retrieve the disc from the record player. As they turned behind the last row of shelves, Twilight could see there was a second door hidden in the shadows that lead to another dingy, but far less busy room.

In fact, the room was sparsely furnished, with only one chair; a single table; and a lone black board laying claim to the space. On the table were three objects, two of which Twilight recognized and a third which she did not.

"Hey, that's Richard's backpack," she said angrily, pointing to one of the objects she recognized. "Why do you have that?"

"Pardon?" Lumen looked at her confused. "I do not be understanding ze problem?"

"It's okay, Twilight," Luna said, placing a reassuring hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I gave it to him. Lumen is one of the finest studiers of foreign artifacts in all of Equestria, and I was hoping he could extract any information from this curious device Richard had arrived with."

Luna pointed towards the object Twilight didn't recognize, a small black box with a white cable connected to it.

"Have you made any progress?" she asked, turning towards Lumen.

"Vhy yes," he replied happily. "In fact, perhaps you might have noticed the fruits of my labour as you entered before."

Lumen placed the record he was carrying and placed it on the third object on the table, another record player and started setting it up ready for play.

"You zee, this vonderous contraption appears to be zome zort of device for ze playing of music."

Twilight picked up the small device with her magic and looked at in amazement.

"How can you be so sure?"

"It vas fairly zimple in ze end," he said and pointed towards the cable. "After ze Princess had been giving me a description of zis... human, it was easy to identify these as some sort of listening device zimilar to ze pairs of headphones zat appear to be rising in popularity at ze moment."

Twilight lifted the dangling end of the cable with a hoof and could see what Lumen meant. The shapes on the end did look like they were designed to fit Richard's ears.

"And you've managed to extract the music from it?" asked Luna, pointing towards the record player before Lumen batter her hoof away.

"Yez, I believe I have managed to do zo, but zhere iz one particular problem. Lizen." Lumen set the record playing and the room filled with the same alien sound as before. After he was certain the two of them understood the issue, he turned off the record player. "Unfortunately I lack zhe expertised required to turn it into an audible melody. All zhe information iz zhere, it just requires zomepony more experienced in zhe musical ziences to put it together properly."

Twilight felt a surge of excitement run through her.

"So you're saying, if we can get a pony who knows music enough, we would have a workable disc of human music?" a large smile grew on Twilight's face.

"I beleive zo, yez," nodded Lumen. "Zho I vould like to correct your statment to add a plurality."

Once more Lumen left the room, this time returning with what appeared to be a heavy crate filled with carefully wrapped records.

"Zhere vas a vast quantity of data on zhe device." grunted Luman as he he placed the crate on the table with a thump. "It's actually quite baffling how zo much data fit on a device zo small. Zey may not have any magic, but zhese human's are clearly a remarkable species."

"It would appear so," said Luna as she conjured a reasonably sized pouch. "As are you, Mister Glow. I believe this should more than cover your time and expenses."

Lumen eyed the pouch with awe and gratefully accepted it from Luna with a bow.

"You are most gracious, your highness," Luman flashed her fang filled smile. "It vas a pleasure to be of zervice to ze Mother of Night. Zhould you need any further azzistance from me in future, please do not be hezitating to call."

"I will keep that in mind," Luna nodded as Luman quickly backed out of the room, leaving them alone with the records and Richard's belongings. "So, Twilight, what do you think? Would this be a suitable gift for Richard."

Twilight could barely contain her excitement as she rapidly packed Richards bag and placed it on top of the crate.

"Oh, yes, Princess, I wouldn't have been able to think of anything better myself." Twilight clapped her fore hooves together excitedly. "How much do I owe you?"

Luna waved her hoof dismissively.

"Absolutely nothing. In fact, think of it as my contribution towards the present. Though it might be a bit premature to thank me yet. There is still the matter of finding a pony to turn them into usable records in time for Richard's birthday."

"I might actually have somepony in mind," said Twilight. "I've heard of quite a prolific DJ back in Ponyville. Even if she can't do it herself, she might be able to point me in the right direction."

Richard was in tremendous pain. For the last 2 hours he'd been doing his best to stay focused on the task of copying the records, but two things made it particularly difficult. Firstly; the smell; a cloying sickly sweet scent that stuck to the top of Richard's mouth. He wanted to escape from it but at the same time a part of him wanted to remain within it forever. Secondly; the persistent raging erection. Just when he thought he'd managed to get it under control, he'd return to working and it would pop right up again.

"Fuck..." Richard had several times found one of his hands snaking downwards, wanting nothing more to relieve himself. But each time he managed to resist. The thought of Octavia walking in as he had one hand on himself was not something he wanted to entertain. Though the longer he resisted, the more appealing he started to find that possibility.

Thoughts of Octavia walking in with him sitting there, his trousers down. She'd see him pleasuring himself, but instead of disgust would be intrigue. She'd walk over to her desk, bend over it and her skirt would raise and then she would beg him to take her there and then.

'No!' Richard thought to himself as he forced his mind back to his work. 'Control yourself, it's just the hormones talking.'

Richard was so busy with his internal struggle, he didn't notice as Octavia returned until he felt a hoof on his shoulder.

"So, how's it going?" Richard could feel her breath on the side of his head as she leaned over his shoulder to look the work he was doing.

"Fine," Richard squeaked, his face turning bright red. "I mean, everything is going fine."

"Mmmm," Octavia purred, looking his figure over. "I can see that."

"How was your meeting?" Richard asked trying to quickly move the conversation on.

"Oh, so tiring." Octavia moved around to her chair and dropped herself into it. "Though not as tiring as your day, it seems." She pointed to the stack of folders Richard had already finished and smiled at him with a flutter of her eyelashes. Mistakenly, Richard looked caught her gaze and was instantly lost in those pools once more, his heart skipping a beat at the sight.

"Yes..." he whispered. "I guess I managed to get a lot done."

"You guess?" Octavia giggled, leaning forward to place a hoof on his hand. "You've done as much paper work as I can get done in a week. Those fingers really are special."

"Thanks," Richard blushed at the compliment and physical contact. The skin of his hand felt like it was burning under her hoof. "Anyway, didn't you say you were going to show me where to put the documents when I was finished?"

"Hmm?" Octavia hummed questioningly, "Oh, right, of course. Follow me."

As Octavia lead the way, she was careful to mind everything Vinyl had just instructed her on. Periodically, and carefully, look over your should to ensure he's looking at you, and occasionally flag at him. Just enough that it keeps him hot and bothered, but not too much that he can easily start ignoring it.

Slowly leading him the long way around the building, she eventually arrived at a door marked 'Records,' a red faced, sweaty Richard standing behind him.

"Here we are," she smiled at him. "Oh, Richard, are you alright? I hope I haven't been working you too hard?"

Octavia couldn't help but glance quickly down at her last word, biting her lip as she saw the obvious erection highlighted in Richard's trousers.

"No," Richard shook his head, taking a deep breath which he quickly realized was a mistake as more of that clinging smell filled his nostrils, causing him to pulse even harder.

"Well, do let me know if there's 'anything' I can do for you." Octavia said, as she opened the door.

Taking a deep breath, Octavia nervously crossed the threshold of the room. This next stage of Vinyl's plan was the most tricky and had required several attempts of practice to get right. Trotting over to a filing cabinet, she waited till Richard was within hoofs reach before starting to open the drawer.

"You can put the documents in this.... woah," with an exaggerated pull, Octavia pretended that the motion had knocked her off balance and practically threw herself at Richard, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Octavia asked as she checked her positioning, she had to avoid smiling triumphantly as she realized she had landed perfectly on top of him, his erection pressing eagerly into her hip.

'Soon,' she thought to herself. 'You'll be free soon enough.'

"I'm okay," replied Richard, "How about you? That looked like a nasty fall."

'Aww, he cares about me.' she thought

"Yes, it looked far worse than it was." Octavia looked at him with bright eyes. "But are you sure you didn't dislocate or break anything? I can feel something poking me in my side."

Richard gulp, his face getting even redder.

"No," he shook his head fiercely. "I assure you, I'm fine." He quickly tried to extract himself however found himself stopped by a hoof pressing firmly on his crotch.

"Oh," Octavia purred, "Is that because of me?"

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Shh, it's okay." Octavia interrupted. "There's no need to be sorry, Richard. I've told you before that there are mares who prefer a walk on the wild side."

Octavia rubbed her hoof gently up and down the length of Richard's bound erection while he was frozen in indecision. He wanted nothing more than to run and get out of there as fast as he could. He tried to focus on anything that would give him the strength to move, but with the hormones raging through his system his body refused to listen as it yearned for release.

"Oh, you poor thing," Octavia said as she released her touch on Richard and sashayed as sexily as she could towards the nearby filing cabinet. "I bet you've not had any release since you got to Equestria have you?"

Richard wanted to remain silent, but his body betrayed him, letting out a small needful whimper.

"Don't worry, I'll give you what you need." Octavia reached up with her forehooves, bracing herself against the filing cabinet before revealing herself to Richard and shaking her flank enticingly.

Internally Richard was screaming, but he could do nothing to stop himself as his hands tremblingly moved towards his belt, fumbling with the buckled.

"That's it, big boy," Octavia licked her lips as the anticipation of what was about to happen sent a shiver down her spine. "Come and get me."

Come and get me. Those four words flashed through Richards mind and with them the image of Twilight from his vision.

'Twilight,' Richards hands froze. His thoughts drifted back to the day before. Of how he felt sitting in Twilight's lap. Of the warmth and joy felt in her company.

And like that, the siren spell was broken.

The Spark

View Online

"Princess, what a unexpected surprise." Vinyl stood in the open doorway of her house, gazing at Twilight from behind her glasses. "Would you like to come in?"

Vinyl stood aside to let Twilight pass. Twilight entered the hallway, levitating a crate behind her.

"Thanks," Twilight continued until she reached the living room and placed the crate down next to the coffee table covered in take away rappers.

Vinyl entered the room behind her and quickly winced at the state she saw the room was in.

"Uh, please excuse the state of the room, Princess, I'm not used to such distinguished company."

"Think nothing of it," Twilight dismissed with her hoof. "I'm the one who came here unannounced."

"So, um, what can I do for you Princess? Octavia is at work at the moment, but I can let her know that you stopped by?" Vinyl shuffled nervously.

"Actually," Twilight cleared some old newspapers from a chair and sat down. "It's you I came here to speak to."

"Me?" Vinyl was shocked. "I thought you princesses were all into that hoity toity classical music, what could you possibly need me for?"

"Well, actually," Twilight pointed to the crate, "I was hoping you could help me with this."

Vinyl moved towards the crate and looked at Twilight for permission, Twilight nodded and she opened up the crate.

"Records? So you want me to perform a set?"

"Not exactly," Twilight smiled, "Why don't you listen to one of them and see?"

Vinyl looked at the records and then at Twilight and back at the records before smiling herself.

'Oh, this princess is fun,' she thought to herself. 'Okay, I'll play your game.'

Vinyl left the room and shortly returned, a turntable held in her telekenetic grip. She set down the equipment and plugged it in.

"Okay, Princess, lets see what you've got for me."

Deftly, Vinyl levitated a single disk and loaded it onto her deck. Setting it to play, she flicked the device on and very quickly turned it off again after a blare of incomprehensible noise.

"What in Equestria was that?" she glared at Twilight.

"That was music." Said Twilight calmly, a smile still etched across her features.

"No shit that's music," Vinyl shook her head. "Where from, a nation of death ponies?"

"Not ponies, no." Twilight shook her head. "Earth."

"Earth!" If Vinyl had water in her mouth, she'd have spat it out. "You mean humans listen to that shit?"

"Well..." Twilight tilted her head slightly. "Not exactly. It is Earth music; extracted from what's assumed to be a human musical storage device. but it's just the raw data without any of the... stuff that makes it suitable to be listened to. I was hoping to hire your services to turn it into music. You know, add all the bits that need to be added."

"You mean the beat?" Vinyl asked.

"I guess," Twilight shrugged, "I must profess I'm not an expert of music."

"I can tell," Vinyl chuckled. "It does sound like an interesting project."

"So, you'll do it?" asked Twilight excitedly, leaning forward eagerly.

Vinyl thought about it for a moment, it didn't seem much different than mixing a new track. Just a lot more effort.

"Sure," Vinyl nodded. "Though it wont be cheap."

"Trust me," Twilight produced a coin purse. "Money is no issue."

"Or quick."

"Ahh," Twilight looked sullen. "I was hoping you could get at least a couple of discs finished before Friday. It's sort of a birthday present."

"It's Richards birthday?"

"Yes," Twilight nodded. "I was hoping to get him something special, given you know..." Twilight waved her hooves around her.

'Well, I guess I know the other mare that Richard likes,' Thought Vinyl smiling inwardly. 'Not that it matters, by now it will be too late.'

"Well, I guess I can pull a couple of all-nighters," said Vinyl, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. "Though, I would like to ask a favour?"

"Absolutely," said Twilight, "Anything you need."

"Let me play the party."

"I'll have to speak to Pinkie Pie, it's really her that's organizing the party." replied Twilight. "But I don't think that should be a problem."

"Then we have a deal?" asked Vinyl offering her hoof.

"Deal," confirmed Twilight with a shake of her hoof. "I'll come by Friday morning to see how you're getting on and to go over the details of the party with you."

Octavia arrived home just in time to see Twilight Sparkle flying off and Vinyl still standing in the door. The sight caused her to start hyperventilating.

'Oh crap, Richard's told her what happened,' she thought.

Nervously she approached a beaming Vinyl and rushed past her to get inside as quickly as possible.

"Wow, you look really nervous for a mare who just got her world rocked," grinned Vinyl, shutting the door behind her.

*Slap*

The sound of Ocatavia slapping Vinyl across the face filled the corridor.

"Don't! You! Dare!" shouted Octavia, starting to cry. "You and your fucking stupid advice!"

Completely ignoring the slap, Vinyl rushed to comfort her friend, pulling her into a hug and practically carrying her to the living room and placing her down on the sofa.

"What the fuck happened?" asked Vinyl. "I thought he was practically eating out of your hoof."

"He left," hiccoughed Octavia, tears falling down his face. "There I was begging him to fuck me after doing everything you said, and he just left."

"Oh..." Vinyl took her glasses off, placing them on the table before pulling Octavia into a deep hug.

"And I bet he told Twilight, didn't he?" She sobbed. "That's why she was here right?"

"No," Vinyl shook her head, "that's not why. At least, she didn't mention it."

"Then what did she want?" asked Octavia, burying her face in Vinyl's shoulder.

"She wanted to hire me to make some music." Vinyl responded flatly.

Octavia didn't respond.

"As a present." Continued Vinyl.

Octavia remained silent.

"For Richard's birthday party." finished Vinyl.

"Oh." said Octavia, the finality of that statement breaking Vinyl's heart.

"Yeah..." Vinyl gently rubbed Octavia's back as her sobbing began to ease. "I guess we know the mystery pony that Richard likes now."

"Fuck..."

Richard felt dirty and guilty. Images of Octavia, reared up and presenting, were seared into his mind. The only thing that gave him hope was the image of Twilight from the dream. He moved fast through the streets of the town, fast enough that he could get home as quickly as possible, but not too fast that he might draw undue attention to himself. Fortunately for him he missed the winks and waves of passing mares. Reaching home, he locked the door quickly behind him and headed for the shower.

Twilight walked through the door of Sugarcube Corner humming a cheerful tune and a with a bounce to her step. The café was busy with ponies having afternoon tea, however the line was short enough that Twilight saw Pinkie wasn't on duty. She motioned to Mrs Cake who was serving a customer at the till and she mouthed to Twilight.

'Pinkie is in the back.'

Twilight nodded in thanks and then slipped past the counter to back rooms of the bakery. Immediately she found herself in a maelstrom of chaos and mess, and in the centre of it all, the conductor of mayhem was Pinkie Pie.

"Oh, hi, Twilight." she said cheerily as she started pouring batter into a baking try with her hooves and continued mixing a bowl with her mane. "I'll be with you in a minute. You'll probably want to stand over there, you're currently in the splash zone."

She deftly pointed with one of her rear hooves to a small circle of kitchen that had somehow miraculously remained free of any dirt or baking debris.

Twilight didn't need to be told twice, as she quickly made her way over to the safe space, narrowly dodging a whisk as it flew over ahead and landed in the sink with a splash. Watching on in awe, Twilight observed Pinkie finish pouring both bowls of batter into a series of baking trays and then, carrying them on her main, deposit them in the oven. Then she watched as Pinkie power washed the used dishes and implements, working herself in a foaming froth before rapidly shaking herself dry.

"There we go," Pinkie said as she turned to face Twilight. "Why are you here?"

"Well, actually, Pinkie, I was hoping I could help you plan Richards party?"

"Ooh," Pinkie gasped, "Of course you can, after all, you know what they say; two heads are better than one. Unless of course you're the Cerberus I guess, in which case 3 heads are better. Then again there's the hydra and who knows how many heads they can have."

"Uh-huh," Twilight just nodded along. "So, how are the plans going so far?"

"Super," chirped Pinkie. "Why don't I show you? Just make sure to keep your wings tucked in?"

"My wings? Why would I need to do that?"

Pinkie just smiled and reached to push a plank in the wall and suddenly the floor underneath Twilight collapsed into a slide.

"Pinkie!" she screamed as the ground fell way beneath her and shot down into the dark.

"Whee!" Pinkie screamed as she jumped in after her.

Applejack was worried, it had been three days since the Picnic and she hadn't seen hide nor hair of either Richard or Twilight. She'd heard that Pinkie had gone into the Palace yesterday morning dragging a covered cart, after which the doors had been shut behind her and no one had seen her since either. She was currently sitting at Fluttershy's cottage drinking tea. She didn't really care much for the flavour, it was some sort of herbal mixture that Fluttershy kept on hand for when she needed to relax, but she appreciated the company all the same. They had just been discussing the issues that filled Applejack's mind.

"I don't know, Shy, what do ya make of all of this?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know, Applejack, I know Rarity hasn't seen Twilight since the Picnic either. She claimed she was meant to have a lunch with her yesterday to 'discuss strategy'; whatever that means; and Twilight didn't show."

"That's not like Twilight," said Applejack.

"Unless she's gotten a new shipment of books for her library, you mean?" chuckled Fluttershy. "But I know what you mean, at least she'd get Spike to send a letter. But he hasn't been seen either."

"At least Pinkies with her, I guess," Applejack mused. "What about Richard? I hope he's not cooped up in his house all alone."

"Poor thing," said Fluttershy. "The heat must be hitting him pretty badly. I heard from a little bird that the last time he was seen around the town was leaving the music college. I had heard Octavia had offered him a job."

"That's nice of her," said Applejack flatly. "I wonder why she did that?"

"I'm not sure," shrugged Fluttershy, taking a quick sip of her tea. "But she's always come across as a fairly nice pony. Maybe she'd seen him around town and thought he was a hard worker. I can imagine his hands are quite useful when dealing with delicate instruments."

"I guess," nodded Applejack, not wanting to push any further. Fluttershy did always try to see the best in everypony. "So what do we do about this situation?"

"Is there much for us to do?" asked Fluttershy. "Tomorrow's the last day of the bet and after that all this craziness will behind us."

"That's what worry's me. I can understand Richard lying low, but what about Twilight. I have no doubt that Rarity's 'strategizing' was all about trying to teach Twi how to win the bet. It seems strange for her to give up given everything that's at stake." said Applejack, politely taking a small sip of her tea, her nose scrunching at the taste.

"You don't think Pinkie is trying to help Twilight win do you? I would have expected Pinkie to be more impartial than that." said Fluttershy.

Fluttershy had a point, and this confused Applejack. Whatever was going on in the Palace, she had no doubt that Pinkie wouldn't try and sway the bet one way or the other. At least not intentionally. Sadly, thought Applejack, she wasn't always the brightest bulb in the fixture. Mulling over the situation, she realized the only way to find out what was going on was to investigate themsevles.

"Ah got a suggestion," she said finally. "Why don't you go and check in on Richard, like you said he's probably going through a rough time and I think your experience with bad heats as well as your more gentle side might make him more amenable to seeing you."

"That seems fair," nodded Fluttershy. "And I guess you'll check in on Twilight and make sure she's not involved in some dangerous plot to rob Richard of his dignity?"

"Ah trust Twilight to not go overboard," said Applejack, "But ah'd still like to see what's going on. Ah can't imagine what spending two days alone in that big old castle with Pinkie are doing to her."

With a plan of action created, Applejack put down her mug and walked over to Fluttershy, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Just be careful with Richard, ya hear. Ah'd hate to hear that he tried to jump ya bones."

"Don't worry, Applejack, I've dealt with worse caring for my animals."

Applejack doubted that, but said nothing as she picked up her hat and headed out the door.

Fluttershy made her way towards Richard's house, stopping a handful of times to fill her saddlebags with groceries. She hoped that a promise of fresh food might help get her through the door if everything else failed. Thinking back to what she'd bought, she almost felt bad for Richard. She knew he was an omnivore, but sadly the markets of Ponyville had limited fare for him, especially given the wide range of pony foods he physically couldn't eat. Still, she'd tried her best to get a variety of fresh fruit and vegetable, as well as some bread and cheese. Hopefully it would help him feel at least a little bit better.

Reaching his front gate, Fluttershy could see that the house was dark and quiet. All of the curtains were closed and the house looked completely uninviting. She thought back to the times she'd taken similar steps to avoid the worst of her heat cycle and knew that he was probably feeling miserable and alone. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself; opened the front gate; and started up the path to the front door and knocked.

The sound echoed through the quiet building, she knew that if he was in he'd have heard it but there was no response. Still, not wanting to give up, Fluttershy knocked again. Still there was no response. Sighing, Fluttershy opened the letterbox and peered inside. The inside of the house was just as dark and uninviting as the outside, the corridor was almost pitch black and deathly silent.

"Richard," Fluttershy called, trying to summon her loudest voice. "It's Fluttershy. I just want to talk. I've brought some fresh food as well."

Fluttershy waited for several seconds, but the house remained silent. However, just as she was getting ready to call out again, she heard a door open and close. This was followed by footsteps slowly making their way down towards her. Quickly closing the letterbox, Fluttershy composed herself as she heard the footsteps approach the door and the scrape of the bolt unlocking.

Slowly the door opened to reveal the tired, sweaty, red face of Richard. His hair was a mess and his eyes appeared bloodshot in the mid morning light.

"Fluttershy?" Richard asked groggily. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to chat," Fluttershy shot him her brightest smile. "May I come in?"

Richard gave grunt and a shrug before stepping aside and opening the door wide enough for Fluttershy to step through. Wordlessly, Richard shut the door behind her before moving through the corridor into the dark living room and sitting down and staring off into space.

"How about we get some light in here, hmm?" Fluttershy asked soothingly as she set down her saddlebags before going over and opening the curtains.

"There, isn't that better?" she said as the room was filled with daylight. Richard just grunted in response.

"I brought some groceries," she stated, picking up the saddlebags. "How about I put them away and then make us a cup of tea?"

Richard shrugged.

Fluttershy managed to hold in a sigh at the lack of communication, forcing herself to maintain a smile as she went over to the kitchen attached to the living area and start putting the food away. As she opened the fridge and cupboards she noticed they were all completely bare.

"Richard, when was the last time you've eaten?"

"Don't know." Richard stated.

Fluttershy didn't know whether to frown or smile. Speaking was an improvement at least, but she was disappointed in the lack of care he was taking for himself. Taking a quick stock over the food she had bought, she worked out a small plan and clapped her hooves together.

"Okay, here's what we're going to go do." Fluttershy said. "You're going to go and take a shower and put on some fresh clothes. And I'm going to prepare us both an early lunch. Then we're going to sit down and discuss why you've locked yourself away from the rest of the world. Deal?"

"Okay," Richard nodded before slowly standing up and leaving the room.

'Okay, Fluttershy,' she thought to herself as she turned towards the stove and brushed her mane out of her eyes. 'Time to be a good friend.'

As Applejack approached the palace of friendship, she couldn't help but worry about Fluttershy. She knew Richard wouldn't consciously do anything to hurt her; not after how much Fluttershy had looked after him when he first arrived. The problem was that he wasn't likely in his right mind at the moment. Applejack frowned, she had to trust Fluttershy knew what she was doing, she had her own problematic shut in to deal with right now.

Walking up the pathway to the palace, Applejack noticed a strange golden haze around the building that appeared to seal it off from the outside world. The closer she got to the building, the more clear the haze became.

'She hasn't,' Applejack thought to herself, as she got close enough to gently prod the haze with her hoof, finding the haze acting like a solid barrier.

'She has,' she thought to herself.

"Twilight!" Applejack called out. "Why have you sealed the palace off in some sort of bubble?!"

There was a brief moment of calm before there was a flash of light as Twilight appeared beside her and she was a mess. Her main was matted and unkempt, as if she hadn't slept for the last couple of days. This was reinforced by the large bags under bloodshot eyes. Her coat was also strangely covered in splatters of paint.

"Oh, hi, Applejack." yawned Twilight. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah was worried about you, Twilight." said Applejack. "No one's seen you for two days. What have you and Pinkie been doing?"

"Two days, really?" asked Twilight. "Huh, that would explain why my pancakes were cold earlier."

"Twilight," Applejack sighed. "Are you okay?"

"Right as rain," Twilight yawned again, before promptly falling over.

"Okay," sighed Applejack. "We're going to get you some coffee."

"None for me, thanks, I've already ate today," Twilight said.

Applejack facehoofed, it was going to be a long morning.

Applejack sat in a booth of Sugarcube Corner opposite Twilight who appeared to be half asleep, completely unaware of her surroundings.

"Here you go sweeties," Mrs cake said as she placed three large mugs of black coffee down between them.

"Why have you gotten three mugs of coffee?" asked Twilight. "Is somepony joining us?"

"No," said Applejack. "I got two mugs for you because you're pancake tired. Now drink up."

"I don't want to," moaned Twilight, "I'm fine."

"Twilight, how many hooves am I holding up?" Applejack ask, while not holding up anything.

"Five?" answered Twilight sheepishly.

"Yes, I was holding up five hooves," Applejack rolled her eyes. "You need to drink this coffee."

"Fine..." Twilight moaned, picking up a mug with her hooves and taking a sip of the thick; dark; caffeinated nectar. "Bleh, needs sugar."

Fluttershy hummed happily as she started slicing a loaf of bread. The kitchen was now pleasantly warm and filled with the delicious smell of tomato and onion soup that was bubbling away on the stove. Up above, she could hear the gentle patter of running water as Richard took his shower. Reaching for the cheese once the bread was sliced, Fluttershy mused on how much she liked taking care of other creatures. She didn't know why, but being a hostess always filled her with a great sense of joy and purpose.

Once the cheese was suitably prepared, Fluttershy placed a lid on the pot of soup and started going about setting up a table for their lunch. Richard didn't have much in the way of dishes or cutlery, but she did managed to assemble two bowls, two plates and the appropriate spoons and knives required for the both of them, though the bowls were fairly dusty and in need of a good wash. She had just finished the table when she heard the shower turn off and the door to the bathroom open and shut, followed by the door to what she assumed was Richard's bedroom.

With everything else ready, she filled Richards kettle and set it going on the stove next to the pot; and fetched a small pouch of special leaves from her saddlebags that she'd brought just in case. Having seen the state of Richard a few minutes earlier, she figured it might come in useful.

A few minutes later, Fluttershy was pouring a special mug of tea as she heard Richard's footsteps coming down the stairs.

"How are you feeling?" Fluttershy asked over her shoulder as Richard he dropped himself down on the sofa.

"Much better now, thanks, Fluttershy. Though I don't know how long that will last, this heat is really kicking me over and over again."

"I know how that feels," said Fluttershy, floating over to Richard with the cup of tea that she placed on the table in front of him. "Here, drink that, it'll help."

"What's this?" Richard asked, picking the cup up and inspecting the tea within. "It doesn't smell like tea."

"It's moon tea," said Fluttershy, "It's a special blend of herbs designed to help manage the symptoms of estrus. I drink it myself whenever I get my really bad heat cycles. I know it doesn't smell great, and it'll taste like swamp water, but please trust me when I say you'll feel a lot better afterwards. Think of it as my own version of the Apple family tonic"

"I can't drink this," Richard shook his head. "I told you before, I'm not going to cheat."

"Richard, you just said it yourself, this heat is hitting you hard. A lot harder than you expected, I'm sure. I don't know if that's the reason why you locked yourself away, but either way, this isn't healthy." Fluttershy sat down next to him and placed a hoof on his leg gently.

"And it's not cheating to let a friend help you, so please drink it."

Richard placed the cup down on the table and pushed it away from him.

"The heat isn't the reason I'm hiding away, not specifically anyway." he said.

"Then what is?" Fluttershy asked pleadingly. "Please talk to me. I'll keep everything between us, I promise."

Richard sighed and rubbed his hands across his face, it didn't seem like Fluttershy was leaving him any options.

"It's Octavia," said Richard, relenting.

"Octavia?" Fluttershy looked at him confused. "What did she do? I thought she offered you a job?"

"She did," Richard nodded. "But I guess it was just a pretext to try and get me to have sex with her?"

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked in disbelief.

"Well, you know, like what you and Applejack were doing the other day except between me and her."

"Richard," she glared at him, "That's not funny."

"Sorry," Richard frowned, "Well, what I mean is she basically did everything she could short of actually forcing me to fuck her."

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked Richard. "I mean I've imagined some crazy things when my heat got really bad."

"I didn't imagine her tackling me to the ground," Richard stated. "Nor her leaning up against a filing cabinet, revealing herself and asking me to 'come and get her'."

Even as he told Fluttershy what happened, just saying those last words caused an image of Twilight in the dream to enter his mind and caused his heat to start acting up once more.

"That sounds awful," Fluttershy said. "I never expected a mare like Octavia to do something like that."

"Nor did I," Richard shrugged. "I'm not sure what to do about it."

"You need to drink the tea," she pushed the cup back towards him.

"I told you, I can't."

"Well, what are you going to do? You can't just stay hidden away in here. You were already miserable and if it's anything like my cycles tomorrow will be the worst day yet."

Richard eyed the cup with suspicion, slowly he picked it up and sniffed it. It really did have an unpleasant scent, like a compost heap or a decaying tree.

"Why can't I stay inside? Afterall it's only one more day and I win the bet?"

"Because of Twilight," said Fluttershy. "How do you think she'd take it if she found out you were hiding away in here because of the bet? It'd crush her, and I know you'd never want to hurt her like that. Besides, if that's what happened with Octavia, think what might happen if Twilight was to try the bet?"

"I don't know..." he said, slowly putting down the cup, but stopped by Fluttershy placing a hoof on his hands.

"Don't think of it like drinking to win the bet, think of it like trying to avoid hurting somepony you care about."

Fluttershy stared at Richard as his shoulders slumped and realized she'd won, a smile forming on her face.

"Fine," Richard gritted his teeth and drank the the dirty brown liquid down as quickly as possible. "Gah, that stuff is awful. You weren't kidding about the swamp water taste."

"There you go," Fluttershy said beaming. "You'll feel much better soon enough, and you'll be able to walk around the town without wanting jump every mare you see, at least for a short while. Now, how about some lunch?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," he said, "It does smell delicious by the way. But that was a low blow using Twilight against me like that."

Fluttershy had to stifle a chuckle as she got up from the couch and glided over to the stove and fetching a ladle to pour the soup.

'I told you I knew how to look after myself, Applejack.'

"Feeling better?" Applejack asked as Twilight finished her fourth cup of coffee and slammed the mug down on the table between them.

"Much," Twilight said energetically. "I really needed that, thanks Applejack."

"How many hooves am ah holding up?" she looked at her friend with concern, raising one of her hooves.

"One," answered Twilight. "I told you, Applejack, I'm fine."

"You were literally working yourself to exhaustion and had sealed your palace off with a magical dome," Applejack glared at Twilight. "You're obviously not 'fine'. What's going on?"

"It really is nothing, Applejack, I just made a mistake in trying to keep up with Pinkie while preparing a party, that's all."

"You tried to keep up with Pinkie Pie?" Applejack laughed. "Ah thought you were smarter than that, sugar cube. What drove you to do that?"

"It's Richard's birthday tomorrow," said Twilight.

"Ahhh, ah see." said Applejack, leaning back and taking a slow sip of her own coffee.

"After everything that's happened this week I wanted to make it as good as possible. You know, make him feel as welcome and loved as possible."

"Loved?" Applejack's eyebrows raised.

"As a friend, AJ." Twilight rolled her eyes. "As a friend."

"But why go through all this trouble?" Applejack leaned back and crossed her hooves. "No offense, but you're hardly the most sociable pony and planning parties aren't really your cup of tea so to speak."

"Because it's his Birthday, Applejack, I wanted to make sure it went perfectly." Twilight slammed a hoof on the table.

"So, get him a great present and leave the party planning to Pinkie." stated Applejack.

"Well, actually I did get him a good present." Twilight smiled. "At least, I hope he thinks it's great."

"What'd you get him?" Applejack was curious.

"I'm sorry, AJ, but I can't tell you." Twilight cast her eyes down. "I wont know it its ready in time till tomorrow morning."

"So, let me get this straight, you've gotten him a present that's so secret you can't even tell one of your friends, but you still want to throw yourself into planning a party until you practically pass out from exhaustion?" Applejack laughed. "And you're going to tell me you're only doing this because he's had a bad week? Ah'm not convinced."

"What else am I supposed to do?" Twilight asked rhetorically.

"Well, for starters, you could cancel the bet." chuckled Applejack. "Ah'm sure that would make him feel a lot better than seeing you wear yourself out."

"I can't do that," Twilight said weakly. "I'd lose and you know the stakes."

"What I know is that bet has been a source of frustration for mah friends all week. Celestia knows what suffering it's been putting Richard through." she stated pointedly. "And don't think ah I don't know about Rarity and her sneaking."

"I know, Applejack, and as I recall that was kind of the point of the bet. To get him to see how difficult it could be being a mare after all his boasting." said Twilight. "And if he was suffering so bad, he could always ask to call of the bet himself."

"And risk being turned into a mare for a week." replied Applejack. "Look, all ah'm saying is you're going to a lot more effort than you usually do when trying to cheer up one of your friends. And ah can't help but wonder if there's something more to it?"

"I don't recall ever throwing a party for a friend who recently lost the chance to see everyone they ever knew and loved ever again before." said Twilight.

"This is different, Twilight, and ah know you know that too." Applejack shook her head. "If you don't want to admit it to me, that's fine, all ah'm going to say is be careful. If ah'm right, there's more than just a friendship at stake here."

Twilight smiled.

"Don't worry, I'd never do anything to hurt Richard."

"Ah know, sugarcube." said Applejack as she started sliding out of the booth.

'That was kind of mah point,' she thought to herself.

"By the way, what time's the party?"

"That's Pinkies department," said Twilight. "I'm sure they'll go out this afternoon."

Richard awoke quickly, his body already being to itch and sweat and smiled. He had just had the best night's sleep all week. It had still be uncomfortable and sticky, but far less so than previous nights, and the images of Twilight less frequent. He had to admit it, Fluttershy's tea really worked. As he stretched and opened his eyes, he even noticed that the room smelt less musty than it had on previous mornings.

Forcing himself out of bed, he was already beginning to feel the heat start returning as he headed eagerly downstairs to boil the kettle. Before she had left yesturday, Fluttershy had given him a second small bag of leaves to brew. She had said she understood if he didn't want to take it, and if he didn't use it he could return it to her after today, but to keep it just in case. After that night's sleep, and the warning about how bad the heat could be today, he was ready to drink another cup of the foul liquid. He didn't expect it to stop the heat completely, but if it prevented it getting any worse, it would be worth it.

Deciding he could take the time while the kettle boiled to take a shower, Richard entered the hallway just as he heard the letterbox open and close.

"Huh," he muttered to himself, "A little early for the post."

He turned around to look, and there on the doormat was a single piece of black card. Curious, he bent down to pick it up and inspect it. It was small, smaller than A5 and turning it over he saw there were just seven words written on it neatly in deep green ink.

"Richard. Palace Of Friendship. Dusk. Come Alone."

Making a quick detour back into the living room, Richard placed the card on the coffee table before returning to the hallway and making his way up to the bathroom.

'That's strange,' he thought to himself as he climbed the stairs. 'I wonder what that means.'

Richard raised his hand to knock on the front door to the palace, however before he could make contact it swung open before him, revealing the dark room beyond.

"Hello?" Richard called out into the palace as he crossed the threshold. There was no response beyond his voice echoing back.

"Huh," he muttered to himself, "I guess no one's home."

He turned to leave, but the door suddenly slammed shut in his face. Richard tried the handle, but the door wouldn't budge.

"Okay," Richard whispered, "Stay calm. You were invited here, there absolutely isn't some sort of end of the world stuff going on."

In response, a quiet chuckle echoed from the dark room behind him.

Richard turned back towards the centre of the room. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out vague shapes in the gloom.

"Okay, Rainbow Dash, I know you're there. And I'm not in the mood to be pranked right now."

*Click*

"SURPRISE!" A chorus of voices shouted out and the room lit up, revealing Richard to be surrounded by what appeared to be the whole town. Across the centre of the room was a banner that read 'Happy Birthday Richard,' and the table that usually held the map of Equestria was piled high with presents.

Richard was overwhelmed by everything, and just stood there shocked.

"Happy Birthday," Richard failed to remain on his feet as a pink blur charged at him, deftly placing a party hat on his head before pulling him into a hug.

"Pinkie, did you do all this?" Richard asked the mare that was clinging tightly to him.

"Nuh uh," Pinkie shook her head excitedly. "Twilight helped a lot too."

"Twilight?"

Richard looked up as he felt himself become weightless as he was lifted up and placed on his feet by a glowing purple magical grip.

"Happy Birthday, Richard." Richard's heart skipped a beat.

Standing before him was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. Twilight was wearing a flowing midnight blue dress that glittered like the night sky, with every step she took he could see whole new constellations blink in and out of existence. Her hooves with encased in silver horseshoes each encrusted with a star made of diamonds that glittered in light of the room. Around her neck was a simple choker with a single crescent moon made of a material he had never seen before but appeared to produce a silvery glow of its own. Then his eyes reach her face, her eyes were framed with dusky eye shadow that only served to highlight the impossibly deep violet eyes that he wished to lose himself in forever. Then finally was her mane. While it was simply done up in her usual style, it shimmered and shone in the light reflected by a single star fixed by her left ear. Yet the star looked dim compared to her radiant smile.

"You're staring," Pinkie said in a sing song voice.

Richard pushed Pinkie aside and stepped towards Twilight. He offered her his hand and she gracefully placed a hoof in his palm. Gently grasping her hoof, he bent down and gently kissed it, causing Twilight to giggle.

"Sorry," Richard said as he released her hoof, feeling suddenly self conscious. "You just look so beautiful."

"Thanks," said Twilight shyly, feeling her cheeks heating up. "I was hoping you'd like it."

'She hoped I liked it?' Richards chest was suddenly full of butterflies.

"You know, I now feel incredibly under dressed," he glanced down at the simple shirt and jeans he was wearing. "Though in my defence, I had no idea why I was coming over here."

"Nonsense," said Applejack as appeared next to them, followed by the rest of the elements, Rainbow and Rarity hanging at the back whispering and giggling quietly together. "You look fine, most of us aren't dressed to nines either."

"Besides, it's your party," said Fluttershy. "I don't think anypony will care about what you're wearing."

"Speaking of party, why don't you give him your present, Twilight?" said Pinkie excitedly.

"It's okay, Pinkie," said Richard, "I'm sure it can wait."

"Nope," stated Pinkie flatly. "Trust me, you're going to want this present now."

Richard looked at Pinkie and Twilight questioningly, but Twilight just smiled sheepishly and walked off, Pinkie bouncing behind her.

"Do you have any idea what that's about?" Richard asked the other four next to him.

"No idea," said Rainbow, "Those two refused to tell the rest of us what Twilight had gotten you, they kept saying it was a surprise. Not that anything can trump what I got you."

"Oh, I'm sure nothing can beat whatever Wonderbolt merchandise you got him," said Rarity sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Hmm," Rainbow glared at Rarity angrily. "Well, it's better than whatever hoity toity crap you made him."

"Girls, please, I'm sure whatever y'all both got him is great," said Applejack. "It's not a competition."

"You know, I'm excited to see what this present is," said Fluttershy. "I've not seen Twilight this nervous about anything in a long time."

As if summoned by the mention of her name, Richard spotted Twilight walking towards them and he noticed that she was nervously biting her lip.

"Hey, Twi, is everything okay?" asked Richard.

Twilight looked up at him and smiled. "Of course it is. Ready to receive your present?"

"Sure," Richard smiled at her warmly. "Whenever you're ready."

Twilight swalled nervously and turned to look back towards Pinkie who was standing next to Vinyl at a turn table. Twilight nodded at Pinkie who then whispered something to Vinyl, causing the DJ to flip a switch and the room filled with music.

Music that was extremely familiar to Richard.

Music that he hadn't heard since he'd arrived in Equestria.

Richard could only stare at Twilight open mouthed as he heard the familiar intro to 'Call me Maybe.'

"Where...? How...?"

"So she got you some music, big whoop," Said Rainbow, earning her a cuff around the back of her head from Applejack.

Twilight ignored Rainbow, her attention focused on the look of surprise etched on Richard's face as she slowly walked towards him. The closer she got, the more her stomach started doing flips.

"Do you like it?" she asked him quietly, barely audible over the music. "We managed to extract some music from a device in your backpack. I thought you'd appreciate it, given... well you know."

Richard was overwhelmed and his heart was beating a mile a minute. He had given up hope of ever hearing music from back home ever again and it seemed to him that Twilight had done the impossible. Nervously, Richard knelt down and with shaking arms reached out and pulled Twilight into a hug.

"Thank you," he whispered into her ear.

As Richard loosened his grip, Twilight leaned back to look him in the eyes. The look of pure joy etched on his face warmed her heart and caused her own heart to beat rapidly.

Richard saw Twilight open her mouth to speak, but all he could hear was his blood pounding in his ears as he stared into her eyes. In that moment, the whole room melted away and it was just him and her. He was vaguely aware of her tilting her head to look at him quizzically as his eyes drifted down and became entranced by her lips. He hadn't noticed it before, but there was a faint layer of lipstick upon them and now it was all he could see. Suddenly, he found them getting closer as he unconsciously leaned in towards them and then without thinking he met them with his own.

Twilight froze as Richard kissed her, her whole body locking in place as a shiver ran down her spine.

The music stopped and the whole room fell silent as they observed the spectacle in front of them.

Richard broke the kiss and leaned back confused, trying to process what he had just done. He looked down at Twilight frozen in his arms a look of shock in her eyes and he was filled with shame and regret. Releasing her, he took a step backwards and without a word he turned and fled into the night. The last thing he heard before the palace door slammed shut behind him was the sound of Rainbow Dash letting out a loud 'whoop.'

Twilight walked towards the water fountain in the centre of the town, she could Richard sitting on its edge, his back towards her. He appeared to be crouched over, holding his head in his hand. The sight made Twilight frown.

As she slowly approached him, her mind was going a mile a minute as she could feel her lips still tingling from what had happened mere minutes ago. At first she had been shocked, confused about what was happening, but as Richard broke contact and left she felt... sad. She didn't know why, but she already missed the feeling of his lips pressed against him.

'You do know why,' a voice inside her said. 'Its the same reason you spent the last three days preparing his party. The same reason you cared so much about his about his present. You like him.'

Twilight expected that realization to shock or scare her, but instead it filled her with warmth. The thought that she liked Richard felt comforting and natural. She still wasn't sure quite how much she liked him, but for now that didn't seem to matter.

Filled with a nervous excitement, Twilight reached the fountain and sat down next to Richard, draping a wing across his shoulder.

"Richard?" Twilight asked a subtle hint of affection in her voice, "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry, Twilight," Richard mumbled from behind his hands. "I guess it was the heat affecting me, I mean I hadn't had any moon tea since this morning and I guess I let it get the better of me."

Twilight frowned.

"Are you sure it was just the heat?" she asked nervously. "You didn't want to kiss me at all?"

"I don't know," said Richard. "I mean, it's no secret how I feel about you."

Twilight chucked slightly.

"No, I guess not."

"It didn't help that you had to go and look so beautiful," Twilight blushed, her heart fluttering.

"You really think so?" Twilight looked at his huddled form.

"Of course," Richard nodded. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

"Then look at me," Twilight was surprised at the words that left her lips.

"No," Richard refused. "I can't."

Twilight calmly attempted to pry his hands away from his face.

"Look. At. Me." she repeated calm but forcefully.

Richard relented and slowly withdrew his hands from his face and turned to face her, his eyes downcast.

"Why?"

The question had barely left his lips before he felt her hoof turn his gaze up to meet hers and the gap between them was closed as she kissed him nervously. It was little more than a peck of the lips, Twilight quickly withdrawing as Richard sat there in surprise.

"Twilight?"

"Yes?" she replied wryly.

"What was that?" Richard looked at her in confusion.

"What did you think that was?" she smiled at him, a blush evident on her cheek.

"Are you saying..." Richard took a deep breath. "Do you like me?"

"I think so," Twilight nodded. "I can't say 'I love you,' not yet. But yes, Richard, I do like you."

Both Richard's and Twilight's hearts started beating rapidly, as they looked at each other.

"So, what now?" asked Richard.

Twilight smiled and wrapped her hooves around his neck, pulling him close until their foreheads touched. Richard's heart started beating rapidly at the proximity and he was aware that as he breathed her in, he could detect a subtle hint of lavender. For a moment they were still and once more Richard was hypnotized by here eyes, the deep violet pools drawing him and setting his soul aflame.

"I can think of something," she whispered.

She leaned forwards and once more their lips met. Twilight had little experience in kissing and her movements were nervous and clumsy. She could feel her knees go weak as Richards breathing increased and he slowly pushed back into the kiss, his movement similarly clumsy and nervous. His lips were soft and scalding against her own and each time they met she could swear they were getting hotter. Twilight could feel his body shaking in her hooves though she didn't know which of the two of them it was actually shaking as her own breathing rapidly increased. She could smell him, the sweat and the pheromones caused by the potion coursing through his veins and it was intoxicating. She wished she could remain there and drown in him, their lips forever locked. His warmth was all she would ever need.

Suddenly there was a flash of light as a shower of sparks shot out of Twilight's horn, causing them to separate in shock.

"What was that?" Richard asked, dropping his hands to hang loosely around her neck. "Are you alright?"

Twilight smiled at his concern.

"I'm not sure what that was," she said nervously, making a mental note to check with Cadance if she might have an idea what had happened. She had never experienced such a burst of magic before.

"But I'm fine really. Didn't really feel a thing. How about you? You aren't hurt are you?"

"No," Richard shifted uncomfortably in his skin, sweat beginning to pour down as he became acutely aware of a raging erection as he had a moment to think and inspect himself. "But I'm not sure I can hold on much longer."

Twilight looked at him carefully.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is," said Richard beginning to pant, "Is if we go on for much longer, you'll win the bet. I'm sorry but you, this, it's all too much."

Twilight could see he was telling the truth. His face was bright red and large beads of sweat were beginning to form as his body burned in her touch. Slowly she glanced down and could see a bulge in his lap which could only mean he was erect.

The power she held right now sent a scarily thrilling chill down her spine. In one ear she could hear Rarity yelling at her, telling Twilight that this was the moment, her chance to win the bet and put Richard in his place. In the other ear she could hear Applejack, scalding her and warning her to not ruin any chance of this relationship happening.

She realized she had to make a decision quick as Richard's hands slowly rose to the side of her face, cupping her chin as he slowly approached. She gulped and hoped that she'd made the right one as she reached out and pulled him with her hooves.

Author's Notes:

Hopefully this chapter has been a good read. I have to say I'm shocked at my lack of writing as I look back over the release dates of previous chapters and so I thank everyone for sticking with or returning to the story over time. It has been nearly 7 years exactly since the first chapter was published and the longest hiatus was nearly 2 years between updates. Which quite frankly is somewhat shameful.

My only defence is losing the drive to write chapters as I got distracted half way through and returning to write a chapter can be a difficult process, especially as I get excited about future plot points and end up planning whole new sequels to this story that just started out as a fun idea in the fimfic IRC channel.

Also, I'm curious, but who do you guys think is going to win the bet as it enters the last few hours.

Party Time

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Splash!

Richard yelled out in shock as he hit the water, all of his concern about his heat gone in a flash. For a moment he was disorientated as his head went underneath the water, but he recovered quickly as he hit the bottom. Sitting up and taking a deep breath, he looked around and saw Twilight sitting in the fountain next to him, her mane plastered over her face. A flash of anger flared up within him before he felt her hoof on his arm.

"Are you okay, Richard?" she asked as she used her other hoof to brush her mane out of her eyes.

"Yes, don't worry, I'm okay." he replied warmly, placing a hand on her hoof and rubbing the fetlock with his thumb. "But why did you do that?"

"I'm sorry," she frowned, "But I didn't want you to lose the bet."

Richard looked at her confused.

"Why not?"

"Because I care about you too much to make you go through that," Twilight looked away from him. "The idea of turning you into a mare for a week. Stripping you of your identity, even for such a short period, it's wrong."

"But I'd deserve it," said Richard causing Twilight to glare at him.

"No you don't," Twilight growled. "Not as the result of a silly bet. So don't you dare suggest you do."

Richard looked at her thoughtfully for a second, before leaning forward and kissing her cheek, causing her to blush brightly.

"Thanks."

'Just don't make me regret it,' Twilight thought to herself.

"So, how about we get out of here and head back up to the party?" Twilight said.

"I dunno," Richard sighed. "Even if we weren't soaking wet, I think I made a pretty big fool of myself up there."

"Well, I can solve at least one of the issues," Said Twilight leading the way out of the fountain, Richard following quickly behind her. "Just watch."

Closing her eyes in concentration, a glow to began to pulse from Twilight's horn and Richard felt the sensation similar to a warm wind blowing over him as both he and Twilight began to steam. Within seconds both of them were completely dry."

"Wow," Richard whistled in appreciation. "Is there anything magic can't do?"

"Well," Twilight whispered, "It can't do this." Twilight leaned up and kissed him on the lips once more, leaving him staring at her as she stepped back.

"So, shall we head back up to the party?" she asked, turning towards the palace.

"What about me making a fool of myself?"

"Do you trust me?" Twilight smiled mischievously.

"Yes?" Richard replied unsure of himself.

"Then I promise you, no one will care about before."

Richard nervously walked into the palace with Twilight following close behind. As he did so, he noticed the music stop and felt a hush go over the room.

Sensing the tension, Richard noticed Pinkie Pie turning around and smiling brightly at him.

"Oh goodie, you came back." Pinkie bounced over to him. "I was worried you'd left for the night, after all, a party isn't a party without the birthday boy."

"Thanks, Pinkie," said Richard. "Though I wouldn't have come back if it wasn't for Twilight."

"Wow, she must be a miracle maker," Smirked Rainbow. "If I did anything as embarrassing as kissing a princess you wouldn't be able to drag me back here with Applejack's lasso."

"Well, darling, not everyone is so emotionally stunted as to let one incident ruin a perfectly good evening of fun."

"It's not emotionally stunted to be embarrassed for kissing somepony who didn't want to be kissed."

"Oh, really?" Twilight asked with a grin. "That's what you think?"

Rainbow Dash could only stare silently as Twilight lit up her horn and pulled a surprised Richard down into a passionate embrace. A large whoop and stamp of applause filling the room in response, the sound of a single glass breaking lost in the crowd.

"All right," Cheered Pinkie. "How about we get this party started?!"

Another loud cheer filled the room as music started back up.

An hour later, and Richard was feeling incredibly happy that Twilight had talked him into coming back to the party. She had been right, no one cared that he had kissed her. In fact many had seemed almost enthusiastic at the prospect of him and Twilight swapping spit. Several ponies had even come up to him to congratulate him and offer him a drink. Though Richard was beginning to feel tired with both the heat and party weighing on him.

Richard was just taking a sip of a cider somepony had given him moments before when he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find Pinkie standing there.

"Hey, Pinkie, nice party."

"Thanks, Richard, but you've not seen anything yet. Ready for the party to be kicked up a notch?"

"There's more than this?" He weaved his arms at the room around him. "Good music, good food and drink, what more can there be?"

"Do humans have karaoke back where you come from?"

"Alcohol and bad singing? Of course we do."

"Well, would you be up for some?" asked Pinkie excitedly.

"Sure, why not? Though I'm not sure why you're asking me? You planned all this."

"Because you're the birthday boy, silly." Pinkie leaned up and poked his nose with the frog of her hoof. "It wouldn't be fun if you didn't enjoy it."

Richard smiled appreciatively at the bouncing pink ball of energy.

"Well, anyway, I'd be happy to see some karaoke. It'd be nice to experience more pony culture."

"Yay!" Pinkie yelled excitedly before sprinting over to a stage that stood in the center of the room.

"Can I have your attention everypony?" she spoke into a microphone, her voice filling the room. "I hope you're all enjoying the party?" There was a loud stamping of approval. "But how about we get some karaoke going?" There was another loud stamping of approval. "Alrighty then, how about we start off by inviting the birthday boy up here to kick us off?"

There was a loud stamping of approval as a spotlight came from nowhere to blind Richard. He was in a daze, him singing was not something he had expected to be requested.

"I can't possibly," he protested, "I don't know any Equestrian songs."

"Don't worry," said a familiar voice over the speakers. "I'm sure you'll know this song. I edited it together myself."

"Vinyl?" Richard said.

"The one and only," Vinyl replied. "So no more protesting, it's time to show us all what you can do."

Richard wanted to protest more, but he felt a presence next to him and turned to see Twilight, who looked a little worse for wear.

"Go, on," she said. "Don't be a party pooper."

"Fine, Twilight, for you." he relented and started making his way towards the stage. He could feel all eyes on him as he climbed the stairs of the platform and sweat began to form on his brow.

'Oh not now,' he thought to himself.

Taking a deep breath he steadied himself and approached Pinkie who was still standing at the microphone, at her feet he could see there was a small screen nearby to display the words of the song to whoever was singing. She turned to look at him and fixed him with a big smile.

"So, are you ready?"

"What song am I singing?" Richard asked.

"Don't worry about it," replied Pinkie. "You'll know in a second."

Richard sighed as a giddy Pinkie turned back to face the microphone.

"Well, without further ado, fillies and gentlecolts, I give you Richard."

The room erupted into the loudest roar of applause and stamping yet as Pinkie jumped away and Richard approached the mic. Sweat poured from his brow as he waited nervously for the music to start. There was a moment of quiet as the applause died down and then the first few notes began.

'You've got to be kidding me,' he thought to himself.

He looked to the screen as the words flashed up and he got ready to start singing.

Can't take my eyes off you

Richard finished the song to another round of applause but he couldn't hear it, all he could notice was the fact Twilight had walked off mid song so he pushed through the crowd to try and find her. It took several minutes and he had to ask several ponies, but eventually one pointed him towards the bar where he found Twilight sipping on a cider.

"Twilight?" Richard placed his hand on her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"Never better," she replied with a hiccup, and Richard fixed her with a look of concern.

"Then why did you run off during the song?"

"I didn't run off," she said, taking a step towards him and almost falling backwards, Richard quickly stepping forwards to steady her. "I just needed to get a drink."

"Which I think you've had enough off," Richard took the mug from her magical grip and placed it back on the bar.

"Oh, you're no fun," Twilight pouted before reaching for the mug and accidently knocking it over with a clumsy grab. "Oopsie." Twilight giggled.

"Okay, Twilight," Richard sighed, picking Twilight up. "I think it's time for you to call it a night. Lets get you off to bed."

"Ooh, Richard," Twilight giggled, wrapping her hooves around his neck and leaning close to his ear. "I knew you liked me, but couldn't you wait until at least the first date before trying to get into my bed?"

The heat pounded in Richard's veins as he felt her hot breath against his ear and he had to grit his teeth as he ignored her taunt.

"Which way?" he simply asked.

"Over there," Twilight pointed towards the empty back of the room where there was a large door that lead deeper into the palace. "Through there and up the stairs to the third floor."

Thankfully Richard was able to extract him and Twilight from the party with little more than some giggles and whistles from ponies as he passed and soon they left the sound of party far behind. As he walked, he noticed Twilight had grown quiet and still and as he looked down at her, he could see that she was looking off into the distance. He was just about to ask her if anything was wrong when she spoke.

"Is that how you really feel about me?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"What do you mean?" asked Richard.

"The song? Do you really think I'm 'too good to be true?'"

"Is that why you ran off?" Richard whispered causing Twilight to nod in response. "Why?"

"No one has ever thought that about me before," Twilight turned to look at him. "It was a lot to take in."

"Well, I didn't choose the song. I assume Pinkie worked with Vinyl to choose it as some..." Richard paused trying to think of the correct word to use. "I guess Pinkie way to get us together."

"So, you don't think that?" Twilight asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Of course I do," Richard smiled, leaning his head down to kiss Twilight on the forehead, causing her to blush and giggle drunkenly. "You're a beautiful, magical talking alicorn. Back where I come from you'd be a myth."

"That's not what I mean," Twilight smacked him playfully before looking at him hopefully.

"I know," Richard said, struggling to look away from Twilights gaze as he began to hear his pulse race in his ears. "We're at the third floor." He said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh," Twilight whispered. "Fifth door on the left."

Richard walked in silence until he reached the correct door, which Twilight unlocked with her magic, the sudden flash of light causing Richard to blink. Crossing the threshold, Richard paused for a few seconds to get his sight back before walking over and placing Twilight down on her bed. He tried to get up to quickly leave before the silence got too awkward but Twilight kept her hooves locked around his neck.

"Thanks," she said, breaking the silence before pulling him down and kissing him and quickly pulling back. It was short, barely a touch of the lips, but Richard could taste the alcohol on her breath. For a moment they stayed like that, staring at each other, before they drew together and Richard found himself making out with Twilight on her bed.

The heat pounded through Richard's system and as they separated for a breath a painfully hard part of his anatomy drew his attention enough to snap him back to the reality of the situation.

"Twilight," he said, extracting himself out of her grasp and standing up to leave. "I think I should go."

"Stay," It was barely more than a whisper, but it filled the empty room like a thunderous orchestra. "Please?"

Richard paused.

The neediness in her voice was clear, and Richard had no doubt what would happen should he stay. Every fibre of his being wanted to do little more than jump onto the bed and spend the night with him, and his painfully hard erection was yelling loudly at him to listen to her, but in the back of his head he heard a loud and clear voice telling him he had to leave.

"I'm sorry, but I can't." Richard gritted his teeth and turned away from Twilight and towards the door. "It wouldn't be right."

"Oh..." The pain and hurt in that sound cut through Richard like a knife.

"Twilight?" Richard turned back towards to Twilight to see she had turned her back.

"Just go."

Richard opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything there was a blinding light and he felt an overwhelming force throw him out of the room. He barely managed to pick himself up from the floor as the door slammed shut, the sound echoing around the dark silent corridor.

"Sleep well, Twilight," Richard whispered before turning to leave.

Prizes

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The first thing Twilight did as she awoke was let out a long, slow curse.

"Fuck."

Twilight's head pounded like a blacksmith on an anvil and she could still taste the stale alcohol on her breath. She opened her eyes a crack and instantly let out a hiss at the fresh pain the light seared upon her senses.

'That was some night,' Twilight thought before opening her eyes again in a panic, 'Wait, what happened last night?'

The light burned her eyes once more, but she forced herself to look at her surroundings and check where she was. She was in her bedroom and she had no memory of how she got there.

"Spike?" Twilight called out, her voice came out quiet and hoarse and her throat felt like it had been rubbed raw by sandpaper all night.

'Water,' Twilight though to herself. ' I need some water.'

Twilight pushed back the cover, the effort causing her head to pulse even more and the room starting to spin. forcing her to lie back down.

"Spike!" Twilight forced herself to shout through the pain before burying her head in the pillow.

A minute passed before Twilight heard a knocking on her door.

"Twilight?" Spike called through the wood, "Did you call me?"

"Yeah, Spike," Twilight croaked. "Could you please get me a glass of water and some aspirin?"

"Sure thing, Twi," Said Spike before quickly scampering off.

Time seemed to pass at a minute per second while Twilight tried to avoid throwing up or blacking out. Eventually, Spike returned and knocked on the door once more.

"Twilight, I have the water and the aspirin, do you want me to leave it here or?"

"Actually, Spike, can you bring it here please?" Twilight groaned. "I'm not quite ready to get up and about."

"Sure thing," Spike replied before opening the door before crossing the threshold and pausing at the sight that greeted him. Twilight looked like a wreck, her hair was matted and the room reeked of sweat. "Twilight, are you okay?"

"Never better," Twilight smiled at him weakly. "Could you leave it on the nightstand?"

"Sure," said Spike, before taking a deep breath and moving into the room. He quickly placed the supplies down and retreated back to the entrance.

"Thanks, Spike," said Twilight before slowly taking a sip of water and swallowing the pill. "Is there any chance you can clear my schedule for today? I think I'm going to need to take the day slowly."

"Well, um actually Twilight," Spike clacked his claws together nervously, the sound making Twilight wince. "Richard and the rest of the girls will be due here soon."

"Really? Why?" Twilight glared at Spike, she wasn't exactly in a state for company today.

"Well, you know, the resolution of the bet?"

"Bet? What bet?" Twilight rubbed her temples trying to remember before it hit her like a tonne of bricks. "Damn, of course that's today."

Twilight quickly downed the rest of the water before moving to stand up, Spike rushing across the room to stop her.

"Twilight, slow down!" Spike yelled. "You'll hurt yourself rushing like that."

"But I need to be ready before the others get here."

"I can handle them, Twilight, just take it slow." Spike smiled painfully. "I'm sure they would rather you be safe."

Twilight dangled her hind legs over the edge of the bed and slowly transferred her weight to them, smiling to Spike as she did. "Thank you, Spike. I'll try to be as quick as I can."

Thirty minutes later, Twilight slowly entered the main hall of the palace. Her head was still pulsing, but the aspirin and a nice hot shower were starting to work wonders on her hangover. The main hall still bore the scars of the party the night before so Twilight had to make her way around the stage in the centre to reach the large round table where her friends were sitting.

"Hey Twilight!" It was Rainbow who noticed her first, waving at Twilight from her throne. "Wow, you look like you got ridden hard and put away wet. Which shouldn't be surprising, I guess."

Twilight cocked her head inquisitively as she slowly walked towards her own throne.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, ignore her Twilight, she just lacks delicacy when it comes to these matters." said Rarity. "Congratulations by the way, I didn't know you had it in you."

"What are you girls talking about?" Twilight looked at them pleadingly, but was just met with smiles from Rarity; Rainbow and Pinkie, while a scowling Applejack and Fluttershy could barely meet her eye.

"You know damn well what we're talking about, Twi," spat Applejack. "How could you? Especially after ah little chat the other day?"

Twilight's eyes started filling with water at the accusations.

"Really, girls, I have no idea what you're all talking about."

"Come now, Twilight, we all saw Richard carry you out of the party and neither of you returned." said Rarity. "We all know what happened."

"Richard? Carry me out?" Twilight stared at them blankly for a few seconds before the memories came rushing back.

Images of Richard singing karaoke, Richard carrying her upstairs and then finally of throwing Richard out of her room.

Twilight felt a great amount shame as she remembered what she did to Richard, the emotion overwhelming her and forcing her to her hooves.

"I'm sorry girls," Twilight wavered on her feet. "But I need to go."

Richard sat staring at the wall, a half drunk coffee that had long since gone cold gripped in his hands. He had had another long, sleepless night. Though this time it wasn't just the heat keeping him up. In between all the tossing and turning he couldn't help but run through the last moments at the palace over and over again.

Every time he reached the part where Twilight pushed him out of her room, he couldn't help but worry that he'd permanently damaged their budding relationship. The pain in her voice when he'd refused her had been heart breaking. He'd been so confused and ashamed that he'd avoided returning to the party, instead he'd gone to the library to wait until it had finished and everyone had left before sneaking out and going home. He didn't even have the focus to read, instead he'd mindlessly stared at the same page of a random book for a couple of hours until the music had died out and he could return home safely.

He'd been doing the same for the last few hours. After fruitlessly trying to sleep, he'd gotten up after dawn and decided to shower before making himself a coffee and just sitting there. He was unaware of exactly how much time had passed, though he knew he'd had somewhere to be. The only positive of the situation is that the unrelenting heat boiling under his skin had began to lessen ever since he'd sat down.

Knock Knock Knock

Richard was roused from his stupor by a gentle knocking at the door. For a moment he considered ignoring it, but whoever it was knocked again.

Knock Knock Knock

Richard pushed him up from the sofa and walked over towards the door. Opening it up, he was ready to ask the caller to come back later, but was surprised to see Twilight standing there, looking nervously at the ground.

"Twilight? What are you doing here?" asked Richard.

"Morning, Richard," Said Twilight, still staring at the ground. "I wanted to apologize for last night."

"Apologize?" Richard was confused. "What for?"

Twilight looked up at him, her eyes wet.

"For throwing you out like I did," Twilight gulped. "I know I was drunk, but that's no excuse. I just hope you can forgive me."

"Oh, Twilight," Richard couldn't help but smile as he knelt down. "I was afraid I had done something wrong."

"You?" Twilight choked back a sob, wrapping her hooves around his neck burying her face in his chest. "Of course you didn't do anything wrong. I just hope I didn't hurt you."

"No, Twilight, you didn't hurt me." Richard reassured her, rubbing her back slowly. "I just hope you're okay. You drank an awful lot last night."

"Yes," Twilight looked up at him, her expression relaxing. "I'm okay. I have a bit of a headache, but I honestly feel much better knowing you're okay."

Seconds passed as the two just gazed at each other, enjoying their embrace before Richard realized they were in his doorway.

"Would you like to come in?" Richard asked, breaking their embrace to stand up.

"I'd love to," replied Twilight. "But the girls are waiting for us at the palace."

Richard stood there looking at Twilight confused.

"You know, for the end of the bet," elaborated Twilight.

"Ahh," Richard wanted to facepalm. "I knew there was something I was forgetting. At least that explains why the heat started to fade this morning."

"Mhmmm," Twilight confirmed with a smile. "So, shall we go?"

"I guess," said Richard. "Let me just get my keys."

Twilight waited patiently as Richard went inside and retrieved his keys to lock up. After he'd done so, she turned to lead the way, but paused and looked back over her should.

"Just a quick warning, by the way, but the girls appear to believe that we had sex last night."

Richard and Twilight entered the palace to find the others deep in heated discussion around the table, however it quickly finished as the door to the palace slammed shut and they turned to see Twilight and Richard approach.

"Here he is!" Cheered Rainbow. "The man of the hour, though I guess I can't say that for much longer."

This comment earned her a quick hoof to the side from Applejack.

"Hey?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"You know exactly what that's for," hissed Applejack before turning towards Richard and Twilight. "Hey Richard, how are you?"

"I'm good thanks, Applejack," Richard replied, offering Applejack a smile. "And I hate to burst your bubble Rainbow, but I didn't lose the bet."

"Oh come on, Richard." Rarity huffed. "You expect us to believe that you didn't do anything after carrying Twilight off up to her room like... well like a Princess."

"You don't have to believe me," Richard shrugged. "But you can ask Twilight."

The whole group looked towards Twilight who suddenly felt really self-conscious under their combined stares.

"He's telling the truth," confirmed Twilight. "He didn't try anything at all last night, in fact he was a real gentlecolt."

"See, ah told ya," said Applejack triumphantly, sharing a high five with Fluttershy.

"Not so fast," interjected Rarity. "Pinkie is the bet tsar. It's up to her if Twilight won the bet or not."

"Hmm," Pinkie hummed, approaching both Twilight and Richard with narrowed eyes, carefully inspecting both of them all over making both of them feel rather uncomfortable.

"Why do you want Twilight to win so badly, Rarity?" asked Fluttershy as Pinkie did whatever it was she was doing.

"I don't want her to win," said Rarity unconvincingly.

"Well, it's a good thing you're not the element of honesty," sighed Applejack, shaking her head.

"It's okay, Applejack," said Richard, trying to hold still as Pinkie poked and prodded him several times. "There's nothing wrong with Rarity wanting her friend to win a bet."

"Well, that's awfully nice of you to say, Richard." said Rarity. "I hope there's no hard feelings?"

"Of course not, Rarity," Richard chuckled. "Why would there be any hard feelings over you wanting me to be turned into a mare for a week?"

"That's not fair..." Rarity started to speak before Pinkie silenced her by placing her hoof on Rarity's muzzled.

"Shh," Pinkie stopped in front of Twilight and stared at her intently. "Twilight, do you promise that Richard didn't try to bed you last night?"

"Absolutely," replied Twilight. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Well?" asked Rarity and Rainbow at the same time looking eagerly at Pinkie.

"I believe them," announced Pinkie with a bright smile. "I declare Richard the winner. Congratulations."

Richard barely had time to feel a wave of relief at the result before he was swamped by both Applejack and Fluttershy who both seemed to be thrilled at the result.

"Just remember not to be too hard on her," whispered Fluttershy quietly into his ear as she hovered up to give him a big hug.

Richard looked over to the other members of the group to gauge their responses. Despite her best efforts, Rarity couldn't help but look disappointed in the result despite forcing a smile onto her muzzle. Twilight looked obviously nervous as she looked at him, her eyes almost seeming to plead with him to go easy on her. And Rainbow; despite being convinced Richard had lost moment ago; looked surprisingly pleased with the result as she hovered in the air with a smug smile.

"So, Richard, what are you going to make Twilight do?" asked Rainbow. "Make her wear a maids outfit and clean your house every day for a month?"

"Oh please," said Rarity. "I'm sure Richard is more of a gentlecolt than that."

"That's funny, Rare," said a smirking Applejack. "Y'all didn't think he was a gentlcolt a few minutes ago."

"Hmmm," Rarity harrumphed angrily. "There's a difference between thinking Richard would act on his desires to try and bed Twilight, a mare he clearly desires, and him abusing her with this bet."

"Well," said Twilight. "If you need time to think, I'd be more than happy to give you all the time you need."

"No need, Twilight." Richard said. "I know exactly what I want."

Twilight gulped.

"What's that?" she asked, before taking a deep breath. All six ponies looked at Richard intently as they waited for his answer.

"I would like my prize to be, for you to let me ask you out on a date."

Twilight felt a blush rise to her cheeks and her heart begin to beat rapidly at his answer. She didn't know why, but the simple act of affection shown to her by Richard made her feel more desired than she ever thought possible.

"That's it!?" yelled Rainbow dash. "You have the power to make her do literally anything and you choose to ask her out on a date. Not even make her go on a date with you, but just ask her? What kind of stupid prize is that?"

"Well, I think that's a lovely prize," said Fluttershy.

"I agree, Fluttershy," Rarity smiled. "I never had you pegged for such a romantic, Richard."

"Thanks," Richard smiled shyly at the compliment from Rarity.

"Well," Applejack nudged Richard in the back gently. "What ah ya waiting for, ask her out then."

"Actually, I was hoping I could do that a little more privately."

"Not a chance," Fluttershy pushed him forwards towards Twilight. "After this last week, I think we all deserve to see how this ends."

Richard stood his ground and looked at them pleadingly but they all shook their heads and refused to leave.

"Fine," Richard sighed and turned to face Twilight, kneeling down to look her in her eyes, he found himself mesmerized by her eyes. Those beautiful violet pools seemed to go on into eternity, and right there and then he wished he could lose himself in them forever.

"Twilight..." He started to speak but he felt his mouth go dry and he found himself without words as he suddenly felt two feet tall under her gaze. It wasn't until he felt a sharp nudge in his side that he was able to continue. "Would you do me the honour of going on a date with me?"

The whole room waited with bated breath for Twilight's response. For Richard it felt like hours had passed but it could only be seconds before Twilight opened her mouth and said.

"Yes..." her response was quiet and hoarse, but it cut through the silence like a bombshell.

All of the girls, even Rarity, cheered at them as Richard couldn't help but close the short gap and kiss her deeply. Twilight let out a 'Eep' at the sudden rush of emotions that filled her body, but didn't resist. Instead she wrapped her forelegs around his neck and lost herself in the kiss.

Breaking the kiss for air, Twilight rested her forehead on his as they both breathed heavily, she felt a sense of elation that she hadn't felt since...

Twilight shook her head, it didn't matter anymore. 'He' didn't matter anymore.

"I just have one condition," Twilight said after getting her breath back.

"Anything," said Richard, smiling like a school colt that had just gotten their first kiss.

"I get to plan the date."

The condition seemed to confuse Richard for a moment before he nodded.

"Okay, I guess things do operate a little differently here."

Twilight smiled and leaned into whisper.

"You're only just figuring that out now?" she asked rhetorically.

The six ponies and Richard sat around a table at a nearby café, happily chatting away between bites of food. After the rush of endorphin had worn off, they had decided it would be a good idea to get some breakfast and try and put the whole bet behind them.

"So, Twilight, what kind of date are you thinking off?" asked Rarity quietly, leaning over so Richard couldn't hear.

"I'm not sure, yet," replied Twilight after swallowing a bite of toast. "But I think I want to do it properly and take him somewhere fancy. I'm just not sure where to begin."

"Well, if fancy is what you want, I have some restaurant ideas you might find interesting." Rarity took a sip of water.

"I don't know, Rarity, I'm sure anywhere fancy enough for you would be booked for months." This caused Rarity to choke as she tried to avoid spitting out her water.

"Darling," Rarity said, waving away a look of concern from Twilight. "You're a Princess, no where would be too busy to give you a table. Not in Canterlot. You'd instantly make them the front page of the society pages."

Twilight looked at her perplexed.

"They're a part of the newspaper that's basically gossip for the to-do and fashionable. Trust me, if you leave it to me I guarantee you a booking wherever and whenever you want."

"That's nice, Rarity, but I actually had another favour I wanted to ask of you," Twilight blushed briefly. "I was wondering if you'd be able to make Richard a suit. As far as I'm aware he doesn't currently have one."

"Oh, as if you'd even have to ask. Just get him to come over to the boutique this afternoon and I'll get started."

"I wonder what those two are talking about?" asked Richard looking over towards Rarity and Twilight.

"Knowing Rarity, she's trying to turn your date into some hoity toity highfalutin type of affair." replied Applejack.

"I wouldn't worry about it," said Fluttershy. "I know Twilight said she wanted to plan everything, but we have to admit it's not exactly her area of expertise. When it comes to dating, I'm afraid we have to concede that Rarity is far more experienced."

"And far more connected," interjected Pinkie. "She probably knows half of Canterlot."

"You don't suppose we'd go all the way to Canterlot for our date?" asked Richard. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"For a first date with a Princess?" Applejack cocked her head at him. "Ah'm not sure how things are done back where y'all are from, but here the princesses are sorta a big deal."

"Besides, I think this will be her first real date ever." Said Pinkie, earning her a glare from both Fluttershy and Applejack. "What?"

"Wait, really?" Richard gulped nervously. "Her first date?"

"What I think Pinkie meant to say," Fluttershy placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Is that this is the first date she's ever had to plan."

"Well, I guess that's true if you count what happened between her and Flash Sentry as a date."

"Pinkie!" Applejack hissed, earning a look from both Rarity and Twilight.

"Everything all right over there?" asked Twilight, looking at them with a blush on her cheeks, making Richard more curious about what they had been discussing.

"Never better," replied Applejack before turning to Pinkie and whispering. "Ixnay about the Ashflay Entrysay."

"You know I know pig latin right?" said Richard with a smile. "So who's this Flash Sentry?"

"It doesn't matter, just somepony that Twilight once had... 'interactions' with." Fluttershy replied tactfully.

"Interactions like sex or...?" Richard asked, suddenly feel as the world had fallen from underneath him.

"Oh, nothing like that," Fluttershy assured him. "They just met a few years back and hit it off, but as far as I know it never went beyond some harmless flirting."

"Yeah," said Applejack, "Ah don't think they've even met in over a year."

"Are you sure?" Richard looked at them uncertain.

Applejack and Fluttershy shared a quick look before Rainbow who had been watching this all unfold silently spoke.

"Of course they're not sure, but does it matter?" Rainbow grabbed his face and forced him to look towards Twilight. "Look at her, she said she wanted to go on a date with you, and more importantly she wants to plan it. If she still had any feelings for Flash would she be doing any of that?"

"I don't know." replied Richard quietly.

"Of course she wouldn't," Rainbow said, "And you know it. I understand being jealous, I mean look at Twiligh,t what are the odds you'll ever meet another mare like her? But don't let something you just found out about right now ruin any chance with her."

"You're right, Rainbow," Richard took a deep breath. "I shouldn't..."

Richard was interrupted by a loud scream from Rarity.

"Twilight, your cutie mark!"

Everyone turned to look at Twilight as she looked down at her mark to see it glowing.

"Not just her mark," said Pinkie, "Look at your own."

Rarity looked down in shock to see her own mark glowing.

"Actually, girls, I think you'll find all of your marks are glowing." said Richard, causing them to all look down and notice in shock that their own marks were glowing.

"What does this mean?" asked Applejack.

"I don't know," replied Twilight. "But maybe Princess Celestia will, we should head back to the palace and write her a letter."

"Oooh!" Exclaimed Pinkie as they entered the palace. "Was that always like that?"

Pinkie pointed at the large round table which appeared to be glowing.

"No, ah don't think it was," replied Applejack. "What the hay is that?"

As they got closer, they could see that the glowing was a map of Equestria.

"Hey! Those are our cutie marks," Rainbow exclaimed as she hovered over the map and pointed at a spot where the six marks hovered over Twilight's palace.

"Wait a second, are your chairs glowing too?" asked Richard. Each of the girls turned to look at their chairs and noticed the marks on their chairs were also pulsing with light.

"Richard's right," said Fluttershy. "I wonder if we're meant to sit down."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," said Rainbow, zooming over to her thone.

"Wait..." Twilight tried to stop Rainbow, but was too late as Rainbow sat down, with no ill effect.

"Huh, that was a bust." said Rainbow, disappointedly. "I was expecting something more exciting to happen."

"Maybe we all have to sit down," suggested Rarity, before taking her place on her throne.

"Good idea," said Pinkie, leaping across the table to take her place. Applejack and Fluttershy quickly followed suit and took their places leaving Twilight and Richard the only ones standing up.

"You might want to take a step back," said Twilight affectionately, turning to Richard. "We have no idea what will happen."

Richard nodded and Twilight waited for him to move away from the circle of chairs before taking her own seat. As soon as she sat down, the chairs emitted a bright flash of light and everyone looked at the map to see what would happen.

"Hey, our marks are moving," said Twilight. "Look."

Each of the ponies stared as the marks moved from over the castle towards a spot in the middle of nowhere.

"Huh, if Ponyville is here?" Fluttershy pointed at the point of the map with the palace. "Why did our marks move over there?"

"I don't know," replied Twilight. "Maybe it want's us to follow it."

"Are you sure that's wise, Twilight?" Asked Rarity. "I mean, just following the map into the middle of nowhere."

"I have no idea," said Twilight. "But after all the stuff with the box and the castle, I've been wondering why it all appeared, maybe this was why?"

"But why now?" asked Applejack. "Ah mean the castle has been here for months, and the map has only just appeared today."

"Who knows," Twilight shrugged. "Maybe whatever it needs us for is only happening now, or maybe something disrupted the magic somehow?" Twilight couldn't help but glance at Richard.

"You think it's my fault this is appearing?" asked Richard.

"Of course not, Richard," Twilight looked at him reassuringly, "But you did appear shortly after the castle, maybe your appearance disrupted whatever the elements of harmony were trying to do."

"So, what do we do now?" interrupted Rainbow. "I mean we're going to follow the map right? Like you said, after the box and the palace, we can't just ignore this."

One by one, the girls all nodded in agreement.

"You're right, Rainbow, we can't." said Twilight.

"It looks like we may have to take a rain check on that date," said Richard as he looked down at Twilight. The two of them stood alone on the train station platform, the others having boarded moments before to give them some privacy.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be back before you know it." said Twilight. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Richard shook his head. "The map didn't call me."

"Well, you don't have a cutie mark," chuckled Twilight. "But I'm sure it wouldn't mind it you tagged along.

"Nah, it's okay, I'd just be a liability." Richard sighed. "I don't exactly have any of the powers you girls do."

Twilight frowned before pulling Richard down for a kiss, stunning him for a moment before letting him go.

"Don't you dare say that, you may not have magic, but that doesn't mean you don't have your own gifts."

"Would you two love birds hurry up?" moaned Rainbow from one of the windows. "You're holding up the train."

"She's right," said Twilight. "We need to get going."

"Just come back safe," said Richard with a nervous smile.

"Don't worry," said Twilight, "We will. I just hope you don't get too bored with us gone."

"Bored?" Richard chuckled, "It'll be nice to have some peace and quiet for the first time in months."

Twilight laughed. "I'm sure it will be." Turning to head up onto the train, Twilight paused on the steps to turn back to Richard. Fishing through her bag she pulled out an object and presented it to him.

"A key?" he asked.

"It's for the palace," she explained, "So you can access the library if you get bored."

Richard took the key and smiled at her warmly. "Thanks."

"All aboard!" a guard pony called from further down the platform before blowing an ear piercing whistle.

"I better get on," said Twilight before stepping up and closing the door

The moment the door closed, the train let out a groan and started to move forwards. Richard stood there, watching as the train moved off, until it passed a corner and disappeared from sight.

Standing the Heat

by gcsmith

He who laughs first

The potion

The morning after.

Keep them keen

The other view

The Bet

Heating Up

Shytime

The morning talk

The Crystal Empire

Cadance's help

The dream

The letter

The picnic.

Time to go?

Overture

A Triangle's a musical instrument: Part 1 (NSFW)

A triangle's a musical instrument: Part 2 (NSFW)

The Spark

Party Time

Prizes