> Eris' game
>  by Java Joe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> New Beginnings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the months that followed Twilight's departure from Equestria life slowly returned to normal in the quiet little town of Ponyville. Often times the fillies would get together over lunch, or for an informal afternoon and as time went by Twilight and Rick became topics that didn't come up very often and then they did it was a wistful but short lived memory. But that does not mean that all was well in Equestria, far from it. There was some bad stuff going down only problem is, nopony really knew about it. 

A few short weeks after Twilight left Equestria, a slightly disheveled pony staggered into the fishing town of Mareseilles, she was haggard, bleeding freely from a dozen cuts all over, her cutie mark looked like it had been burned away and she had a far-away, empty look in her eyes. Ponies rushed up to her, she collapsed a little theatrically and whispered in a voice that sounded far away, "help me" before passing out. 

A little while later she awoke in the hospital, hooked up to an IV and her cuts all bandaged up. A nurse, noticing this called for the doctor who immediately came in to check up on her.

"Good afternoon, I'm Dr. Sunrunner, " the earth pony with an image of the sun as his cutie mark informed her. "Can I ask your name?"

Her face screwed up as if trying to remember then said, "I don't know but the name 'Eris' seems to be familiar for some reason."

"A bit of an uncommon name 'Aeris', but why don't we use that for the time being" the doctor said totally mishearing the name and adding extra vowels to the front while writing it down. "Do you remember what happened to you? Where you came from or where you were going?"

She shook her head and said, "I'm sorry Doctor, it's all just a blur."

"Typically, ponies that have been through a trauma can expect their memories to be a little scrambled. It might take some time, but your memories will come back. There is however something else I need to tell you."

"What is it?" she asked.

The doctor sighed heavily and simply said, "your cutie mark has been removed. It looks like it was burned away. I'm sorry."

She looked stricken and tears came to her eyes. A cutie mark was as much part of a pony's identity as their name. Without a cutie mark, they weren't much better than a donkey, cow, buffalo or any other creature that inhabited Equestria. Fighting back the tears, she said in a pained voice cracking with emotion, "I think I'd like to be alone for a while Doctor if you'd be so kind..."

The doctor excused himself and walked out the door just as the first few sobs escaped her lips. He paused, as if to turn around to give her solace but decided the best course of action was to allow her to come to terms with her loss and he'd have a nurse check back on her later. 

When the door closed and the pony was all alone the tears stopped and a sickly smile came to her lips. "This is going to be fun, " Discord thought as "Aeris" lay back and thought about the next part of his plan. Trixie, by virtue of being a unicorn, was a magic user but Discord in her body was unable to fully grasp it. He had to work on increasing discord amongst the ponies. The more acrimonious they got, the more power he had and the more power he had the more damage he could do. As he lay there formulating plans he yawned broadly. Looks like throwing this body down a small cliff to give it the battered and beaten look caused more damage than he thought and needed some repair. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile on Earth.

"Here we are, our new home!" Rick said enthusiastically.

Twilight didn't know what to say. It was an old, abandoned farmhouse that had fallen into disrepair. She knew that Rick was attached to this place, after all it belonged to his grandparents but it had been years since anypony... anybody she corrected herself had lived here.

Rick walked around to her and hugged her from behind. He spoke softly in her ear, "It's not much to look at right now but we can fix it up or even tear it down to redo it and make it our own. I know you don't like the noise and the pollution from the city so this is a good compromise. It's far enough out in the country that we have some peace and quiet but not too far that we can't drive back to the city if we need to. The skies out here are clear, so much so that at night the stars fill up the sky. We have acres of land to do with as we please, we can even rent or sell some to the local farmers or we could try our own hands at raising some crops or if the soil is right, grow some grapes to make wine. But I still need to show you the best part." He kissed her lightly on the cheek, then taking her hand in his led her behind the house, through the long grass, behind a large apple tree down to where a creek cut through the land and Twilight just said, "wow."

The term picturesque is bandied about quite often when somebody sees something that they feel is deserving of a picture, or a painting or simply conjures up an image from simpler times. That was the scene in front of them in a nutshell. The gurgling creek, the meadow just beyond it filled with wildflowers, the butterflies, honeybees and other assorted insects flying from blossom to blossom just seemed to speak to people in a way they didn't realise what they had been missing all this time. It was simply a perfect scene and a perfect moment. Twilight turned around to face Rick and with a smile kissed him and said, "when do we move in?"

There was still paperwork to be filled out for the new home, the old house needed to be put on the market, contractors to contact and see what could be done to restore the farmhouse and how long it would take but they had time not to mention a lot of money to work with. The farmhouse was essentially free and would have eventually come to Rick anyway assuming his parents had not simply sold the land first. Their current house would fetch a good price after fixing it up and there was still more than enough money in the bank not to mention a whole mess of Equestrian gems that Rick had safely hidden away for a rainy day. 

After meeting with some contractors and getting a good price, they were told the house could be redone in a matter of months. The outside would remain the same, but the inside would be gutted and modernised. Their house was sold rather quickly and as it would still take several months before the farmhouse was completed they decided now was the perfect time to get all that other business out of the way before moving in. Namely, they still needed to get married.

When Rick had proposed after Twilight came to Earth permanently, they had run into a bit of a problem. Namely Twilight was a non-entity. She literally did not exist and this made for some problems especially when it came to her legal identity. As far as the government was concerned, she didn't exist and had no way to prove citizenship from another country. They had considered trying to find some underworld contact that could help them bridge the gap but they were afraid that this could attract some unwanted attention and "Guido" or "Big Tony" would want to muscle in on the jewellery business and find out where they got "all 'dem pretty rocks".

Twilight actually came up with the perfect solution, which used both their skills in a way that Rick would never have imagined. They called it, "technomagic" based on an episode of "Babylon 5". Essentially it involved Rick using his computer programming and hacking skills along with her magic in a sort of 1-2 punch type combination. Within a day of setting this up, Twilight now had not only a paper history, but an electronic one including tax records and all the legal ID she needed. Records would show she grew up on a commune, had eventually gone to college, gotten her degree and had worked as a librarian for the past few years. 

They collapsed on the couch when done, both of them tired but happy that this part of it was done. The next step was of course to get married. Neither one wanted a large ceremony, in fact they agreed that a simple meeting with a justice of the peace would be for the best. After all, they might have a hard time explaining why it was that nobody from Twilight's side of the family not to mention her friends had shown up. No, they would do the legal thing at city hall and a week later they walked out of city hall as having been legally wed. No time to waste, they went back home, grabbed their bags and made their way to the airport for the honeymoon.

Rick had promised her a while ago that they would go to Rome and relive "Roman Holiday" but they'd also travel around Europe for a while, cruise the Mediterranean for two weeks then fly back home right about the time the house should be ready that is, if everything went according to plan.

Yes, that sound you just heard was as if millions suddenly facepalmed at the same time then went quiet. Rick should have realised by now that even though they were on Earth he shouldn't tempt fate because fate was still kinda pissed off at him. But he didn't know that.

Twilight was of course nervous about getting on the plane. She kept thinking how could such a large thing actually fly, much less stay in the air. When she asked Rick, he was actually ready with an answer.

"Easiest way to understand it is that the wing of the airplane is curved on top. As air passes over this and under this it needs to move faster along the top portion. This causes a pressure differential which gives the wing lift. As the wing lifts, they lift the plane and the rest of us along with it. Tell you what, you can read up on Newton and his laws of motion and Bernoulli and his work with fluid dynamics. Both of their ideas work for this given situation."

"So you trust this?"

"I trust the science behind it and I trust that people have been flying commercially for a long time now without a problem. I'd say I trust it well enough."

"Okay. If you insist." Twilight still didn't sound convinced.

"Babe, we'll get on the plane. You might feel a little scared at first but I'm there with you and after we take off, you'll see that it's okay. Also we're flying first class, so we're going to be treated really well and get the best possible food and drink on the way. Actually I should warn you about airline food, it's not very good. Well, the first class stuff is better but it's not going to blow your socks off. At best it will be good, but there's lots of free booze, we'll have our own private little suite as I told them we were on our honeymoon, we can watch movies, drink ourselves silly, mess around or just kick back and relax." He kissed her, "trust me. We'll be fine."

Getting the boarding passes went without a hitch, Rick was worried for a moment that her passport wouldn't work or that alarms would go off but they got their boarding passes with no issue. They passed the security checkpoint with minimal fuss. Again. Rick had told Twilight what to expect luckily there was no incident so they headed to the lounge to await the time their plane would leave.

It was nice, not too crowded and the cold buffet looked adequate but Rick could tell that Twilight was still a little nervous. She didn't want to admit it but even though Rick had assured her that this was going to be okay she still had her reservations.

"Do you want me to get you a drink?" he asked.

Twilight just shook her head and looked away. Rick thought for a moment and came up with an idea. It was a longshot, but anything to get her mind off the issue.

He pointed over to the corner of the room and asked, "how about a shower?"

She looked at him a little strangely at his recommendation. "How is that going to help?"

He smiled at her and said, "I'll sneak in there with you. We don't have as much time as I'd want, but I can work on those tense muscles of yours and maybe help you work some of that out so you're a little more relaxed."

Twilight thought about this for a moment, then grabbed his hand and made their way to the shower rooms. The attendant behind the desk smirked a bit when Rick mentioned he actually needed the room to give her a full body massage which is why both of them needed to go in. Then he leaned in conspiratorially and said that they had just gotten married, were on their honeymoon and couldn't wait till they got to Rome. Passing the attendant $50 to look the other way, the attendant snatched the money and gave them a key to their shower room. 

Once safely inside and the door was locked, Twilight turned to Rick, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him savagely. He held onto his new bride and returned the kiss with equal passion. Her body was pressed into his, hands practically clawing at him in a way she had never done before. This was a new side of her and Rick had to admit he liked it. 

Coming up for air he asked her in a breathless way, "didn't you want a massage?"

Twilight went straight for his belt, pulling it off and practically jerking his pants down. "I've got a better way to deal with stress, " she said a little out of breath. Her clothes quickly joined his on the floor and they came together, flesh to flesh. She was ready, so was he and they made love for the first time as man and wife. 

A lingering shower later, with lots of soapy touching and caressing of the other's body, they walked out of the shower room a lot more relaxed and rather refreshed as well. Back in the lounge, they relaxed a little longer with some wine and cheese before their flight was called. Packing up their things they made their way to the departure gate and the front of the line. 

"Oh, welcome aboard!" the stewardess said when she saw their boarding pass. "This way please, " and personally led them to their cabin. It was a fair size for an airplane at least. There was room to move around in, a bit and once the bed was made it would take up most of the cabin but they didn't complain. After all how many people can claim to have had their own private room on a commercial airplane?

Rick held Twilight's hand, or more accurately she held onto his for dear life. The plane pushed back from the terminal, they taxied down the runway and with a mighty whoosh were airborne. After a few moments Twilight's breathing seemed to go back to normal as she finally accepted the fact that this huge metal thing could actually fly. 

The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful. It was an 8 hour flight to London then another 2 hours and a bit to Rome. They dozed, watched movies, had a reasonably good meal and some very good wine and did manage to not only sleep in the bed provided but fool around a little too. Twilight had heard of the so called "Mile High Club" and wanted to join. She was a little put off after when Rick told her it wasn't an actual club and there was no card or secret handshake. But even still with all that you can only do so much in a plane and they were happy to get back on the ground. 

A quick taxi ride took them to their hotel, they showered and while it was tempting to take a nap considering the jet lag, they decided to see some of the city first. Actually the first thing they wanted was coffee. Not just any coffee though, the thick, black essence of coffee that only Italian espresso could achieve. They found it practically next door at a small sports bar.

"Due caffe per favore, " Rick said in highly accented Italian.

"Cinque euro, " the bartender said as he passed the cups over.

"Grazie, " Rick said as he passed the money and small tip over.

"What is it with you and languages?" Twilight asked as they moved their cups down the bar a bit.

"I learned French a long time ago, Italian and Spanish are rather close so I use the same pronunciation and intonation for them. It doesn't sound local but then most places don't care provided you can speak it and I don't sound like a regular tourist when I do. Cheers!"

They drank the espresso and it was marvelous. Usually espresso back home was bitter and sour and you need something to smooth it out. This was pure and needed absolutely no accompaniment. It was espresso that tasted as good as the freshly roasted beans themselves smelled. It was a once in a lifetime almost transcendental experience that made the espresso they made at home a weak and pathetic thing by comparison. 

Rick walked back over to the barman and thanked him for the excellent coffee saying it was one of the best he had ever had and they would gladly come back again while they're in Rome for another. The barman, a little embarrassed yet proud of this thanked them back and promised the next one would be even better.

They walked out into the Eternal City hand in hand, not looking specifically for any place or direction, just a desire to explore and immerse themselves in history.

Things back in Equestria however were anything but happy. While the majority of ponies didn't know anything bad was going on, a few in Mareseilles did notice some small isolated incidents from time to time. As of yet, nopony suspected the poor amnesiac Aeris as being the source and why should they? If some weeds choked out a flower bed, or some fresh milk soured to quickly, or if a dozen ponies got sick from some tainted seafood there was no reason to suspect the recently released unicorn with no cutie mark. Currently she was simply the pony that Dr. Sunrunner had graciously invited into his house. There was talk that they were romantically involved but that was just idle gossip. What was happening behind closed doors was a lot more sinister.





> Legends and Stories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sunrunner! Would you come in here darling?" Discord called.

"Yes mistress, what can your lowly servant do for your magnificence?" The doctor came in, dressed in a frilly maid's outfit and waited patiently for his mistress to tell him what she needed.

In the weeks that he had been treating "Aeris", he had grown quite fond of her. He of course was not aware that such things were in fact magically influenced and that Discord had been slowly bending him to his will. Later, when she was well enough to be released he had suggested that Aeris stay with him until her memory returned. She graciously accepted his offer and moved in that afternoon. Some said that he was simply helping her out in a tough situation. Others said that he was still treating her and needed her as close as possible. Even others said that they were in fact together as a couple. And a small minority said that there was some really kinky stuff going on in there but nopony really believed them.

"I feel like going out tonight. There's a performance of 'A Pony's Tale' in the park and I want us to go. The show is at 8:00, you will make all the arrangements. You may go now."

"Of course mistress, " he said as he started to leave. Pausing for a moment he timidly asked, "mistress? May I ask if it's time?"

Discord knew what he wanted. Part of the bending to his will involved finding out the good doctor's weaknesses and exploiting it. While the doctor didn't necessarily have one he could use, it didn't take Discord long to manufacture one. He had started molding Sunrunner to want to be dominated by his mistress Aeris. This involved the wearing of the maid's outfit while at home and following her every whim and every desire. Of course Discord also needed to give him something in return. And so, he allowed Sunrunner this one thing. Discord sighed and said, "very well slave. You may proceed."

The doctor practically sprang to attention and lavished attention on his mistresses hooves. He licked, caressed and nibbled them all over. As he did, his excitement grew as did his penis. Discord was rather neutral on the whole thing, bored would be a better choice of words but he needed the doctor kept in his place at the moment and the hoof fetish was exactly how he did so. 

In the depths of her mind, Trixie screamed and thrashed about trying desperately to wrest control of her body back from the demon that inhabited it. 

<<"Oh relax Trixie. I'm actually doing all this for you. The doctor needs an outlet, I personally don't care about it one way or another so you might as well enjoy it, ">> Discord teased her, his voice reverberating through her mind.

<<"You're a monster Discord! This is not the way you treat a mare!">>

<<"Can't the 'Great and Powerful Trixie' do something? Hmmmm? I didn't think so. Besides I'm just using you like you've used every other pony in your life. You might as well sit back and enjoy the show because there's nothing you can do about it. Oh, looks like the Doctor is ready for you. I'd like to stay and chat but your moaning when he does this is sooo distracting.">> And with those words Discord disappeared from her mind and she was left alone, unable to control her body yet feeling every single little thing that happened to it. She cried out in surprise when she felt Sunrunner enter her, the cries turned to moans and little squeaks of pleasure. As much as she hated what Discord was doing to her body she desperately needed and wanted these moments of intimacy even if she wasn't the one in control. These moments reminded her that she was still alive and while she was still alive she had a chance to fight back and one day maybe even win. When it was over, she cried but her tears were only in her mind.

"Thank you mistress, " Sunrunner panted as he pulled out of her.

"Draw me a bath slave and get ready to wash me when it's ready."

"Of course mistress, whatever you say, " Sunrunner trotted meekly out of the room. Discord didn't pay him any mind. He was too busy thinking of what he could do tonight when they saw the play and smiled evilly when he hit on an idea.

"Yesss! That will be perfect."

Back in Rome, the honeymooners had rented a Vespa and proceeded to tool around the streets of Rome. Twlight had tried to get a map so they could visit all the places seen in the movie but Rick had put a kibosh on those plans.

"Babe, this is all about the journey not about the destination. We're here in Rome to experience it, not to see all the places that were filmed. Yes, we'll throw a coin in the Trevi fountain. We'll see the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Sistine Chapel and all that but we're going to do this on our terms. And if we don't see it this time around, then next time or the time after that."

And so they explored Rome, seeing the sights, taking time at the local cafes to sample the foods and wines and generally having the time of their lives. That is until they made one of their stops the Galleria Borghese. They had wandered through the gardens and the park and decided to head into the actual gallery. It was full of classical sculptures & Renaissance paintings which Rick kept a running commentary on and explaining the stories behind most of them but one thing was not what Twilight expected.

There, off to the side. was a statue of a woman holding a golden apple above her head. Rick walked up behind her as he had a habit of doing, hugged her from behind and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Twilight squirmed happily in his arms, enjoying the feeling of being totally protected when he was around. 

"Do you know the story behind this one?" Rick asked.

"No, but I'm guessing you do."

Rick chuckled a bit and started on his tale. "This is the event that led to the Trojan war at least that's how the legend goes. It was at a wedding and the Goddess Eris, at least that's her classical Greek name, wasn't invited because she was a bitch and always caused trouble. So she had a golden apple with "to the fairest" inscribed on it. She threw this into the crowd and the three goddesses that were there Hera, Athena and Aphrodite all fought over which one of them would get the apple. Well, Zeus didn't like the fighting so he told Hermes to bring the apple to Paris who was the most just of all mortals. The three goddesses each promised Paris a gift if he would give them the apple making them the fairest of them all. Hera promised to make him the king of Europe and Asia which at that point in time was most of the known world. Athena promised to give him the ultimate wisdom and skill in battle. And Aphrodite promised to give him the most beautiful woman in the world as his bride. Well, he chose Aphrodite and as a reward was granted the hand of Helen of Sparta as his wife. The problem is, Helen was going to marry Menelaus at the time. So at the wedding, Menelaus was called away, Paris wound up spending the night with Helen and then took her away with him to his city of Troy. When Menelaus found out, he gathered all the men together and launched a thousand ships to bring her back and this led to the Trojan War."

"If this is a Greek story, why is she here in Rome?"

"The Romans, at least the rich ones, were all tutored by the Greeks and they adopted the Greek gods and goddesses giving them all Roman names. So Zeus, the king of the gods was renamed 'Jupiter'."

"Like the planet?"

"Exactly. Others like Ares, god of war was renamed Mars. Hermes became Mercury. Aphrodite became Venus, Hera became Juno, and Eris over there became Discordia."

Twilight froze at this point on hearing that name. She got very quiet and Rick felt her tremble a bit in his arms.

"You okay babe? " Rick asked, not quite sure what was wrong with Twilight. When she didn't respond he turned her around and looking into her face asked, "Twi? What's up? You're starting to freak me out a bit."

She shook herself a moment and said, "I'm okay, it's just the name threw me for a moment."

Rick thought for a moment and realisation dawned on him. Early on in their relationship, when they were still just friends, Twilight had told him of the Elements of Harmony and of the time they used them to defeat not only Nightmare Moon but Discord as well. "Oh, it made you think of Discord? From what you've told me he's been defeated and sealed in stone once again. Besides, " he said pointing at the statue, "this was just an anthropomorphic representation of strife. It's not supposed to be taken like this was a real goddess or anything."

"I suppose you're right, " Twilight said, not sounding too sure of herself. She covered her mouth as she yawned broadly. "Maybe I'm just a little tired. Do you mind if we go back to the hotel, maybe take a nap?" 

"You'll make any excuse to get me into bed won't you?" Rick asked with a smirk.

"Did I say you had to join me?" Twilight replied archly while raising one eyebrow and with only the barest hint of a smile on her lips.

"Ouch! Somebody is getting better at this, " said Rick as he placed a hand over his heart. They kissed and made their way out of the gallery.

Back in the hotel, Rick set the alarm clock for 1 hour and joined Twilight in bed. Too tired to actually do anything they just lay in each other's arms until they both fell asleep. About 30 minutes later, Twilight shot up in bed and screamed. Rick immediately woke up and set about trying to calm down his hysterical wife. She was babbling on and on about Equestria and Discord.

"Twi! Look at me, look at me! You're okay, we're in Rome, on our honeymoon. We went to the gallery, you saw the statue of Eris and it freaked you out. This is what gave you the nightmare."

"No, Rick. This was completely different, " she said in a haunted voice. "Discord is back in Equestria and there's nopony there to stop him."

"Twi, how could you know this? You had a nightmare. That's it. You're okay now. Maybe you'll feel better if you talk about it."

Twilight didn't look convinced. Rick offered to pour her a glass of wine, realised he was a little hungry and suggested they get room service. If nothing else it might take her mind off things. A quick call to room service and he placed their order for some antipasto and a cheese plate. Service was very fast but then for the price they were paying for the room and the food, it was expected.

Once they had sat down and Twilight had taken a few sips from her wine glass she started.

"It just seemed so real. It's like, I was back in Equestria but I was only observing. Almost like I was watching a movie and couldn't do anything to change things. But the really weird part is, it was Discord and yet it wasn't Discord. He was wearing a mask and a costume and nopony could see who he really was. It's funny, now that I think of it, it almost makes me think he looked like Trixie. Remember my old fillyfriend who took advantage of me?" Twilight asked.

"You mean that one that screwed you over, raped Dash's mind and almost got me killed? Yeah, I kinda remember."

Twilight looked sadly at his side and the scar that made it impossible for either of them to ever forget that night. She sighed and continued. "Discord was there, dressed as Trixie and there was another pony there as well. But he had that pony tied up in strings and was controlling him like a marionette. And again, nopony realised it. They were in a park, watching a play and Discord just started working on the audience but not by making thing strange like he did last time. No, it was like he reached into their minds and just started... pulling on them. One pony started yelling at another to stop chewing so loudly. A couple started arguing about finances. A filly just started harassing all the young stallions she could find, not caring if they were with a filly already or not.  Within a matter of minutes every pony including the actors were fighting and at each other's throats. Even the police when they showed up were caught up in it. Then just like that, it was over and the fighting just stopped. Discord withdrew from their minds but the damage was already done."

Rick chewed absently on a slice of prosciutto wrapped melon as he listed to all this. Twilight was still a vegetarian but didn't fault him for eating meat although he knew she didn't like it when he did. But c'mon, it's prosciutto wrapped melon. Not eating it would be a crime. He swallowed and took a sip of his wine. It worked remarkably well with the antipasto and as an aside thought they'd really have to look into shipping a couple cases back home. 

"Twi, I'm pretty sure this was all just a dream. I mean think about it. Discord was defeated. Trixie was defeated. Discord wearing a costume looking like Trixie but nopony realised that. The marionette pony. All of this just sounds too fantastic to be real. My guess is you've been really stressed the past few weeks, creating your ID, getting married, selling the house then coupled with the jet lag and the statue today and it's no wonder you had a nightmare. If you want, we can take it easy for the next few days, maybe join a tour group and have them shuttle us around. Instead of travelling around Europe we just spend a week in Tuscany before heading out to Barcelona to catch the ship?"

Twilight just stared at him for a moment before asking, "how do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"How do you always know to say the right things to make me feel better?"

Rick smiled at the compliment and then just shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I just get you on a deeper level or something. But regardless of that, Twi, I just want you to be happy and when it comes to making you feel better I will do anything in my power to do so." He looked deeply into her eyes and took her hand in his. "You mean the world to me Twi. I would follow you to hell and back and I'd protect you every step of the way if need be."

Without letting go of his hand, Twilight stepped around the small table, sat on his lap and wrapped her arms about him as his went around her. Her problems forgotten for the moment, she got all the solace she needed just by being in his arms. He was right. It had just been a bad dream. She was on Earth with her husband, Equestria was in a universe far away that they could never get back to so worrying about such a thing didn't make sense.

Back on Equestria, Discord was having a good day. He had been able to control many ponies at the play and had gotten things to escalate to the point where the police had been called and order had finally been restored. Oh, but it wasn't over. Seeds of doubt had been planted in more than one mind, it wouldn't take long before those seeds sprouted and the strife would once again take over. One thing did bother him though. During his time there it felt like he was being watched. He didn't actually see anypony but there was no mistaking the feeling. Trixie was no help, she just cried throughout the whole process and begged him to let her go.

Discord closed his eyes and silently reached out to all his puppets, fanning the flames of hatred, anger and jealousy that were like the sweetest music to his ears. This wasn't as effective as his old chaos magic but it was satisfying in its own way and it was a lot harder to trace. 

> Back in Equestria?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Days later, the whole Discord / Discordia thing had been forgotten and they were on their way to Tuscany for a week of relaxing, cooking and drinking wine. They had use of a small villa in the Etruscan countryside, and along with it would get cooking lessons using local produce as well as instruction in wine making. Instead of taking a train or tour bus they had decided to rent a car. About 2 hours into their trip, Twilight was dozing in the front seat when suddenly she came awake.

"Pull over!" she said forcefully.

"What?"

"You need to pull over right now!"

Making sure they had enough room to do so, Rick pulled over by the side of the road. When Twilight didn't get out of the car and just looked around a little strangely he had to admit he was confused.

"Sooo, what's so important that we needed to stop here?"

"Can't you feel it?" she asked.

"Sorry babe, I'm not feeling anything. Are you sure you're okay?"

"There's Equestrian magic over there Rick, " she pointed to a circle of cypress trees off to the side a little ways. "It's faint, really faint but we need to check it out." And with those words she got up out of the car and started making for the trees. 

Rick turned off the car, made sure everything was locked up tight and followed her.

They arrived at the circle of trees and Twilight just slowly walked around it, her hands extended towards the trees as if feeling for something. Her forehead glowed and the air before her took on a different appearance, almost as if there was a doorway hidden in plain sight. She motioned to Rick to take her hand and then walked forward into darkness. With his one free hand Rick fumbled for his cell phone, the flash could be used as a flashlight but it drained the battery really quickly although at the moment he felt this wasn't a bad thing. However before he was able to pull it out, there was a soft glow that appeared before them as Twilight conjured up a ball of violet light cupped in her outstretched hand. It wasn't enough to illuminate everything around them but it was definitely enough to see by. 

Rick slowed down a bit, looking at the floor of the cave. It didn't look natural, or at the very least it looked like it had been worn down by many, many travelers over the years. He bent down to touch it when Twilight, rather excitedly called him over.

"Rick! Come here and look at this!" Twilight called. She was staring at a wall in the cave. When he walked in, she held the light close to the wall so he could see the carvings in it.

"Cool, " he said and was going to continue when he noticed what the carvings looked like complete with her distinctive cutie mark. "That's Celestia right?"

Twilight nodded. Somehow, even though they existed in different universes, here was actual evidence that at some point in time another had made the trip from Equestria to Earth. Rick thought back to his first meeting with the princess when she took one look at him and tried to kill him. Had it not been for Twilight throwing herself in front of the princess Rick surely would have died. A quick look at Twilight and she was thinking the same thing. Celestia had come into contact with humans before and she still held a grudge.

"So what do we do now?"

"I know what I want to do, but first " Rick pulled out his phone and took a couple pictures of the carvings. "Feel like exploring deeper into the cave? Maybe we'll find something else."

Twilight thought for a moment. "Okay, but not too far and we come back after half an hour at most."

Every so often they passed a fresco or carving of sorts and each scene showed scenes of Equestria. Sometimes there were ponies of different sorts. Other times the scenes showed griffons or dragons. Deeper and deeper they walked, and stranger and stranger they felt as they did. The air seemed to get thicker as they progressed, the light from Twilight's magic seemed a little darker, the echoes from the walls seemed to get further and further away. Rick was starting to feel a little dizzy and was going to suggest to Twilight that maybe this wasn't a good idea but for some reason couldn't make the words come out and was seemingly being drawn forward. At one point he stumbled, unable to keep his balance so he crawled forward on hands and knees. In the dim light he could see Twilight beside him doing the same. Then, as if an errant breeze had blown out a candle, Twilight's light went out. 

"Twi?" he hissed, for some reason he didn't want to speak too loudly.

"Yes?" she whispered back.

"Are you okay? I can't see much of anything right now."

"I'm okay, but I can't see anything either." He heard her straining, but she was unable to make more than a faint spark. "So what do we do next?"

"I think my eyes are adjusting to the darkness, I can almost make out a faint light down a little further. Can you see it too?" Rick asked.

"Yes, I can almost make something out. Let's make our way slowly over there. I don't want to run into any walls or anything on the way."

The two of them slowly crawled over towards the light and as they approached not only started to feel better but could see that it was daylight although far away. Emboldened by this they started to go a little faster and faster until they were practically running in their desire to get out of the cave. A few moments later they burst forth into the sunlight and the biggest shock of their lives.

"Twi! " Rick exclaimed. "You're a pony again!" And it was true. Somehow, at some point through the cave Twilight had gone back to her pony form. But that wasn't the truly big shock as Twilight stared open mouthed at Rick.

"So are you..."

Rick looked down at himself and where his hands should have been there were now hooves, dark brown hooves to go with his coffee coloured coat. So he did the only thing he could have done given the situation. He blacked out and fell unceremoniously to the ground.

He became aware of somebody calling his name from far away, focusing on the sound he awoke to find Twilight in her pony form calling to him and gently slapping him on the cheeks with her hooves.

"What happened and why are you a pony again?" Rick asked, the past few minutes being a complete blur to him. He struggled to get to his feet noting that he had two more than he should have not to mention a complete lack of hands. The memories came flooding back, somehow not only had Twilight been turned back into her unicorn form, but he was also a pony as well. He looked at Twilight but she seemed as mystified with all this as he was. But their coming here was not unknown as three individuals immediately felt their presence where before there was nothing.

Princess Celestia sensed an old and forgotten portal from Earth had been activated. She cursed, thinking that if even one human had made his way here, then others would be coming back as well and everything she and her sister had worked so hard to create might come crashing down on them. She immediately went to her sister's bedchambers. Luna was dreaming when the feeling that one of the ancient portals had opened once again. She immediately came awake just in time for Celestia to show up at her door. The two sisters looked at each other, no words needed to be said and they immediately launched into the air heading towards the portal and ready to take whatever action was necessary to fix it.

Discord also felt it and also knew what it was. Humans had come back to Equestria after so many thousands of years. This was perfect. Humans were partially responsible for the chaos and strife that created him and now that they had come back, his power would grow even more. Maniacal laughter filled the air as he roared in glee. The only thing left to do was to locate said human which shouldn't be an issue. After all, how many bipeds do you see every day in Equestria?

"Sunrunner! Pack my things, we're going on a little trip."

"Where to mistress?" Sunrunner asked obsequiously.

"Ponyville."

Inside her mind, Trixie heard all this and she allowed herself the faintest glimmer of hope. If they were going to Ponyville then maybe the citizens there would recognise her and possibly help her by ending her life. She didn't want to die but the choice between dying and staying trapped as Discord's slave was an easy choice to make. 

"So. Any ideas?" Rick asked. His mouth felt a little odd, too many teeth and a tongue that just felt strange in his mouth. He really felt for Twilight now, never having imagined that she'd feel odd about the whole becoming human thing.

"Right now, no. I'm just as shocked as you are. But this feels like Equestria, the leylines and magic feel the same, " she looked around not knowing where to go next. 

"Tell you what, let's see if we can get back to Earth. At least that way I can move the car out of the way. No telling what's going to happen to it just sitting by the side of the road with all our stuff in it." He turned to go back into the cave but bumped his nose on what was an invisible barrier. He tried again, only to be pushed back again. "Okay, so either this is a one way trip or somepony knows we're here and is trying to prevent us from going back. In either case, I don't want to hang around here waiting to see which one it is."

Twilight agreed and they made their way through the trees until they came to a bit of a clearing. Twilight looked around a bit and said excitedly, " I think I know where we are! C'mon follow me!" and raced away. Rick, still a little unsteady on all 4 hooves took a little while to catch up to her but he did manage to find his stride and then his earth pony body managed to easily keep pace with his wife. Rick was never a good runner in his human body, he suffered from shin splints and after a few minutes they made running almost impossible. However this form was made for running and it was like he ran with his entire body and not just the legs. Without meaning to he found himself smiling, enjoying the feeling. Taking a glance at Twilight he saw her smiling and enjoying it as well. They came across a fence and easily jumped it. It was only when he jumped over it that he recognised his own work. This was the same fence he had put up at Sweet Apple Acres all those months ago. 

Running through the orchard they came upon the sound of apple bucking and saw Applejack doing what she did best. 

"AJ!" Twilight shouted as she ran towards her friend at top speed.

"What the buck?" Applejack said as she heard a familiar voice call her name. Her eyes went wide when she saw her friend and a pony she didn't know tearing across the orchard towards her. "Twilight Sparkle? It is you!" she cried as she raced towards the lavender unicorn as fast as her hooves could take her. Both ponies came to a stop and hugged each other happily. AJ was going to ask how she came to be back when the coffee coloured pony beside Twilight had a little trouble stopping and crashed into a tree, apples falling down like rain around him. He shook his head to get rid of the stars that obscured his vision and focused on the two fillies.

"Howdy stranger, " AJ said with a smile, "need a little help?"

"Thanks AJ. Haven't quite gotten used to stopping yet, " he responded in a voice that sounded somehow familiar yet strange at the same time.

She stared at him, then back at Twilight, then checked out the cutie mark of a cup on his flank, her mind putting everything together and realised who the clumsy earth pony was. "Rick? That you?"

"Yeah. Surprise!" he said as he pulled himself to his hooves and gave himself a good shake.

"How? I mean both of y'all left months ago an' Celestia said there was no way fer you ta come back. Then when you do it's as an actual stallion and I gotta admit a good looking one too. Twilight, gotta say y'all are gonna have to keep a close eye on this one or else there are gonna be a lot of fillies throwing themselves at him."

"Nah I'm not worried about that. We just got married less than a week ago, " Twilight said with a grin.

"That's great sugarcube!"

"So what about you and Dash? You two decide to tie the knot?" Rick asked.

"Actually we're getting hitched next week, " she said with a smile. 

Twilight and Rick immediately congratulated her on this. She invited them to the wedding, assuming they were going to be around for it. They looked at each other and for the first time since coming back to Equestria hoped they could stay longer but didn't know. They agreed that should they be able to, they would.

"I'll take that and all y'all should know that yer always welcome here at Sweet Apple Acres. Yer family and hey, now yer a pony too!" AJ said to Rick in a congratulatory way. "Anyway c'mon down to the house. We'll have some pie and talk about what y'all have been doing since you left."

Once safely ensconced in the Apple family parlour, the two fillies chatted and gossiped about what had happened since Twilight left. 

"Y'all should be happy to know that Spike and Rarity are gettin on like a house on fire. She pretends like it's nothing but you can see it in her eyes when she talks about the little fella. He's practically moved into the Carousel but he's also at the library every single day, workin hard and keeping it in shape." 

"Good for him. Oh he's going to be so surprised when we show up, " Twilight said. "What about the rest of the fillies? How's Pinkie Pie?"

"She was all mopey when you left, but nothing keeps her down for too long. She went on being Pinkie Pie, throwin' parties and generally making a spectacle of herself. Doubt that filly will ever change. But there is news with Fluttershy. It weren't long after you left that her and Big Mac started seeing each other. We don't know if it's serious yet, Mac ain't the most talkative sort and Flutters don't talk much either but they've been spending a lot of time with each other. So what about you two? How'd you come back?"

"Honestly, we don't know how it happened but we did uncover something a little disturbing. Celestia knew about humans before she ever met me and I don't think she was happy about it. We found some carvings and frescos in the cave that brought us here showing scenes of Equestria and one of them showed Celestia. I don't know how old they were at least a couple hundred years but I'd hazard they were closer to a thousand or more. That was before the time of Nightmare Moon." Rick said.

"Rick has a bit of a theory that there's been a lot more contact between our worlds than Celestia has ever admitted to. Records have been sketchy at best and it could very well be that at some point there was actual commerce or trade. Some foods are the same, languages are similar I mean Rick actually speaks Neighponese but he's never set hoof there. Our worlds have influenced each other greatly in the past and he thinks that something happened to drive our people apart and might have actually led to the stories of pink skinned goblins with hands that used to scare you."

They all sat there for a minute, digesting what had been said when the door burst open and three fillies ran in talking excitedly amongst themselves.

"Girls! Keep it down, we have company!" AJ shouted.

"Sorry AJ, we was just talking about the Princesses. They was just in Ponyville asking whether anypony had seen a stranger recently, " Apple Bloom said. She noticed at that moment Twilight and the coffee coloured pony sitting in the parlour along with her sister. "Hi Twilight! I never knew you was back! Who's yer friend?"

"Oh c'mon Apple Bloom you mean you forgot me already? Remember the big scary guy you met at the party who then built that fence for you and AJ when Big Mac hurt his back?" Rick asked.

Apple Bloom looked a little confused at recognising the voice but there was something different about him. "But, wasn't you a human back then? When did you turn into a pony?"

"Just today. Twilight and I came back for a visit and I decided to go incognito and keep a low profile, " he looked around suspiciously and said, "nopony is supposed to know I'm here so don't let any pony know if they ask okay?" he said with a wink and smile. Apple Bloom smiled back and winked in return. She turned around to leave, the fillies then left after taking an apple pie back to their secret clubhouse. As they left they mentioned something about getting their cutie marks in comedy tonight.

"So why didn't you want them to tell anypony y'all are here?" AJ asked.

"Honestly until your sister came in I didn't think anything about it. She mentioned the princesses asking about strangers and it's an awfully big co-incidence that this happens just as Twi and I show up and are unable to get back through the cave. It could be they're not looking for us in particular, maybe they're looking for a generic human. Something about all this is bothering me. I don't know what it is yet but until I know, I don't want Celestia to know I'm back. That goes double for Twilight here."

"Are you saying you don't trust the princess?" Twilight asked a little uncertainly.

"Not at all. I'm saying that I don't know what her role in all this is. Think about it. We know that others have come to Equestria before us and the princess knew about it. We come through that cave but can't get back, there's a spell or something blocking our way. Celestia might be okay with me personally but right now I don't want to take the chance that there's something else going on until we're able to figure it out. Call me paranoid if you want, but deep down you're probably thinking the same thing." 

Twilight and AJ shared a look that confirmed what Rick was thinking. 

"I think I should head over to the library as soon as possible. Maybe there's a book or scroll in the archives that talks about this or could shed some light on it." Looking at Rick, she thought for a moment and said, "I don't think I can teleport both of us there. Would you be okay making your own way to the library?" Twilight asked.

"Sure. No problem. Do what you need to do."

"Great, see you soon, " and with those words she disappeared in a soft bamf of inrushing air.

"Well, I better be on my way. It was good seeing you AJ. Say hi to Dash and the rest of the family for me." Rick started to leave when AJ asked him to wait for a few moments. She came back with a set of saddlebags stuffed full of what smelled like apples. 

"Here ya go sugarcube. I dunno how long y'all are going to be around but y'all are going to need some vittles. So there's some apple goodies in there, some cider and some plain ol apples just in case. Y'all don't be a stranger now and come back to see us real soon." She gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek and helped him to strap on the saddlebags. Shifting his flanks back and forth he got the bags sitting comfortably and was on his way. It was a nice day and as much as he wanted to hurry, a galloping pony might attract attention so he made his way back to Ponyville in a quick but easygoing manner.

It didn't take long at a trot to get there. This equine body of his was starting to feel natural. He worried a bit about the car and the reservations back on Earth but with luck they'd be out of here in no time and could maybe blame their delay on a flat tire or something similar. He took a slightly roundabout way to get to the library to make it look like he was just out for a trot. Who knows who might have been spying on the library or on the lookout for a stranger. Provided he didn't gawk or appear to be lost and simply went about his business as if he had every right to be there it shouldn't arouse any kind of suspicion.

He made it all the way to the library and calmly walked in without anypony being the wiser. Or so he thought. There was one pony that noticed his passing, who didn't recognise him and knew exactly what to do given the situation.

Making his way to the small kitchen, he left the saddlebags there and went to find Twilight in case she needed help. She was busy in the cellar looking over the archives to see if there was any mention of Earth or humans. 

"AJ gave us some food in case we get hungry later and I've left it in the kitchen. If you need me for something, I'll be upstairs, " he said. Twilight just nodded but never looked up during that time. Rick knew she was in study mode so there was not much else she would or could do right now. He wandered upstairs feeling a little useless here as he still had trouble reading Equestrian and after all those months back home on Earth never thought he would have to read it again. He puttered around the library, pulled a few foals books off the shelf to practice his reading but eventually got really bored with reading "see Dash. See Dash fly. Fly Dash Fly". Eventually boredom caught up to him and he fell asleep.

> Revelations - warning: mild clop near the end.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Auhtor's note: I've been informed by some that the ending to the chapter might not be completely "teen" friendly. There is some light clop but nothing graphic or overly descriptive. Consider it PG-13 with a lot more implied than actually shown.

*****************************************

Rick became aware of somebody shaking him awake and saying the library was closing. "Wha? Yeah yeah, I'm up" he mumbled as he looked blearily into a pair of green eyes which resolved themselves into Spike.

"Hey little bro, what's up?" Rick said without thinking. 

Spike looked at him a little funny on hearing those words then a big smile appeared on his face after finally recognising the voice. "Rick? Is that you?" Without waiting for confirmation he threw himself at Rick, giving him a big hug and tearing up while saying, "my big brother is back!" over and over again.

A little embarrassed by this unexpected affection, Rick patted him on the head and wondered what to do next. Thankfully Twilight came up the stairs, carrying about a half dozen books. She saw the scene in front of her, smiled and said, "now isn't that sweet?"

Spike froze on hearing those words and turned around to behold the pony he regarded as his sister. "Twilight!" he yelled happily as he ran towards her and almost knocked her down when he hugged her. Both of them were tearing up after finally having been reunited after so many months. After several minutes of this the questions started and Twilight and Rick decided that Spike would have to know the truth concerning their being here.

They explained how it was they managed to come back to Equestria but why both of them came back as ponies was still a mystery. Rick told him about his suspicions concerning Earth and Equestria and Twilight filled them both in on some of the history she found.

"Look here, " she said putting one of the books down on the table. "This is a legend from over 1000 years ago, before the time of Nightmare Moon and before Discord. It talks of a pony called Wishbringer who discovered a strange cave which led to a world of riches. There he discovered a race of bipeds, some were good, some were bad but all of them wanted to come to Equestria. The good ones wanted to trade & in some cases live with the ponies in harmony. Others simply wanted to take everything they could get their hands on which included ponies."

"Don't tell me, they would take the ponies back to their cave where they were never seen again. Basically taking them back to Earth but the ponies didn't know this. They only knew some pink skinned creatures with hands would grab up any pony they could find and the pony would disappear into the cave never to be seen again. Effectively 'gobbling' them up. They were the goblins of legend weren't they?" Rick asked.

"It doesn't actually say so one way or another but it fits, " Twilight said.

"The good humans fought against the bad humans and all the ponies joined in. Some wanted to fight the bad humans with the good but some just wanted all humans to be removed from Equestria. This war went on for years, the humans eventually retreating to the caves but not eliminated from Equestria completely, " Twilight paused here and sighed deeply, not wanting to go on.

"And? What happened next?" Spike asked excitedly.

Rick looked at Twilight and knew that there was something she didn't want to read. Something that she had always believed was true, but the story showed it was different than she had been taught. He reached over and placed his hoof over hers. "You don't have to continue if you don't want to, I'm pretty sure I can figure out what happened next."

"What do you think happened?" Twilight asked a little sadly.

"Discord shows up, makes for a bad time for everybody, causes a lot of problems and the princesses use the Elements of Harmony to turn him to stone. But that's not the end because the seeds of discord have now been planted. Luna, tired of being the goddess of the night rises up against Celestia and is banished to the moon using the same elements of harmony they used against Discord. Bad stuff is still happening, skirmishes between the humans and the ponies, something happens and finally Celestia goes ballistic. She uses the elements of harmony one last time to cleanse the land of the last humans. The good ones are turned into ponies, the bad ones are banished to the cave and a barrier is set up to prevent them from ever coming back. Am I close?"

Twilight nodded sadly. "Some of your points are off, but that's the basic idea. Humans helped to create Discord, he's responsible for twisting Luna into Nightmare Moon and it was an ambush on an innocent family that finally led to Celestia sending the humans away. But how did you know she turned some into ponies?"

"Too many anachronisms in this world to make any sense unless ponies used to have fingers. Things like doorknobs or stringed instruments that are plucked. Ponies have no way of using these things. But they still exist and are still there although in a slightly altered form."

"So what do we do now?" Spike asked.

"I don't know Spike, " Twilight answered. "But I think we're going to have to see Celestia and get all this sorted out. It's too late now, we'll have to contact her tomorrow. So I figure we grab a bite to eat, get some sleep and see how the day looks tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me. And lil bro, " Rick said turning to Spike. "Do us a favour and try not to mention any of this to Rarity. We're trying to keep a low profile at the moment and don't want the whole town to know we're back. Once again, fate gave Rick the finger and the door of the library burst open, there was an explosion and the room was suddenly filled with confetti, balloons and a spread from Sugarcube Corner all thanks to Pinkie Pie and her party cannon.

"Surprise! " the cotton candy maned pony yelled as she entered the library followed by a throng of ponies including the remainder of Twilight's friends. The fillies stopped and stared, thinking they were meeting a cute new stallion in town when in fact they were meeting a cute new stallion and Twlight Sparkle again. Pinkie squee'd in excitement and made a bee line for Twlight as fast as she could.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, " she said as she ran to see her friend. "It's you! It's you! It's really you!" she said bouncing up and down like a rabbit on a sugar high. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming? I would have made a special surprise party for you and not just the new stallion although I could have made a party for both of you at the same time but then that wouldn't have been as special because there would then be two parties and two parties are better than one and I could invite you both..." 

"Pinkie, please! You're giving me a headache, " Rick said. 

Pinkie stopped bouncing which was a feat in itself as she was still a few feet in the air when she did so and just hovered there for a moment before settling gently down to the ground. "Oh my gosh this is so great! Twilight and Rick are both back and now he's a pony too which is even better. I gotta tell everypony here!" Before either Twilight or Rick could do anything, Pinkie Pie had run off to tell the rest of the guests that these two had returned to Equestria.

"So much for keeping a low profile, " Spike said as he sat down in front of them with a slice of cake. 

It didn't take long before the fillies immediately gathered around Twilight, talking, laughing & crying. It was a heartfelt reunion that nopony there had thought they'd ever have. Rick smiled seeing all this, while he wouldn't have traded his time with Twilight for all the world, seeing her here with her closest friends filled something in her that she unfortunately couldn't get back home. He also thought it was incredibly selfish of him to want them to go back to Earth. Sure if they stayed here he'd be separated from his family and friends but when they were there Twilight was separated from hers. And it wasn't like there was ever really a choice in the matter. Twilight chose that because the portal she had created was gone and she didn't want to live without him. And just like that, the importance of going home was no longer that important. Home was wherever Twilight was be it here in Equestria or back on Earth.

"Rick? You okay?" Twilight asked him. "You seemed far away there for a while."

"Maybe, but I'm here now with you and that's the important thing, " he responded. There were several dawwwwww's from the surrounding fillies which made Rick and Twilight blush a bit. But, never one to let a moment like that go without making a joke out of it he came back with, "we're allowed to be this way, we're still newlyweds and on the honeymoon." 

Unnoticed by the rest of the crowd, Discord stood and watched the whole scene. He and Sunrunner had shown up in town and had immediately been swept up by Pinkie Pie and brought to the library for the party. Nopony recognised Sunrunner and nopony recognised Trixie as well. Discord had gone through the trouble of reversing Trixie's mane and colour so instead of a pony with an azure coat and silver / blue mane she now was a pony with a silver / blue coat and azure mane. A quick trim of her mane into a different style and her burned off cutie mark and she was unrecognisable to all. Trixie however raged at seeing her Twilight married to a stallion but she was at least happy that the monkey was no longer involved. If she managed to get free from Discord then she would deal with the brown earth pony that was sitting next to her.

While this was going on in Trixie's mind, Discord felt a little confused. He had felt the doorway from Earth open and knew that the closest place to come was Ponyville yet he couldn't sense the human anywhere. He had hoped that the human would show up here but it was getting late and he was getting bored. He wanted to play with the emotions of the ponies here, but with all the elements of harmony present it was too big a gamble, he'd have to wait for another time. Although maybe he could delay them from doing anything. A quick incantation aimed at the coffee coloured stallion and the element of magic and they'd be useless for the next few days. 

"Come Sunrunner, we can't do anything more here."

"Yes mistress, " the poor pony said as he followed her out of the library.

As all parties go, this one eventually had to die down. The guests left, until it was just Twilight's closest friends and family. They slowly said their goodbyes as the ponies left until it was just Twilight and Rick. 

"You wanna clean up?" Rick asked.

"It can wait until tomorrow, let's just go to bed." Twilight led the way up the stairs to her old room. 

"I don't think we're both going to fit on there." Rick said looking at the single bed.

Twilight just scoffed, a quick blast from her horn and the bed grew a couple sizes so it was large enough for two. She just smiled at him, he smiled back and said, "you're awesome" and kissed her. He had meant it as a quick kiss on the lips but the minute his lips touched hers it just progressed beyond that into something a lot more passionate. It was like a switch had been thrown and all he could think about now was his mare. Screw being rational, right now having her was the only thing that mattered.

He broke the kiss and brought his snout to her cheek, to her throat, her neck just inhaling her scent. She smelled fantastic, like the most exotic perfume. He couldn't stop smelling her, nibbling at her as he went and Twilight also felt like her head was swimming. For some reason that kiss just ignited something in her that she couldn't imagine. The minute his lips touched hers it was like a fire had gone off in her nethers. Her eyes closed as his lips travelled all over her, leaving a trail of fire and desire in their wake. Deep down she felt something was wrong, that she shouldn't be feeling this way but she just couldn't focus on anything other than her stallion. 

Finally he could take it no longer, without using words he nudged her over to the bed a little impatiently, his arousal plainly visible. Twilight obeyed, more than ready for her stallion as she lay the front of her body on the bed, lifted her tail and presented. He advanced on her, raised himself up and entered her. Both ponies whinnied in unison, this also being the first time they had ever done this when both of them were ponies.  

Time stopped having any meaning as their bodies worked at a rhythm older than civilisation. So caught up in this that nothing else made a difference. All that mattered was the now and what they were doing. Animalistically Rick reached down, took a hold of her mane in his teeth and yanked back hard. Twilight whinnied in pleasure at this and pushed back at him harder than she had before, her rump slapping up against him over and over again in time with his thrusts. It was over much too soon as Rick exploded inside her, filling her womb with his seed. Twilight screamed as her own orgasm ripped through her, her muscles milking the last bit from his rapidly shrinking member. 

Panting hard, Twilight made it onto the bed before passing out. Rick wasn't so lucky as he simply collapsed on the floor before falling unconscious as well.

Back in Trixie's old lair, Discord chuckled evilly as he sensed his spell had worked perfectly. Those two would give in to their most animal of instincts for the next few days. It would be exactly as if Twlight was in heat and they'd effectively be out of the way while he searched for the human. He gave a glance at Sunrunner, now back in his frilly maid's outfit as he sat there patiently waiting for the word from his mistress. 

"Not tonight slave, Eris has a headache, " Discord said before turning over and pretending to go to sleep. He heard Sunrunner whimper in frustration and smiled. This was music to his ears and tomorrow when he finally tracked that human down, he'd make his previous escapades in Equestria look like a practical joke.

In the castle of Canterlot, things were not going well.

Celestia and Luna had searched all day for the human but so far, nothing had turned up. The human couldn't just be hiding because Celestia would have sensed him when she got close enough. Ever since she had banished the last human from Equestria over 1000 years ago she had made it possible to sense it when one was around. If she didn't know better it was almost as if a pony had come through but that was impossible, there were no ponies left on Earth only horses. 

She made her way to her bedchambers, on her way she passed by the throne room and decided to speak to Luna just in case something came up during the night.

"Sister, I'm going to sleep now. Please wake me in case you get word that that evil human has been caught, " Celestia said before slowly walking out of the throne room.

"Of course sister. Wouldst thou also like to be wakened shouldst the human be good?" Luna asked.

Celestia sighed inwardly, as much as she loved her sister she sometimes took things a little too literally. "What I meant was, if the human is found let me know."

"Of course dear sister. Goest thou to sleep and we shall keep watch over the night."

Celestia made her way back to her chamber and finally got to bed. It had been a hard day and she was tired so it wasn't long before she felt herself drifting away into slumber. But there was something Luna said that bothered her. What if the human was good? It didn't matter if the human was good or not, she still wanted to find them. It had been over 1000 years since it happened so it wasn't surprising that it took her a few more moments for the words to finally register and she awoke with a start.

If the magic was still working and a good human had come through the portal they would have been changed into a pony! No wonder she and Luna had been unable to find them, the human was now in pony form. She raced out of her chamber to the throne room and explained all this to Luna.

"Hmmm, thou speakest true and it is possible that such a thing hath happened. We will investigate at once, " Luna stood and spreading her wings readied herself for flight. Celestia also spread her wings ready to join her sister in the search but Luna flew down and gently placed one of her front hooves on Celestia's shoulder.

"Neigh Sister, thou art tired. Let us... I mean let me take care of this. I will let you know how it goes in the morning when you wake up." 

Celestia opened her mouth to argue but a large yawn escaped her at that point. She nodded and went back to her chamber to get some much needed rest. 

Luna then called on her guards who joined her in her search for the now ponified human somewhere in Equestria. Now that they knew what they were looking for, it wouldn't be too hard to track them down.

Arriving at the cave she concentrated and made out two sets of ghostly hoof prints in the grass leading across the woods, through the fields to the apple farm up the road. She was surprised that there were two humans that had shown up. The prints entered the farmhouse, but only 1 set of prints left. No, there was no trace of any pony here other than those of the apple family and the brash pegasus. Perhaps one of them came back as a pegasus and flew off? No matter, she followed the hoof prints up the road and came to Ponyville. They snaked through the streets until finally arriving at the library. She glanced through the windows and was able to make out two ponies sleeping there. It was too dark to make out any kind of detail except one was actually sleeping on top of the bed, not in the bed and the other was lying unceremoniously on the floor. It was curious, the bed should have been big enough to hold them both.

No matter, these were the humans in question the hoof prints alone proved it. She nodded to her guards who opened the door to allow her to enter. The ponies in question on the second floor started at the noise and woke up. Then the unthinkable happened, instead of asking who was there or investigating she heard them... mating?

"What madness is this?" she said as she made her way upstairs she almost gagged as the room stank of sex and magic. Peeking through the door she saw the stallion mounting the mare but neither one seemed to be aware of her or anything other than each other. The magic here was so strong that she could practically see it in the air. With a wave of her horn, the magic dissipated and the two ponies slowly stopped what they were doing as if waking up from a dream.

"What the..." Rick started and then looked down to see himself buried partway in his wife. He pulled out, not knowing what the hell was going on. 

Twilight was not in much better shape as she woke up to find herself in the process of being mounted. A slight gasp of disappointment passed her lips when Rick pulled out of her only to be replaced with a question as to why he would do this to her without waking her up first. Neither one of them noticed the dark alicorn that had stepped into the room before announcing herself.

"Please do not be alarmed, " Luna started. Both ponies spun around to face her and before she was able to continue the mare said, "Princess Luna? What are you doing here?"

Needless to say confusion reigned on all sides. 

"Ponies please, we are confused as to what is going on but you will answer my questions. First, how is it you know my name?"

"Luna, it's me. Twilight Sparkle. Remember? Princess Celestia's student?" 

"Twilight Sparkle? Forgive me, I did not recognise you from that side." She turned to Rick and asked, "and what were you doing to Princess Celestia's student?"

"Hold on Luna, I know it's hard to believe but I'm Rick, Twilight's former coltfriend and current husband? We met at the party for Shining Armor and Princess Cadance but I happened to be human at the time?"

Luna simply nodded. So that was the reason. Two humans with no ill will towards Equestria had been changed into ponies due to Celestia's use of the Elements of Harmony 1000 years ago. 

"Very well, you will both come with me. Celestia would like to speak to you both."

"I guess that's okay because we'd like to have a word with her, " Rick said.

In a flash of dark light, the library was now stood empty as Luna transported all of them back to Canterlot. 



> Home is Where the Heart is.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They arrived in the throne room of Canterlot castle and Rick had to admit he was impressed. He had never seen the throne room. last time he had been in Canterlot things had gotten a little dicey but part of him was glad that something else could now be crossed off his list.

Luna returned to her throne and commanded her guards to go fetch her sister. She made it a point not to look at the two ponies, they had been through a lot and possibly would be put through a lot more before the night was done.

Twlight Sparkle was feeling a little strange. Part of her was nervous at seeing Celestia again considering what it is they knew about her now but that whole sex business between her and Rick made her feel wrong. She knew it was a spell they were under, it couldn't have been anything else but she felt robbed somehow. The first time with her new husband as a pony would forever be tainted by the memory that somepony had caused them to rut like a couple of animals. 

Rick looked at his wife, nuzzled her a bit and asked in a low voice that didn't carry, "you okay babe?".

Twilight just shook her head. "No. I'm not alright. Somepony perverted something that should only exist between me and you and we'll never have that moment back again." Tears formed in her eyes and she hid her face in Rick's shoulder. He hugged her as best he could and whispered encouragements that honestly sounded hollow in his own ears. He was supposed to be the strong one so that was how he was acting but deep down he also felt betrayed by what had happened. He prayed that when they found out who did this he would have the strength not to beat the pony within an inch of their life. 

But tears and thoughts of revenge would have to wait as Princess Celestia came in. Her face was a little puffy, having just woken up and there was a tightness around her eyes but she still radiated power and authority just the same. She was surprised to see it was Twilight Sparkle that in the throne room which meant the stallion beside her had to be her coltfriend Rick. This made things doubly difficult. Had it been just an ordinary couple she could have told them anything and sent them back. But these two would want to know the truth and she wasn't sure she really wanted to tell them this. But she was still the princess and the monarch of this land so if nothing else, decorum was called for. 

As she passed by, Twilight bowed her head, Rick just stared at her with more than just a little defiance. Celestia looked back at then nodded as if to say she understood his point.

"I believe the two of you have some questions."

"Yeah, we got a lot of those but how about we simply start with why you lied to us?" Rick said.

If Celestia was surprised by his blunt manner, she didn't show it. "I believe that 'lied' is a little harsh. I simply didn't tell you the whole story because neither of you needed to hear it."

"Didn't need to hear it? Wow, that's great. 1000 years ago humans were here and some were turned into ponies. This means I wasn't the first human you ever met and still because of this you tried to kill me. Had it not been for my wife I'd be dead now so you'll forgive me if I think you overreacted a bit."

Stung by his words, Celestia started to answer but then looked at Twilight Sparkle and saw the pain and the betrayal in her eyes. Her entire demeanor softened as this was something this never wanted to have done to her favourite student.

"You're right. I should have told you but we can't go back and change the past but what we can do?"

Twilight and Rick then went on to describe what the legends had said and what they had been able to piece together. Celestia was impressed. While not completely accurate, it was close enough to what had happened many years ago. 

"But I'm curious, how did you find the portal?"

"That was my doing, " Twilight answered. "We had gone on our honeymoon and were travelling when I sensed some Equestrian magic. I'm not as powerful on Earth but I still have some ability there. I found the cave, we saw some carvings and frescos that showed Equestria so we explored it. Eventually we found ourselves here."

"I see. Yes, that was one of the ancient portals that existed between Equestria and Earth. Once it was sealed I never thought it would be used again. Your coming through must have re-activated it."

"Now here's the biggie. If you knew that these portals still existed, then why tell Twilight that she was unable to come back to Equestria? She had gone through hell when our portal vanished. You said it would take three months to find the right conditions to link our two universes again but once that happened she could never set hoof in Equestria again. Seems to me that was another lie."

"That was because, " Celestia paused, looked at Twilight once again and it was as if she just deflated and had no more strength left. "I'm sorry but I had hoped that within that time Twilight would have forgotten about you and would have moved on. I never once thought that she would want to leave Equestria and her friends or give up being a pony in order to become an ordinary human. And the reason I told her that she could never come back was to prevent her from trying. Humans caused so much trouble for Equestria that I didn't want the word to spread any further than it had. Ponies might have found out that humans existed here long ago and that some ponies have human ancestry. It was wrong of me and for that I ask your forgiveness."

Rick was not pleased with this, but Twilight was absolutely livid. Her mentor, the one pony she always looked up to had not only lied to her but had almost ruined her life in the process. She needed to get away, if she stayed here much longer she would say something she'd regret. "I think we're done here, " Twilight said through clenched teeth. She turned to leave, Rick shot Celestia a look that said that was not over. He would have liked to stay but Twilight needed him right now. 

They were led down through the castle to the residential wing and given a suite for the night. Twilight didn't want to stay but she had no way to teleport herself and Rick out of there and it was for certain that Celestia or Luna were not going to offer so she reluctantly accepted.

Once the door was closed and they were alone, the tears she had been holding back since all this was revealed sprang forth. Rick held her and rocked her gently, letting her release all the pain and anger of not only the recent news but of the months she waited when she didn't have to and how they could have come back to Equestria at any time.

Eventually the tears faded, Rick continued to hold her until she said she was fine and he let her go. She knew she looked terrible, but the hardest part of this was that Rick didn't make a joke about it. Usually he was quick with the sarcasm or a dry observation but right now he had nothing. 

"So what do we do now?" Twilight asked.

"Right now, we go to bed. Tomorrow morning we'll go see your brother and sister-in-law and see how they're doing. If you want we'll go see your parents as well. I'm sure they'd be happy to see you back. Then we head back to Ponyville and we pick up where we left off."

"But... don't you want to get back home?"

Rick sighed and looked off to the side before looking back at Twilight. "For all intents and purposes, I think I am home." 

Twilight looked at him oddly.

"I've been thinking. Earlier today when we showed up here all I wanted to do was go back home with you to Earth. But then I saw you at the party talking with and enjoying the company of your friends and realised that maybe I was being selfish and this is where you belong." Twilight made as if to speak at that point but Rick held up a hoof and said, "let me finish first. Now where was I? Oh right maybe this is where you belong instead. You were never really given a choice as to whether or not you wanted to go to Earth full time or if you wanted to stay in Equestria or you wanted to hop back and forth between your world and mine. If there's a chance that we can never go back to Earth or we have the opportunity to go back I'm thinking that the best thing to do is to talk about our options and which one works best. I guess what I'm trying to say is that anywhere could be 'home' provided we were together."

Twilight just looked at him as if she didn't believe what it was he had just said. 

"Yes Twlight. I'm saying that when it really comes down to it, nothing else in my life means as much to me as making you happy and if that means we stay here in Equestria in these forms for the rest of our lives then so be it. It might take some getting used to, but we will be together."

Twilight looked like she was going to cry once more, she sniffled once then walked over to her husband and gave him the sweetest kiss she ever had before. No words needed to be said as the kiss said it all. Rick just hugged her close and whispered, "I love you too, " in her ear. 

Eventually they broke the embrace as both were feeling the effects of today finally wearing off and they made their way to the bed. Within moments, both ponies were asleep.

The next morning Rick awoke to find Twilight sitting by the open window, just staring out at the royal gardens. He trotted over to her, gave her a short nuzzle and kiss good morning before sitting down next to her. She sighed, and leaned into him before starting to speak. 

"I used to love the Royal Gardens in Canterlot. I would spend hours walking through them, identifying all the plants and flowers. Or finding the perfect spot to just read and let the words carry me away but now..." her words were cut off by a knocking at the door. They turned in time to see Shining Armor walk in the room. 

Her earlier melancholia forgotten, Twilight squealed happily as she ran over to see her brother. They nuzzled each other for a moment before he swept her up in a big hug. Rick trotted over to greet his brother-in-law for the first time as family.

"Rick." 

"Shining, " Rick responded with a bit of a playful grin.

"Where's Cadance? Have you had your foal yet?" Twilight asked excitedly.

Her brother laughed. "She's waiting for us at breakfast and we're expecting any day now, " he said with the fatuous look of a father to be.

"I'm assuming Celestia will be there?" Rick asked.

"Yes. Princess Celestia will be there.

"She said I could just call her that so that's what I'm going to do. Anyway, let's go have a pleasant breakfast and hopefully after we can get on with our lives and put all this behind us."

As Shining Armor led the way Twilight turned to Rick and said, "you were a little rude to Shining Armor. He is my brother and now he's your brother as well."

"Sorry babe, I'm still not happy with the whole situation. I want nothing more than to get this meeting with Celestia over with and then never have to see her again. She messed around with our lives and could very well have ruined any future we had. I can't forgive that easily and I know neither can you."

"Actually the Princess said that she had something to tell you both that you might probably like to hear. She didn't fill me in on the details but I'm sure she had her reasons for what she did, " Shining Armor said obviously having eavesdropped on their conversation. But there was no time to continue as they arrived at the dining hall.

Celestia and Cadance were already at the table. Twilight ran forward to see her old foal sitter, just gushing about how great she looked and how Cadance was going to make a great mother. Shining Armor approached the table, bowed his head to Celestia, kissed his wife and sat down next to her. Twilight sat on the opposite side of the table and Rick took the seat next to her.

"Now that we're all here, we can begin." Celestia took a silver bell in her mouth and rang it a few times. Servers appeared from the kitchens with silver platters loaded with baked goods, fresh fruits, flowers, hay and assorted teas and juices. Rick felt a little out of place. The rest of the table was unicorns and alicorns so they used their magic to move the food and drink around. Rick was only an earth pony so he had to use his hooves and he still hadn't quite gotten used to using them yet to manipulate objects. 

Twilight did come to his rescue by helping and while he thanked her, he couldn't help but feel that this was something that Celestia had set up specifically to mess with him. He knew that Celestia wouldn't be this petty but there are times that emotions speak louder than logic.

"Rick?" Celestia asked. 

He turned to look at her as she held aloft a teapot. "I was hoping you might like to try this. It's a tea made from a fruit the locals of Buenos Mares call 'Eye of the Goddess'. It's known for its stimulating effects as I know you happen to like drinks of that nature." Celestia was obviously referring to coffee which reminded Rick that in all the confusion and everything it had been more than a day since his last cup. And if the mild discomfort in his head and slight drowsiness was any indication he was heading into full blown caffeine withdrawal which meant a massive headache. 

"Thank you, that would be nice, " Celestia poured him a cup. It had a sweet, fruity taste that he couldn't quite place but was sure he had had at some point in the past. Then it all made sense, the fruit that looked like an eye, Buenos Mares, caffeine. Obviously they had guarana here in Equestria and it wouldn't be a surprise that the reigning monarch happened to have a supply. Well, at least he now knew that should they stay here he could slowly wean himself off caffeine until he didn't need it anymore. 

That of course would mean having to deal with Celestia but sometimes you need to take the good with the bad. He looked at Twilight and said, "you might want to have some of this as well." She looked at him and politely asked Celestia for a cup.

As breakfast proceeded, pleasant small talk was made but the tension in the room was pretty high. Princess Cadance attempted to fix this in a way that was at the same time both good and bad news.

"Oh, both of you might be interested to know that your assailant responsible for all the trouble here last time vanished about a month ago, " Cadance said to both Twilight and Rick. 

"You mean Trixie somehow disappeared? But how? The doctors said her mind was gone, " Twilight asked.

"They don't know. There were no guards and she wasn't strapped down after all it wasn't like she was going to just walk out of there. No, we think that somepony, possibly in the hospital but it could very well have come from outside picked her up and got rid of her. Good riddance I say."

But neither Rick nor Twilight were thinking about that and went back to the night several days ago when Twilight had her nightmare.

"Celestia, if I might be so bold, are you aware of any... problems somewhere in Equestria where suddenly ponies have started acting strangely, or fighting for no reason? Possibly something that started a few days or a week ago?" Rick asked trying to fish for information without giving too much away.

"There was an incident down in Mareseilles a few days ago but nothing since then."

"What can you tell us about this? Please it's very important, " Twilight pressed. Rick placed a hoof on hers and though he cursed not having fingers at this point it was better than nothing.

"The exact reasons, nopony knows but there was an altercation at an outdoor showing of "A Pony's Tale". The entire audience seemed to go mad. There were no major injuries and no charges were filed. But nothing else since then, " Celestia said. Noticing that Twilight had gone ashen and was trembling slightly she asked, "whatever is the problem my little pony?"

When Twilight didn't respond Rick looked her straight in the eye and said, "Discord is back."

Those assembled around the table reacted in shock and there were many questions coming from more than one mouth. Rick held up his hooves and asked them to calm down and he'd explain everything as Twilight was in no condition to do so.

He explained the visit to the museum, the statue of Eris and the nightmare Twilight had that night. He continued on with how he specifically thought it was simply a dream after all, as far as they knew Equestria was closed to them. Then after coming here they found themselves in pony form which of course led to other things but opened the possibility that the dream Twilight had was effectively what had happened. 

"Maybe Twilight was still attuned to Equestria or the Elements of Harmony and it's because of this that we were effectively drawn to the portal. I don't think it's a co-incidence that we're now here. And I don't think what happened to us last night in the library was a co-incidence either."

"And what exactly happened last night in the library?" Celestia asked.

Rick blushed a bit at the memory. He looked at Twilight for confirmation and she merely nodded. 

"Pinkie Pie had noticed me come through Ponyville and you know Pinkie Pie and her desire to party and welcome everypony to town. So she threw us a party not knowing that Twilight and I were back in Equestria nor that we were ponified assuming that that's an actual word and not something I just made up. After the party, we were all ready to go back to sleep and I don't actually remember much of what happened after that but I can imagine. We kissed goodnight and it was like a switch had been thrown, suddenly I couldn't think of anything other than Twilight and she was totally focused on me. The rest of it is a bit of a haze until Luna showed up and freed us from the spell. Suffice it to say we were, " Rick made vague gestures with his hooves trying desperately not to say exactly what they were doing in the presence of the princess. She looked at him a little confused as to what he meant. He was trying to come up with a polite way of saying what happened when Twilight simply blurted it out.

"We were rutting like animals. There was no joy, no emotion, no tenderness, nothing. It was just pure animal instinct." 

"I see, " Celestia said. She picked up the silver bell and rang it again. She whispered something to the servant who promptly disappeared and returned a few minutes later with a sleepy, and slightly grumpy Luna. 

"Forgive me sister, but I needed to confirm something with you. Yesterday night when you found Twilight Sparkle and Rick in the library do you remember what you did?"

Luna sighed deeply. "They were in the process of sleeping. We opened the door, they awoke and proceeded to mate quite loudly. We sensed a spell was in the air but it was nothing familiar. We thought nothing of it at the time and simply removed it. They came back to their senses almost right away."

"You say it wasn't familiar?"

"It wasn't pony magic, or at least it wasn't entirely pony in origin. It felt strange, almost greasy as it hung in the air. It almost had the feeling of chaos about it but chaos combined with something else."

"Chaos? Like Discord's chaos?"

Luna thought for a moment then a sickly realisation came to her face. She didn't even need to respond as everypony there knew it to be true. Discord had in fact come back to Equestria but he was now in Trixie's body. This was bad for all ponies involved. Any other news Celestia might have had was put on hold. They had to find Discord before it was too late. This meant heading back to Ponyville and getting the Elements of Harmony back together.

> Plans and schemes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authors note:slight edit to the last lines of this story to better fit with the narrative.

"Celestia, think about it, " Rick said while addressing the princess. "If we go in all half-assed, making noise and not knowing where to look we're going to tip off Discord. Either he will then go into hiding or he'll launch his plan before we have a chance to do anything. What we need to do is take this slowly. You will teleport Twilight and I back to the library where we will then hide out. If Discord suspects his spell has failed or has been countered he might try something else. So long as he thinks we're  still under the influence of the spell we should be able to co-ordinate certain things from there."

"But how will you co-ordinate if you're both stuck in the library?"

"That's easy. We ask Spike to be our eyes and ears and then relay what we need through him. If needed we also get Spike to send you updates and you can contact us through him.  And think about it, we're the ones with the advantage here. We know Discord is back, we know who's body he's inhabiting and we know he's not as powerful as he's been in the past."

"Is there anything you might need from us?"

"Now that you mention it, enough of that special tea to last a week ought to be good, " Rick said with a smile. 

Moments later, they appeared back in the library and scaring Spike in the process. 

"Guys! Where were you?!? I was so worried that you had left again but this time without actually telling anypony."

"Sorry Spike, something happened last night and we had to go to Canterlot to speak with the princess. We didn't have time to leave you a message, " Twlight said.

"So lil' bro. We've got a bit of a mission for you. Do you think you're up to it?" Rick asked.

"Lay it on me big bro!" Spike replied with a smile.

Rick and Twilight explained the situation to Spike, the return of Discord, what they needed him to do and that they personally couldn't leave the library for the next few days. 

"Why's that?" Spike asked.

Twilight blushed, not wanting to give the exact reason. Rick asked Spike to follow him as he had to put the tea in the kitchen anyway and this way could let Spike know what had happened and Twilight wouldn't get so embarrassed. He gave the package to Spike as he needed his mouth free to talk.

Once out of earshot, Rick started with his story. "Last night, Discord cast a spell on the two of us which mimicked a mare going into heat. As such we were too caught up in rutting to actually do anything. Luna shows up, frees us from the spell and she then took us to speak to Celestia."

"Yeah, when a mare goes into heat it can be a rough time. Rarity went into heat last month and all I can say is it was the greatest three days of my life!, " Spike said while grinning from ear to ear.

"Bro! You dog!" Rick said with a smile. "Little brother is all grown up and wearing his big boy pants. Good for you!" he said approvingly while giving him a hoofbump. Spike blushed from the compliment even though he didn't fully understand what dogs had to do with it and why big boys necessarily wore pants.

They made their way back upstairs to finalise the details with Twilight. What they needed was a war council. 

"We need to get everypony together, but we can't make it obvious what we're doing. If Discord gets tipped off, then we're sunk. He needs to believe we're too busy to do anything which effectively gives him another two days head start."

"How about this? We get Pinkie Pie to have a party for Applejack and Rainbow Dash's coming wedding. It's a small, private affair. Close friends and family only which means all of us. When she comes to deliver our invitation she finds us... busy and tells Fluttershy. Fluttershy shows up, the rest of the fillies show up and while they're "busy" trying to get us under control we have our war council?" Twilight said.

"Isn't that relying a little too much on Pinkie Pie? As much as I love her, she's not exactly the most reliable of ponies. Besides she'd probably try to get all 'James Bond' or something and wind up being too suspicious by being out of character or something. I figure we get the word to Applejack first and let her figure a way to get all the fillies together, " Rick said.

"Or since I'm already here, I could panic and run to Rarity and she could use her magic to help out?" Spike said.

Twilight and Rick looked at each other as they had never thought to get the young dragon involved but now that he had mentioned this it made the most sense. And if Discord was somehow watching it would look a lot more realistic not to mention chaotic which is probably what he was going for in the first place.

Spike was given the go ahead. He took a deep breath to ready himself then he launched himself out of the door and ran like hell towards the Carousel Boutique. Ponies looked in surprise as he ran for all he was worth across town towards the boutique. 

While they waited for the cavalry to arrive, Rick tried to broach a subject with Twilight. "Babe, I'm going to say something right now that I don't want you to get upset with. I need you to listen and think about what I'm going to say hopefully without  
getting all emotional about it."

"That's a little hard don't you think? When somepony asks you not to get upset it means they either are going to say something stupid to get you upset or they think you're so unstable that you're going to get upset. So I can't promise you that, but I'll try to listen." 

"I guess that's the best given the situation. Okay, the spell that Discord put on us was released by Luna last night. Do you know if Discord by himself or Discord in Trixie's body would be able to sense that this spell had been broken?" Rick asked.

"Good question. I don't know."

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of so here's the next part. Can you make it appear, at least from a magic point of view that the spell is still working?"

Twilight thought for a moment and again said those words that she never liked to say, "I don't know." Her face screwed up for a moment then she said, "it's not pony magic at least not all of it so no matter what I did, without access to chaos magic I wouldn't be able to do anything."

"Okay, just wanted to make sure but we might need to be ready to put on a show if needed."

"You mean.... " Twilight made a vague gesture with her hooves to indicate something of a sexual nature. When Rick nodded she just blushed a bit which made Rick smile.

"Gotta admit it, but you look really cute when you blush, " he said which caused Twilight to redden even further. He walked over and nuzzled her lovingly. Twilight sighed as she nuzzled him back. 

The door opened at that point and Rarity, looking a little frazzled rushed in along with Spike.

"I hope you realise what it is I've done for the two of you, " she chided.

"I'm sorry? What's the problem?" Twilight asked.

"My mane Twilight dear. I haven't set it properly, " Rarity said with a haughty toss of her head.

They both looked at the alabaster fashionista in front of them and couldn't see a problem with her mane, it looked immaculate as it always did. So either she was fishing for a compliment or she actually saw a difference in how her mane normally looked.

"You look fine Rarity and if anything your lack of a perfect mane only adds to the realism we're going for."

"Oh Richard, you're too kind, " she said with a half-lidded sultry look. He glanced at Twilight who nodded as if to say, "yes, I saw it too.". Okay, he wasn't imagining it, she did just flirt with him. He felt it was odd, but Rarity always did seem to be more than just a little interested in him. But that didn't matter right now, they needed to get the rest of the fillies together.

"Okay, the next step is to get Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Rarity, go call on Fluttershy and Spike see if you can find Rainbow Dash. She might be out by Sweet Apple Acres." 

"But Twilight, that's pretty far away. It'll take me a long time to run out there. Wouldn't it be better if Rarity went?"

"Actually no, I see what Twilight is going for. The two of you are supposed to be panicking right now because neither of you knows what to do. The first thing is to contact a healer, and Flutters qualifies as this. Rarity is faster so she should go get Fluttershy. But that's not to say that we can't make this easier for you." He turned to Twilight and asked her, " babe, what if you were to teleport young Spike here partway to Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Why not all the way?" Spike asked.

"It's simple. Rarity has magic but compared to Twilight here she's a novice. If she were to teleport you, would you be able to make it all the way to Sweet Apple Acres?" 

Spike looked at Rarity, love in his eyes, and said, "she could do anything she wants."

Rarity smiled at her young lover and gave him a gentle kiss. "Thank you Spike darling, but he's right. I'm nowhere near Twilight's level when it comes to magic."

"Okay, so we get Flutters and Rainbow Dash, of course that means AJ will be showing up as well and that only leaves Pinkie Pie."

"Should one of us get her on the way back?" Rarity asked.

An slick smile came to Rick's lips and he said, "actually no, I've got a better idea."

A few moments later, Rarity and Spike ran out of the library looking as flustered as they could. They talked hurriedly, Rarity cast a spell that made Spike disappear and then she ran off as quickly as she could towards the Everfree forest and Fluttershy's place. Had anypony been watching this little charade they would have noticed that the aura that surrounded Spike before he disappeared was not the light blue that surrounded Rarity's horn. Some pony was watching but luckily for our heroes, this pony never thought about it.

Discord was currently sitting in the town square, seemingly enjoying the company of Sunrunner but keeping a close eye on the library as well as whether or not a human would show up in Ponyville. When Spike ran out of the library earlier towards the Element of Generosity he allowed himself a small smile. Obviously the young dragon had discovered the two ponies rutting like animals and didn't know what to do next. He ran to see one of the other holders of the elements and a few moments later they both ran back to the library. "Maybe there's a little bit of fun to be had here, " he thought. So he cast a small spell on the unicorn. Like last night, it wouldn't be immediately noticeable but the unicorn would attempt flirt shamelessly with any and all stallions.

He waited a few minutes longer before seeing the unicorn and the dragon leave. When the dragon was teleported away and Generosity ran away he guessed that they were going to round up more ponies, possibly the rest of the elements. Discord of course didn't want to be around all of them at the same time so he got up to leave. 

Trixie however, being a magician herself, did notice the difference in aura when Spike was teleported away. She resisted the urge to laugh and gloat knowing that whatever they had planned required her to keep her mouth shut.

As Discord made his way with Sunrunner walking meekly behind, he did notice the door of the library open and the brown stallion take a few shaky steps outside. His eyes were glazed and wild at the same time, there were flecks of froth about his lips, and every step he took looked like it took an inequine amount of willpower. The stallion was breathing heavily, but with each step he seemed a little more able and a little less manic. There was a whining / whinnying sound coming from the library as if the mare was somehow trapped and unable to get to her stallion. The sound of hooves bucking at the walls and books hitting the floor brought a smile to his lips.

"Ah, how easily these ponies are led and how easily I shall take this world back from them, " he gloated as he carefully made his way through the town still on the hunt for the elusive human. He passed by the stallion and just for a moment stopped and looked at him. There was something odd about him. He was just so... plain looking. In a land where ponies were every colour of the rainbow, this one had the ordinary colouring of a horse. The stallions typically didn't stand out like the mares did and yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that this stallion was not what he appeared to be. Almost as if he didn't  
belong. 

Rick slowly made his way over to Sugarcube Corners, trying desperately to stay in character just in case Discord was watching. He didn't know what Trixie looked like so he was on the look for an azure pony with a silvery mane. It was then with some trepidation that he felt really exposed when a silvery-blue pony with an azure mane started to pass him by then stopped and began to examine him. The caramel coloured pony with her seemed to shrink away from this large, crazy looking stallion so Rick decided to take his acting to another level.

He turned his head to the unicorn and started sniffing at her while dialing up the crazy to 11. His breath coming in ragged gasps he took one trembling step towards her, still sniffing at her like crazy before her nerve broke and she trotted casually away with a dismissive air. The caramel coloured pony with the sunny cutie mark trotted away with her as if caught in her wake. 

Turning back towards Sugarcube Corner, Rick couldn't help but feel like he had come face to face with the biggest threat he had faced so far. It wasn't anything concrete, but he had spent close to a year in Equestria and that unicorn didn't react like any pony he knew. Filing it away for future reference, he made his way to Sugarcube Corner and to Pinkie Pie. Luckily the shop was nearly empty and when the last customers left he was able to drop the act.

"Oh Hi Ricky Sticky Licky!" Pinkie Pie giggled. "What can I do for you today?"

"Hey Pinkie, we don't have much time but Twilight and I need you at the library. There's something there we need to discuss."

"Oooh! Is it a secret?" she said bouncing up and down. 

"Yes Pinkie, it's a secret meeting. Just us and the rest of the fillies. Nopony can know about this. So I need you to go there and I'll meet you there soon. It's going to take me a little while to go back."

"Why's that? Did you hurt yourself? Or, " she leaned in conspiratorially and asked, " or did Twilight get too rough with you last night?" She finished it off with a wicked leer.

A little embarrassed and off balance by her questioning he could only respond with a  "whaa?"

"Oh don't be so bashful. I heard you two last night. I came by the library because I had forgotten something and I heard the two of you having fun upstairs. It sounded pretty intense so I thought I'd come by later today to get my thing. And wouldn't you know it? I didn't forget it at all and it was sitting in my room the whole time!" She giggled.

"No... yes... I mean no this sorta doesn't have anything to do with last night but never mind all that we'll explain it all later when we're all there."

Pinkie went about gathering a few things such as cupcakes and some party favours. "It might not be a party but that's no reason we can't have some fun and food at the same time!" she said brightly as she trotted happily out of the cafe.

"I swear I will never understand that filly, " Rick said to nopony in particular as he headed out back to the library.

Twilight in the meantime had been watching through one of the windows and every so often would kick the wall, throw some books around or scream. Passing ponies would take a look but then long-time residents of Ponyville had learned a long time ago that some weird stuff went on in that library so they just ignored it. This did allow her to watch Rick's progress across the town square. He was really selling his role, maybe overdoing it a bit when that filly stopped and stared at him. There was something familiar about her, but she couldn't place the mane or the coat. It wasn't until she turned and trotted away that Twilight saw what was left of her cutie mark. It had been badly burned but it looked deliberate. The fire was just too perfectly placed so practically obscure the entire thing. And while she couldn't see the other side, she was sure that it would have been burned away as well. 

She was going to continue on this train of thought when Rainbow Dash barrelled in with AJ hot her hooves. Spike hopped off AJ's back moaning about his aching scales. 

"Okay, we're here! What's so important that Spike had to ruin my nap?" Dash asked.

"Right now we need to wait until everypony is here, " Twilight said. "Now if you'll excuse me for a moment." With that she continued bucking at the walls and screaming a few times.

"Yew feelin' all right there sugarcube?" AJ asked.

"Fine. We'll explain later when all ponies are here."

In short order Rarity showed up with Fluttershy and almost immediately after Pinkie Pie came bounding in. Rick brought up the rear, practically breaking down the door. 

"I wanted to make it look like I had finally lost whatever resistance I had and it was too strong for me, " he said.

"Now will somepony please tell us what the buck is going on?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Please Rainbow Dash, language!" Rarity said while giving Rick more than just a simple once over. 

Twilight noticed this but didn't think much of it at the point. She knew that Rarity had a bit of a thing for Rick in his human form, although it was possibly just because of his fingers. However, they needed to explain everything and what had been going on.

"We needed you here today because we think that Discord is back." Shock rippled through the fillies and each took it in their own way. AJ looked determined, Rainbow Dash looked like she was ready to fight, Rarity gasped in surprise, Fluttershy squeaked and tried to hide and Pinkie Pie started singing "Chocolate Rain".

"That's not the worst of it. We think he's hijacked Trixie's body." Suddenly the mood got a lot more sombre. So sombre in fact that Pinkie stopped singing in mid-verse.

"And on top of it all, there was a spell cast on Rick and myself last night at the party that mimicked me going into heat. If it wasn't for the timely arrival of Princess Luna we'd probably still be going. We don't know if this was planned specifically because of Discord's arrival or if he simply got bored and decided to spread some chaos. And speaking of chaos, Rarity? What the buck do you think you're doing?"

Rarity looked up at Twilight and asked, "why, whatever do you mean darling?"

"You're rubbing up against my husband like a mare in heat... oh crap!" and with those words she grabbed Rarity in a bubble of magic.

"Twilight Sparkle, you let me go this instant!" Rarity shouted from within the bubble.

"Not until I'm sure you're normal." She probed the alabaster unicorn with her magic and now that she knew what she was looking for was able to sense the tendrils of chaos energy that seemed to writhe lazily around Rarity's head. With a blast from her horn, the tendrils disappeared and Rarity seemed to come back to normal.

"What? Twilight? Why am I in this bubble?" Rarity asked.

"I'm guessing she was zapped as well?" Rick asked.

"Something like that and next time we might not be so lucky. Speaking of which, " Twilight turned and faced the rest of the ponies gathered there as well as Spike. "I'm going to need to check you all for chaos magic. You won't feel a thing." She scanned each pony as well as Spike and Rick for any residual chaos but couldn't find any more. "Looks like you're all clean. So now we get down to business."

"Okay sugarcube, so whut do we do first?"

"Well, the first thing to do is to find Trixie. She's going to have to be around here somewhere."

"But where do we look? She could be anywhere, " Rainbow Dash said.

"Excuse me..., " Fluttershy started before Rarity cut her off.

"And who is to say that she looks the same way? All she has to do is dye her mane and change the style and nopony would recognise her."

"Maybe I..., " Fluttershy tried to say before Pinkie Pie spoke instead.

"I know! I know! We'll have a fancy dress up party where everypony shows up in a costume and mask and when everypony takes their mask off we grab her!" 

"I think I know..., " again nopony paid any attention to Fluttershy as she desperately tried to make herself known. Finally after all the other ponies kept talking for the next few minutes she had enough.

Calling back on her training with Iron Will she took a deep breath and said as loudly as she could, "everypony shut up and listen to me!" Unfortunately, she never really mastered volume and it came out more as a normal speaking voice. Fortunately it was loud enough for the rest of them to hear her so almost as one, the group turned around to face her. Unfortunately, this being Fluttershy she shrank back under their gaze and tried her best to be invisible.

"Fluttershy, darling. Did you have something to tell us?"

Fluttershy, barely looking Rarity in the eye, nodded her head slightly.

"Is it concerning Trixie?"

Again, she nodded.

"Would you be able to tell us?"

Again, she nodded and if it was possible seemed to shrink inside herself even more. 

The assorted ponies waited for her to speak but as she wasn't forthcoming with the information. 

"Fluttershy, we really need you to talk to us. I know you're uncomfortable with this being at the centre of attention and all but tell you what. Can you whisper it in my ear and I'll tell everypony what you know?" Twilight asked. 

Fluttershy nodded meekly and Twilight trotted over to see her. She leaned over and whispered something in Twilight's ear. Twilight's face went blank when she heard what Fluttershy had told her. 

"You're kidding me. Really?"

Fluttershy just nodded her head and Twilight just hung her head as if in defeat.

"I should have thought of this, but she's in the same place she was when we fought the last time."

"You mean the place where you kicked her butt?" 

Twilight just nodded.

"So what are we waiting for? We hit Discord with a pre-emptive strike. Buck him up and down when he's not ready for us then BLAM!, " Rainbow Dash punched the air for emphasis, " we knock him down with the Elements of Harmony."

They thought about this for a few minutes, had some cupcakes and discussed the pros and cons of such an action. It was true that hitting Discord with a pre-emptive strike would be preferable to him attacking first but would it not be better going in with an actual battle plan?

"One thing I think we're all missing is how did Flutters find out about this? I'm not saying she's wrong, but I just find it's a little convenient that we just so happen to find out where Discord is hiding out just as we're trying to figure out how to get him."

" mumble mumble mumble..." Fluttershy mumbled.

"Didn't quite catch that Flutters."

"She said that one of her animal friends told her, " Twilight said.

"And how did her animal friend know that this was Trixie?"

" mumble mumble mumble..." Fluttershy mumbled once more. If it was possible for her to hide completely behind her mane she would have by now.

"The burrow belonged to a bear and Trixie bucked him out of there when she came by last time. This time around it was a different looking pony that did it but she smelled the same."

"I guess that makes sense. So, what do we do now?" Rick asked.

The general consensus was to confront Discord, use the Elements of Harmony on him and if couldn't turn him to stone then maybe exorcise his essence from Trixie. The Elements of Harmony were gathered by the fillies and now they were ready.

Bravely they marched, or flew in the case of Rainbow Dash, to that area just out of town where Twilight had defeated Trixie so long ago. They were determined not to let this continue longer than it had to and to deal with Discord immediately.

Silently they entered the burrow, there was a light further on down and they could hear some voices talking but couldn't understand what they were saying. Further and further down they creeped until they got to a corner. They were close enough to hear Discord speaking in Trixie's voice.

"And then after that my dear Sunrunner, we shall go off just you and me and leave this dreadful place altogether. Would you like that?" Discord asked.

"Yes mistress, I would, " Sunrunner responded.

"Good, but there's just one thing that's stopping us from doing so." There was a flash of magic and all the ponies suddenly felt themselves trapped. Discord trotted around the corner and smiled evilly as he admired his handiwork. "Did you honestly think it was going to be that easy?" he said. It was quite chilling to hear Trixie speak in her normal voice but with the same intonation and style as Discord did. "I knew about your little plan and how you two had broken the rutting spell I placed on you. The minute that your little pet dragon ran out of the library to fetch his lover I knew. I must admit that your little act was very impressive. All the kicking, and yelling and you Mr. Stallion whatever your name is, your little act as you walked towards the cafe was nothing short of brilliant. Had I not known what you were doing I would have been utterly convinced you were the lust crazed stallion you appeared to be. And while you don't really matter in the long run, I'll keep you as insurance. If I have you, then your lover won't dare attack me."

The magic around Rick suddenly intensified and he felt himself starting to get cold and his hooves getting numb. To his horror he discovered he was slowly being turned to stone from the bottom of his hooves up. He struggled as best he could but was held fast. He looked desperately at Twilight who was also frozen in horror at what was happening to her husband. The process sped up and he barely had the chance to say "I love you" before his lungs turned to stone and the breath caught in his throat. He hoped his eyes could say it all before the lights went out completely and his mind froze.

"RICK!" Twilight screamed at seeing what had been done to him. "You monster! I'll kill you! Let my husband go Discord!" she thrashed about trying to get free but Discord's attention was elsewhere right now.

"Rick? That's not a pony name..., " and a big, sickly smile spread across his face. "He's the human! No wonder I couldn't find him. He had been turned into a pony!" Discord laughed in triumph, finally he was going to win! Not only did he capture the elements of harmony but he had found the elusive human after all.

"Sunrunner? Be a dear and get those baubles the ponies are wearing."

Sunrunner obeyed and one by one pulled the elements of harmony from the individual fillies. Once he had gathered them, Discord said, "goodbye ponies. Hello Equestria! Oh and by the way Twilight Sparkle, you can call me 'Eris' from here on in, " Discord... I mean Eris said as she turned her flank to reveal a golden apple where her former cutie mark resided. And in a puff of smoke she had disappeared along with Sunrunner, the Elements and the statue of Rick.

> Trust nopony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that day the ponies showed up in Canterlot. There wasn't much else they could do. With the elements of Harmony gone and Discord in a pony body maybe there was something else to try. And so, to Canterlot and Princess Celestia they had come but things were not always what they seemed.

Canterlot seemed colder somehow. The streets weren't filled with happy citizens but ponies with watchful eyes. Everywhere they went, they were met with suspicion and distrust. Had it not been for Shining Armor allowing them access to the castle, they might very well not have gotten in. 

"I can only take Twilight further, right now you girls will have to wait here, " he directed them to a sitting room not too far from the throne room. When asked why he simply said, "you need to trust me on this, the princesses will not allow more than 1 pony to see them at a time."

"So what's going on here?" Twilight asked her BBBFF as they proceeded alone down to the throne room.

"Twilly, this is not a good time for you to be here. Everywhere you look, everypony is suspicious of every other pony. I've heard tell of some have even barricaded themselves in their homes and aren't coming out for any reason. Paranoia is running rampant and there's nothing we can do."

"So how is it you're still unaffected?"

"Cadance is helping with that. You remember at our wedding, how we defeated the changelings?"

"Sure, the power of your love was enough to drive them away."

"Exactly, for the past week we've been performing that spell every night and every day it gets less and less effective. Last night we were barely able to cover the castle. I shudder to think what's going to happen tonight. In any case, here we are, " and he led her directly to the throne room where Celestia was currently having some heated words with Luna.

"Every day it's the same thing, " Shining Armor said. "Luna comes in after Celestia has raised the sun, says something and it devolves into a pointless argument that can last for hours. Yesterday it was about how the royal gardeners were using too much fertiliser in the rose garden."

"We are telling you sister dear, that it behooves us to be this way."

"But darling sister, how can you say that? Do you not hear how silly you sound?"

"Silly? There be nothing silly about it. We are after all the protector of the night and the Goddess of the Moon! Why shouldst I not have a signal to inspire fear and terror in those that would otherwise bring trouble to our land?"

"But a 'Luna signal'? I don't even know what that means and yet it sounds like something out of a comic book."

"Excuse me Celestia? Luna?" Twilight called trying to take the princesses minds off the current affairs.

"Of course, it's little miss perfect Twilight come to tell us how wrong we are, " Celestia scolded.

"Verily sister, we must admit that thine student has maybe grown too big for her station and needs to be taken down a bit!"

"What? " Twilight shook her head in disbelief at what she was hearing. "I came back because I needed your help!"

"Help? She needs help! The Element of Magic needs help from us? Why whatever could we do to help such a powerful individual?" Celestia mocked.

"Sister, please don't be so rash. If this little upstart needs our help then maybe we can find time to listen to her prattle."

"Was she talking to you? No, she was talking to me!"

"I was talking to both of you! But if neither of you can take the time from your busy schedules to actually do some work for your subjects then maybe we need to start to hold free elections!" Twilight cried. She knew this was wrong that the princesses shouldn't be fighting and she wasn't helping but it was as if she couldn't stop herself. For the next few minutes the princesses & Twilight continued to bicker. 

Shining Armor pushed Twilight out of the room while she continued to yell and shout at the princesses only to have her recover in mid recrimination once they were gone. 

"What just happened?"

"The same thing that happens once the princesses run out of steam. One of them huffs off to go to her room to sleep. When they get together it starts off normally but then one of them says something and an argument erupts."

"It's Discord, it has to be." She looked at her brother and told him what happened to the Elements of Harmony and to Rick and how they hoped the princesses could help in getting them back.

"Sounds about right. Twilly, " he leaned in conspiratorially, " Cadance and I are leaving tonight after we cast the spell and Luna has raised the moon. I don't want to leave my post, but our foal is going to be born soon and I don't want them to be here when it happens."

Twilight looked at her brother and said, "okay. See if you can make it to Ponyville. There's room at the library for the two... I mean three of you. And if for whatever reason I'm not there, go out to Sweet Apple Acres and tell them that I sent you. They'll help you out." 

The two siblings hugged, wished each other good luck and went on their way. Twilight picked up the fillies and they left Canterlot, maybe for good.

Upon arriving back at Ponyville, they noticed that this town too had changed. Although it wasn't as obvious as it was in Canterlot, it definitely wasn't the welcoming and friendly Ponyville they had left the day before. Some of the shops were closed, others showed signs of damage and a few looked like they had been abandoned completely. Rarity rushed off to the Carousel to check up on it and Twilight sped off to the library. What they found was not what they had hoped to see. 

Rarity found the place barricaded and a very determined, not to mention wounded young dragon protecting it.

"Spike!" she shouted when she saw her lover all scratched and bruised. 

He looked up at her, one of his eyes black and swollen so badly he couldn't open it. "Rarity?" he asked weakly. He smiled on seeing her again and tried to hobble over to see her. 

"Oh, my poor Spikey Wikey!" she said, nuzzling him and giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. "What happened?"

"A lot of the townsponies just went crazy and started attacking other ponies and destroying shops and houses. I was on my way here from the library when it started so I tried to protect this place as best I could. Sorry I couldn't do a better job of it, " he finished sadly, his head drooping.

"Nonsense Spike, you did everything you could, " Rarity said encouragingly. "The shop means nothing to me and can always be rebuilt, you on the other hoof are much more important, " she kissed him gently again for good measure.

His eyes shining bright with unshed tears, Spike beamed at the compliment and he felt like he could die a happy dragon now if need be. They entered the Carousel, collected what they could then left to join the rest of the fillies.

Twilight too was shocked at the state of the library. Books had been cast about, some windows were smashed and there was crude graffiti all over the walls but beyond that, no other damage she could see. Carefully getting a few books and belongings, she too walked out of the library and went to join the rest of the fillies. Ponyville just wasn't safe for the moment. The next stop would be Sweet Apple Acres.

They walked in silence as they headed towards the farm. Applejack was worried about her family but Rainbow Dash did her best to comfort her. "C'mon AJ. Your family is more than able to take care of themselves. Big Mac alone could take on 10 ponies without a problem. Nopony in their right mind would attack him!"

"That's what I'm worried about. These ponies ain't in their right minds!" Applejack replied. But the further they got from Ponyville, the better they seemed to feel as if the chaos and the strife that affected the ponies was confined simply to that area. By the time they had reached Sweet Apple Acres any negative feelings they had were gone. 

"Alright everypony, we're home for the moment. Now we ain't got much room in the house for all y'all but the barn is big enough and we've got plenty of straw so why don't all you ponies go stake yourself a claim in there while we go inside to rustle up some vittles." Applejack said bringing Rainbow Dash with her. The rest of the ponies wandered over to the barn where they'd be staying until all of this blew over.

Eris had been very busy over the past few days. Her chaos magic was still not enough to warp reality and she feared that while in this pony body she might never have access to it again but Trixie on the other hand was a fair sorceress. Not as powerful as Twilight Sparkle or the Princesses of course but she had raw power that he could exploit and use.

It had been over 1000 years, but she remembered this part of the Everfree forest once had a large fort, fashioned from stone that the humans had built. It was crude, especially compared to the caste at Canterlot but it provided protection and a place from which she could work. Given time it might become the centre of a new capital from which to rule her land and later the world.

Her magic probed the earth, searching for the stones that used to stand here. Some were missing or destroyed over the centuries but others still existed and those still carried within them the memory of the fort. And with a mighty blast of pink light, the very earth rumbled beneath her hooves as the stones were thrust from the ground and one by one they were recombined together along with new stones to recreate the keep in all its monstrous glory. Mighty trees were hewn and fashioned into planks to recreate the door, iron torn from the very ground itself was driven into the wood to fasten it all together.

Evil, triumphant laughter poured over the land as the fort was made whole. 

"Come slave, and bring that statue with you. I want to try something, " Eris said as she walked into her new home. Weighed down with the weight of the statue Sunrunner followed after her, his legs trembling with the strain. 

Placing the statue in the room she had selected, Eris slowly walked around it admiring her handiwork. "We're going to try something with it later. Until then, we need to go shopping."

"Shopping mistress?"

"Yes, I'm going to need a bed and some blankets and sheets. You don't expect me to sleep on the ground do you?"

"No mistress. Of course not mistress."

"That's a good slave. Eris will have to give you a treat tonight, would you like that?"

"Yes mistress, very much mistress, " Sunrunner said with unbridled eagerness.

The two headed towards the nearest place where they could get what they needed which unfortunately was Fluttershy's cottage. It didn't take long to get there and with the exception of Angel Bunny keeping watch over the cottage, there was no opposition to their taking what they needed. It took several trips, but in the end they had raided Fluttershy of her bed, blankets, sheets, pillows and food. Angel Bunny tried to put up a defence but in the end he was easily dispatched. Although he did manage to flip them the bird before scampering away.

Meanwhile back at Sweet Apple Acres.

"Guys! You will not believe what I just saw!" Rainbow Dash said as she streaked to a halt in the air above the orchard where Applejack and Twilight were. "Eris raised a huge castle thing straight up from the ground in the Everfree forest!"

"A castle?"

"Well, maybe a fort or something. It looked kinda old, and blocky and made from stones. I've never seen anything like it before."

"Can you show us Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, the leader in her coming once again to the front.

"Sure, follow me!"

As they ran, Applejack asked, "shouldn't we tell the other fillies?"

"No. Rarity won't come, her mane will get all mussed up and Fluttershy is still hovering around Big Mac."

"What about Pinkie Pie? " Applejack asked only to realise that it was a silly question when Twilight gave her a look. This was something that called for stealth and if necessary cunning. Pinkie Pie for all of her inner strength had none of those qualities so it fell to these three fillies to see what Eris had wrought.

They bypassed Ponyville, the last thing they wanted to see right now was the condition of their town but also if Eris had managed to turn some of the villagers they didn't want this information getting back to her. It didn't take long, running cross country to reach the Everfree forest and to see Eris' fort. 

Twilight took one look at it and immediately recognised it as being human in style. She had seen several examples of this while they were in Europe and in some of the movies Rick liked to watch. Somewhere in that fort was Eris but more importantly to Twilight somewhere in that fort was her husband and she was determined to get him back. 

The fillies held back, hidden in the brush while trying to get a better look at the fort and not get spotted or seen in the process. They shouldn't have worried because from their vantage point they saw Eris and her helper bringing what appeared to be furniture from Fluttershy's cottage. 

"Why's she stealing Fluttershy's stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I guess there's nothing left of that place other than the stones. She's going to need to sleep somewhere and cold stone isn't all that comfortable, " Twilight said.

"No, I mean why Fluttershy's stuff? It's nice and all, but I would have thought an evil thing like Eris would want something... I don't know... darker and more dangerous looking. Fluttershy's things are just so... girly."

"Ah'm sure she don't care about fashion and a bed's a bed. So we know where she is, the question is how do we get in?"

"We're going to have to come back later with the rest of the fillies, that's for sure, " Twilight said, her voice cracking a bit near the end.

Applejack put her hoof around Twilight's shoulders and said, "Ah'm sure he's fine at the moment. We'll rescue him, don't you worry none. Besides, that stallion of yours is a tough customer. He ain't gonna give Eris no satisfaction."

Twilight sniffled a bit and smiled at her friend. "Thanks Applejack. You always know the right thing to say." Reluctantly she turned around and trotted back to the farm, followed by Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

Inside the fort, Eris was doing a little redecorating.

"No, over more towards the window slave! That's too far, bring it back a bit, " she ordered Sunrunner who was busy trying to move her bed into the right position. It really didn't matter where the bed was located, she just wanted to mess with him.

Sunrunner strained under the load to move all the items like his mistress wanted. He didn’t mind, he worshipped the ground she walked on with her dainty hooves. Nothing she could ever say or do to him could change that so he gladly followed her every whim until she finally said the location of the bed was fine. 

Turning to other matters, she went downstairs to check out the statue of the human. He was a fine looking stallion, but she required a human so that meant two spells. The first was simple enough, the changing of him back from stone. The second one, changing him to be human might take a little longer but first things first. 

An aura of pink light surrounded her horn and a bale of straw broke apart and fell to the floor right next to the statue. Next, some large chains embedded themselves in one of the stone pillars. From the ends she fashioned some large manacles which she then attached to the hooves of the statue. Once they were secure, a quick blast from her horn and the statue came back to life.

"... love you!" said Rick before realising he was no longer in the cave and seemed to be in some old castle somewhere.

"Thank you Rick, that's so kind of you to say, " Eris said with a false smile.

"Where the bloody hell am I? Why am I chained? What the hell is going on here?" he demanded.

"You're in my fort. So you can't escape. And I need you for something, " Eris said, answering each question in turn.

Rick struggled against the chains but only succeeded in drawing blood from the manacles.

"I do wish you'd stop that. I need you alive and healthy for what's coming next. And just to make sure you don't try anything while I'm working..." Eris cast a small spell that immediately knocked Rick out onto the pallet of straw and sent him to sleep. 

"Tomorrow, you become human once again and then the fun is really going to start." Eris brought out a small chest into which the Elements of Harmony had been placed. Hopefully, one of these might help her in breaking the human, or if she couldn't use them directly then maybe the despair he'd feel would help. No matter, there was no way for those ponies to get inside this fort. They'd need an army to do so and nopony nearby would even consider joining up. Too much distrust among the citizens of Ponyville and Canterlot. If those fillies had to raise an army, they'd have to go really far afield to do so and they were running out of time. In a few days, once the human had been broken, all of Equestria would be hers and soon after, the world.

Maniacal laughter rolled through the fort and into the forest. Bad things were coming.

> The Best Laid Plans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The fillies slowly made their way back to Sweet Apple Acres in a rather sombre mood. If fighting Eris directly before was going to be hard especially without he Elements of Harmony, storming her fort and then fighting her without the Elements of Harmony was going to be even harder if not impossible.

"We need to raise an army! We get every pony from Equestria. Then we get the ponies from other countries. Once we have them all, we take down Eris and kick her butt!" Rainbow Dash said.

"And how do y'all propose we do that sugarcube? If'n you haven't noticed we can't get the Princesses to talk to us much less the folks in Ponyville and they all know us. Howd'ya think we get these other ponies to even listen?"

"Well, we can start with to your family in Appleloosa and the buffalo tribes. I've got Cloudsdale to work with. Pinkie Pie can speak to her family down on the rock farm. Then we get them to speak to their friends and family and by the time we're done we've got an army! And Fluttershy can even call on the animals to help. It'll be a cinch!"

"Yeah, an army of squirrels and birds is really going to help against Eris, " Applejack said dryly.

"Well if you have any better ideas, why don't you tell us?"

"Sugarcube, I'm just a farmer. I buck apples for a livin'. The pony you need to talk to is our resident expert on everything and that's Twilight."

"Yeah, good luck with that now. She hasn't said a word since we left the Everfree Forest."

And it was true, Twilight was currently deep in thought and trying to work out a strategy.

The only ponies they could count on, she thought, were those at the farm. Big Mac was potentially out of the running after a gang of ponies swarmed him when he brought the weekly harvest to town on market day. He was tough, and managed to get away without much injury but she doubted Fluttershy would allow him to do anything strenuous. They couldn't count on Apple Bloom or Granny Smith as they were too young and too old respectively so really that only left the six of them. Only six fillies against a primordial entity with the ability to warp minds. It wasn't a comforting thought but she knew she could come up with something. She just needed the time to do so.

As they walked on the road towards the farm they noticed a couple of ponies walking ahead of them. They weren't dressed as they normally did, in fact some effort had gone into making them look different. But there was no mistaking the way the stallion marched ramrod straight and totally mindful of his very pregnant alicorn wife.

"Shining Armor! Cadance!" Twilight cried as she recognised them and ran forth to greet them. Her worries forgotten for the moment, she revelled in the sight of her big brother and sister-in-law. Both of them turned at once at hearing Twilight call out their names and a smile replaced the frown of suspicion on Shining Armor's face when he saw who it was that called them.

"It's so great to see you! I was so worried you wouldn't be able to make it out of Canterlot!"

"It wasn't easy, but we did manage to leave without too much trouble. The trip through Ponyville was not welcome. I was afraid for Cadance's life just as we left the library. A group of ponies had been following us since we entered the town and we were surrounded. We did our love blessing and that seemed to work well enough for us to leave but it was scary. We slowly made our way here."

"The entire town felt different, but once we were outside the town on our way here the feeling just seemed to vanish. It's almost as if only Ponyville and Canterlot are being affected in this way, " Cadance said.

Twilight and the other fillies just nodded as they had felt the same thing too and which was why they didn't want to go back to Ponyville just yet.

They chatted pleasantly enough, taking their time to get back to Sweet Apple Acres due to Candace's condition. She insisted she was okay, but Shining Armor was being extra cautious. She was due this week and he didn't want to risk her or their unborn foal with moving too quickly. In time they did reach the farm and Candace gladly sat down in the parlour while Applejack ran off to get some refreshments.

Twilight discussed the current issue they faced and how they were going to need to raise an army to deal with Eris. 

"You might be biting off more than you can chew Twilly. Raising an army is not an easy task. Soldiers are going to want to be paid, and they're going to need to be fed."

"But what if we ask them to fight for their families and the future of Equestria?"

"You'll find soon enough that ponies that fight only for a cause are few and far between. Trying to convince a large group to fight your battle, for some pony they don't know and have never met is not going to work. And by the time you do raise them you might be too late. You'd be better off hiring some mercenaries and sending in a small commando squad to break in. A large army takes up too much space and makes too much noise."

Twilight started to tear up. She knew her brother was right, he was after all a soldier and knew these things better than her. But there had to be a way for them to break in.

To that end, Rainbow Dash was effectively drafted as their scout. She'd do some flyovers of the fort to see if maybe there was a way intelligence they could exploit. Maybe a gully or river passed under the walls of the fort which they could use to get in. Shining Armor offered his services as well. With his training he might be able to see something that the others couldn't. In the meantime, they were to prepare the farm for a siege. Eris wasn't a fool and once she had total control of Ponyville, the next step would be to expand her influence and Sweet Apple Acres would be the next logical place to continue. This meant bucking lots of apples and harvesting all the crops they could in the event that they had a mob at their doorstep and needed to hole up for a while. Everypony went to work while the scout and the soldier went about their respective tasks.

Later that evening, Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor showed up at the farm. Both of them were tired and didn't have good news.

"The only way in is the front door. I explored the entire area, there is no back way, window or secret passageway. But we did see something interesting. Ponies from Ponyville have been bringing tributes to Eris and then leaving them by the door."

"What kind of tribute?" Twilight asked.

"Some of it is really weird. Like you'll have a pony bring some food and the next one will bring a clock. Then you get two carrying a basket of old rags. I saw some gems and some other glittery or good looking things but most of them were just bringing ordinary stuff, " Rainbow Dash said.

"Could it be they're bringing things that Eris needs?" Spike asked.

"Maybe, but what would she need with a clock and some old rags? No, my guess is these ponies are under her control and they're simply bringing things, " Twilight said. 

Applejack came in then to tell them that dinner was ready and they all marched back into the house. It was getting rather crowded in the farmhouse with so many ponies there that they were all over the place. Some were in the kitchen, others in the parlour, the dining room and even a couple were sitting outside on the porch having dinner there. 

Planning and strategising went on through dinner and well into the night afterwards. Some of the ponies had already gone to sleep. Applejack had graciously given her room to Candace and Big Mac had helped to move his bed into the room so that Shining Armor could stay there with his wife just in case she needed help during the night. This meant that they were also staying in the barn with the rest of them. 

Twilight yawned broadly and thought to herself how she would kill for a cup of coffee right now. She did have some of the special tea left over that Celestia had given them but she had slowly been working her way through this and gently reducing the dose to reduce her dependence on caffeine. She remembered the last time she went through caffeine withdrawal when the portal in the library had vanished and the headaches that came with it. If they were going to be in Equestria long, she couldn't be addicted to caffeine especially if she didn't have a constant source of it.

"I think we're done here tonight, " Shining Armor said. "We're both tired and we'll think better after a good night's sleep."

"I guess you're right. G'night, " Twlight said as she trotted out to the barn. Some of the ponies were currently asleep or were getting ready for it. She glanced at the couples there, Rarity & Spike, Big Mac & Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash & Applejack that she couldn't see as they were in the hayloft and it made her miss Rick even more than before. Pinkie Pie noticed her look and in a moment of seriousness motioned her over. 

"You look like you need a hug, " she said as she hugged her friend.

"Thanks Pinkie Pie, " as she hugged her friend back. 

"We'll get him back and everypony will be happy again. You'll see." 

Twilight sniffled a bit, squeezed her friend tight and then let go. "I know, it's just we haven't spent a night apart since we started dating. Then I see all the other ponies here and they're all sleeping with their loved ones and it reminds me of Rick...," she trailed off and sighed deeply.

"I know I can't replace him, but if you're looking for a warm body to sleep next to I can provide that." 

"You wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not silly! You just keep your hooves to yourself because I'm not that kind of filly!" Pinkie Pie responded in a way which was more her usual self.

"Thanks Pinkie Pie. I appreciate this, " Twilight said as they sank down on the straw. It was true, Pinkie Pie couldn't replace Rick. Her scent was completely different and she had hooves instead of hands but her presence was comforting and before she knew it, Twilight had fallen asleep.

The next morning brought new hope and new despair. Hope in the sense that maybe today they'd figure out a way to defeat Eris and despair because they were 1 day closer to her taking over all of Equestria. 

Eris was so excited that she practically skipped downstairs. Today was the day she turned that pony back to his human form and he would be the instrument of Equestria's downfall. 

She walked into the hall where he was sleeping, Sunrunner following closely behind with all the elements she needed for the spell. Without waking up the sleeping human she placed the items around the pallet where he slept and started. 

Rick was suddenly jolted awake and immediately wished he hadn't. His entire body was in agony, as if somebody had dipped every nerve in acid. He tried to scream, but all that came out was silence. It felt like his body was being torn apart. As if every bone was being broken in a thousand places, being pulled apart and quickly reset only to be broken again and the process repeated. Had he the presence of mind, he would have felt the manacles slip off his hooves as his bones shifted and changed back to arms and legs with the accompanying appendages. But no, the pain was just overwhelming to the point where nothing else could have penetrated his consciousness. And with a suddenness that left him dizzy it stopped.

He lay there, covered in sweat and shaking like a leaf. Something foul reached his nostrils and he realised to his humiliation that during this process he had soiled himself. Gentle hooves helped to clean him up as best they could and the dirty straw was brought away. He felt the cold iron once again clasp around his arms and legs.... he glanced up at his body and saw that he was once again human. Collapsing back on the straw he drew in air in deep gulps. His head ached with a deep throbbing pain that he knew was the beginnings of his caffeine withdrawal. This was absolute torture and he thought the day couldn't possibly get any worse than this. 

Eris smiled, in part because she relished the pain and suffering of the human in front of her but also because now that he was human the second part of her plan could be put into motion. She sat down next to him, readied herself and reached into his mind only to be driven back by something. She tried again and once again was unable to grasp his mind. She couldn't understand it. He was only human and couldn't have mental shields that strong and yet there they were.

She pulled out the Element of Magic from the chest and placed it on her head. Thinking maybe this would be enough to shift things in her favour but she couldn't make it work. Fiddling with the other elements also didn't help. She threw them back into the chest, marched over to Rick and smacked him across the face. This brought new tears to his eyes as the pain in his head increased from the shock.

"You're only making it harder on yourself, " Eris said. "The more you resist me, the worse off it's going to be for you in the end. Do you understand me?"

Rick just lay there, breathing deeply and in terrible pain. He knew what was going on around him although he didn't grasp what exactly Eris wanted but this didn't stop him. He looked at her through the haze of pain, gritted his teeth and said simply, "go to hell".

Enraged, Eris blasted him with her horn and he fell blissfully unconscious. Chuckling evilly to herself Eris tried once again to reach his mind, thinking that whatever shields he might have had would have disappeared when he lost consciousness only to find herself in the same situation. She yelled her fury to the skies then proceeded to take out her frustrations on Sunrunner. The poor pony just lay there and accepted his punishment which angered her even more. Finally she stormed out of the room. Maybe cooling down a bit would help matters.

Later on, when Rick came back to consciousness he wished he hadn't. The pain in his head was as bad as ever. Somepony, possibly Sunrunner, had brought him some food but the idea of eating was just too nauseating at the moment. There was also a pile of soft blankets and cool sheets sitting by the chair for some unknown reason. 

There was enough give in the chains round his wrists to bring them to his forehead. The cold iron gave some minor relief to his symptoms but didn't make much of a dent in the pain. So he continued to lay there, wallowing in his misery. 

He lay there for an unknown period of time, more than anything the boredom of just lying there was really getting on his nerves. As a distraction he tried to recall and recreate Twilight's voice in his mind but the pain that was currently lacerating his brain with a dull kitchen knife made concentrating difficult. Every so often he'd awake from what he assumed was a cat-nap but there was no way to tell time or how long he'd been asleep. It could have been 5 minutes or an hour. 

At one of these points he came awake and noticed that Eris was just sitting there watching him. He decided that if she was so interested in him he might as well find out why.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked weakly. 

"Doing what? I'm not doing a thing right now other than watching you."

"You know, you're keeping me here for a reason. Why?"

Eris just shrugged and said, "I need you to help me conquer Equestria. This body has the magical power, I have the devious mind but you have the imagination. Once I have that, I'll be able to stretch my dominion over all Equestria and then the world. But something in your mind is blocking me. I need to find out what it is and eliminate it or find a way to get around it. You might as well tell me now because it's only a matter of time before you crack or I find that one chink in your armor. Why go through all that? You'll be well taken care of, good food, a clean and comfortable bed, a filly of your choice."

The pain was so strong it was making his eyes water. Eris took this as a good sign that he was weakening but another probe and she was denied access to his mind once again.

"You may think you're strong, but in the end you're only human and that will be your undoing." With a toss of her mane she walked out of the room.

Rick knew she was right. Those mind probes of hers were strong. The only thing keeping her out was his headaches and in a day or so they'd be done. If he had to figure a way out it had to be tonight or tomorrow at the very latest. After that, he'd have nothing left to fight her with.

Evening rolled around. Rick was still chained up in Eris' fort. Eris was unable to penetrate his mind. Sunrunner was unable to penetrate his mistress and the ponies at Sweet Apple Acres were feeling down.

A whole day had gone by and they had not managed to find a way into the fort or figure out a way once there to get the elements of harmony, find Rick and defeat Eris. Dinner that night was a subdued affair. And while nopony really talked about it, some were thinking that maybe it was best that they all leave Sweet Apple Acres and get out before Eris stretched her power this far. But then the thought of everypony in Ponyville, or the Princesses or even Rick being held captive made them change their minds. 

When it got dark and the ponies had settled down for the night, Twilight found herself unable to sleep. She slipped outside, took her blanket with her and made her way to a clearing so she could watch the stars. She had always loved watching the stars, even as a little filly. They were legends and stories come to life and placed in the sky for all time.

"Stormwind the Dragon, the Great Pony, the twins Canter and Bollux, Kickem High the Trickster, the Weeping Pegasus, " she spoke the name of each constellation in turn as she traced them with her hoof. She knew all the stories, having learned them long ago. It was the enduring power of myth, how stories from the past were used to teach people in the present. She heard a crack and a thump behind her, turning around she noticed that it was simply an apple that had fallen from one of the trees. She was about to turn her gaze back to the sky when something clicked in her memory.

"It all started with an apple..."

Grinning like mad she suddenly knew how they could get into the fort, and the best part of this was Eris would actually be the one to bring them in herself!

> Beware Ponies Bearing Gifts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight burst into the barn and shouted, "I know what we need to do!"

"Go to sleep egghead, it's still dark outside! " Rainbow Dash yelled from the hayloft as she snuggled back up against Applejack. While the others had given them some privacy so they had the whole hayloft to themselves they couldn't take advantage of it what with Rainbow Dash being a bit of a screamer and Applejack being a bit of a kicker. At best they could mess around a bit, kiss and cuddle but nothing more right now and it was making Rainbow Dash a little cranky. Her wings ached for release but that was quite impossible right now so she ignored it as best she could.

"I know how to defeat Discord and rescue Rick at the same time! The answer had been staring me in the face all this time and I just never put it all together!" She was so excited that she was practically dancing in place and her hooves making clicking sounds on the floor of the barn. This had the unexpected bonus of keeping the other ponies from going back to sleep so they had no other recourse than to listen to the slightly manic unicorn who was grinning madly from ear to ear.

"Okay. Back on Earth, Rick told me about a Goddess of discord called Eris. She spread discord and strife all over the place, usually starting small but eventually it turned into wars. Rick told me one of the stories and how she caused discord among three goddesses by offering a gift to the fairest in the form of a golden apple. They all fought over it, one of them won and something happened at a wedding when a king stole another king's wife. This led to a huge war, a large army was raised and the battle lasted for years. The offenders finally won by pretending to leave, but offering a gift to the defenders in the form of a giant horse. But the horse was hollow and when night fell, they broke out of the horse, took the city and won the war."

"I don't get it. How does any of this help?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Everything that we've done, everything that has gone on has been because of that story. History is repeating itself or Discord in becoming Eris is somehow bound to this story. Or maybe without even realising it, Eris is following the story but doesn't know why she's doing it. Think about it. Eris shows up, causes strife and friction between the three powers in the kingdom. Celestia, Luna and ourselves. She disappears with my husband and we've been trying to raise an army to deal with her. If we go this route how many countless ponies will die in a pointless war while we all fight amongst ourselves? No, we need to stop playing Eris' game and start playing our own."

"And how do you propose we do that? " Rarity asked, one of her hooves draped protectively around the injured Spike as he dozed in her embrace.

"The first thing we're going to need is a tribute and we're sitting on it."

The rest of the fillies looked around the barn but couldn't see what Twilight was referring to until a light seemed to go off in Applejack's eyes. She rushed to the edge of the hayloft and addressed the other ponies, an annoyed Rainbow Dash following in her wake. "I get it! Blast! I should have figgured this out sooner, " when the rest of the fillies didn't seem to get it she said in an exasperated way, "apples! The whole story started with an apple and ended with a pony. Well where are we right now?"

Slowly the rest of the ponies seemed to catch on that since they were at Sweet Apple Acres that apples somehow fit with the plan but didn't know how to fit the two things together.

"We got all kinds of apples here even the golden kind. So if'n we was to bring a whole cartload o' apples to Eris then come nightfall sneak out into the camp we could take back the elements and then beat Eris at her own game." Applejack looked at Twilight for confirmation and the lavender unicorn just smiled and nodded her head. 

"When did you get to be so smart?" Rainbow Dash asked her fiance.

"I've always been smart but the smartest thing I ever did was ask you to marry me, " she nuzzled her fiance back and they shared a short kiss. Rainbow's wings fluttered gently, and it was only through great concentration that she was able to keep them from snapping to attention. Applejack looked at her and whispered, "maybe we'll need to go outside into the fields and... fly a bit?" while giving one of Rainbow Dash's wings a gentle stroke.

"When this is done, I'll fly you to the moon and back," Rainbow Dash responded huskily.

"Okay, that's all well and good but how do we get all those apples to the camp? They weigh a lot and I doubt Big Mac will be able to pull us all and the apples especially in his condition, " Rarity asked.

They glanced at Big Mac who was snoozing next to a very protective Fluttershy. Since he had finally declared his love for her, she wasn't letting him out of her sight until he was completely healed. He had tried to tell her that he might be a little scratched and banged up a bit but he was more than capable of taking care of himself. Fluttershy would have none of it and insisted on taking care of him whether he liked it or not.

"He won't do it alone. I'm sure Shining Armor would be willing to help. And besides..., " Twilight trailed off thinking back to what Rick had told her of the Trojan war. "If possible, we could always use magic to bring the cart and leave it there during the night so they come and pick us up in the morning.

"You mean we'll have to spend the entire day sitting under a cartload of apples?" Rarity asked appalled at the idea. "Why my mane alone will be ruined, not to mention the dreadful conditions with so many fillies packed in tightly with each other. We'll be lucky if we don't suffocate."

"I don't think we have a choice in the matter, " Rainbow Dash said. "We need a way in and if the two geniuses here, " referring to Twilight and Applejack, " are right, this makes the most sense. My only questions are how do we get in & out and how do we keep from getting crushed under the apples?"

"That's actually the easy part. If we take a large cart, and I mean a really large cart then build a false bottom that's large enough for us to sit in. We could cover that with the apples and then cut a hole in the bottom of the cart at night to escape."

"Then once we get out, then what? Sneak around until we find the elements and use them to defeat Eris?"

"Something like that. I haven't actually thought this all the way through. All of this, just now came to me in a dream. Rick was there, we were back in Rome and he was telling me the story of Eris. But I was a pony at the time and he was still human..." Twilight got a faraway look in her eyes as she wondered about her husband and whether or not he was okay. 

The others exchanged glances knowing full well where Twilight's mind was now. It was pointless to get her to continue while she was mooning over her husband so they either went back to sleep, lay down next to their loved ones or in the case of the two fillies who were to get married today they decided to "take a walk" under the stars and have some alone time. Nopony stopped them, after all they knew that they were all living on borrowed time anyway and the next day could be their last.

Eris' power slowly made its way across the land. Subtly infecting and corrupting those it came across. There was no real defence against it, it was simply a matter of time and even the most strong hearted and noble of all Equestrians would eventually fall to its power.

Within Eris' fort however, things were a little more... chaotic but not in the way she wanted. Eris had successfully turned Rick not only back to flesh but human once again and was now in the process of trying everything in her power to corrupt him. The bad news was he was in the middle of the worst caffeine withdrawal he had ever faced. Technically he had never actually gone all the way through one but just faced the beginnings of one. It was during his first, and only, trip to Japan to engage in 3 month’s worth of "unpaid" farm work with his girlfriend at the time. It was a long flight and he had stupidly refused any coffee during the flight in a misguided attempt to make sure he was tired when he reached Japan so he could sleep. And it worked, unfortunately due to the time difference, the stress and everything else he had gone more than 36 hours without a cup and it was only 30 minutes after drinking a coke from a local vending machine that he started to feel better. Now however, he didn't have that luxury. 

The good news was he was still pure at least in the sense of not being corrupted by Eris and right now the pain lancing through his head was possibly the only thing keeping him sane. It was also a good thing that Eris was unaware of this.

She sat there watching the human as he lay there, whimpering pathetically and attempting to turn his face away from her. Actually he was trying to turn his face away from the light which seemed to stab directly through his eyeballs directly into his brain but Eris didn't know that. 

"Is this what the humans had been reduced to? 1000 years ago they had such fire, such passion and now this pathetic excuse for a man just lies there and mewls like a baby." She tried again, vainly hoping that he'd react to her chaotic assault but nothing. He remained the same.

Deep in Eris' mind, Trixie rejoiced at seeing this. In part because the monkey that had married her Twilight was hurting but because she knew something that Discord could never have figured out. While he might have been in pain, she knew the depths of strength that this human had and this weakness of his was only temporary. When he was better, she knew he'd give Eris a run for her money. But until then, not much could be done.

Eventually Eris got bored and just left the human alone. She'd try again tomorrow. But she wanted some kind of satisfaction and Sunrunner just wasn't doing it for her anymore. The pony was so pathetic that she no longer got any enjoyment from humiliating him. He'd just take it with good grace, beg to touch her hooves and then whimper when it was denied. Maybe it was best to put him out of his misery but on the other hoof, he might be necessary later on. Best to keep him around, maybe as cannon fodder or use him as bait later.

No, Eris wanted something bigger. Something stronger. Something powerful and she knew exactly what that was. Very few actually suspect that a crowd is more than just a loose organisation of individuals. No, put enough ponies together in the same place and they become united and will start to think like 1 being. It's actually easier to get a crowd worked up than it is to get an individual worked up and where else was the best place to start but Ponyville? It had the added bonus of being really close and where those blasted Elements of Harmony lived. If some of those blasted fillies could be turned and actually turn on the others then her victory would truly be complete. Up until now she had only been able to control a small number of ponies, a few at a time. Larger groups required her to jump from one pony to the next before moving to another target. The problem is, she didn't know if she was currently strong enough to control so many ponies at once for an extended period of time. If the human were turned he might be able to grant her the power needed. Best to wait until tomorrow and see if he turns then.

Eris trotted off to her bed chamber secure in the fact that nopony here was able to resist her.

The next morning found Twilight going over plans to convert one of the large wagons on the Apple farm into their Trojan Apple Cart. There was enough room on the bottom of the wagon for all 6 fillies to fit although it would be a bit of a tight squeeze. She along with Big Mac, Apple Bloom, Shining Armor and Pinkie Pie worked on building the space under the apples where they'd hide as well as a bellows system to make sure the air was refreshed. The rest of the fillies with the exception of Cadance went about bucking as many apples as they could get. The bottom layers didn't matter too much, but the top layers had to be of the golden variety. They worked hard during the day and partially into the night before they were ready. When done, they had a glorious looking cart full of golden apples ready for the great Eris. 

Twilight then explained the plan to the rest of the ponies. "We're going to move out tonight. In order to save on weight we won't get into the wagon until we're almost at Eris' fort. Big Mac and Shining Armor will be hitched to the front but my magic will be taking most of the load, " she glanced at Fluttershy. "Don't worry, Big Mac is only going to be there for decoration. When we get to the fort and we're all inside the wagon, Spike is going to announce us. He's going to tell Eris that we're giving her these golden apples in tribute to the most fair of all Equestrians. Spike will unhook them from the cart, they'll leave and Eris will bring us inside the fort. Later, when she's asleep we sneak out, grab the Elements of Harmony and banish her."

"Sounds good sugarcube, but how do we know she's gonna do it? For all you know she's gonna to set fire to the cart and us inside it."

"But that's the thing, right now she can't. I can't explain it, but she's somehow caught in playing this role until the end. I think that's why she captured Rick. She's no longer Discord, she's now Eris and Eris is lacking in imagination. Unlike before, her chaos magic isn't able to warp reality but it is enough to play with pony's emotions and thoughts. Everything she's done up until now has been obvious which means she needs something else to give her ideas." 

"Ah'll right, if you insist but I still don't like it."

The stallions were harnessed to the wagon, Twilight Sparkle lightened the load so that they wouldn't feel the strain and the ponies set out for the edge of the Everfree forest. 

Once again, Eris went to bed fuming that she was still unable to turn the human. There had to be something wrong with him, he was so obviously weak as he hadn't even eaten anything since she brought him here and yet he continued to resist her. It was maddening. She tried to amuse herself with flogging Sunrunner but the pony almost seemed eager to receive the lash. In disgust she kicked him out of her bed chamber. That pathetic pony might wait patiently outside her door but at least she didn't have to listen to him whine. She wanted something exciting to happen and hopefully tomorrow the human would be turned.

Rick lay in the main hall, in chains trying his damndest to get comfortable on this pile of straw. He gazed longingly at the pile of sheets and blankets that Eris had promised him if he simply acquiesced. But the same pain that felt like his head was being split open from the inside and lashed his brain was the only thing that kept Eris from taking control. And for that reason and that reason alone he was grateful for his caffeine addiction. Soon the pain would be lessened, he would crack and when he did he would effectively doom Equestria to madness. It had only been two days since he was changed back from a statue to pony and from pony to human. He didn't know how long he had stayed as a statue as time had no meaning to a stone. His thoughts turned to Twilight and how much he missed her and what he would have given up to simply see her again one last time before Eris destroyed Equestria.

The wagon with the apples made its way to the Everfree forest and the shadowy fort of Eris loomed above them. No lights shone from its windows and no guards patrolled the perimeter. After all, when you've got the elemental force of strife living there it's not like you're going to get many visitors. The fillies piled into the wagon one at a time through the false bottom and Spike took his place on the top of the pile while Big Mac appeared to pull the wagon the rest of the way. 

The fillies didn't have much room to move around but at least they weren't stuck together even if Rainbow Dash and Applejack were but that was because they wanted to be. The cart slowly made its way over to the fort and Twilight kept thinking, "we're coming for you Rick. Don't give up hope yet, " over and over again.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they arrived at the gate. Spike tried to knock on the massive wooden door but it he barely made a noise on it. He unhooked both stallions from the wagon and with a couple kicks from his mighty hooves on the door Big Mac managed to announce their presence quite well.

There was silence from inside as the mighty echoes boomed through the empty hallways of the fort. For several minutes nothing seemed to happen until a small voice from a window a little ways up asked what they wanted.

Spike cleared his throat and as he had practiced gave his speech.

"Greetings! We bring this tribute of Golden Apples to the most fair Eris and ask that she take mercy on us as we recognise her as being the fairest and wisest of us all and now we must depart." Upon saying that, Spike, Shining Armor and Big Mac made their way back towards Sweet Apple Acres as fast as they could go. Sunrunner called after them to come back but it was useless as the two were too far gone.

Sunrunner ran back upstairs to see what his mistress wanted to do with the apples.

"What do you mean by apples you lowly little worm?"

"Apples mistress. There's a whole cart full of Golden apples for the most fair and wise Eris. That's what the ponies told me." Of course it was too dark for Sunrunner to have made out Big Mac or Spike so it made sense to think they were ponies.

"Apples? What kind of madness is apples?" Eris thought for a moment then said, "very well, tell them to bring them in."

"I can't do that mistress, you see they've already left, " Sunrunner said, trying desperately not to anger his mistress any more.

"Then bring them in yourself slave."

"I would if I could mistress, " he whined, " but it's much too big for me. There were at least two large ponies bringing that cart. Possibly more but I couldn't tell because it was so dark."

Eris sighed, kicked Sunrunner for good measure as she passed him by and made her way downstairs.

While all this was happening, Twilight was going over last minute preparations with the fillies. "One thing, just in case. If you hear voices outside of your family, friends or loved ones do not respond, react or say anything. That will be Eris trying to fool us. If you hear her saying anything such as she knows we're in here or that she's posting a guard or she's going to set fire to the cart don't react. She's only bluffing. We'll wait at least an hour, in silence once we've been brought in then we exit and look for the Elements of Harmony, " she whispered. "Once we get them, we confront Eris..." she trailed off at that point as she heard the front door open.

They felt the wagon moving and soon heard the door close behind them. A pony, possibly Eris, was heard trotting around the wagon looking at it but not speaking. A moment later a sound like an apple being bit into was heard and Eris trotting away. The fillies relaxed and Twilight started to count to herself, when she reached 3600 an hour would have gone by and they could exit this space.

Time seemed to stretch on and on and the darkness in the wagon seemed almost oppressive at times. After an undetermined period of time they heard a voice outside, "Twi? Are you in there? It's me Rick, I managed to escape and I've got the Elements of Harmony. C'mon out and let's take Eris down then go home." 

Twilight bit her lip to keep from crying out. That voice sounded just like him but she kept herself under control and never once made a sound.

Then another voice was heard, "Rarity? It's Spike. I found some really nice gems and I wanted you to have them. Can you come out and take a look at them?"

Rarity almost gasped, the voice was perfect! Like Twilight she struggled with herself for a moment but knew that her dear Spikey Wikey had gone off with Big Mac and were safely away from here now. It wasn't Spike, she would sit here and wait until he was gone.

"Hey Rainbow Dash!" Gilda called. "Why are you hanging with these dweebs? C'mon with me, we'll have some fun and leave these lameos behind!"

Rainbow Dash just hugged Applejack a little harder. Gilda was a good friend but calling her fiance and friends dweebs was just not cool.

"Fluttershy?" said Big Mac, "I found Angel Bunny, he's hurt and needs help. Please come out."

Fluttershy knew Big Mac was far away with Spike and she resisted the urge to go outside.

"Hey big sister! Me and the Cutie Mark Crusaders just got our cutie marks in ventriloquism. It's been us all this time, nopony else. Want to see our cutie marks?"

Applejack just shook her head. She knew that Apple Bloom was safe back at the farm. A reassuring hug from Rainbow Dash was enough to keep her spirits high.

There was a bit of a delay for the next voice as if it didn't know what to say for the last pony. "Hey Pinkie Pie! I got some real good muffins here, wanna share?" said what sounded like Derpy. Had the ponies in the wagon been able to see, they would have noticed an insane grin on Pinkie Pie's face. Also they wondered why of all the ponies to mimic that Eris chose Derpy?

But grinning or not, Pinkie Pie knew she couldn't make a sound.

"Okay, I tried to be nice about this but I know you're in there. Come on out or I'll burn the wagon down, " the voice now revealed to be Eris said. "I'm serious. I'm starting the fire. It's going to get hot in there really soon so you might as well come out before you burn to death. Oh look, the wheels are burning now and the bottom seems to be getting rather hot. Any moment now you're going to feel the heat rising, the smoke coming up through the cracks and you'll have only seconds to get out before it all goes up in flames!" 

The fillies spent a few agonising moments listening to this and trying not to think that the wagon was actually on fire. And a few minutes later they simply heard Eris trotting off having been convinced at least for the moment that there was in fact nopony in the wagon.

Twilight continued her counting throughout all this but did breathe a sigh of relief once the voice stopped and she heard Eris walk away.

Once she reached 3600, an hour had passed and this was now the moment of truth. They opened the latch on the bottom of the wagon and gently peered around to make sure there was nopony there guarding the wagon. But the courtyard was empty so they silently came out one by one. They stretched, shook themselves out and generally breathed deeply of the cool night air. 

One by one the fillies slowly made their way into the fort. None of them knew which way to go and the darkness inside was so deep that it made exploring difficult. 

"Maybe we should split up to cover more ground?" Rarity asked.

"Nooo, it's too scary!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"No, Rarity is right we need to split up but we'll all stay on the same floor if we start taking different floors we'll never manage to get everypony back together again in time and somepony might get lost. We should go two by two so nopony is alone."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash made up a team, but that was to be expected. Rarity decided to go with Fluttershy and that left Pinkie Pie with Twilight. Each group would start on the main floor and look around from there. Once they had exhausted that floor they'd move up.

The fillies split up. Applejack managed to get a torch working and carried it along for illumination while the two unicorns simply cast a light spell to mark their way. 

It wasn't long before Rarity and Fluttershy became aware of a low, rumbling sound coming from one of the rooms in front of them. Fluttershy went pale with fear thinking it was some horrible monster but cooler heads prevailed and Rarity half pushed, half pulled Fluttershy towards the sound.

They quietly opened the door and the sound was definitely coming from here. It sounded horrible, but strangely rhythmic. Almost like... breathing? What kind of creature could make such a horrible sound? For sure it was some great unwashed beast who was here but possibly this beast was guarding the Elements of Harmony. On silent hooves they crept along the room until they found the source of both the rank smell and the noise. There, chained to the wall and lying on a pallet of not very clean straw was a very human and rather naked Rick.

Rarity crept forward, keeping a wary eye on the sleeping figure while cringing every time he made that terrible noise. "Such a dichotomy," she thought. "Handsome, elegant, great fingers and making the ugliest noise possible. Well, sometimes you do need to take the good with the bad." She did pause to admire his physique, never having seen him so completely on display. And while he wasn't as big as some of the stallions she had seen, she did think that Twilight had nothing to complain about.

Fluttershy was shaking like a leaf, starting at every shadow and stayed glued to Rarity but when she saw the state Rick was in all that disappeared and the caring healer in her took over. The manacles used to chain his arms and legs had rubbed the skin raw showing an obvious struggle. His skin had a waxy pallor to it and even asleep, he seemed tense as if he was fighting against something. She flew forward and gently ran one of her hooves over his face. 

Rick snapped awake with such suddenness at her touch that Fluttershy squeaked in terror and hid behind Rarity. Looking about him frantically he noticed the two ponies staring at him. 

"Rarity? Fluttershy?" he focused through the pain in his head that wasn't helped by the whiplash in his brain he felt from waking up too suddenly. "Sorry for the smell but Eris is not overly concerned with my hygiene."

"That's quite understandable darling. We're here to rescue you and take down that terrible Eris pony. Now hold still." Rarity concentrated and the manacles holding his arms and legs fell off. With a satisfied groan, Rick sat up and stretched his extremities while gently rubbing his aching wrists.

"Thank you. I'm assuming Twi and the rest of the fillies are here as well?"

"Yes darling, your wife and the girls are here and she'll be happy to see you as well. And since you're now able, could you help us find the Elements of Harmony?"

"Not a problem, they're over there." Rick pointed to a nearby chest. He whipped one of the sheets off the pile and wrapped it around himself in an improvised toga. Ponies might not care about his nudity but he still felt a little self-conscious about it.

Fluttershy opened it up and there were the 6 Elements of Harmony, casually thrown together in a heap.

"Eris tried to use their magic to break me thinking that maybe she could use one or more of them to increase her power. Luckily for me it didn't work, " Rick groaned slightly bringing his palms to his head as the drums inside continued their assault.

"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, torn between her fear of this place and wanting to help.

"Yeah Flutters, I'll be fine in about a day or so. I'm just nearing the end of my caffeine withdrawal cycle. I've got a pounding headache which thankfully is less strong than it was yesterday. But I'll be okay." Rick gave her a weak smile. She was such a sweet pony and he didn't want her to worry any more on his account.

"That's good, " she said shyly and with a blush added, "and don't worry about my sheet, you can give it back to me when you're done with it." 

"This is yours?" he asked plucking at his toga. 

Fluttershy nodded.

"I'll take great care of it, wash it when I'm done and bring it back to you in perfect condition, " he said with a smile.

"Well, enough of this chit chat, " Rarity said. "We need to get back to the rest of the fillies and finish the job we started." She turned, gave the remaining Elements of Harmony to Rick and they all made their way out of the room to find the others. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were the first, they greeted Rick warmly although Rainbow Dash did call him "Stinky" and asked that he stay downwind of them. They received their elements and the 5 of them went in search of Pinkie Pie and Twilight. It didn't take long but they finally ran into Pinkie Pie and Twilight.

Twilight stared at Rick, unbelieving of what she was seeing, took a couple tentative steps towards him and then with a great smile on her face raced towards him as fast as her hooves could carry her. He knelt down, arms outstretched and she threw herself into his embrace knocking him down in the process. Neither one cared, he hugged her tight, she kissed him repeatedly before they settled on a long, passionate embrace. Somepony clearing their throat reminded them of what was at stake and they did have the good sense to look a little embarrassed at their actions.

"Now that we have this out of the way, how about we go kick Eris' butt?" Rainbow Dash asked. Everypony agreed, the remaining elements were handed out and they all made their way upstairs.

"So how's your head?" Twilight whispered seeing the tightness around Rick's eyes. 

He sighed deeply and said, "better than it was, " he whispered back. "I'd kill for an ice-pack right now or a coke to help smooth this out." He thought for a moment, "any trouble yourself?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, taking smaller doses of the tea really helped. I just wished I had that last time around when I went through this."

"Yeah that's right, I keep forgetting the three month difference when you came back, " he ruffled her mane playfully. She smiled and rubbed up against him.

They came to the top of the stairs, Eris's room was down the hallway but there was a problem. Sunrunner was currently lying outside the door. They'd have to get by him before taking on Eris and they had to take him down quickly and quietly.

"So, how do we get rid of the sissy?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't want to risk using any magic. That might alert Eris to our being here, " Twilight said.

"Okay, so it's physical then. How about I fly at him really fast then try to knock him out with a punch?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You'd have to hit him just right. It's a lot harder to knock somepony out than you would think. But what do we do after? You knock him out and a few minutes later he's back up and coming for you?" Rick asked.

"Well whut about that there sheet y'all are wearin'? Seems to me like it's perfect for hogtyin' that rascal."

Rick thought for a moment and he was torn between his desire to be covered and the need to kick Eris' butt. Also it was Fluttershy's sheet and he didn't want to damage it. He was about to say something when Fluttershy said, "it's okay. I've got others back home."

Sighing, he removed the sheet and was moderately embarrassed how the fillies took an interest in his body. He knew that most of them didn't care for him in a sexual way except for Twilight although in Rarity's case it might have been more of a fetish than anything else.

Tearing off a few strips as quietly as he could, he rolled them up, tied the ends together to make a rope and handed it off to Applejack. It was understood that she would be the one to tie up Sunrunner. The rest of their plan was to go like this. Rainbow Dash and Rick would rush the sleeping pony. Dash would attempt to knock him out while Rick would try to keep him pinned for Applejack to do her thing. As ad hoc plans went, it was actually a good plan. It was a successful plan and they managed to get Sunrunner out of the way as easily as they could. 

"Good job Stinky, " Rainbow Dash said with a bit of her usual snark and a smile.

"Thanks, but keep it up and I'll hug you, " Rick said dangerously which caused Rainbow Dash to move back and hover just a bit of out grabbing range where she then stuck out her tongue at Rick. He made a feint as if to grab her. Surprised, she dodged out of the way. Rick just smiled, they hoofbumped and everything was back to normal.

Looking through the keyhole, Twilight saw the sleeping form of Eris laid out on the bed. She appeared to be sleeping and so far hadn't reacted to the recent events outside her door. She turned to the other Elements and nodded silently to them. This was it. The future of Equestria lay in what happened next. 

Slowly the door was pushed open and the fillies made their way quietly into the room. Rick hung back and kept an eye on the knocked out form of Sunrunner just in case he awoke. The six fillies got together and unleashed the magic of the Elements of Harmony. Eris woke up suddenly at the influx of magical energy and quickly tried to come up with a counter spell but it was too little too late. The rainbow struck Eris, covering the entire fort and disappeared in a bright flash of sparkly light.

Several things then happened in quick succession.

There was a ghostly cry of loss as Discord's spirit seemingly vanished back to the nothingness from where it came.

Trixie cried out in triumph as her mind was finally restored to her original body.

Sunrunner woke up and wondered why he was tied up and dressed in a frilly maid's outfit.

Rick suddenly found himself back in his pony body.

And the fort started to rumble ominously as Eris' magic was no longer keeping it stable.

All ponies ran as fast as they could towards the exit and managed to make it out before a final rumble and the stones of the fort fell down to the ground.

After a few moments Applejack called out, "everypony okay?"

There were assorted responses to this but all of them positive. Rick and Twilight hugged each other as did Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Both couples simply happy to be alive and with those they loved. Rarity sighed looking at the happy couples, thinking of her dear Spikey Wikey and how she would give anything for him to be here with her now. Fluttershy also longed for Big Mac but was comforted in knowing she'd see him soon once they got back to the farm. Pinkie Pie sighed that there would never again be any chocolate rain but she decided that a nice, juicy apple from the Trojan cart would do just as well right now but felt sad when she noticed the cart had been crushed by some of the falling stones. Kicking a stray rock out of the way she plumped down on the ground and just sulked.

Nearby, Trixie felt unloved and unwanted. She had hoped when all of this was over she could start things up again with her Twilight... no, it wasn't her Twilight anymore and to be honest it never was. All that had happened to her recently was enough to see that she had been using other ponies for the longest time much in the same way that Discord had used her. It pained her to do this, but she had to do something she had never done before in her life. She gathered up her courage and marched straight up to where Twilight and Rick sat lost in each other's eyes.

"Twlight Sparkle? Rick?", Trixie said to the two ponies who were honestly surprised by her presence. "I know neither of you will probably believe me when I say this, and after all I've done I know I probably don't deserve your forgiveness but I wanted to say I'm sorry for everything I've done. All of these recent events are because I was too selfish to consider the wishes and feelings of other ponies." She was a little surprised that genuine tears were in her eyes as she said this. Brushing them away she continued, " I wish you two the best and hope that you're happy together." She turned around to go, hoping that one of them would call her back and say all was forgiven. When no words were forthcoming, she hung her head down and slowly walked away.

Sunrunner, almost forgotten in all of this ran up to and confronted her before she left.

"Eris?"

"Actually my name is Trixie. Eris was Discord's slightly clever name for me."

"Trixie then. I know we've both been through a lot and both of us were treated unfairly by Discord but maybe we've been granted a new beginning? I need to get back to Mareseilles and the hospital and if you're interested you could maybe come back with me? I'd appreciate the company and perhaps if you want you could help out at the hospital? We're always looking for volunteers." He left it wide open but the meaning behind his words was clear. 

Trixie smiled, genuinely pleased by this offer. "I think I'd like that." He nuzzled her gently and she returned it. They trotted off towards Mareseilles and hopefully better times.

Rick and Twilight watched them go. "I notice you didn't call her back, " Twilight said.

"I'm still not convinced she's genuinely sorry. Babe, she hurt you, me, Rainbow Dash and AJ and that was just the last time we all got together. Who else has she hurt in all the time she's been around? No, she might feel sorry now but I'm not convinced she's changed any. Maybe Sunrunner over there is what she needs right now as well as trying to make up for what she did but until that day comes and I see it with my own eyes I'll wait until she proves me wrong." He drew her close, kissed her gently and said, "let's go home. I really want to take a shower and sleep in a real bed."

The assorted ponies got up and slowly made their way back to Ponyville. Actually it was only Rick and Twilight that made their way back. The rest all headed out to Sweet Apple Acres as it was either home or where their loved ones were. 

When they got to the library, there were hugs all around and Applejack reminded them that the wedding would be in a couple of days. They had to get ready for it and get certain things set, but after all they had been through it wasn't going to be anything fancy. Just something small for the family and it was understood that all ponies here were considered family. 

The library hadn't changed much since Twilight had seen it last. At least nopony had tried to burn any books. The mess however could wait until tomorrow as Twilight made her way upstairs and Rick headed for the bathroom. A few moments under the hot water and he started to feel better, he didn't notice when Twilight walked in and opened the shower curtain.

"Hey you. I'd invite you in but there's only really room here for me, " Rick said with a roguish grin which considering he was a pony was an impressive feat in itself.

"Trust me, if you had room I wouldn't wait for an invitation. But right now I'm just here to scrub your back. You still have trouble reaching everywhere as a pony so I figure it's the least I can do."

"Well then please my dear, scrub away."

Twilight's horn glowed, picked up the scrub brush and she proceeded to lather, scrub and rinse off her husband. He seemed to enjoy it, she really enjoyed lathering up his body and paid special attention to certain areas and used her hooves just to make sure everything was clean.

Rinsed, toweled off and dry they made their way upstairs to the bedroom where they finally got to lay down on the large bed that Twilight had magicked up for them but as tired as they were, found it hard to get to sleep. It felt like such a long time since they had seen each other and that attention Twilight gave him in the shower was not helping matters. 

He leaned in a and kissed her gently, she returned it with added passion. He held her close, she caressed him gently, he caressed her back and paid equal attention to other parts of her as well. Both were already turned on and it had been a long time since they had actually gotten intimate with each other.

"Oh yes! " Twilight sighed as her husband started kissing her neck and giving her those little love bites she adored. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to come back to me."

"Last time was in Rome, not counting the time Eris cast that spell on us. But it feels like a lifetime ago, " Rick whispered in between nips. Both of them were ready but Rick had a moment's hesitation.

"Uhmm, Twi?"

"Yes Rick, " she said breathlessly.

"I've never really done this as a pony. I'm just wondering about the... " he made a vague gesture with his hooves, " mechanics of it all. I mean I know the basics, but what's more comfortable for you?"

Twilight smiled gently and without malice. "Anyway you want, but if you're nervous for your first time I can always take the reins."

"Well, who am I to argue with such a pretty pony such as yourself?"

They then proceeded to make love, effectively for the first time as ponies. Rick had to admit that his endurance as a stallion was greater than his endurance as a human and the sensations were rather different. It somehow felt... right. Not that it felt wrong when they were both human or when he was human and Twilight was still a pony. No, this just felt more real than those other times. Maybe it was the novelty of it but he did have to admit that Twilight never looked as beautiful or as happy as she did now and maybe that was the reason he felt this way.

Afterwards, they just lay there, pleasantly out of breath and just a little sweaty. They kissed, caressed each other, giggled for no reason and just played gently through the afterglow. It truly had been a magical experience. 

Rick felt his eyes growing heavier and heavier and soon it was a struggle to keep them open. Twilight saw this, gave him a soft kiss and wished him goodnight before snuggling up next to him and closing her eyes herself.

> The Aftermath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning Rick awoke to a rare sight, Twilight was still asleep next to him. Usually she awoke first and would go off to do whatever she wanted and let him sleep a little while longer. He had no idea what time it was, but it was already light outside and he decided it was time to get up. He slowly tried to get himself out of bed without waking up his wife but she chose that moment to throw one of her rear legs over him and grab his right hoof in hers effectively trapping him there.

"That's just great, " he mumbled to himself.

"Glad you like it, " Twilight said with a giggle and opening her eyes.

"So how long you been up?"

"Not long, " she said releasing his hoof and gently running her hoof over his face. "I just woke up and wanted to watch you sleep for a bit. You always look so peaceful when you're asleep, like a little foal without any problems in the world." She smiled and kissed him good morning.

"So we never got to really talk about where we'd wind up, " Twilight said.

"Yeah, I know but I meant it when I said that wherever we decided to wind up the only thing that really mattered in the end was us being together." 

"And if that means staying in Equestria?"

"Then so be it."

"Does that include you staying as a pony?"

Rick sighed. "Up until it happened, I never gave it much thought. I'll admit I like having fingers but there are advantages to being like this."

"What about what you're giving up?"

"Babe, you gave up your entire life for me. Seriously you wound up choosing to become a human, permanently, and living in a world you didn't have much experience with or ties to. Can I honestly say that I could do any less for you?"

Twilight reached up and kissed him before snuggling up next to him.

"What about your movies?" she asked.

"I've seen most of them and most are not the kind that I'd necessarily want to see more than once. I'll admit for the most part it was a collection that I just got to see how many I could get."

"Technology?"

"As much as I like it, I sometimes feel the world might be better off if there was a little less of it."

"Coffee?"

"Yes please, " he said with a grin. "But honestly it's more of a habit than anything else. If I can't get it here I'll just have to live without it." He paused for a moment before continuing, "I won't lie and say that I'm not going to miss my world, my friends and family but none of that means anything if you're not there to share it with me." 

Twilight just smiled at that and she had to agree with him. Earth or Equestria didn't much matter. True, she preferred Equestria with all her friends and everything and would gladly stay here forever if it meant staying with him. Earth also had its advantages but either way this was not a decision to be made today. 

They just lay there, wishing that they could just spend the rest of the day here in bed with each other but sometimes it's necessary to get back to reality and this meant getting cleaned up and getting ready for breakfast.

All cleaned up, the two ponies decided to head out to Sweet Apple Acres for a bit of breakfast. There was no food left in the library, most of Ponyville was still in the process of getting cleaned up and they wanted to see how everypony was doing there. As they were trotting through town, Rainbow Dash came to a screaming halt in front of them, a huge smile on her face.

"Oh my Gosh! You guys have to come to the Farm like right now! Cadance just foaled! You guys have a niece!"

"What?!? Really?!?" Twilight asked excitedly, a huge grin on her face.

"Yeah, really! C'mon!" and with those words Rainbow Dash threw herself into the sky and rocketed back in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Race you there!" Rick said with a grin.

"You're on big guy!" Twlight responded playfully and both ponies ran straight for Sweet Apple Acres to meet the newest member of their admittedly extended family.

Not long after, Rick burst through the gate at Sweet Apple Acres with Twilight hot on his hooves. "Yes! Victory is mine!" he said as he started to do a strange shuffling kind of dance. 

"That's only because you have a longer stride. And what in Celestia's name are you doing?"

"Victory dance!" he replied as he did a few steps backwards.

Twilight shook her head and said, "it's a good thing I love you otherwise you'd just be too weird."

Rick finally shook his front hooves in the air but looked a little disappointed. "Yeah, jazz hooves just doesn't work for this. Oh well, let’s go see our niece."

They entered the farmhouse and everypony was gathered in the parlour around a proud looking Shining Armor and rather tired looking Cadance who was holding a tiny wrapped bundle in her hooves. She smiled when Twilight and Rick arrived and the ponies let the two newcomers pass to pay their respects to the newest little pony.

She was an alicorn, pink like her mother but with her father's blue mane. Currently she was sleeping peacefully. 

"What's her name?" Twilight asked with a gentle smile.

"We're not quite sure yet, " Cadance responded. "I wanted to call her 'Morning Light' because she arrived with the dawn. But her father wants to call her 'Dawnstar'."

Rick looked at his brother-in-law and said in half-jest, "so I'm guessing you're going to be calling her Morning Light then?"

There was assorted laughter from the assembled ponies and while he didn't agree with it he didn't deny it either. 

"I know it's not my place but based on what you just said, maybe you could call her 'Venus'."

Cadance looked at him and asked, "why's that?"

"With everything we've been through recently it just works. In the legend of Eris, the one from Earth, Aphrodite was the one voted fairest of them all. She was the goddess of love and beauty. Her Roman name was Venus and co-incidentally that's the name of the brightest planet in Earth's sky and is also known as the morning or dawn star. And just look at her? Is she not the prettiest foal you've ever seen? A foal conceived by the literal Elements of Love themselves and born when the very planet of love is in the sky. You can't get more specific than that."

Not a pony spoke for a few moments and Rick was afraid that maybe he had done something wrong like broken some unwritten rule of pony etiquette. He glanced nervously at Cadance and she just smiled and said, "that was very poetic, thank you Rick. But Venus just isn't a pony name. On the other hoof I'm sure she wouldn't mind if her Uncle calls her that."

Rick chuckled and said, "I never question the wisdom of a mother."

The ponies talked, laughed, ate some apple goodies and generally admired the foal as these gatherings usually entail. Fluttershy was making goo goo eyes at Big Mac. She had helped to deliver the foal, saw the joy that such a young life brought to the parents and was thinking of how cute their foals would be. Big Mac was feeling a little uncomfortable with this but bore it with good grace. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were also admiring the foal while casting glances at each other and smiling. Rick saw this and wondered which one of them would get pregnant first and which stallion would do the job for them?

Twlight sat with Rick over in the corner, a bit of a wistful look on her face.

"You want one don't you?" Rick asked.

"Hmmm what?" Twilight said as she broke from her reverie.

"You're thinking what it would be like to have a foal of your own aren't you?"

She was silent for a moment before saying, "I don't know. I look at them and they're so happy, and I'm happy for them but I wonder if I'm ready to have a child yet. Besides, we still haven't talked about whether we stay like this, or are able to go back to Earth. I don't think we should make any plans until we know what's going on."

"Sometimes the best plans are the ones you don't make."

"That doesn't make any sense, " Twilight chided.

"Actually it does. Babe, when I walked into Equestria what were your plans for me? You probably wanted to pump me for information, learn as much as you could but somewhere along the line that plan no longer mattered. You and I became an item, we dated, you became a human and came to Earth, we got married and wound up back here in Equestria as ponies. Somehow I doubt any of that was planned but do you regret any moment of it?"

"Of course not."

"And that's what I mean. We did something that neither one could have planned for and look how it turned out. Had you followed through with your original plan, after a month or so when you had gotten all you needed from me that doorway would have disappeared and none of this would have happened. Trixie would not have gone nuts but events led to her possibly being reformed, Dash and AJ wouldn't be getting married, Flutters and Big Mac wouldn't be a couple and Spike would just be mooning after Rarity. You and I are responsible for all of that and I know for a fact that none of it was planned."

"I hate it when you make sense like that, " Twilight said.

"And look, I never said this before because I didn't think it mattered but remember when you were in heat last time? After it was done, I was glad because you wore me out completely but part of me thought that it was a bit of a shame that I couldn't get you pregnant. I know I wasn't ready for kids at that point but the idea especially with what we've gone through recently has made me think that it wouldn't be such a bad thing. I still don't know if I'm completely ready for this but I do know that you're the filly I want to have my foals."

Twilight said nothing for a few moments. Rick turned to her and said, "you okay Twi?"

"Just shut up and kiss me right now buster!" she said pulling him in for a kiss which he gave her gladly. 

When they finally came up for air Rick asked, "any reason for that? Not that I'm complaining mind you."

"I just wanted you to know how amazing you really are..."

Any other words were cut off at that point by a new voice from the entrance. "I hope I'm not intruding?"

The gathered ponies there were surprised to see Princess Celestia standing there, a quick look out the window revealed her personal chariot and guards were also there.

"Princess! This is an unexpected honour you showing up in my home!" Applejack said with more than just a little surprise and shock in her voice.

"Please child, it's I that should be honouring you. You and your friends have saved Equestria once again. I and the rest of the ponies are in your debt."

"Well shucks, thanks Princess, that means a lot to me."

"Think nothing of it. But that wasn't the only reason I'm here. First, I'd like to see my grand-niece if I could?" she walked over to Cadance who struggled to stand up, but Celestia gently pushed her back down. She smiled at the tiny alicorn who was still sleeping peacefully in her mother's hooves. "Have you decided on a name yet?"

"Morning Light, " Shining Armor said. Cadance looked at him with a smile.

"A lovely name for a lovely foal. Hello Morning Light, " Celestia gently nuzzled the foal who then opened her bright blue eyes and regarded the monarch of Equestria with a serious expression before closing her eyes again.

Celestia smiled and continued to admire the foal for a moment longer before turning to Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

"I believe you plan on getting married here in the next few days?"

"That's right."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that."

"Why not? We've got all the paperwork done and the Pony of the Peace has already been hired." Rainbow Dash said with an edge to her voice.

"It's because I can't let you get married here on this farm. Heroes of Equestria need to be married in Canterlot and I would be remiss in my duties if I wasn't the one performing the ceremony."

"What? Y'all are serious?"

"Of course. Tomorrow we will hold your wedding in Canterlot, I've arranged for the train to take you there this afternoon. Then tomorrow at noon, I will perform the ceremony and then you fillies will get a two week honeymoon anywhere in Equestria you wish."

"Princess, we can't accept. It's too generous!" Applejack said, her down home pride uncomfortable with such things.

"Nonsense. All of Equestria owes you this and more for your deeds. Now let us speak no more of this until the wedding."

Celestia then looked at Rick and Twilight and said, "I'd like to speak to the two of you in private if I could." Twilight looked at Rick for confirmation, he just shrugged and they got up to follow the monarch outside.

Once they were out of hearing range, Celestia turned to Rick and did something she had not done in over 1000 years. She bowed. "Rick, I beg your forgiveness for all I've done to you. I was wrong to think that all humans were the same as those wretched souls that raped our land all those years ago. I was wrong to think that Twilight Sparkle would be better off without you and I was wrong not to tell you the whole story when you deserved to know it. You showed great courage and determination in discovering and helping to defeat Discord. In the end you showed me that humans could have a place here in Equestria once again."

"Celestia, could you get up please, you're making me self-conscious."

The Princess rose but didn't speak as she was waiting to see what Rick's response would be.

"Yeah, I forgive you. You did what you thought was best for your people which includes Twilight here. I can't really fault you for acting in what you thought was your best intentions. I don't know what the future holds for either of us, but I hope that we can put all this behind us and that we can count on you to have our backs for the rest of our lives."

"Have you decided to stay in Equestria then?"

Rick looked at Twilight who smiled back at him. "Let's just say that I'm getting used to the idea. I mean it's been a week or so since we showed up here, we missed our cruise, the rental car has probably been stolen and by now somebody is probably looking for us. It would be kinda difficult to show up on Earth now assuming that we could get back in the first place and not as a pony. So yeah, we haven't really decided anything yet but I guess I'm here to stay."

"Would you be interested to know that I could send you back to the same moment when you came through the portal?"

"What do you mean?"

"The portal you came through can be reset so that you would effectively come out on the other side right after you walked through it the first time."

Suddenly, this changed everything. Before Rick was thinking in part of the time difference they had but also of Twilight and how much she had given up in joining him on Earth. 

"I don't know. Part of me does want to go back if for nothing else than to tie up a few loose ends. I mean if I just vanished off the face of the planet it would devastate my folks, letting them know that I'm going off somewhere and I'll be effectively incommunicado for the rest of their lives might not be much better in fact it might be worse." He closed his eyes and tried to think of what was the best course of action to take.

"Then perhaps I can make things easier for you, " Celestia said. From beneath her wing she pulled out a feather and gave it to Twilight. Twilight gasped at this action, an alicorn feather was possibly the most magical artifact in all of Equestria. Judging from Twilight's reaction Rick assumed this was a big deal but didn't grasp the significance. Celestia came to his rescue. "That feather you hold is connected to me in a way I can't truly explain to you. What you can do is return to your world and once you have chosen a suitable location Twilight can call on me using that feather and we can create a permanent portal between your world and this one."

"What seriously? That would be awesome. Thank you!"

"You're quite welcome. Now we need to get back to the farmhouse, " Celestia said as she turned and walked back.

When they got back, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were already contemplating where they were going to go on their honeymoon.

"Neighagra Falls, it is so awesome there. Seriously, the updrafts and downdrafts from the falls make it one of the best places to fly!"

"That's nice and all, but what am I gonna do when you're up there flyin' around? How about we go to Las Pegasus. I hear Elvis Palomino is playin' at the Salt Lick hotel."

"Elvis? He's got nothing on Trick Swagger and the Rolling Ponies."

"And? They ain't playin Las Pegasus but Elvis is. That stallion practically lives there now."

"Fillies, " Celestia called. The two stopped talking to let the Princess speak. "Thank you, I shall be leaving for Canterlot now. I've made arrangements for you all on the train leaving Ponyville for Canterlot at noon." 

"Princess Celestia, do you wish me to accompany you back to Canterlot? I know I abandoned my post so it's imperative that I head back there as soon as possible, " Shining Armor said.

"That won't be necessary. Your duty for the next few weeks are to your wife and foal. I will expect you back in Canterlot with the rest of these ponies, but there's no reason you need to go back on duty just yet."

"Thank you Celestia, " Cadance said. "I'll keep an eye on him."

The Princess left and there was a suddenly flurry of activity in the Apple house as ponies rushed to get what they needed done before the train left. The ponies that didn't live there also left with the promise to meet up again at the train station at noon.

As they ran back to Ponyville, Rick realised that they didn't have anything to wear to the wedding. When he mentioned this to Twilight, she told him it was no big deal. 

"You're a stallion, a collar and tie works for you. We can pick those up anywhere in Canterlot. As for myself, there's still the dress I wore to the Grand Galloping Gala. I'm sure nopony will mind considering we never actually planned on being here."

"See? You can get away with not planning every single detail, " Rick teased. And with a fresh burst of speed pulled away.

"Oh it is so on now!" Twilight said as she let him think he was winning and waited until he was almost at the library to teleport herself the rest of the way.

"Hey no fair! You cheated!"

"Sorry can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am, " Twilight said as she grooved to her own victory dance.

"You are so lucky I don't have fingers anymore because you're just begging for a tickle assault. C'mon. Let's grab some stuff and get ready. Train leaves in two hours."

They arrived at the train station with their bag. There wasn't much to bring and most of what they could get was in Canterlot anyway. Slowly the other ponies showed up and when they were all arrived, boarded the train.

As they made their way to Canterlot and finally were able to relax, Rick felt they were missing something about the whole way this had gone down. It just felt too easy. Discord was a primordial being almost like a god himself, something that had been given form through the distrust of others. So why was it so easy to have taken him down? Something in all this didn't make any sense. Maybe it was because he was in a host body and didn't have access to his full power but even then, he felt there should have been more of a fight.

"Equestria to Rick?" Twilight asked.

"Huh?" Rick said breaking out of his reverie. "Sorry, I was far away and thinking about something."

"Yeah I could tell, is something bothering you?"

Rick hesitated. They were on their way to a happy occasion, had survived a rather harrowing experience for all parties involved so did he really have the right to voice his suspicions? Maybe, just maybe it was nothing and he was overreacting. He put on a smile, put a hoof around her shoulders, kissed his wife and said, "no, just going over what happened for the past few days."

Twlight smiled, leaned into his embrace and watched the scenery go by.

The problem was, Rick wasn't too far off but nopony realised it. Discord was still alive but reduced even more than he had been before. While before he was in control of Trixie's body which led to him becoming "Eris", he was now trapped and waiting for the next opportunity. But waiting was nothing new to him. He had spent 1000 years trapped in stone. What was another 9 months?

> To the Future
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was it, the day of the wedding. Two of Equestria's heroes were getting married today in Canterlot and the service was being presided over by Princess Celestia herself. The marriage itself was the talk of the town as was the fact that just about nopony was invited. In fact the only word that could truly be used to describe it was "intimate".

After much deliberation, they had decided to forego most of the traditional trappings of the wedding. There would be no mare of honor or best colt. In part because no one filly was deserving of this more than the other and if they had all 4 of them acting as such that was half the guests at the wedding. And instead of the bride walking down the aisle, both fillies decided on walking down together, with Apple Bloom in front of them sprinkling flower petals left and right.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts. Welcome to this joyous occasion where these two souls have decided to join and become one, " Princess Celestia started. "I have been asked to keep this brief and to dispense with most of the ceremony which suits this old mare just fine." There was assorted polite laughter from the audience from Celestia's attempt at humour.

"Rainbow Dash and Applejack have both written vows that they wish to speak. Applejack?" she said turning to the orange farm-pony.

"Rainbow Dash. I ain't too good with words, I never saw much use for 'em when yer life is gonna be buckin' apples but when I look at you, I'm reminded of a poem I read once when I was a little filly." Clearing her throat she said: 


She flies through the skies like an angel of eld, 
her wings so strong and right.
Defying the ground she sails through the air, 
pure poetry in day or night.

My heart responds to every beat of her wings,
matching the rhythm they make.
She catches me watching with awe and in mirth,
her smile starts my poor heart to ache.

How I wish I could reach her but my hooves on the ground,
make sure that I would never fly.
Her form recedes, flying away from my sight,
And my heart can do nothing but cry.

Each day is the same, she flies by my door
and each day I can do naught but sigh.
Then the next she stops and hovers outside,
So I step out and ask her why?

"I see you each day, watching me as I pass
your home on my way to work.
Your voice makes no sound yet your eyes say it all
or are you just some random jerk?"

I pause, I stammer, I know not what to say,
This angel voiced like a dove.
All I can do is stare at her face
when I want to shout my love.

She turns to leave, maybe for good
And this is more than I can bear
I clear my throat and say my piece
And hope that she too will care.

She smiles, then lands, trots over to me
And says in the sweetest voice.
"I was waiting for you to tell me these things
In that I had no choice."

I give her a kiss, she gives me one back
My heart leaps from my chest.
No more shall I be a pony alone
For I have found two hearts together beat best.


Rainbow Dash smiled gently at her fiancée, tears shimmering in her eyes and mirroring the ones in Applejack's. She sniffled for a moment, then cleared her throat and said, "I could never top that in a million years. You say you're just a simple farm pony, but I know you're so much more than that and I want to be part of that and part of you for the rest of our lives. So as actions speak louder than words, " Rainbow Dash reached under her wing and pulled out a feather.

There was a gasp that came from the audience, Twilight almost squeed with delight when she saw this but Rick was totally lost on the significance of this action. He leaned into Twilight and asked her what was going on.

"Rainbow Dash isn't asking Applejack to just marry her, she's asking that they be bonded. It's just about the most romantic thing a couple getting married can do!"

"Bonded? What's that?"

"Bonding is when a couple go through a ceremony and are magically linked for the rest of their lives. For the rest of their lives Rainbow Dash and Applejack will be completely loyal to each other." Twilight sighed as the two ponies grasped Rainbow Dash's feather and turned towards Celestia.

She too seemed to have been surprised by this action. "Before we do this, I need to ask if you are both doing this out of free will and are not being forced to do this?"

Both fillies nodded.

"Very well, " Celestia said with a gentle smile. Her horn lit up and she spoke some words in a language that nopony there understood. Twilight explained to Rick later on that this was ancient Equestrian and some of the oldest and most powerful spells still required it. 

The glow around Celestia's horn got brighter and brighter until it was almost too bright to see and just as soon as it started, it went back to normal leaving everypony blinking in its absence.

"I now pronounce you married fillies. You may now kiss each other, " Celestia said as the two fillies kissed for the first time as spouses. They walked down the aisle, the rest of the congregation following in their wake and were led to the banquet room where the celebration would be held.

"Let's get this party started!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she immediately took over as host. Nopony dared to stop her as she was after all in her element but also everypony there knew that you don't want to prevent Pinkie Pie from doing what she did best unless you happened to be on the receiving end of pain.

The dishes were expertly prepared and more than once Rick found himself enjoying the vegetarian dishes and in the process trying to reverse engineer them in his head for reference later. Twilight noticed this and just let it go. Rick would go home, experiment in the kitchen for a while and she'd be able to enjoy the fruits of his labour. Sometimes he got it, sometimes he didn't.

When the dishes were done, the cake was served and the two fillies shared in their first dance Rick turned to Twilight and asked her a serious question.

"Babe? Did you ever feel left out because we never had a proper wedding?"

She smiled at him, put her hoof over his and said, "not really. While it might be nice, I never really thought about it."

"What about the bonding ceremony? I know we got married as humans but now that we're here if you wanted we could always do it."

Again, she smiled but this time shook her head no. "Rick, I appreciate what you're asking and I think it's sweet that you want to do this for me, but I don't think we need it, " she looked at the happy couple who were dancing slowly in the middle of the dance floor. "They did this for a reason and it's not because they don't love each other but because Rainbow Dash loves a little too easily. Before you showed up here, she was involved with numerous stallions and fillies at the same time and she loved them all. You show up and part of your novelty focused all that love and attention on you. She became quite the stalker where you were concerned. Then when you and I got together she kept up on the stalking hoping that she'd find something that would tear us apart. After her accident and after she started seeing Applejack and things were getting serious she suggested the bonding. It was her way of saying that she would never stray and for the rest of her life would only have eyes for Applejack."

"So you're saying that not only is it a way to prove your love to your spouse, it's a way to keep straying spouses from straying?"

"Exactly. Which is why I know I don't need it with you mister. You're completely mine and no ceremony is going to change that."

"I don't know if I should be pleased or insulted by that." Rick thought for a moment, shrugged and kissed her.

"Glad you liked it, " Twilight said.

The evening wore on, ponies danced, partied, got drunk and little by little they all staggered down to the guest wing in the castle where they were staying. Twilight giggled when they finally got into their room and closed the door. 

"Whasso funny?" Rick slurred slightly.

She just shook her head while she had a large grin on her face. "Not telling. Yer gonna find out soon but I want to dance some more, " she giggled, turned around and shook her booty in Rick's face.

Feeling a little feisty, Rick tried to lean over and plant a kiss on her cutie mark but mistimed it and fell face first onto the floor. 

"Ouch, " he said without much passion.

Twilight fell about the place giggling to herself. She sashayed over to where he lay, leaned down and said, "need some help gettin back to yer hooves big boy?"

"No, I prefer it here, " and with those words he grabbed Twilight who shrieked with laughter as he pulled her down to the floor with him. "There. Now we're even, " he said as he struggled to his hooves before helping her up as well.

"Oh no you don't!" Twilight then tackled him, or at least tried to. She threw herself across his back, but she was unsure what to do next. Rocking this way and that didn't disrupt his balance much but it was starting to turn her on feeling those strong muscles of his moving beneath her. Or was something else responsible for her desire?

In any case she just went with it and started kissing Rick's neck, cheek and gently nibbling on his ears. Turning his head around, he kissed her gently and asked, "there something you want?"

"Yes, " she replied huskily. "So why don't you bring me over to the bed and I can show you?"

A faint cry of, "yes! Call me a nasty pony! Ride me like a bad pony!" came from the room across the hall. Rick paused and turned to Twilight on hearing that.

"Was that... Fluttershy?"

"Maybe, " Twilight breathed into his ear, "but who cares? You've got a nasty pony here to take care of first."

"Oooh, and me without my riding crop, " Rick said with a saucy grin. They tumbled onto the bed and proceeded as nature intended. 

There was magic in the air that night, literally. The bonding process and the corresponding desire that Rainbow Dash and Applejack had gone through was potent enough to bleed over to the others there. Those that were in relationships felt their relationship increase in strength and those that happened to be staying next to the newly married couple felt an overwhelming urge to reproduce. This was magic in its most primal form. It didn't think but it had an agenda and rutting ponies was part of it.

They awoke the next day, bleary eyed, a little hung over and more than just a little sticky. Rick buried his head under the pillow, wishing the light didn't stab so brightly through his eyes. 

"C'mon you, " Twilight said nudging him slightly. "We need to get ready, get cleaned and meet the others for breakfast."

"Don't wanna get up. Light hurts my brain. Sleep good, " Rick mumbled from beneath his pillow.

Twilight sighed and used her magic to whip the pillow away from her husband and shove him out of bed. He landed, ungracefully in a heap on the floor. "Ouch, " he said again without much passion. He made his way to his hooves and through bloodshot eyes said, "dirty pool my dear. Keep that up and you're never getting a spanking ever again." Rick of course was referring to Twilight's delight in getting the occasional gentle swat on the butt when they made love. 

"You wouldn't dare! You like doing that to me as much as I like getting it, " she stuck out her tongue at him as she had seen him do to her many times.

"Fine be that way, but don't stick that tongue out at me unless you plan on using it for something."

Still sticking her tongue out, she trotted over, stood face to face and then kissed him, her tongue gently running around his mouth. "That better?" she asked innocently.

"Very, " he replied as he gave her butt a gentle slap as he made his way to the bathroom. "Wanna join me?" he asked over his shoulder and she gladly accepted his offer.

It was a testament to the builders of this castle that the shower was big enough for two ponies. That might have been because as a castle it had to be bigger and better than other buildings or maybe they just knew that a large enough shower gave couples everywhere an excuse to make out while getting clean. As such it took them a little while longer to get cleaned and ready than it normally would but it also looked like they were not the only ones. Once they got to the dining room, the Princess as well as Pinkie Pie were already eating, but nopony else was there.

"We started without you, I hope you don't mind, " Celestia said.

"Not at all Princess Celestia, we understand completely, " Twilight said.

They helped themselves to breakfast and Celestia offered Rick some of the guarana tea. He took a cup gratefully as caffeine always helped his hangovers. Twilight also took a cup but Celestia refused to allow Pinkie Pie to have any. Rick of course knew the reason why. Normally Pinkie Pie was a bundle of energy due to all the sugar that filly ate. A caffeinated Pinkie Pie was simply too terrible a concept to imagine. Rick took pity on the pink party pony and explained it was medicine and that was the only reason he was drinking it. Pinkie understood that to mean it didn't taste good so why would she drink it and instead opted for more hot cocoa.

Slowly the other parties arrived, all of them looked as beat as Rick and Twilight did. When Spike walked in with Rarity however he had the biggest smile on his face. Twilight noticed this and was about to say something when she just sighed and sat back instead.

"Something wrong?" Rick asked her.

"In a way, " she said as she looked at Rarity and Spike carrying on at the breakfast table. Anypony could tell these two were deeply in love and in a way it made Twilight sad.

"Lemme guess, your little brother is growing up and you don't know how to look at him anymore is that it?"

She smiled sadly and nodded her head. Rick put a hoof around her shoulder, drew her in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry about it babe, I think all older siblings go through this when they realise their younger siblings are no longer children. We all want to freeze people at a certain age in our minds. I know my mother does and even though I'm adult and haven't lived with them since I left for college she still sees me as a little kid."

Fluttershy and Big Macintosh came in next. They also looked rather worse for wear and Fluttershy was blushing madly all the way. If it was possible for her to hide within her own hair she would have done it. 

"Such a dreadful night, somepony kept us up with her yelling about being bad and wanting to be ridden. Fluttershy dear?" Rarity started.

Fluttershy squeaked in response and shrank back in her seat.

"Could you pass the tea dear?" Rarity said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. When Fluttershy passed it Rarity said to her, "that's a good pony." If it was possible for Fluttershy to make herself any smaller she would have. Big Macintosh just sat there stoically, not reacting to any of this going on.

"You too? It's funny, I could have sworn I heard the same thing but then Twilight kept whispering the nastiest things in my ear so I thought I might have simply been mistaken. Ouch!" Rick said as Twilight nudged him in the ribs.

"Well I don't know anything about that. Spike was a perfect gentlecolt and kept his claws to himself, " Rarity said.

Rick nodded sagely then said, "and I guess you got those scratches on your butt by scrubbing too hard in the shower?"

Rarity blushed knowing that Rick had scored a direct hit but Spike came to her rescue by asking, "there a reason you were looking at Rarity's butt?"

"Actually no, but thanks for confirming it, " he responded with a smile.

Finally the two newlyweds showed up although they looked a lot better than the rest. If anything, they were positively glowing and Applejack had a spring in her step that she never quite had before.

"Morning' everypony!" she said with a big grin. "Boy howdy I'm hungry!".

"Yeah, what she said!" Rainbow Dash said as she too got her breakfast and proceeded to dig in.

Small talk and light jabs were made towards the newlyweds who took it in good stride although it was Rainbow Dash who gave better than she got.

After a particularly stinging retort Rick said a smile, "ouch! Somepony really got up on the right side of the bed this morning. I don't think you've ever been this quick or this brutal before."

Rainbow Dash shrugged and replied with, "enhh, that's what a good night's sleep and the love of a good pony can do for a filly." She leaned over and shared a quick kiss with Applejack.

"Have you decided where you want to go on your honeymoon?" Twilight asked.

"We couldn't come to an agreement so we compromised. 1 week in Neighagara Falls and 1 week in Las Pegasus including tickets to see Elvis Palomino, " Rainbow Dash answered.

Rick couldn't help but chuckle at this and it caught the attention of the two newlyweds.

"There something funny goin' on there Stretch?" Applejack asked.

"Actually no, it's just the crazy similarities between our worlds. You picked the two cities in North America, basically that's Equestria in my world, that are at the top for honeymooners. In Niagara Falls, you've got the falls of course and while it's not so much a honeymoon destination now it was a long time ago. There's also the sites, the cheesy wax museums and the other tourist traps. But there's a lot to see in the area. On the Canadian side of the border there's a whole region devoted to vineyards and making wine. Then there's Las Vegas with the glitz, the neon, the gambling and the shows including Elvis Presley although the real Elvis died years ago but his spirit still lives on in the numerous Elvis Presley impersonators that call Vegas their home." 

They talked more about the similarities between their worlds, Rick and Twilight filling in the fillies about different aspects and it was obvious that all the parties involved wanted a chance to visit Rick's world one of these days.

"We'll be heading back soon but in a few months I along with Princess Celestia's help will be setting up a permanent portal to the library and you're all welcome to come visit us. Clothes however are mandatory if you choose to want to go outside or see the sights. It's a human nudity taboo, " Twilight said.

The breakfast plates had been cleared a long time ago and the ponies were just lingering as good friends do but eventually they had to get moving. The newlyweds were eager to get on their way to Neighagara Falls and the rest had to get back to Ponyville for various reasons.

They made their way to the train station. Goodbyes and best wishes were made for Applejack and Rainbow Dash as they headed to their train and the rest of the ponies headed for the Ponyville express.

The ponies and Spike dozed on the way back to Ponyville having gotten little sleep the night before. And it didn't feel like a long time had passed before the conductor called out "Ponyville! Next stop Ponyville!" as they pulled into the station. A scramble for the bags and assorted luggage and minutes later they were all standing on the platform looking a little bleary eyed.

Rick yawned broadly before hefting his saddlebags and heading out, the rest pretty much followed along. It had been a long and interesting trip so far and it wasn't over. He looked forward to a week in Tuscany where they didn't have to do anything too strenuous or taxing. 

Big Macintosh and Fluttershy were the first to leave as he had to walk her home. They made their goodbyes and promised that in a few months when the portal had been fixed they would see them again.

Next came Rarity and Spike who headed off to the Carousel Boutique. Spike said he'd be back to the library later, it was a bit of a tearful farewell as the young dragon bid goodbye to his big sister and big bro. 

"We'll see you again in a few months. And then we can play some Xbox and have some root beer whenever you want, " Rick said.

"That would be awesome!" Spike said as he gave Rick a big hug.

"Don't forget me, " Twilight said as Spike turned to hug her as well.

Finally they got to the library and Pinkie Pie had to leave to get back to Sugarcube Corners. More hugs were given and promises to come back and visit soon were made before Twilight and Rick were left alone.

"Anything you wanna bring with you? We're going to be coming back but it won't be until the house is finished." Rick asked.

Twilight slowly looked around the library, trying to see if there was anything here she needed to bring with her immediately or if it could wait here for another couple of months. She simply went upstairs and got the alicorn feather before coming back downstairs and saying, "okay, let's go."

The two made their way to Sweet Apple Acres and beyond the north fence to the cave where they had originally come to Equestria.

"Is there anything we need to do?" Rick asked.

"No. We just both hold the feather and then walk through. Eventually we'll find our stuff that was left behind and emerge out the other side on Earth. And that's exactly what happened. Both ponies grasped the alicorn feather which was a lot more difficult than it sounded and walked through the entrance of the cave. There was a mild resistance but they were able to push their way through. It felt almost like passing through a soap bubble as the barrier allowed them to pass but conformed to their bodies as they passed through. There was an added bonus of the feather giving off enough light for them to see by.

"Now there's something you don't see every day, " Rick said indicating their clothes which lay face down on the floor of the cave. Somehow, possibly through the magic of the cave, when they had made the switch from human to pony their clothes had simply fallen off without their noticing and were still lying there untouched. They were however still ponies at this point so putting them back on was not an option. So into the saddlebags they went until needed.

Gathering them together, and making sure that the car keys and wallets were still there, they trotted through the cave back to where they entered. A faint doorway could be seen in the gloom and again holding the alicorn feather before them they walked through into the sunlight and Earth.

It took a moment to realise that they were once again human, but down on all fours. There was a moment of vertigo as they stood up and got used to being bipeds again. Thankfully nobody else had been up here during the time they showed up or else there would be questions, pictures and possibly youtube videos. 

They got dressed and made their way down the hill to the car, throwing the Equestrian saddlebags into the back seat. A momentary rumble was felt as the portal was finally closed on this end. 

"So what do we do now?" Twilight asked.

"We go to Tuscany like we had planned. After all we've been through I think we deserve it."

The rest of their honeymoon went off without a hitch. The only real difference from before was Rick now had a permanent cutie mark of a coffee cup on his butt even as a human.

Twilight noticed it their first night in Tuscany when they were getting changed for bed. It made Rick feel a little strange, but at the same time it linked him with Equestria in a way he had never thought possible. In a sense, he truly did belong there, at least part of him did. 

Twilight giggled as he turned to stare at it in the mirror, a look of wonder and amusement on his face. 

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"I'm thinking I might need to start calling you Apple Bloom, " she said with a smile.

"Okay, you just lost me babe. What?"

Twilight then explained the story of how Apple Bloom, desperate to get her cutie mark used magic to get one, it backfired on her and she continued to gain mark after mark.

"Okay, but I only have one. I still don't see how that applies?"

"The mark on your arm that I thought was a cutie mark when I first met you, " she said pointing to his tattoo.

"Oh that thing?" he said looking at his arm. He considered it for a moment, chuckled and asked her, "Did I ever tell you what this was or the significance of it?"

Twilight shook her head. Rick crawled into bed with her and started his story.

"Years ago, when I had just turned 18 a bunch of friends and I decided to get tattoos. I wanted something that said something about who I was. In a way it's a lot like your cutie marks. Tattoos are supposed to represent a part of you and this then tells people who you are. So I had seen a symbol years ago that to me represented my unbelief in the supernatural and branded me a skeptic. You know, the kind of person that asks questions and doesn't just accept answers from others?"

Twilight nodded with a smirk. She was more than aware of her husband's skepticism. The fact that the man accepted talking ponies and magic so quickly however was a different story.

"Well, this was the representation of the IPU. That's the Invisible Pink Unicorn."

Twilight smiled at the thought of her husband believing in unicorns before he had actually met one.

"The idea is that a being can't be invisible and pink at the same time and unicorns don't actually exist naturally on this world. So you need to take her existence on faith. And because she's invisible and pink at the same time, that means she's a goddess and she communicates through her thoughts and you feel her presence in your heart. Although now that I think of it, maybe I ought to get rid of it."

"Why's that?"

Rick smiled. "While I'm still a skeptic, I actually found her so I can't really be an unbeliever now can I? Okay she was lavender instead of pink and I could definitely see her but she was a unicorn who spoke to me in the sweetest voice and took up refuge in my heart so I could never forget her."

"You are such a sweet talker, do you know that?" 

"Hey, it worked didn't it? And I don't hear you complaining."

"I'd never complain about you, or this, " Twilight said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him in for a long, lingering kiss. 

They spent the rest of the week in Tuscany relaxing and soaking up the culture, food and wine before heading off to Barcelona to get their cruise. All the troubles they had gone through in the last few weeks had been forgotten and they went forward with living their lives. 

The last day of the cruise was a day at sea while the ship made the return voyage to Barcelona. They spent it on the private deck of their suite, just lying in the sun and watching the water go by. That afternoon they finally did take advantage of the hot tub on their balcony which gave a welcome warmth against the slightly chill air of the Mediterranean. Being naked in the hot tub eventually led to other things which started in the hot tub and continued  with a giggling naked chase through the cabin before Rick tackled his wife onto the bed. 

Afterwards, as Twilight lay in the crook of Rick's arm, her head on his chest listening to his heart beat she needed to tell him something.

"Rick?"

"Yeah babe, wassup?"

"I've been aware of something for the past few days, but I didn't want to say anything until I was sure."

"Okay, what do you need to say?"

She swallowed hard, sighed and scooted up a bit so she could look him in the eye. "Do you remember about a month or so ago when Discord cast that spell on us and we just went at it like animals?"

"Not the act itself, but yes I remember. Why?"

"We thought at the time that it just mimicked a mare going into heat. But it seems as if it did more than just mimic it. The spell actually sped up my cycle and hormonally I was in heat during that time and still fertile for a few days after. Then there was the night of the wedding and the bleed over of the bonding magic. I really wasn't thinking that night with all the drinking and you looking all sexy and all. But that magic has an effect and it usually results in a foal. I didn't think about it but last week when we were in Greece I realised I should have had my period by then. I've only had them for a few months so I sometimes forget all about them until they happen. I've heard tell that sometimes due to stress or environmental things it can be delayed for a few days. But I worked it out and I've been late for about 10 days now. So when you were in the washroom earlier I checked using my magic." Her hand went protectively to her stomach before saying those words that would change their lives forever. "You're going to be a father."

Shock turned to tears of happiness as he hugged his wife and kissed her full on the lips. Twilight also cried in relief as she didn't know how Rick would react. She knew he wanted children eventually, but wasn't sure if he was ready for this now. 

Rick suddenly came to a bold realisation and went cold with the possibilities. "Hold on, so this child was conceived in Equestria when we were both still ponies?"

"Yes."

"So are you carrying a foal, or a baby? Is it human or pony?"

"Human of course. It's a little early to tell if it's a boy or girl but it's definitely human."

"Yeah, but how is this even possible? I mean chromosomes and genetics and stuff like that. I know you look human and I looked like a pony when I was in Equestria but does that mean that biologically we actually changed species? When I was a pony I gained actual chromosomes and you lost them when you turned human?" Rick was starting to panic, too much was going on and he had too little information to actually work with.

Twilight came to his rescue and kissed him to keep him from babbling. "Do you remember the legends how the good humans in Equestria were turned into ponies and how some ponies to this day can trace their lineage back to those ponified humans?"

"Vaguely."

"It's magic and magic plays by its own rules. The change from human to pony and pony to human is absolute. We become exactly what it is we appear to be. So a human that becomes a pony is for all intents and purposes the same as a pony that was born in Equestria. The same goes for a pony turned into a human like me. I don't just look like a human, I am human down to my very genes. The same goes for you. During your time on Equestria when all this happened you were a pony. Our baby will be human, although in another way they'll also be 1/2 unicorn and 1/2 earth pony."

"So what about gestation? Humans take 9 months. How long do ponies take?"

"About the same."

"So does that mean that because we were next to Rainbow Dash and Applejack you got pregnant, that they got pregnant and Fluttershy got pregnant as well?"

"Quite possibly."

"What about Rarity? Or is that just too weird even for magic to do?"

"I don't think so in her case, but we'll definitely find out when we get back to Equestria."

Rick just sat there, a bit of a goofy smile on his face as he absorbed all this. "Wow. You are totally awesome, did you know that?"

"I'm sure I could have figured it out eventually."

"Well then my dear, we need to celebrate this. You want to go to the Japanese restaurant tonight and get some sushi or would you prefer we just order in and spend a quiet night under the stars?"

"Is there any reason we can't do both?" Twilight asked with an impish grin.

"Yeah, I'm not that hungry enough for two dinners. So how about dinner at the Japanese place, then we come back here and order some dessert from room service?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Excellent. I'll call to make reservations."

That evening, they dined at one of the a la carte restaurants. These had a special menu which cost a premium. Rick had chosen the Japanese place as the only other choice was the steakhouse which Twilight still didn't want to eat at. On their way back to the room he stopped off at the main dining room, spoke to the dining room captain and passed him a $50.00 bill along with the end of the cruise tip envelope. The captain agreed and said it would be done.

"What was that all about?" Twilight asked as they headed back to their room.

"Just giving the man his tip for his service these past two weeks."

Back in their room, Twilight grabbed a blanket and headed off to the balcony. As such she didn't hear the knock on the door and the room service order that Rick had arranged with the dining room captain. 

He called her back and there on the table was a platter of fresh seasonal fruits, chocolate covered strawberries, small assorted cakes, a bottle of sparkling fruit juice and a copy of "The Princess Bride" on DVD. Twilight smiled at this, walked over to her husband and gave him a long, lingering kiss followed by a simple "thank you".

They spent the evening cuddling on the couch, nibbling their desserts and watching their favourite movie. When it was done, they then walked out hand in hand to the balcony, snuggled under a blanket and watched the stars before going back in to sleep.

The next morning found them pulling into Barcelona. Their bags were packed and ready to go and they had opted to carry them out themselves as it meant they could get off the ship faster this way. The bill for all the excursions not to mention the extra food and alcohol they had was paid and they disembarked the ship, hailed a taxi and went straight to the airport.

The trip back home was uneventful. Like before they were able to get a first class cabin on the leg from London to back home but unlike before they just relaxed, slept a bit and generally took it easy. 

Finally back home, they did those small things that people always do when coming back from an extended vacation. Check the mail that your neighbour brought in, make sure the house was still intact, sit on the couch and have a coffee and say how nice it is to finally be back home. Although in a way it wasn't going to be home for much longer. In a few months they'd be moving to the farmhouse and then there would be regular visits and even extended stays in Equestria. Rick already had plans on introducing things like coffee to Ponyville. Maybe even open a small coffee shop or something. 

Two months later, their new home was ready in the country and they were ready to move their belongings. 

Twilight was just starting her second trimester and she was getting a noticeable bump. Rick, the nervous first time father, insisted on doing everything he could for her which annoyed her to no end. 

"Darling, please. I'm more than capable of putting the dishes in the box and taping it up. I don't need your help."

"I know, I know, " Rick said, "but I just don't want you to strain yourself or anything. You should be taking it easy, I can do all this, " he said while indicating the chaos of boxes and empty shelves around them.

"No, you can't. You need my help and women have been working up until the final days of their pregnancies for thousands of years. I might need to sit down a little more often but right now, I'm still fine. I know you worry and I know you're only doing this because you love me. But please, back off." 

"Okay, you're the boss, " he said as he went back to packing the books. This would last for a couple of hours then he would start fussing again. It was going to be a long and interesting move as far as Twilight was concerned. However Rick was not the only one who made the packing and the move interesting.

Some mothers seem to lose any and all desire during their pregnancy but Twilight for some reason seemed to go the other way. She was hormonal quite often and more than once while they were in the process of packing or going about their daily routines she'd walk up behind Rick, grab him from behind and slowly start to rub herself against him while kissing the back of his neck or nibbling on his ears. Twilight was simply glowing during all this time and as far as Rick was concerned, she had never looked more beautiful or desirable. So packing sometimes took on a whole new meaning and it did take a lot longer to do than it would have before. 

Finally, came the day that they had been looking forward to for the past several months. The old house had been transferred to the new owners, their farmhouse was finally their own and ready to be lived in and they were ready to set up the portal. Twilight had been in contact with Celestia a few times, somehow they were able to communicate using Twilight's magic and the feather. Rick didn't understand a word of it or how it worked but just went with it anyway. It was easier that way.

When talking about the plans to the contractors, they had arranged to have a small storage room in the basement. It was really nothing more than a short hallway that had been blocked at one end but it would be perfect for what they planned. Going back and forth between Equestria and Earth meant that clothes would get in the way on the going there and would be needed on the way back. So the hallway became a sort of changing area with a doorway on one end and the soon to be completed portal on the next. 

Twilight stood there, alicorn feather pressed to her forehead where her horn would have been had she been a unicorn at that point. Her magic glowed and enveloped the feather, there seemed to be some whispering going on but Rick couldn't quite find the source. Twilight's hair started to move on its own even if there was no breeze in the hallway. Her eyes opened, they glowed with a power of their own and she brought the feather to the blank wall in front of them. The wall went translucent as if an extremely high powered light was turned on behind it. The whispering became louder, the wall was now flickering between reality and... something else. To Rick's eyes it looked like a series of rapidly changing scenes, you occasionally could see one flicker by it would be replaced with something else that you couldn't quite make out. The flickering started to slow. The energy crackling around Twilight was intense, sending off little sparks from time to time that almost tingled when they struck your skin. The scene finally slowed down, stopped and they were presented with a familiar looking cheap plain white door. The energy in the hallway slowed down, Twilight's hair went back to normal, her eyes closed and she stumbled a bit when it was done.

"Easy babe!" Rick rushed forward to catch her before she fell. "Oooh, somebody's put on a little weight, " he grunted. Luckily for him she was still a little out of it or else she might have decked him.

She blinked a few times before she came back to her senses and Rick helped her back to her feet. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him and asked, "are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's take a look." Rick reached out and opened the door and was confronted with a sight he had never thought he'd see again. It was the library in Ponyville. The two humans quickly disrobed and walked through, the magic turning them back into their pony forms.

"Greetings and welcome back to Equestria, " Princess Celestia said. She nuzzled Twilight affectionately and give a quick nuzzle to Rick as well. She looked strangely at Twilight for a moment, then smiled and said, "oh my! Twilight Sparkle are you...?" She was cut off at that point by Spike who finally having heard the two come back in yelled excitedly from across the room.

"Twilight! Rick!" Spike cried as he ran over to see them. The young dragon had hit a growth spurt during the last time they had seen him. He was still a young dragon but a young dragon that was a head taller than he was last time. 

"Lookin' good lil bro!" Rick said while giving him a hoofbump. Twilight went for the more practical route of hugging him. 

Spike took one look at her and said, "wow Twilight, looks like somepony needs to cut back on the cupcakes." Twilight, Rick & Celestia just grinned at this. "What?" he asked looking at all of them.

"Well Spike, you're right. I have gained some weight but it's all for a good cause. In a little under 6 months you're going to be an uncle."

He looked confused at that for a moment then his look of confusion was replaced with one of wonder and awe. "You mean you're pregnant too? What are the odds?"

"Who else is pregnant?" Twilight asked although she was pretty sure which ones of her friends were.

"Well, Applejack and Fluttershy are for sure. Rarity is coming into season soon and she's hinting at it. I don't think she wants to be left out,  " Spike said.

"I notice you didn't mention Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash, " Rick said.

"Yeah, well Rainbow Dash was worried it would interfere with her tryouts for the Wonderbolts next month so Applejack was the one that got it this time. And Pinkie Pie just isn't ready yet but she says she's more than happy to be the foalsitter once everypony has foaled."

"Cool. I'm guessing that Big Mac is the father of Fluttershy's, but what about Applejack?"

Spike looked at Twilight and asked, "he doesn't know about the bonding?"

"I told him part of it, but not everything."

"Okay, now I'm lost. What's this about the bonding and how are foals involved?"

"Remember at the wedding when Rainbow Dash pulled out one of her feathers, I made the comment about how they were actually bonding?"

"Yeah, and you explained they were monogamous from then on. Which begs the question as to who was the father?"

"We'll get to that. But right now, let's walk and talk. Pinkie Pie has set up a little welcome back party at Sugar Cube corner and you know how she gets when her guests are late?"

Rick shuddered a bit knowing that the pink party pony could get really crazy when that happened. The quartet left the library and made their way over to the cafe as Twilight continued her story.

"As you know, not everypony goes through the bonding ceremony. In that ceremony you're saying that when you are joined that's it, nopony else is allowed. Just you and your spouse and you'll literally be together for the rest of your lives."

"Okay, I still don't get what this has to do with them having a foal. Last time I checked they were both still mares unless one of them grew something in which case I don't think I want to know about it."

"Nothing quite so obvious. No, when two ponies are joined, they're together forever. It doesn't matter if they're both stallions, both mares or a stallion and a mare. It's a bond you can never break or ever get between. Literally, they can only be with each other from now on. But as they're both mares, they can have a foal using the magic of the bonding."

Rick thought about this and the implications of it. "Hold on, so if two mares can have a foal without a stallion does that mean that this foal is automatically a filly?"

Twilight nodded with a smile. She knew her husband was smart and capable of figuring out the rest of it.

"So would this be why there's so many fillies compared to stallions?"

"More or less. A lot of fillies want to go through the bonding with their coltfriend and once he's joined he's off the market which leaves a lot of fillies without one."

"And because there's a lack of available stallions, this leads to more fillyfooling which leads to more bonding of said fillies which leads to more fillies being born. Damn, my mind has just been blown!" Rick said as they pulled up to Sugar Cube corner.

The 4 of them stepped in, there was a shout of "Welcome back!", an explosion of confetti and Pinkie Pie jumping up and down like a lunatic. 

Twilight was immediately surrounded by her friends. She hugged them, they hugged her back, she commented on Applejack and Fluttershy being with foal and they did the same thing to her. 

Rick sauntered over to Big Mac and gave a hoofbump to the farm pony.

"So married life treating you well?"

"Eeyup."

"That's good. Looking forward to being a father?"

"Eeyup."

"Bit odd that three fillies get pregnant all about the same time don't you think?"

"Eeyup."

"Twilight says it's because of the bonding magic and we were all close by when it happened."

"Eeyup."

"So what's your view of the current socio-political climate vis-a-vis the monarchy and their total adherence to traditional methods of governance instead of a mandate from the masses?" Rick said with a grin.

Big Mac just looked at him and sighed before launching into a well thought out spiel that totally destroyed any concept that he was anything other than a simple farm pony. Big Mac was very well read and educated, he just preferred his carefully crafted laconic and laid back attitude. 

"Can I have everypony's attention please?" Celestia said. All eyes turned towards their monarch. "Thank you. I just wanted to use this time to welcome both Twilight Sparkle and Rick back to Equestria and that even though you have another world beyond the library both of you still have a home here. I wish you all many happy years and as I see several are with foal a wish for a bright and happy future."

"To the future!" Rick said raising his punch in salute.

"To the future!" everypony responded in kind.

> And Baby Makes Three
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At 8 months pregnant, Twilight Sparkle found pregnancy to be a little difficult. The weight threw off her balance so she had to be careful in how she moved and her lower back ached constantly. 

Rick was able to help out with the lower back ache by giving her the occasional gentle massage but this was not always possible and sometimes it didn't work. She did find however that her pony body was a lot better equipped to deal with this than her human form and so, she spent a lot of time in Equestria spending time with her books or sitting in the cafe with an equally gravid Fluttershy and / or Applejack. Rarity would join them often, her estrus having passed without trying to get pregnant. Perhaps she just enjoyed the attention that Spike gave her during those times or maybe she just needed to find the right stallion to sire her foal.

There were times however that in crossing the portal between Earth and Equestria that were painful for Twilight. Her guts felt all twisted around and the last time it felt like she had been bucked in the stomach. Up until then she just assumed the baby was changing form along with her. But then maybe it wasn't and her change in size was causing some damage. The pain did go away rather quickly so they weren't too concerned although Fluttershy did confirm that everything was okay and proceeding normally.

Eventually it was decided that she shouldn't be crossing the portal in her condition just in case and for the duration she should pick one side of the portal and simply stay there. As she was already there and it was easier to handle in her pony body, Twilight choose Equestria which meant that Rick spent a week bringing things for Twilight back and forth from Earth to Equestria just so she could have the best of both worlds. Needless to say there were a lot of extension cords running through the portal. 

A small HDTV and Blu-Ray player as well as her old laptop were set up in the living area of the library and a selection of DVDs were brought in. Needless to say, this room became the place for the fillies to meet. It wasn't long before they were organising movie nights based on a certain genre. 

Late one night, after having watched "The Fellowship of the Ring" and all the fillies had gone home, Rick lay in bed and cradled his very pregnant wife in his hooves. 

Twilight felt heavy and bloated but took Rick's attention and the small things he did as proof that he still loved her. But even then, there were times she simply didn't feel attractive anymore.

"Babe, you need to stop thinking like that, " Rick said as he gently stroked her mane. "I still find you attractive, exciting, beautiful, desirable, and all those good things that a stallion is supposed to feel towards his mare." He punctuated each adjective with a kiss and finished it off with a passionate kiss full on the lips. 

"I know, " she sighed, "but I still can't help feeling you'd rather be with a younger and thinner filly than me."

Rick chuckled a bit a this but without malice. "Twi, do you honestly think I'd bother doing all this for you if I wanted another filly? Besides, you're the one that didn't want to go through the bonding spell when I brought it up at the wedding."

She sighed, the stroking of her mane felt really good and it was making her sleepy but she needed to say this before falling asleep. "What about us getting intimate? I haven't felt very sexy lately and I know it's been a while for you."

"Twi. Your body is going through a lot of changes, you're hormonal, you feel up then you feel down so I don't blame you. Once the baby is born, you'll start to feel normal again but don't think for a moment that you're unattractive to me. I look in your eyes, I look at your face and I see the same filly that I fell in love with."

Twilight snuggled in closer to her husband and sighed. "I'm so lucky to have you. I hesitate to think what could have happened if we never got together."

"Babe, if anything I'm lucky to have you. Every morning when I wake up and I see your face, I thank my lucky stars that you're there. And every evening when I go to sleep, I'm just happy that you're the last face I see before closing my eyes." He kissed her gently, trying to put all his feelings into that one kiss. 

Gently he lay her down, then getting behind her he held her until she fell asleep.

The days that followed were pretty much routine. Rick would go back and forth to Earth, do what needed to be done there, take care of Twilight and in the evenings when she was getting tired, gently hold her until she slept. Right now she needed his presence especially when going to sleep. Rick felt like she was drawing some kind of strength or something from him directly. There were a few times that she did want to get frisky with him, the doctor had said it was okay provided there was no pain and that no stress was placed on Twilight. So they took it slowly, taking their time and enjoying the closeness that the act brought to them.

When the day finally came, they were in the middle of breakfast when Twilight went a little grey and gave a started, "ouch".

"You okay?"

"I don't know, I just felt a... Rick I think we need to get to the hospital. I think the foal is coming."

Adrenaline rushed through Rick's system at those words, he jumped up, full of nervous energy and asked as calmly as he could, "it's time? Are you sure?"

Twilight just nodded her head. Rick ran upstairs to grab the saddle bags they had prepared weeks ago just for this event. Gently helped her to her feet and they slowly made their way to the hospital. 

When they arrived they were surprised to see that Big Macintosh and Rainbow Dash were already there. It seems that Applejack and Fluttershy had already gone into labour as well. 

Twilight Sparkle was taken into one of the examination rooms, Rick stood there by her side as she gripped his hoof. Part of him was glad she wasn't human at the moment because her grip might have broken his hand based on how she was gripping his hoof. Her contractions were coming more and more rapidly but the doctor was nowhere to be seen. Rick wanted to run out to find one, but Twilight wouldn't let go of his hoof.

The doctor finally showed up, took one look at her and said, "okay, you're ready, " he turned to Rick and said, "you'll have to wait outside." Rick was going to argue but the doctor cut him off saying, "there's not enough room here for you, me, the patient, the nurse and everything else I'm going to need to deliver your foal. Now move!" 

Rick wandered out of the room, back to the waiting room to wait along with Big Mac and Rainbow Dash.

"So, been here long?"

"Eeyup."

"Yeah."

"Great, " Rick said sitting down only to stand back up again. He knew everything was going to be alright. Twilight read all the books she could on being pregnant and followed their advice to the letter. She ate only what she was supposed to eat, exercised like she was supposed to and did whatever else that was on her list. And yet, he still worried and wanted something to do.

A nurse came in, "Big Macintosh?"

The three looked up expectantly, eager to hear what had happened.

"It's a colt, " she said with a smile. "If you'd care to follow me."

Big Macintosh stood up, a look of wonder on his face as he stepped out to Fluttershy's room to see his son. Rick and Rainbow Dash were hot on his heels.

When they got there, Fluttershy was holding him in her hooves. She looked tired but had an air of serenity on her face. The colt was a sturdy little orange earth pony, his coat a little darker than his aunt Applejack. Big Macintosh, stoic as ever couldn't help but shed a few tears of joy at seeing his son for the first time. He stepped over to nuzzle his wife and to greet his son first hand. Rainbow Dash and Rick stepped into the room to also great the youngest of the Apple family.

"He's beautiful, " Rainbow Dash said to both parents. "Have you thought of a name?"

"Nnnnope." Big Mac said with his usual concise manner.

"I am guessing that 'apple' will be part of his name?" Rick asked.

"Oh definitely, " Fluttershy said. 

They admired the young colt for a little while longer when the nurse came in. "There you are Rainbow Dash, just to inform you that you have a filly."

Rainbow Dash took after her namesake and blew out of the room as quickly as her wings could take her to Applejack's room to meet her daughter. Everypony could see the desire in Big Mac's eyes to also get a look at his niece but he couldn't leave his wife and newborn son. 

"Don't worry Big Mac, I'm sure your niece will be fine. If you want I can go take a look and give you both a status update?"

Both ponies agreed and Rick made his way to Applejack's room where she was cradling a filly in her hooves while Rainbow Dash hovered above to get a better view. She was a beige coloured pegasus with an orange mane. 

"Yes! A pegasus! My girl is a pegasus! Booyah!" Rainbow Dash cheered emphasising it with a hoof pump as she did victory laps around the room.

"Congratulations you two, " Rick said.

"Hey there Stretch. Sorry I cain't get up to greet ya', " Applejack said.

"That's okay AJ, perfectly understandable. By the way, did Rainbow Dash tell you you've got a nephew?"

"Fluttershy had her foal as well? That is good news. So where's yer better half?" 

"I'm guessing Rainbow Dash didn't tell you that either. She's currently in labour, we showed up and you and Fluttershy had already been admitted."

"Well ain't that a buck in the head. Three of us git knocked up the same night and give birth the same day. That's a mighty big co-incidence. But that don't matter none. Say hello to my daughter. We haven't given her a name yet."

"Speed Runner! Her name is Speed Runner!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Now sugarcube, I thought we went over this. We wasn't goin' to be giving names for at least a week until we can see what kind of pony she is."

"She's going to be the best, fastest and most skilled flyer in all of Equestria! That's who my girl is going to be!" 

Applejack just sighed, she was in no condition to argue the point right now. Rick greeted the newest little pony. "Hello there, whatever your name is. I'm your uncle Rick no relation by blood but that doesn't actually mean anything."

"She's beautiful, just like her dam, " Rick said to Applejack.

"You're such a sweet talker. I can see why Twilight wanted to keep y'all to herself. Silver tongue of yours could easily turn a filly's head."

"Much obliged, but I'll leave you three now. Big Mac will want an update on his niece and I need to be available when our foal is born."

Rick walked out of the room back towards Fluttershy & Big Mac. When he got to the room, Fluttershy was sleeping and the colt had been taken to the nursery. He wandered over in that direction and saw Big Macintosh, his face pressed up against the glass just admiring his son.

"Hey Big Mac, just got back from AJ's room. You're an uncle to a beige pegasus with an orange mane. Rainbow Dash wants to call her 'Speed Runner' but your sister hasn't agreed to it yet."

Big Mac just smiled and nodded at that. Rick joined him at the window but soon got bored and his mind turned back to his wife who was currently giving birth. "Sorry, Big Macintosh, I'm gonna head back. I'll see you again when all this is over."

Big Macintosh just smiled and nodded then turned his head back to the window. Rick wandered back through to the waiting room and simply waited, and waited, and waited eventually falling asleep. An unknown amount of time later, he was woken up by a nurse who was shaking him and calling his name.

"Wha?" he said as he woke up only to focus on the nurse that was shaking him awake. He came awake immediately after and got to his hooves waiting for the news.

"Congratulations, it's a filly."

To this day, Rick said he did not know how he actually made it to the room as he was shaking so much but he made it. Twilight was there, her mane all mussed up and her face streaked with sweat yet she looked radiant. She smiled tiredly at him and said, "come and meet your filly."

With trembling steps, a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes he walked over to see his newborn daughter. She was a violet unicorn with a black mane. She opened her eyes for a moment and Rick felt like she looked directly into his soul even though he knew a newborn can't really see anything but he felt his heart skip a beat and he just fell in love with her at that moment. This was really his daughter, a new life that depended on him for everything. He wiped away the tears and kissed his wife gently on the forehead. Then sitting down on the bed next to her just looked at and admired the new life in front of them.

"She's beautiful, just like her mother."

"She's got her father's mane, " Twilight said.

"Well, let's hope she gets your brain although my sense of humour would be a good thing."

"Don't push it mister. One of you is all I think I can take."

Rick chuckled and kissed her again. "And before I forget. Fluttershy had a colt, an earth pony and Applejack also had a filly but she's a pegasus. No names yet but Rainbow Dash wants to call her 'Speed Runner'."

Twilight giggled a bit at Rainbow Dash's name for her daughter. "That filly is going to have a lot to live up to, especially with a name like that." She looked thoughtful for a moment before turning to Rick and asking, "have you thought of a name?"

"There is one, although it might be a little different here than it is there. But I'm thinking 'Twyla'. It's from the old English for twilight or early evening and it's root is in the French word etoile which means 'star'. So Twyla who came from her mother Twilight and she's the star in my sky. I don't know if we can make a pony name from that, but I'm sure with some jigging we can make it work."

Twilight ran the name through her mind and said, "Twyla Sparkle. I like it, " she looked down at the tiny bundle in her hooves and said, "hello Twyla, welcome to the world." Twyla decided at that moment to yawn and stretch her little hooves as if in response. Both parents smiled at this monumental act.

Eventually the nurse came to put the filly in the bassinette and took her out to the nursery with the rest of the foals. Twilight's eyes slowly started to close and Rick allowed her to take a nap. He went back to the nursery where Big Mac was still admiring his son along with Rainbow Dash. They noticed Rick come over and he pointed out his daughter to them.

The proud parents stood around admiring their offspring when an explosion seemed to go off in the nursery. There was a flash and there stood Pinkie Pie bouncing up and down like a frog on crack.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Lookatthelittlefoalsthey'resocute! Thisissocool!" she said looking from one foal to the next.

A nurse showed up to see what the commotion was about, recognised Pinkie Pie from the last time she did this and gently but firmly ushered her out.

"Hey Pinkie Pie, did you catch a glimpse of my daughter! She's the pegasus right there, " Rainbow Dash said pointing proudly at her filly on the other side of the glass.

"She's so cute I just want to hold her and squeeze her and just eat her up!" Pinkie Pie gushed making "nom nom nom" sounds. She also then gushed over the other two foals of her friends wanting to do the same thing.

"We need to have a party for this! Three new foals, and I'm an aunt three times today. This has to be a super duper extra special bestest party ever! We'll have cake and ice cream and party games and my super duper extra special party punch! Wheee!" Pinkie Pie continued to bounce around then stopped and asked, "so what are their names?"

"I want to call mine Speed Runner because she's gonna be the fastest pegasus ever. Even faster than me!" She paused a moment before adding, "but we might call her something different because AJ doesn't like that name."

"Ah'm thinking Porter. That's a type of apple like the colour of my son's coat, " Big Macintosh said.  

"Twyla Sparkle. The source of the name comes from Twilight and the French word for star, " Rick said.

"Ooooh! Three cute little foals with three cute little names! Hee hee hee! I gotta go see the mothers, " and with those words she raced out to see the mothers.  

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm going to go check on Twilight before Pinkie Pie traumatises her too much, " Rick said giving a hoofbump to Big Mac and Rainbow Dash.

He arrived at Twilight's room just in time to see Pinkie Pie rush out like a bat out of hell. 

"So what was that all about?" he asked, sitting by the side of the bed.

"Oh, just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, " Twilight said as she lay back on the bed.

"So how you feeling? Can I get you anything?" Rick asked, gently taking her hoof in his.

"How about a cup of coffee? I think I can stomach it now." 

"Coming right up, " he said before giving her a kiss and heading out of the hospital. Partway through her pregnancy, coffee was suddenly something Twilight couldn't drink anymore without feeling ill. Just the smell of it was enough to turn her stomach so she had to stop drinking it and in a feat of solidarity Rick did as well. It was the hardest time of his life and now his wife was asking for a cup which meant that he too could make some. Almost giddy with pleasure he made it back home to the farmhouse where he dusted off the coffee maker and proceeded to make enough to fill a small thermos. As it was brewing, he decided it was time to call his folks and give them the good news. After all, they'd want to know when their first Grandchild was born.

The phone on the other end rang a few times before his father answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Dad, it's Rick. Look, I've got some news."

"Did Twilight had the baby? 

"Yes she did. It's a girl."

"That's great news Rick, " his father took the receiver away from his mouth and yelled at his wife. "Honey! Twilight just had the baby! It's a girl!" 

Rick heard his mother shout in the background and the extension pick up.

"She had the baby? Oh that's great news! How big was she? What's her name?"

"Mum, you know we're at the commune right now and they don't do stuff like that here. Her name is 'Twyla' and she's looking forward to seeing her grandparents. Right now, Twilight is resting comfortably and we'll be here for a few more days before heading back home. We'll let you know when and you can come see her."

"But I don't understand why I can't see her now? Surely as the grandparents they'd let us in?"

"Mum, we discussed this. These hippies are really an insular sort, they don't take too kindly to strangers and they're not equipped to handle guests. They only tolerate me because I'm Twilight's husband and I helped them mend a fence. It's a 1 day drive just to get out here from where you are 'cause it's literally in the middle of nowhere. Now I can't talk much longer, this is costing me a lot of money to call you as it's the only phone the commune has and right now I've got a lineup behind me to use it. I'll call you when we get back."

"Alright, but you had better let us know the minute you walk through the door."

"I will Mum. Talk to you later. Bye Dad."

"Goodbye son, we'll see you then."

He hung up, let out a heavy sigh and proceeded to fill the thermos with the freshly brewed coffee. Walking back to the portal, he put everything into the saddlebags and walked through. Trotting back to the hospital, Twilight greeted him with a smile as he pulled the thermos out of his bag.

A blast of magic from her horn and she poured herself a cup. Inhaling deeply from her cup he smiled and took a sip. "That's the stuff, " she said. 

"I spoke to my folks, they're excited to meet their new granddaughter, " Rick said as he clumsily poured himself a cup as well. He was getting better at using his hooves for manipulating things but relied on Twilight for a lot. "But I told them we were still at the commune which is where you wanted to give birth and we'd be back in a few days." They had come up with the idea of using the "commune" as a quick and dirty way of explaining where they went when spending any time in Equestria. So when Twilight decided to spend the last few weeks of her pregnancy in Equestria, they had simply told his folks they'd be there for the duration as Twilight wanted to give birth naturally according to her hippie upbringing. They of course bought it hook, line a sinker.

"A few days? I should be out of here in a couple of hours at most."

"Yeah, I just wanted you to relax and get to know Twyla before having to deal with my mother. She's warmed up to you, especially now that you're the mother of my child but part of her still hasn't forgiven me or you for having a city hall wedding and not letting her make any of the arrangements."

Twilight giggled a bit at Rick's exasperation. She knew he loved his mother dearly, but even that didn't make up for the hell she sometimes put him through. "Good thinking on your part, " she was about to continue when the nurse showed up bringing Twyla with her. It was time for the little filly to nurse. She brought the tiny bundle to her mother, helped her sit up a little more and showed her how to cradle the filly as she nursed.

When finished, the nurse left the bassinette in the room and advised Twilight that once the doctor had given her a checkup, she was free to leave. Almost immediately after, Rarity and Spike showed up. 

Rarity cooed and fawned over the little filly. Twyla looked at her with a grave expression as if asking, "what are you talking about?" Spike looked proudly at his niece. His family was growing by leaps and bounds and he never felt better about it than now. They chatted a little while longer but Rarity had the rounds to make and had to see the other foals. 

When they were finally alone Twilight looked at Rick and asked, "do you want to hold her?"

He giggled a little nervously at that and said, "yeah, but I'm afraid I'd drop her or something. You know me, all thumbs... or hooves in this case... I can wait until we get to Earth and I'd have fingers then?"

"Nonsense, you're going to need to do this eventually. So come here, " she urged a slightly reluctant Rick to come forward to the bed where he sat down. "Now take her... gently... that's it... cradle her head... that's right... now support her on the other side... and there you go. Daddy's little filly."

Holding his newborn foal in his hooves was possibly one of the most spiritual moments of Rick's life. It was something he never thought he'd be ready for and yet here it was. He smiled at her and was unable to keep from smiling at his newborn daughter. "Oh this is bad, " Rick said.

"What? What's bad?" Twilight said with a momentary fear before seeing Rick was still smiling.

"Now that I picked her up, and I've held her. I don't know if I ever want to put her down." 

But eventually he did. The doctor came by, checked on Twilight and said she was ready to go whenever she wanted. Rick got her in a wheelchair, placed Twyla in her lap and pushed her out to the reception desk so they could get signed out. Both Fluttershy and Applejack had already checked out so the two ponies figured they'd go see them over the next few days if for nothing else than for Twilight to see the new foals.

The paperwork done, Rick helped Twilight to her feet while holding his filly's blanket wrapped form in his teeth and they headed out slowly to the library.

Twilight took Twyla upstairs and placed her in her crib. She looked happily at the culmination of her and her husband's love as the filly slept. 

Rick came up behind her and gave her a kiss saying, "you look a little tired. Want to take a nap? I'll make something for lunch and bring it back over here?"

Twilight smiled dreamily and said, "that would be nice. Thank you, " she kissed her husband before he left then got under the covers and almost immediately fell asleep.
> Meet the Grandparents
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Life for Twilight and Rick took on a whole new meaning once Twyla was born. There were midnight feedings, diaper changes and a new respect for what their parents had gone through. There were times, especially when Twyla was fussing or simply wouldn't stop crying, that he suspected she was doing this on purpose just to mess with them. But then he remembered that she was just a baby and such things made no sense. 

They were however confronted with a problem. After a few days of rest in Equestria, they had to make the trip back to Earth if for no other reason than to introduce her to her grandparents and to register her birth. Foals in Equestria mature a lot faster than their human counterparts so how would this affect their daughter?

It's not just a simple matter of having her cross the portal, she would effectively have to learn two separate forms. A pony form in Equestria and a human form on Earth. Typically, after a month or so, foals were walking and in some cases saying their first words. On Earth, a baby won't walk unaided for at least a year and other than babbling wouldn't start to make any sense until about the second year. 

But those were questions and issues for the future. Right now, they had to bring Twyla to the other side. Celestia had assured them that this would not harm the foal in any way but they were still nervous about doing so. 

In order to make the transition smoother, they decided to place Twyla in a basket and then push or pull her over. There was a slight cut in magic when making the crossing so Twilight couldn't use her horn and Rick's jaws weren't strong enough in his human form to hold onto the baby. So it was either awkwardly try to hold her while making the transition or push or pull her through some other way. It wasn't exactly dignified, but Twyla was only a baby so she didn't know any better.

They needn't have worried, Twyla made the transition with no ill effects and probably didn't even realise anything untoward had happened to her. As usual, there was that momentary feeling of vertigo in switching from quadruped to biped but they were so used to it by now that it hardly bothered them.

Rick picked up the basket and brought the newest member of their family upstairs to her new room. When she had been safely put into her crib, Rick called out for Twilight to see where she was.

"I'm in here, " she said a little distantly from the master bedroom.

Rick walked in and saw Twilight staring at her figure in the full length mirror in their room. She had her hands on her belly, noting the flaccid state it was in as well as the extra weight she was carrying. She sighed and looked at Rick, a slightly worried expression on her face. He walked up to her, took her in his arms and hugged her.

"Don't worry about that, you've been carrying a new life inside you for the past several months and it's normal that your belly is like that. It will go away in time, you just need to eat right, exercise and you'll see in a couple of months it'll barely be noticeable. And hey, " he said pulling back a bit, "look what it did for you here, " he said gently touching her swollen breasts.

"Did you hear me complaining about the breasts?" she said looking him straight in the eye. "It's just, I look in the mirror and I don't recognise myself anymore."

"I recognise you Twilight and you're still the same woman in my eyes no matter how you look."

"Thanks, " she said bringing him in close and squeezing him tight. "I think it's time to get dressed and see if there's anything here that still fits me. Where did I put my sweat pants?" 

Once dressed they went downstairs, relaxed a bit and it was time to call the grandparents. 

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Twilight asked.

"No, but that's never stopped me before, " Rick answered.

The phone rang twice before his mother picked up. "Rick? Is that you?"

"Yes mother, it's me. We're back home, just made it through the door and Twyla is upstairs sleeping, " then as if on cue Twyla's cries were heard downstairs and Twilight went upstairs to check on her. "Actually sounds like she's awake now, Twi's gone upstairs to check on her."

"That's nice dear. So your father and I will be coming over and should be there this evening around 6pm. You're okay with us staying for the next few weeks?"

"Of course mother, I wouldn't have it any other way. The guest room is all set up for you, and I hope you're going to like what we did with the house."

"I hope so too. See you in a couple of hours."

"Bye Mum, " Rick said and hung up the phone. He went upstairs to check on Twilight and the baby. He found her sitting in the baby's room, rocking gently back and forth with Twyla at her breast.

"It's a little different this way than as a pony isn't it?" he said with a smile.

"Yes it is, but it doesn't really feel any different. So what did your parents say?"

"They're going to be here in a couple of hours and as we discussed they're going to be staying for the next few weeks. So I'm heading out to the market to get some supplies, afterwards I'll make a quick stop to Equestria and basically tell Spike or whomever is there that we'll be incommunicado for a few weeks while my folks are here."

"Okay, have fun."

"Anything in particular you want or need?"

"Can't think of anything right now, but I'll let you know."

"Cool, " he gave her a quick kiss and gently stroked his daughter's cheek before leaving.

The nearby grocery store was a pretty small and local affair and had been family run for several generations. Rick knew the current owner, not that that was surprising as it serviced a small community but he was the same man that owned it back when his grandparents owned the house and he used to come up here for the summer. He walked in and was immediately greeted by the owner who was currently behind the cash.

"Hey there Rick! Haven't seen you in a couple weeks. Your wife had that baby yet?"

"Afternoon Mr. Johnson, yeah we had a girl a few days ago, just brought her back home now and my folks are coming up to stay for a few weeks. I need to get some emergency supplies before they show up."

"That's great news son! What's her name?"

"Twyla, 6 pounds & 3 ounces or 2.8 kilos, " he said making up the numbers on the spot. People expected the weight to be told so he just went with it.

"She sounds precious. Congratulations!" 

"Thanks Mr. Johnson. I'd love to stay and chat but I'm on a bit of a schedule. You know how my wife is with her schedules, " Rick said with a wink.

"I've been married for 50 years son. Trust me, I know all about it. Get what you need, I'll see you when you're ready to pay."

Rick wandered through the store checking out the produce and the other options. He didn't have much time for cooking something really fancy tonight, they had pasta back home so he'd do something with that and some kind of seafood. This would be paired with a nice salad, some garlic bread and he needed something for dessert. But what? A pint basket of fresh strawberries caught his eye and he had the answer.

"Okay, so that's 2 pounds of frozen shrimp, some heavy cream, French bread, a dozen eggs, 1 pound tomatoes, bunch of radishes, scallions, red pepper, cucumber and a pint of strawberries. That'll be $20.00 total, and here's something for your daughter." He pulled out a small plush toy that made Rick smile because of the irony.

"Mr. Johnson, thank you but it's not necessary, " Rick said as he handed the money over. It was a little more costly than the large supermarket but that was not only further away but he felt better helping out the small local businessman especially one he knew for so long.

"Nonsense son, you've been coming here every summer since the time you were a kid. Your grandparents and your mother were good customers of mine and I hope that you and your family stay that way."

He took the plush toy, thanked the owner and walked out with his groceries. On the drive back home he wondered how Twilight would react to the toy.

"Hey babe, I'm home!" he called out as he brought the bag into the kitchen and started putting things away. There was no answer from upstairs. He walked to the foot of the stairs and listened, there was no sound coming from the upper level of the house. He made his way slowly upstairs just in case Twi or the baby were sleeping but both the baby's room and the master bedroom were empty. He was about to check the portal just in case she had gone back to Equestria for whatever reason when he heard her voice coming through the open window. Cursing himself for overreacting, he went downstairs and onto the back porch where Twilight had taken little Twyla out for some fresh air.

Taking the plush toy with him he walked out onto the back porch. "Hey you, " he said, "I'm back, going to get a few things prepped for dinner but I needed to show you what Mr. Johnson at the store gave me for Twyla."

He pulled out the toy from behind his back and Twilight was shocked by what it was. It was a small violet coloured unicorn with a black mane. Almost an exact match for Twyla in her pony form.

"Take a look at this. How awesome a co-incidence is this?" Rick said holding out the toy.

"I'm shocked and amazed, " she said taking the toy from him. She turned it over in her hands, looking at it from every angle. "How is this possible?"

"Honestly it looks like a Beanie Baby knock off. My guess is he had bought this a long time ago, it didn't sell and he's been trying to get rid of it ever since. I do suggest we try to wash it before giving it to her to play with."

"Good idea." She gave the toy back to Rick then asked, "so what did you get?"

"We're not doing anything fancy tonight. Seafood pasta, a salad, garlic bread and dessert which involves strawberries."

"Sounds yummy."

"So I need to do some prep work, and notify Equestria of our lack of communication for the next little while. You stay here, regain your strength and if you need me you know where to call." A quick kiss and Rick was back in the kitchen.

He could wait to start the dessert later, but it would keep in the fridge and it saved him some time later if he started it now. There would be 4 of them for dinner, so he'd need 4 egg yolks. Looking at the egg whites he was already thinking of making a pavlova for later that week especially if the strawberries were as good as they looked.

He set some water to simmer on the stove and added a generous splash of masala to the yolks along with some sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of grated lemon peel. Whisking it all up until it was smooth, he waited for the water to start to boil.

Placing the bowl over the now gently boiling water, he started to whisk the egg mixture as much as he could. The idea was to cook the eggs while not letting them curdle which was not an easy thing. It took some time, but the constant whisking incorporated air into the mixture and you wound up with a light type of custard the Italians called "zabaglione". He covered the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge to cool. 

Next on the list was the strawberries, they needed to be cleaned and hulled. A quick check when he cut into them showed they were dark red all the way through and sweet enough to not require any sugar. Excellent. He'd have to see Mr. Johnson again to get some more. Those also were covered and went in the fridge.

Not much else to do right now but the water that was still simmering on the stove gave him an idea. He started to heat up the water again, but added some sugar and freshly grated ginger and allowed the mixture to simmer for several minutes. In a large jug he juiced about 8 limes, added a handful of mint leaves, filled it with ice and added the filtered ginger / sugar water to it. Topping it off with some cold water he now had some fresh limeade with a bit of a kick. 

Taking out two large glasses, he added to them a shot of gin and filled the glass the rest of the way with the limeade and brought them outside.

"Care for something to drink?" Rick asked.

"You're wonderful, you know that? I was just about to ask you to bring me a glass of water or something." Twilight took the glass from him and took a sip. "Mmmmm, perfect. I knew there was a reason why I married you."

"You mean besides my manly charm, boyish good looks, freakish brilliance and skill in the kitchen as well as in the bedroom?"

"Yeah, we'll go with that, " she said with a smile. They clinked their glasses together, the ice making a tinkling sound as they did and just sat back and enjoyed the solitude. 

Glancing at his watch Rick saw it was pretty late. "Hell, it's already 5 and my folks will be here in about an hour. Look, I'll go tell Spike what's going on and then we can get ready and be set up for them when they show up. My guess is that they'll be hungry so we might as well be ready to eat when they get here."

Rick ran off, down to the basement where he entered the hallway to get to Equestria. He stripped off his clothes, bounded through the doorway and was greeted with silence. Nopony was here in the library, the door appeared to be locked so that probably meant that Spike was out for the rest of the day and the library was closed. He grabbed a quill and parchment and scribbled, "please do not enter until we come tell you it's okay, " and signed it with his name. Sticking it to the door, he closed it behind him and hurriedly pulled his clothes on before running back upstairs. Had he thought about this for a moment he would have realised that not only was his handwriting atrocious even as a human, he could still barely write Equestrian. 

"Everything set?" Twilight asked him when he came back up the stairs.

"Yeah, we're all good. If you want to get the table ready, I'll get started on dinner."

It wasn't long after Rick started cooking that there was a knock on the door and his parents finally showed up laden to bear with gifts for the baby and several suitcases. 

Greetings were made, his Mother cried on seeing her first Granddaughter, Twyla started to cry at some point, Twilight did her best to comfort the baby, nothing was really out of the ordinary.

Rick excused himself to go back into the kitchen and his father followed him. Rick offered him a glass of the spiked limeade which he accepted gratefully. 

"Hope we're not putting you out by staying. It's your Mother's idea, I figured the two of you could handle this considering that neither of you is working now."

"Dad, we're glad to have you here and with Twi's money she got from her grandfather not to mention the money we made on selling the old house we don't actually need to work. We've talked even of putting in some grapes in the fields back there and trying our hands at making wine. We can't plant until next year but the soil seems to be good for it so we'll see."

"Hey, I'm, your father, it's my job to worry about you and make sure you're doing your best. I know you're capable of taking care of yourself as well as your wife and daughter. You're a smart boy Rick. And you make a damn fine drink, " he said reaching for the pitcher to refill his glass.

"Thanks Dad, now if you'll excuse me I need to get back to finishing dinner. I'm assuming you guys are hungry after your trip?"

Twilight walked in at that point and noticed her father-in-law refilling his glass. "Walter please, let me do that, " she said walking forward and reaching for the pitcher.

He pulled it away saying, "none of that now Twilight. The only thing you're doing tonight is sitting and regaling us with embarrassing stories of Rick and the things he's done, " he said with a smile and a wink. In many ways, he and Rick were very similar but as the old saying goes the apple never falls far from the tree.

"Oh woe is me, my wife betraying my trust and trying to get in good with my parents at my expense, " Rick said with an overly melodramatic gesture.

"C'mon Twilight, " Walter said pulling some glasses from the cupboard and picking up the pitcher, "let's leave the master here in charge of the kitchen and we'll make fun of him in the living room just loud enough so he can hear us."

Twilight giggled at all this, liking the interplay between her husband and father-in-law knowing that they enjoyed this kind of banter.

"Yeah yeah, you just leave now but remember I'm the one cooking dinner and I know which plate is going to be yours so be nice."

Rick quickly went back to what he was doing. The salad didn't require much work, just tear up the romaine and a quick couple swipes on the mandoline and the veggies were sliced. The dressing was a quick vinaigrette that everybody enjoyed because of the garlic, and as he was making garlic bread it wasn't hard to crush an extra bulb or two for it. 

He sautéed the shrimp in a little bit of garlic, scallions, butter and white wine before adding the chopped tomatoes and letting that simmer for a bit. When it was done, he added some of the heavy cream and some freshly chopped basil before pulling it off the stove and adding the drained pasta. Mixing well to ensure that the sauce was well incorporated, he removed it from the heat and the ding of the timer assured that the garlic bread could be taken from under the broiler.

"Okay, if everybody wants to take their seats?" he called from the kitchen and everybody made their way to the dining room.

Rick figured they wouldn't stand on ceremony tonight and instead of plating everything individually just put out the bowls and platters on the table and allowed everybody to help themselves to what they wanted.

As they ate, Discord sat and waited. He was pretty much useless in this body, no power of which to speak of and he was reduced to the barest of influence. On the full grown ponies... or humans in this case it was like an afterthought. He couldn't control their minds or make them do anything they didn't want to. But with Twyla however, her mind was still developing which meant he could affect her greatly. Unfortunately this came out as nothing more than crying or fussing although he could see that it bothered Rick especially if he was in the middle of something and Twilight couldn't get to the baby in time. He did however take this with good grace which was something Discord didn't want. He wanted them angry, he wanted strife, he wanted chaos but hopefully one of his little plans would come to fruition.

It was he that sent Rick back to Equestria when the library would be empty and to leave a note thinking it was okay. In his haste, Rick started to write in his dreadful Equestrian but then switched to English partway through without realising it. When Spike, or whomever found the note they wouldn't heed the warning not to come and might actually come through. The chaos that would erupt when Rick's parents found out about this would be glorious. So he sat back and waited for what he hoped would happen soon.

"That was delicious Rick, " Rick's mother said when she finished her meal. "It's a shame you never went on to become a chef."

"Thank you, but I couldn't stand working in a hot kitchen in the middle of the summer, sweating like you wouldn't believe and having people yell at you to get the dish out right away. Nah, I was much happier working from home as a developer."

"Well I'm not complaining about that, " Twilight said. "If it wasn't for you working from home we might never have met and I got the best of both worlds because you still cook."

"What do you mean dear? If Rick was working at home, how did you meet him at the library?"

Twilight was caught like a deer in the headlights but Rick came to her aid. "I had reserved a book online and went in early in the morning to pick it up. That's when I met Twi, we talked, took her out for breakfast a couple times and we just went from there."

"Well, if everybody is done, I'll clear the table and bring out the dessert."

Rick cleared the table, arranged the berries in some stemmed glasses and topped them off with the zabaglione and a touch of whipped cream. Bringing them to the table, there were compliments all around at how good it looked and then compliments on how well it tasted.

As they talked, and enjoyed their dessert nobody heard the door downstairs open and close. It seems somepony had read the note and without knowing what it said decided to come through and check out what was going on. 

Discord sensed this and rejoiced. "Yes! We're going to have some fun now!"

The person took a few faltering steps, unused to only walking on 2 feet but quickly re-gained the hang of it and made her way upstairs.

"Hello? Is there anypony home?" she called as she walked up the stairs.

Rick and Twilight froze on hearing the voice. It couldn't be but there was no mistaking it. Before either one could rush out to stop her, she walked in dressed in what appeared to be a toga of sorts and stopped when she saw there was company. 

"Oh hello there, please excuse my interruption, my name is Celestia".


> Parents Meet Ponies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Celestia!" Rick said nervously, " what are you doing up?"

"Up? I came to see your filly. There was a note on the door that I couldn't read but figured that it was okay." She turned to Rick's parents and introduced herself, "good evening, I'm Twilight Sparkle's teacher and mentor Princess Celestia."

"Pleased to meet you Princess, I'm Rick's father Walter and this is my wife Mabel." He turned to Rick and Twilight and said, "you didn't tell me you had other guests here?"

"Yeah, sorry about that Dad. Uhmm, she came down with us from the commune and wanted to stay a few days with Twilight before heading back. She's like Twilight's big sister in a sense." He turned back to Celestia and asked, "are you hungry? We still have some pasta and stuff left. I can heat you up some if you'd like."

"That would be nice, thank you Rick." Celestia pulled out one of the chairs and sat down a little awkwardly.

"So is your name 'Princess Celestia' or is that a kind of title?" Mabel asked.

"Oh it's my title. I along with my sister Luna rule the day and the night. I help to raise the sun, and she helps to raise the moon and the stars."

"Raise the sun and the moon?"

"Yes, it's a ceremony we perform every day and night, " Twilight said trying to steer this conversation back to normality.

"Celestia?" Rick called from the kitchen. "Do you mind coming in here and showing me how much you want?"

Princess Celestia excused herself as she went into the kitchen. Meanwhile Rick's parents were feeling a little worried about this strange woman who just showed up at the table.

"Who is she and what's going on?" Mabel asked.

"As Rick said, she's like my big sister and she's also my teacher and mentor. She's really into nature and uhm..." Twilight brought her thumb and index finger to her lips to indicate her liking for recreational drugs which she hoped would answer some of their questions.

"I see. But what was she doing downstairs?"

"She was a little tired when we got here and we have a guest suite down there so we gave her that room for the time being, " technically there was a guest suite downstairs but it was currently empty so provided nobody took a look downstairs they should be okay.

Once in the kitchen, Rick turned to Celestia and told her simply. "Okay, I need you to follow along with us. Those are my folks and they don't know anything about Equestria and I want to keep it that way. If they ask, you're Twilight's teacher and mentor from a commune where she grew up. You guys are totally cut off from the outside world, do things your own way and are what we like to call "hippies". So I'm begging you to keep your answers short and to the point and maybe we'll be able to get out of this without too much trouble. God I'm hoping I'm not forgetting anything."

The microwave beeped, surprising Celestia who looked at it like it was magical. Rick grabbed her plate and ushered her back outside to the table. Of course, in the process of doing all this, Rick forgot one thing. Celestia, as an alicorn, had probably never used a fork before  and her hands might not be all that useful. 

Celestia proved surprisingly adept at her use of cutlery, actually adept was not the right word. It was more competent than anything else. She held her fork much like a child would and was a surprisingly messy eater. Rick and Twilight shared a look as if to ask if it was possible for anything else to go wrong. 

"That's an interesting outfit you're wearing Celestia, " Mabel said. 

"Why thank you Mabel. It's been a while since I wore it and I didn't know how much styles might have changed since last time."

"Why whatever do you mean dear? When did you wear that dress last?"

"Oh it was a long time ago, about the time we had... visitors to... the commune and they gave me this as a token of their esteem. I'm happy to say that it still fits."

"That's a matter of opinion, " Mabel said under her breath referring to the very short toga that barely covered anything. Changing her tone she asked, "Celestia, you say you're Twilight's teacher?" 

"Yes, she's one of my finest students, " Celestia said fondly looking at Twilight.

"So what exactly is it you teach her?"

There was a moment of silence, as this was not something the three had considered. After a moment of silence Celestia said, "modern dance?"

"Okay. That does it. I'm not moving from here until I get an explanation that makes sense!" Mabel said, crossing her arms and sitting back in her seat.

"But Mom, what's there to tell? Celestia is Twilight's teacher from the commune, we invited her back to come down and stay with us for a few days then she's going back home."

"Richard, please. I'm your mother and I might not be as smart as you are but I'm not stupid. This woman is barely older than your wife, she's got multicoloured hair, wearing some kind of toga that barely covers the tattoo on her bum and I can see she's not wearing underwear."

Walter took that moment to surreptitiously try to check out Celestia's legs but couldn't do it without being too obvious about it. 

"No, really. I am Twilight's teacher and have been for a long time."

"Richard. If your wife works in the... adult entertainment industry you don't need to hide it from me. I'm a grown woman, it's the 21st century and I know these things exist. It's obvious that something is going on here and it's obvious that this Celestia woman is a stripper or possibly she also works in porn."

"Mom, please. There's nothing quite so sordid going on. It's actually a lot more wholesome than you would think, " he looked at Celestia and Twilight. "Do you mind if I tell them the truth? It's going to come out anyway especially if Twyla starts talking next month."

Celestia nodded and said, "I'm sorry Rick. I never meant for this to happen. I just wanted to see your filly and couldn't understand what had been written on the door."

"Yeah, I guess that's my fault trying to write in Equestrian when I still can barely read it."

Rick took Twilight's hand in his, looked in her eyes and she nodded before he answered.

"Okay, this is going to be difficult for you to understand so I'm going to tell you then I'm going to show you." Rick took a deep breath and said the words that his parents would never have imagined. "Twilight and Celestia are actually ponies from another world in a land called 'Equestria'. That's where I met them, and that's where Twyla was conceived."

Both Rick's parents sat there totally at a loss for what to say next. It's not like something you can prepare for like telling your parents you're gay, your wife used to be a man, you're a member of a cult or you just won the lottery but you're giving the money to the Hare Krishnas. No, telling your parents that your human wife is actually a pony from another world and you had sex with said pony is not something you can prepare for.

After a few moments Mabel broke the silence. "So what kind of drugs were you doing with all those hippies on the commune? Because that's the only thing that makes any sense here. You took some drugs, thought you were in a different world and had sex with a horse who turned out to be your wife."

"As I said, you wouldn't understand so I'm going to ask you to follow me if you both could?" Rick stood up and led his parents down the stairs to the basement where he opened the door for the portal hallway. "C'mon in, it's a bit of a tight squeeze I know, but you're going to have to trust me on this. And I apologise in advance for having to do this." On saying those words, Rick began to disrobe but had the foresight to keep his shirt in hand so he was at least covered.

"I want you both to take a look at my butt and the coffee cup you see there. Now, look closely at what you're going to see on the other side of this door." He opened the doorway and there beyond it was the library. "Now, keep your eyes on me at all times, " Rick then stepped forward through the doorway and landed on all 4 hooves. He turned to face his parents, "see? The same mark is there on my butt, it's what they call a 'cutie mark' here in Equestria."

"Hey Big Bro, who're you talkin' to?" Spike asked.

"Hey Lil' Bro. Wanna meet my folks? C'mere, " he motioned the young dragon over and introduced him to his parents. "This is Spike, he's Twilight's little brother which makes him my little brother. Spike, this is my Mum Mabel and my Dad Walter."

"Hi! Pleased to meet you, " Spike said and without thinking walked forward with his claw outstretched. What appeared on the other side was not what Rick expected. Instead of being a child under 10 years old, was a young man of about 16. "Look out!" Rick cried as his Mom started to swoon and his Dad caught her in the nick of time. He jumped back through the doorway, threw his clothes on and passed a robe to Spike for the time being before helping his father carry his mother up the stairs.

They deposited her on the couch and his father sat down heavily on one of the chairs. Rick went to get a cold cloth to place over his mother's forehead and handed a root beer to Spike on his way back in.

"Hey Twilight! Celestia!" Spike said as he wandered into the room, cracking the can and taking a long drink.

"Spike!" Twilight said as she went over to give her brother a hug. Stepping back to get a good look at him she was impressed at how he turned out. "Looking good Spike."

Spike blushed a bit from the compliment but told Twilight, "you're looking good too, so you are you Princess."

"Princess? " Walter asked from his seat. "You mean to tell me you're a pony princess?"

"I'm an alicorn actually. Think a cross between a pegasus and a unicorn."

"There are unicorns and pegasuses... pegasi over there as well?"

"Well yes, and I'm a unicorn as is your granddaughter, " Twilight said a little shyly. She liked Rick's dad. Up until now he had treated her nicely and had welcomed her into the family a lot more easily than Rick's mom so his reaction to all this was a little upsetting.

Mabel came awake, looked about the room and promptly wished she had never woken up. Her son had married a pony, what's more he not only had sex with this pony but had knocked her up and her innocent granddaughter was caught up in all this. Now that pornstar with the multicoloured hair was holding her granddaughter and was going to corrupt her with her hedonistic ways.

"Hey Mum, how you feeling?" Rick said on seeing his mother wake up.

"Don't talk to me you... you... pony fucker!"

Assorted cries of "hay!" came from around the room at this including from Walter. Yes, technically she was right but her comment made it sound so sordid.

"Look, Mum. We need to talk about this, " he took Twilight's hand in his. "In this form, Twilight is 100% human just like anybody else in this room. Over in Equestria, we're 100% pony. The body changes, but the mind doesn't."

"Rick, maybe you need to start at the beginning and tell us how this all started, " Walter asked.

Rick sighed heavily and sat on the couch, He motioned to Twilight to sit next to him. "Okay, this all started back in June of 2012. I woke up, wandered to the bathroom and found myself in Equestria facing a pony version of Twilight and a dragon version of Spike. Twilight had tried to create a spell that would link the library in Ponyvilel where she was with the royal library in Canterlot."

"Hold on, " Walter said raising his hands. "Ponyville? Canterlot? Magic?"

"Yeah, she's a unicorn and unicorns can do magic. Twilight here happens to be one of the strongest magic users of her generation which is why she's the personal student of Princess Celestia. And the names of the towns and cities have pony type names. You might find this interesting but there are a lot of parallels between their world and ours. But we'll get to that later."

"Anyway, she wanted to create a portal but something went wrong and it linked my old bedroom with her library. We talked, found that it only existed there and she wanted to pick my brain to get some more information on my world. We had breakfast, I showed her the internet and we developed a friendship."

"Mabel, when I first saw your son walk through that door I was scared but at the same time fascinated. Here was a being that walked on two legs, had hands instead of hooves and yet had a brilliant mind and wicked sense of humour which only added to the interest. At first he was an alien but as time went by he became a friend."

"But you said that you were a pony over there, how could you have hands and walk on two legs if you were a pony?" Mabel asked.

"That's because at that point the portal didn't change our forms. I'll get to that later. Our friendship grew and as it progressed I honestly saw her as less and less of a pony and more and more as a person. I actually started to make excuses to go see her in the library when I didn't have to. And I was overjoyed when she'd come and see me although I didn't know at the time she was making the same excuses to do so. Yeah, I realised during that time that I was falling in love with a pony, " Rick turned to Twilight with a smile and she smiled back at him before kissing him gently. 

Rick sighed and continued. "You know how it is when you first meet somebody? You notice how they look, then you notice how they are? " Rick asked and his parents nodded at that. "Then as you get to know them, and you get to like them, they actually start to look more attractive? Well, that's what happened with Twilight. The more I knew her, the more I fell in love with her and the prettier she became. It no longer mattered to me at that point that we were a different species. What mattered was she was a woman with a brilliant mind that I could discuss heavy intellectual subjects with and then in the next moment get totally silly."

"And you? How did you see Rick? " Walter asked Twilight.

"He was unlike any pony I had ever met before. I used to refer to him as a 'walking dichotomy' because he was so smart and mature when it came to a lot of things yet retained this childlike glee for so many other things. It was refreshing to see somepony so at peace with this, he simply didn't care how silly he might look or what somepony would think of him. And I followed his example and freed myself. I was always a bookworm, reading all the time and learning everything from books. Rick helped to show me that there was a whole world outside of the books and yes, I also made excuses to start to see him more and more and realised I was falling in love with this human as well."

"Then one evening I invited her over for a movie night, things happened and uhmm... well we kinda became inseparable after that."

"So you two did do it when you were human and she wasn't?" Walter asked.

"Yeah we did. And I wouldn't trade it for anything. Look, the whole species thing kinda freaked me out the next morning but I realised that it didn't matter. Her being a pony was secondary to her being a person."

"But I don't understand. You were human then, but why did we see you turn into a pony then?"

"That was the old portal, long story short it... uhmmm... vanished one day and we were stuck on our respective sides. Celestia and Twilight were able to force one open and Twi came back here as a human. Then on our honeymoon, we happened to be driving to Tuscany and came across an ancient & forgotten portal between Equestria and Earth. We went through and both of us were changed into ponies. For a while it looked like I couldn't make it back so we decided to stay there until Celestia made us an offer which allowed us to recreate a permanent portal as you saw downstairs. That one changes you as you walk through it, it's actually very old magic or something."

"What about the money? You said that Twilight's grandparents gave her the money to buy the house and redo this one which is why you're not working right now. If she's from another world, then where did you get the money for this."

"From my good friend Rarity, she's a pony in ponyville and Spike's girlfriend. Her special skill is to find precious gems. Well, one day she found out that I gave Twilight a massage to help relax her, she wanted one as well and I managed to create a kind of part-time job in Equestria as a masseuse. Made some reasonable money, enough to pay for things over there and some ponies paid a premium for getting a massage from the only human there. Anyway, one day I notice she had an old trunk of gems, I asked if I could borrow a couple of them and she just up and gave them to me. I had them appraised and they were rather valuable so I had them auctioned, made a lot of money and was able to pay for not only the old house but get this one redone and take an all-expenses paid honeymoon for a month. In fact, " he went over to one of the shelves in the living room and pulled out a book. Opening it revealed a ruby, sapphire and emerald. He passed these to his parents and had them take a look.

"You say you got these from a pony?"

"Yeah, Rarity and I had an arrangement before I left. She'd get a half-price massage once a week and I'd get a bunch of gems on top of that. Those gems paid for all of this, " Rick said throwing his hands around the room. 

His father passed the gems back to Rick but he said they could keep one. He then turned to Spike and passed the rest of the gems to him. "And wait until you get back to Equestria before eating them, you'll wreck your teeth in that body if you try to chew on those."

"Thanks Bro!"

Twyla started to cry at that point and Twilight said she was probably hungry so she carried her upstairs. 

Celestia excused herself and said she'd see Rick and Twilight soon while bringing Spike with her back to Equestria which left Rick alone with his parents.

"He's going to eat those gems?" Mabel asked.

"He's a dragon, they're like candy to him."

"I honestly don't know what to say right now, " his father said.

"Well I know. We're going to sleep, leaving tomorrow and forgetting we ever had a such a sick son that liked having sex with animals and made friends with dragons, " his mother said.

"Now just hold on and listen to me for the first time in your life mother!" Rick said finally having enough of this. 

"How dare you speak to me like that!"

"I'll speak to you any way I want, you're not in charge of me and you've been trying to run my life from as far back as I can remember. I'm not a child anymore mother and I can make my own decisions and make my own mistakes. But marrying Twilight and having a child with her are not mistakes, if anything they're a fucking blessing. She's human and she's also a unicorn. Twyla is human and she's also a unicorn. I'm human and I'm also an earth pony. I love them, they love me and that's all that matters. Fuck, 100 years ago had Twilight been black then people would have reacted the same way but we've moved beyond that in today's enlightened world. She is a living, breathing, thinking, emotional, absolutely beautiful woman that I feel privileged to have known and I thank my lucky stars every day that she agreed to marry me. I'm not going to give her up simply because you can't handle this. If you're so narrow minded and can't be happy for me, her and your granddaughter then I have nothing left to say to you. You're welcome to spend the night as I'm not going to kick you out when it's dark but unless you are able to accept this then I'm going to ask you to leave tomorrow."

"Rick..." his father called after him.

"We're done here tonight. If you need to say anything you can tell me tomorrow. I'm going to bed." And with those words, Rick made his way upstairs.

Discord reveled in all this. This is what he wanted. The family were at each other's throats, a wedge had been driven between that damned human and his family and all their delicious anger tasted like the sweetest wine. He was happy, so much so that he didn't bother Twyla for the rest of the night although she did need to be fed at some point.

It took a long time for Rick to fall asleep, he felt tied up in knots and wasn't looking forward to tomorrow. He had lost his cool, but maybe this was for the best. Twilight and Twyla were his life, he couldn't give them up any more than he could stop breathing. Twilight lay next to him, her soft snores almost comforting. He reached out and put an arm around her, she mumbled something, drew herself closer and sighed before going back to sleep again. He just lay there in the darkness staring at her until finally he fell asleep as well.

Morning came much too soon. Rick reached over to where his wife was sleeping but found her side of the bed empty as usual. He heard some muffled voices down the hall and went to investigate. What greeted him was a bit of a surprise. In the baby's room he found his mother holding Twyla while having a conversation with Twilight.

"Oh, good morning Rick, " Twilight walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

He put his arm around her and asked, "you okay?"

"I'm fine, but you look like hell."

"That's good because that's how I feel right now, " he turned to his mother and was about to say something but she decided to speak first.

"Rick, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for last night. I don't really know what came over me. I was confused and angry and I didn't know how to react to the news. Your father and I talked about this last night and this morning when I got up I came in here to look at Twyla and couldn't get around the fact she wasn't human. She's a perfect little girl in every way. Then Twilight came in to check on her and everything finally made sense. She's a mother, you're a father and you both have a responsibility for this precious little one, " she said and gently ran her finger over Twyla's cheek. Twyla yawned broadly at that point before settling down again. "And also you were right. I've been too controlling of you your entire life. I never saw you as a man and still saw you as my little boy even if you're bigger, stronger and smarter than I am. I still felt the need to protect you from what I saw as people trying to take advantage of you. I guess it took a shock to break me out of that." She looked out the window for a moment before continuing. "I also understand Twilight a lot better now and her motivations and provided she makes you happy, it doesn't matter what she was born as. You're right when you say she's a human and I'm happy to call her my daughter."

Twilight smiled and said, "thank you Mabel."

Mabel raised a warning finger and said, "none of that. You have to call me Mom."

Rick walked over, gave his Mom a hug and a kiss on the forehead and simply said, "thank you for understanding. I want you and Dad in my life and I want Twyla to grow up knowing her grandparents."

"I don't think there'll be a problem with that. No, this sweet little thing is going to get spoiled rotten by her Grandma and Grandpa, " she said looking at Twyla who was staring right back at her. Handing her back to Twilight she said, "well, since everybody is up except your father, I guess it's time for breakfast. Do you mind if I make breakfast this morning?"

"Please, be my guest," Rick said.

Mabel went down the stairs, humming happily to herself.

"I'm like shocked, this is a complete turnaround. What did you say to her?" Rick asked Twilight.

"I found her here this morning, just looking at Twyla and gently stroking her. She looked sad and confused so we talked, mother to mother. She loves you a lot and that's why she got a little freaked out last night when she found out. We then talked about things, plans for the future, where we'd plan on spending our time and how no matter what happened, Twyla would still be her granddaughter. I think that cinched the deal."

"Twi, let me tell you once again how awesome I think you are. Thank you for doing this and thank you for putting up with me." He squeezed his wife hard and kissed her gently. "I love you so much."

"Ditto big guy!" 

They stood there for a moment then slowly the delicious smells of breakfast came wafting up the stairs. "Smells like pancakes, " Rick said. His stomach growled in anticipation. "I guess that's our cue to go downstairs."

As they walked down the stairs Twilight asked, "shouldn't we wait for your Dad?"

"Nah, he'll be up once he smells it."

Sure enough, once they were seated at the table Walter stumbled in to the kitchen with a sleepy "good morning". Everybody was served and they all dug in.

"Mom, these are great. Even better than Rick's, " Twilight said to her mother-in-law.

"Thank you dear. Yes, Rick is very good in the kitchen but things like cakes or just about anything involving flour and he just doesn't have the right touch for it."

"I've said it before. If cooking is an art, then baking is a science. You can mess around with a recipe and make it work by changing the ingredients. You can't do that with baking, the amounts need to be exact and since I never measure anything I'm always off."

"Then why don't you measure dear?"

"That takes the fun out of it. Besides, I can make good pancakes, they're terrible however compared to yours."

"Thank you dear, " Mabel said with a smile. 

When breakfast was done, Rick suggested they make the trip to Ponyville. After all if his parents knew about it, why not show them as well as introduce them to the others. They agreed and once the breakfast dishes were cleaned up, they along with Twyla made their way downstairs.

"A few things. It might take you a moment to get adjusted to walking on all fours and trying to manipulate things with your hooves is going to be tricky. I had major trouble when this first happened but eventually I did learn even though I've got a long way to go. And, we'll go first and wait for you on the other side. You will need to get naked for this, clothes are going to literally get in the way once you cross the portal."

Twilight walked on through and was transformed into her lavender unicorn form. Rick pushed the basket with Twyla through to the other side but something was preventing it from passing. That was odd, it was almost as if the portal wouldn't allow the basket to pass. 

"Twilight, can you came back here a minute?" Rick asked his wife who trotted over to his side without issue. "Okay, now can you go back?" Again, she passed without a problem.

Leaving the basket where he was, Rick also passed the portal turning into his pony form and back turning human once again. He picked up Twyla in his arms and pushed the basket through without issue. But when he tried to pass her to Twilight hand to hooves, again she couldn't pass the portal. It was as if a barrier had been placed there, much like when they came to Equestria through the Italian portal and they were unable to get back. For some reason, Twyla was unable to pass back into Equestria.

Twilight came back, more than just a little worried. 

"Is something wrong?" Mabel asked.

"Right now I don't know but I don't think it's any good, " Rick said. He turned to Twilight and said, "I think we need Celestia. I'll go over, talk to Spike and he can send her a message."

"What's going on?" Walter asked.

"Don't have a lot of time Dad and I'm not sure but we need Celestia's help. She's the one that set up this portal and maybe she can fix whatever the problem is."

Stepping through to the library Rick called out for Spike and the young dragon popped his head out of the stacks. "Hey big bro, good to see you."

"You too Spike. I need you to do me a favour. Can you send a message to Celestia? I wanted to show my folks around Equestria but for some reason Twyla can't go through. I've got a really bad feeling about this but I need Celestia to make sure. When you get a response, c'mon back and let us know."

They made their way back upstairs and it wasn't long before Spike showed up with a letter. "I think you need to read this, " he said a little ominously.

Taking the letter from Spike, Twilight read it through then blanched when she was done. "It can't be!"

"What?!? Twi, what's up?"

She took a deep breath and said, "Celestia says that the only way the portal wouldn't work is if somepony had bad intentions towards either Earth in coming here or Equestria in going there. That means that Twyla has bad intentions for Equestria."

"How is that possible? She's just a baby. And we passed through to here without a problem."

"Unless it means that she doesn't have bad intentions coming to Earth but does have bad intentions going back to Equestria, " Twilight said.

"I'm lost right now, what's going on?" Walter asked.

"Not quite sure right now Dad, but something is up. Hold on..., " a memory replayed through his mind and he suddenly felt his blood turn to ice in his veins. This couldn't be the case but it suddenly made sense, but he had to be sure. "Twi? When was Twyla conceived. Was it before or after the Trojan apple cart?"

"I don't know the exact date but it was around that time. Does it matter?"

"Very much. If this happened after you defeated Discord then we're okay but if it happened during the rutting spell then you were pregnant when you fought Discord."

"Right. But what..., " Twilight trailed off at that point as she came to the sick realisation that Discord might not have been defeated after all. "You think that maybe...?"

"Right now I don't know what to think, but it's entirely possible and it would explain the trouble we had yesterday."

"Please, can somebody tell us what's going on?" Mabel asked.

"The Reader's Digest version is Twilight and her friends defeated an evil... spirit of sorts in Equestria that had taken over the body of an old adversary of hers who had literally lost her mind. We thought it was destroyed, but I thought the battle was over too easily. What if Discord had jumped at the last minute to the closest empty vessel? And what if that empty vessel was Twyla?"

Twilight started to cry and Rick had a hard time fighting back the tears himself. If this was real, it was too cruel even for Discord. There had to be a way to fix this or at the very least find out if it was true. But right now, they had no idea and no options on how to continue.

Over in the basket, Twyla just appeared to lay there being a baby but Discord was happy. Oh yes, they would test the child and maybe just maybe he'd be able to upgrade his current form to something larger and more powerful. 

"Hmmm, the human or the unicorn? Which one would suit me better?" Discord thought.

> The Final Battle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They didn't have to wait long until Celestia showed up once again with her sister Luna in tow. Celestia looked a little frazzled and Luna looked more than just a little sleepy. 

Rick explained the situation to them, told them of his suspicions and brought them over to where Twyla was. Both alicorns looked at the child, he saw the golden glow of Celestia's magic and the dark cobalt blue of her sister's envelop the child. Twilight came up next to him and grabbed a hold of his arm. She didn't want to speak but felt it was difficult to keep her mouth closed.

After a moment the glow subsided and Luna said, "it is difficult to say. We think there might be something there but we... I mean I'm not sure." She turned to Luna and asked, "with your permission sister?"

Celestia nodded and Luna came up behind the baby and gently placed her hands on the child's head. She closed her eyes and her magic covered not only herself but Twyla as well. Nothing happened for a minute or two then Luna's eyes opened but they were completely dark.

"Tell me who you are?" Celestia asked.

"Oh Celestia, don't tell me you've forgotten already?" Luna said but in Discord's voice.

"Discord!"

"Oh yes! I'm back baby and I'm now a part of this child. You can't get rid of me without getting rid of her."

Twilight cried out in anguish at those words, her magic coming to the fore, her eyes blazing with fury and in an unearthly voice that shook everybody there yelled, "leave my baby alone Discord!"

"Ah, the Element of Magic. What are you going to do? Kill your only child? That's the only way to get rid of me. So go ahead, take your best shot."

The house started to rumble at that point and the ground shook as Twilight's anger grew, there was no reaching her at this point. She was a mare who was protecting her family in the only way she knew how and to hell with the consequences. She wanted her baby back and she'd get her back at any cost.

Rick, a little more pragmatically just slapped her across the face. She turned her terrible gaze on him and looked like she was going to strike him down when the glow in her eyes died and she collapsed in his arms, crying bitterly. He looked at his Mom asking her to help out. 

Mabel shook her head slightly as if clearing it before coming over and gently bringing Twilight back to the couch where she comforted her the best way she could.

"Well played Rick. Looks like this round goes to you."

"What do you want Discord? You can't do anything in that body, not yet. She's still not even a week old. It's hardly a fitting vessel for you."

"You're right, but there was a serious lack of available bodies to deal with when you and those fillies tried to defeat me. I had to act fast and your brat was the best place to hide. I had hoped to wait a little while longer but I never figured on you creating a new portal and getting trapped on this side. But maybe that's for the best, over here I have no competition."

"You're a monster Discord. She's just a baby, she has no stake in any of this. Take me instead, I'm grown, I'm young and can legally do things like buy guns and drink alcohol. With Twyla you'd have to wait a few years until she's able to talk."

"No Rick, you can't do that, it's what he wants, " Celestia warned.

"Celestia... that's my baby he's got. Wh-wh-what am I supposed to do? Just let him stay inside her, slowly corrupting her over time until she's as evil as he is? I'd rather die than let that happen and if that means I need to take her place I'll do it in a heartbeat."

"Rick no!" Twilight cried. "I can't lose you! Can't we use the elements of harmony?"

He turned to look at Twilight and said, "babe, we tried that the last time he possessed Trixie and it didn't destroy him. He was just able to jump to another body. It has to be me. If he took control of you, then he'd not only have your power at his disposal but that would leave Twyla without her mother."

Without waiting for confirmation from anybody Rick just walked up to Twyla and said, "take me instead."

Immediately he felt sick, nauseous and something foul and sinister seemed to pour into his very being. His body went numb and he felt himself falling down a dark hole as if he was pushed to the side. Cold, iron chains seemed to pop out of nowhere to bind him tightly. Then he heard a chilling sound, it was his voice laughing in triumph but laughing without humour or joy. It was one of the most chilling things he had ever heard.

The magic that Luna had used on Twyla stopped and both alicorns now focused their attention on Rick, binding his arms and legs so that he couldn't move. Twyla started to cry at this point and Twilight rushed over to take her little girl and held her close to her bosom. 

"GET THEE ALL BACK TO EQUESTRIA, " Luna boomed slipping back into her old style of speaking, "DISCORD CANNOT FOLLOW THEE THERE!"

Twilight took Rick's parents with her and they all made their way downstairs to the library and safety.

"Damn! That's loud there Luna! You maybe want to turn down the volume a bit?" Discord complained using Rick's voice and words.

"Why did you send them to Equestria sister?"

"It's because she wants to kill me and didn't want to do it in front of Twilight or Rick's parents isn't it sweet thing?" Discord said looking straight at Luna.

"Neigh! I simply wanted them away from this creature so that there could be no other possession."

"She's lying of course. She doesn't want you to think she's like Nightmare Moon anymore so she comes up with this lie to mask her true objective. Once I'm gone, she'll see if she can stir up more trouble until she's the one ruling the night and the day."

"Discord, I learned long ago that your words could not be trusted. I am not listening to you or your lies, " Celestia said.

"Ah, that's what you say but can you afford not to listen to me? Deep down you know what I'm saying is true. You can't trust your sister and every day you're afraid that she'll turn back into Nightmare Moon."

During all this, Rick struggled to regain control of his mind and body but it was no use. Discord was like a force of nature, towering over him and his power was like that of a god compared to a normal nothing like Rick. So maybe it was necessary to try a different track. Instead of fighting he just sat down in his mind, unable to do anything to fight him and simply observed. 

"What's this Rick? Giving up so soon? Oh c'mon I know you can fight me better than that. Look, I'll even turn my back on you, " Discord taunted Rick from within his own mind.

The sound of Twyla's crying disappeared which meant she and the rest had gone back to Equestria. Rick sighed in relief as there was no way Discord could follow them back. Responding to Discord he said within his mind, "what's the point? You're stronger than I am, my wife and child are safe as are my folks and given enough time Luna will probably wind up killing this body along with you. Basically I've won."

"What do you mean you've won? I'm the one in control here."

"No you're not. This is my mind, my rules and my body. You're just an unwelcome guest that I need to make sure they can't leave until I want them to, " Rick of course was bluffing. He didn't have the strength to defeat Discord head to head but maybe, just maybe he was sneaky enough to make sure Discord stayed where he was.

During this altercation in Rick's mind, his body had gone limp as the spirit of disharmony was no longer focused on it but instead was listening for the first time to a little voice in his own head.

Once through the portal into Equestria, Twilight finally allowed herself to breathe. Twyla was crying, possibly hungry, or maybe just fussing. Twilight excused herself and trotted upstairs with her foal.

Mabel and Walter took some getting adjusted to walking on 4 legs. It was because of that focus on their hooves that they didn't notice Spike come up from the basement and walk in on them.

"Oh hi there, anything I can help you with today?"

"You're that dragon that eats jewels right?" Walter asked.

"Okay, kinda weird way to start a conversation but yes, I do eat jewels as do all dragons."

"Sorry, it's just we never really met a dragon before except for that night you came over, " Mabel said.

A moment of realisation and Spike said, "ooooh, you're Rick's parents right? I thought I heard a foal crying, does that mean that the princesses were able to help her? That's great!"

"Yes, Twilight and Twyla are upstairs but Rick is still back home. I don't really know what's going on but he was possessed by whatever it was that possessed Twyla, " Walter said.

Shock and anger showed on the young dragon's face. That was his Big Bro that had been possessed, and he knew he had to do something to help him. Problem is, he didn't know what that was. 

Twilight came back down the stairs, having left Twyla in her crib and when she saw Spike ran to him and gave him a hug.

"So Twilight, what's going on? What happened to Rick?"

Twilight sighed and seemed to deflate a bit. "Twyla was possessed by Discord, Rick in a stupid but utterly sweet move offered himself to Discord instead. Now he's possessed. The princesses are over there right now seeing if there's something they can do. All we can do now is wait." She looked longingly at the portal, wanting to go through and do whatever she could for her husband but knowing that this was currently impossible and all she could do now was wait.

"So Discord, I gotta ask considering that I really can't do anything else right now, what's your motivation for all this?" Rick asked the draconequus.

"What do you mean human?"

"What do you get out of out of this spreading of discord and chaos?"

"Why fun of course! I bring something interesting to the mix, a new way of seeing the world and a new way to experience reality, " Discord said proudly.

"And you do this by magic right?"

"Well, nothing quite so crude. Yes, you could call it chaos magic if you wanted but you're not a magic user so you wouldn't understand."

"No, no of course not. But this just begs the question... nah don't worry about it, " Rick said trying to drop the subject.

"No please, ask your question. It's not like there's anything else you can do right now."

"I guess you're right there. I'm kinda trapped, I mean you're the dude in charge but what can you actually do with my body now that you're in control? I mean I'm just human, no abilities, no special powers, nothing."

"Well I... you're the... you can... oh don't try to confuse me with this. I just needed to get out of your daughter for the moment. You know stretch my legs and all that."

"But you're only a spirit, you don't have any legs."

"I was talking metaphorically."

"Oh, gotcha. But back to the point, what can you actually do in my body?"

"You'll find out soon enough!" Discord said ominously.

"You don't know do you? You just agreed to my swap because you couldn't do much within Twyla's body. And now you realise that you can't do jack in mine."

"Stop jabbering will you? You're starting to give me a headache."

"Fine, but remember this is still my mind. You might have taken control of my body, but in here I rule."

Discord started to laugh, amused beyond measure by the Rick's boast. He was Discord, the embodiment of chaos and this... human thought he was stronger? But maybe it would be fun to just play with him a little bit longer before crushing his spirit completely. "And what do you think you can do to stop me?" 

"Right now? Absolutely nothing, I haven't learned enough about you yet. But how about we play a game in the mean time?"

"And what game do you propose human?"

"Do you realise that while we've been having this conversation, I've managed to regain control of a few things? Seriously, that's me tapping my finger on the floor right now."

"What? That's not possible!" Discord immediately took control of Rick's body once more only to notice that Rick still hadn't moved and his finger was not tapping. "Nicely done."

"Oh you think that's nice? How's this?" Rick brought forth the memory of Eris and her defeat in full colour and sound. "Nice isn't it?"

Discord fought to regain control but it was difficult. This human had an incredibly strong will and a strangely powerful and agile mind. He finally managed to squash the memory, but it had taken him a lot of effort to do so.

"If you keep this up, I'll destroy you and leave you trapped inside your own mind forever, " Discord hissed. Gone was the false bonhomie and the true face of evil lying behind it was apparent.

"C'mon Dizzy, you can do better than that. I heard more terrifying things in the schoolyard when I was 5."

"Don't tempt me you worm. I can destroy you with but a thought."

"Then do it if you're so big and tough. All I've heard so far from you is bluster. You're a fraud, a cheat, a trickster that desperately wants people to think he's tough but you made a big mistake, " Rick taunted, full of confidence.

"And what's that?"

"You got into my mind. I could go on and explain everything but where's the fun in that. This isn't a James Bond movie where the villain explains his entire plan giving James a chance to escape. But you made a mistake in talking to me and letting me distract you. I couldn't have done this by myself but had to distract you long enough for the princesses to do their thing."

The mental chains that had surrounded Rick at that moment fell off and within his mind he stood up and faced Discord. "You're no longer in control here. I am." And with those words the chains that had bound him snapped out and wrapped themselves around Discord. 

"What? How? Let me go!" Discord wailed.

"No, if you're so damned powerful then do it yourself. Hmmmm? What's that? Can't move Discord?" Rick taunted.

"Need to find another body, need to get out and possess somebody else!" Discord said.

"There's nobody else here. Just me and the princesses."

"Yes! Princess Luna!" Discord cried and laughed madly as he cast himself out of Rick's mind towards the princess of the night.

Rick seemingly snapped back into his body, the princesses looking down on him as he was still bound and lying on the floor. 

"Luna! Are you alright?" Rick called as he struggled to sit up.

"Yes, we are fine. Why do you ask?"

"Discord left my mind, and said he was going to possess you."

"Neigh, nothing has happened to me."

"Celestia?"

"I'm fine too Rick, " she glanced at him and probed his mind finding no evidence of Discord then for good measure probed Luna as well. Discord had disappeared again.

"But where did he go? The closest neighbour is like 10 minutes away on foot so there's no way he could have escaped."

Struggling to his feet, Rick didn't notice the small brown spider that was crawling down the wall towards him. He didn't notice the malice in the tiny arachnid's 8 eyes as it advanced. He paid no attention to it as it got within leaping distance of him and would have bitten him had Luna not taken the expedient route of absent mindedly smashing it first. 

None of them heard the ethereal cry as Discord, having been unable to possess the princess found the closest living thing he could and died when Luna squished him with her palm. The spirit of Chaos had finally been defeated through an absent minded smash and a princess's dislike of spiders.

After an exhaustive search, Celestia declared that Discord had simply vanished. There was no trace of him anywhere so the trio headed downstairs to the portal and through to Equestria.

His parents were overjoyed to see him but it was Twilight who truly lost it when he finally walked through into the library. She rushed up to him and practically tackled him to the ground. 

"You idiot! You stupid, stupid pony!" she berated him through her tears. "I thought I had lost you and Twyla would have to grow up without a father!" she collapsed against him sobbing tears of relief & joy.

"Twi, I did it to save Twyla. I was just thinking of her and that if she was safe, my life didn't matter."

"Of course your life matters! You matter to me and to your parents and Spike and Rarity and Pinkie Pie..." any other words were cut off as he kissed her. 

"I did what any stallion would, I protected my family and the good news is, is that Discord is now defeated for good. He's been destroyed, " turning to the princesses, "Celestia and Luna have confirmed this."

"Your husband is right Twilight Sparkle. Discord is no more and we have Rick to thank for that."

"I'm still angry with you, " Twilight sulked.

Rick smiled and nuzzled her gently. "Be angry with me all you want. Provided you and Twyla are safe, that's all that matters."


> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

8 years later.

Twyla came running into the library in a state of total excitement, "mom! Dad! I got my cutie mark today! I got my cutie mark today!"

"That's wonderful dear! Let me see, " Twilight said as she came down from the upper level.

Twyla proudly displayed her cutie mark which was in the shape of a book with a magic wand over it. "Is that in magic dear?"

"Not just magic, but creating new spells! I was at school today, we were learning about Starswirl the Bearded because it's unicorn month and how he was the one of the greatest magicians in history because he made so many spells that I started to think about making my own magic instead of just reading about it. So at lunch I thought of two spells and how to combine them and 'blammo!'" she said standing up and throwing her front hooves into the air,  "it worked and I got my cutie mark!"

"That's very good especially for a filly your age!" Twilight said appreciatively. "Which spells did you use?" 

"I tried the fire spell and the explosion spell and made fireworks!" she said with a huge grin.

"So that's what that sound was!" Twilight was refering to earlier in the day there was a large bang somewhere outside but nopony knew what it was.

"So where's Dad? I wanna tell him too!" Twyla barely able to contain her excitement.

"He's back on the farm right now tending to his vines. Why don't you go tell him?"

The young unicorn took off in a flash, leaping through the portal and barely taking the time to throw on some shorts and a t-shirt before tearing upstairs. Twilight smiled as she watched her go. Their daughter was definitely Daddy's girl, she took after her father in so many ways but her magical skill and studious nature was definitely her influence. 

Twyla burst out of the the door and ran down to the field where Rick was taking care of his vines. It had been about 7 years, just after Twyla had had her 1st birthday that they finally planted the vines he wanted and were just starting to be moderately successful in making wine. 

She found him carefully checking out some grapes for signs of damage. He spotted her, smiled and she ran into his embrace giving him a big hug and kiss on the cheek hello.

"What's up my little pony?" he asked.

"I got my cutie mark!" she said pulling down the side of her shorts so he could see it. 

"That's great honey! Oh, I'm so proud of you!" he said wrapping her in a big hug. "So what's your special talent?"

"It's in magic, like Mom's. I got it from combining two spells into something new."

"That's awesome honey. Well, news like that calls for a celebration. This calls for a special dinner for a special girl." He thought for a moment at what they currently had in the house but there was nothing really special. But that didn't prevent him from going to the store and getting something.

"Okay, honey, want to come to the store with me? I'll get a few things and we'll grill up some nice salmon for dinner tonight. Sound good?"

Twyla nodded enthusiastically. 

"Okay you get ready, I'll just go tell your mom and we'll be off."

They went back into the house, Rick went downstairs and poked his head through the portal to tell Twilight where they were going. 

Twyla was pretty much omnivorous like her father and Twilight had gotten used to the idea of her daughter eating meat while on Earth but she had put her hoof down and said that while in Equestria she would only eat pony food. Rick was fine with that, it just meant that he and Twyla were able to bond over burgers and other such things that Twilight wouldn't eat. However, today they'd have something that whole family could enjoy.

They pulled up to the supermarket and Rick went about collecting a few items with Twyla tagging along behind him. He got a nice wild salmon fillet but couldn't find anything that looked right for dessert. Turning to Twyla he asked, "how about we go to Sugarcube Corner for dessert tonight? If we tell Pinkie Pie you got your cutie mark then maybe she'll make you an extra special cupcake and even throw you a party. Would you like that?

Twyla's toothy grin was all the answer he needed.

He paid for the groceries and they drove back home. Twilight had already come back by the time they pulled in and had brought with her some cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner already.

"Hey great minds and all that, " Rick said kissing Twilight hello. "I told Twyla we'd get some cupcakes for dessert and here you are with cupcakes."

"Pinkie Pie made a special one just for you and she says that you're getting a cutie mark party soon, " Twilight said to her daughter.

"Well I need to get dinner ready, so if you'll both excuse me? Twyla? Do you prefer mashed or oven roasted with this?"

"Hmmmmm, garlic mashed!" 

"Okay Lil Miss Magic, garlic mashed it is." Rick went to work in the kitchen, making his own magic. The fish needed to be marinated, the garlic needed to be roasted and the cedar plank to cook the fish on would need to be soaked before he could really do anything. So he took care of all those, finished all the prep work that he needed to do and saw that he still had a lot of time left before needing to start to cook. 

Twilight, was in the study currently curled up with a book. He knocked on the doorframe to get her attention. "I've got a little time to kill before I really need to get things going. Wanna join me in a little Irish Coffee?"

"Sounds perfect, I'll be downstairs in a moment."

Minutes later, as he was adding the whipped cream Twilight came downstairs, took her coffee and he followed her out onto the back porch. They curled up together on the loveseat and just watched the fields while drinking thier coffee. 

"I'm not hearing any noise in the house, I'm guessing that Twyla went back to Equestria?" Rick asked.

"Yes she did. She wanted to show off her cutie mark to everypony."

"Soooo that means we're alone for the moment?"

"Yes it does. And no, we don't have time, " Twilight said.

"What do you mean? I've got an hour to go before I need to start cooking and unless you have something pressing going on right now?" he left the question hanging.

"Darling, " Twilight said looking into his eyes, "I love you with all my heart and even after almost 9 years of marriage you're the only human or stallion I want. But you know as well as I do that if we think Twyla is coming back soon it will just kill the mood. We can wait a couple hours."

He pondered this for a moment and said, "no". He picked her up in his arms and carried her upstairs, Twilight giggling and protesting all the way. Once inside their bedroom, he locked the door and placed her onto the bed.

"Rick, I'm serious. I know what's going to happen. You're going to get all worked up, Twyla is going to come back, we're not going to be able to finish and you'll be all grumpy for the rest of the night." 

Not listening to her, but also noticing that she made absolutely no effort to get up and leave, he got on top of her and slowly started to kiss and nibble at her neck.

Twilight's breath caught in her throat and a soft sigh escaped her lips. One hand went about his shoulders while the other went to his head and gently played with his hair. 

"Do you want me to stop?" Rick whispered in her ear. His mouth nibbling and gently sucking on her earlobe. "Just tell me and I'll stop."

"You started this, you had better finish it mister, " she whispered back fiercely.

Slowly his hands worked their way down her body, stroking, unbuttoning, undoing  and generally turning on the heat. His lips and mouth were generally not far behind.

"Stop teasing me already, " Twilight whispered, "I'm ready and we don't have much time."

"As you wish milady, " Rick said while unbuttoning and removing his pants. "But this is only the first round, we'll have round two later on tonight."

"Damn right we will, " Twlight said as she drew him in.

A little later, Twilight lay there as Rick spooned her and gently stroked her with his free hand. Something came to mind that she had been thinking of for a while now but never had the nerve to ask.

"Do you ever regret it?" she asked.

"Hmmm? Regret what babe?"

"That we never had another child?"

Rick hugged his wife tightly. "I remember we tried for the longest time but it just never happened. I think when Twyla was 5 I wanted her to have a little brother or sister but we just never got lucky again. Why do you ask now?"

"It's just something..." she turned around in his arms to face him. "We never did it again when I was in heat. During those times, we'd come back here because it was just easier to deal with especially with the baby. But recently I've been thinking of Precious Gem...."

"You're not regretting that action are you? I mean we both agreed that when Rarity came to me to sire her foal, this was going to be her and Spike's child and while technically she's my filly, she doesn't know about this and Spike is the one she calls 'Daddy'."

"No, it's not that, " Twilight said quickly. She sometimes forgot that humans took this monogamy thing pretty far while ponies were a lot more fluid in their relationships. "That was you doing your duty as a stallion to a good friend who was unable to conceive in any other way. It's actually a pretty big honour to be chosen and I was completely on board with it. But I was saying that both times it was a mare that you got pregnant and while it wasn't the last time we did it as ponies, we never did it again when I was in heat."

"Are you... suggesting that when you come into season next, that you want us to head to Equestria for a few days?"

"Maybe, " Twilight said as she traced random patterns on Rick's chest with her free hand.

"So maybe during that time, we can send Twyla off to stay with her grandparents here or in Equestria, or maybe nave her stay at Sweet Apple Acres or somewhere like that and we'll work on getting her a baby brother or sister."

Twilight smiled. "Do you really mean that?"

"Sure. Twyla is a wonderful girl, and if she's the only child we ever have I'd be happy. But I'm not against having another child provided you're still okay with having another one."

"We'll talk about it later, " Twilight leaned in and kissed him. "But now, you need to get dinner started and I need to take a shower."

"Slave driver, " Rick said with mock severity. He held onto Twilight for another moment, not wanting to let her go just yet but eventually things needed to be taken care of he reluctantly let her go and they went about their separate tasks.

Timing for all this was crucial. Once started, everything would take about 20 minutes before they were ready. He turned on the oven to get it heated up and set about getting everything ready.

Pulling out the brocoli, he rinsed it and tore it into large florets before tossing it into a bowl with the edamame he had defrosted and shelled earlier. A splash of olive oil, garlic and spices, a quick toss later and it was done. He arranged it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put it aside. 

Next was the potatoes. He used the new potatoes leaving the skin on, just gave them a quick scrub to remove any dirt before cutting them up into pieces and placing them into a bowl.

Finally came the salmon. Pulling the cedar plank from the water, he lay some scallions down on the plank and removing the salmon from the marinade lay it over the green onions. Walking outside, he started the grill and now all he had to do was wait until everything was heated up properly and he could get started cooking.

Twilight came downstairs, her hair still a little wet from the shower and smelling of shampoo. "Is Twyla back yet?"

"Nah, she's probably still showing off her cutie mark to whichever pony will listen to her. Everything is set, I'm going to get started soon and we can eat in about 20 minutes."

On saying that, they heard a noise downstairs and Twyla came back in looking a little worse for wear. She had dirt smudged on her face and hands, her hair was a little mussed but she was smiling.

"Twyla! What happened?" Twilight asked.

"Oh nothing. I was just playing with Porter and Flame Flicker down by the river and we got a little dirty. I'm okay."

"We're eating soon so I want you to take a shower and cleaned up first okay?" 

"Okay Mom!" Twyla gave her mother a kiss before running upstairs to the bathroom and turning on the water.

When she came back downstairs she was all clean, wearing clean clothes and had a big smile on her face. She watched her father mashing the potatoes for a moment before asking, "anything I can do to help?"

Rick smiled but said, "I've got everything under control here. But if you want to check with your mother, maybe the table needs to be set or she needs help with something?"

The potatoes were done, Rick gave a quick taste before adding a little bit more salt and mixing it in. The oven dinged and he pulled out the veggies that had just started to turn brown and crispy along the edges and let them cool slightly on the stove top and ran out to check on the fish to make sure it wasn't burning. The cedar plank had charred and there was smoke from the burning wood but the fish was nicely done and just starting to char a bit around the edges. Turning off the heat, he left it there on the grill while he went back inside to plate everything.

"Okay, we're ready, take your seats, " Rick said.

He plated the veggies and the potatoes before bringing them outside and placing them on the table. He then brought the cedar plank directly to the table where he used it as the serving platter.

Twilight had already poured the wine and as a special treat had added a touch of it to Twyla's water. It was enough to give it a little colour, but not enough to actually do anything. They believed that when alcohol was available and enjoyed responsibly then kids wouldn't grow up desiring it and getting all stupid once they were of age. 

Raising their glasses Rick said, "to Twyla getting her cutie mark! May her special talent bring her happiness and joy!" They clinked their glasses together and dug into the food.

Compliments were given to the chef, everybody enjoyed their meal and when it was done it was now time for the dessert.

The cupcakes were brought out and Twyla's had the image of her cutie mark on it. She squeed happily when she saw it. Rick of course had to take a couple pictures of the happy child and her cupcake before she was able to eat her dessert. As usual, Pinkie Pie had made some incredible cupcakes. Nothing here on Earth could match what the pink party pony could whip up.

Satisfied, they sat around the table a little longer. Rick and Twilight slowly finishing thier wine before Twilight turned to Twyla and asked her, " do you have any homework to finish tonight?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"Okay, why don't you get started on that. We'll clear the table and if you have time later, we'll watch a movie. Okay?"

"Okay!" Twyla said before running inside.

Rick saw there was still some wine left in the bottle and figured they might as well drain it. Pouring half of it into Twilight's glass before draining the rest in his, she looked at him with a twinkle in her eye and asked, "are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Well that all depends, is it working?" he said with a leer.

"Let me finish my wine and I'll tell you."

"But before you finish that, we're missing something. Be right back." Rick cleared the table and brought out some 2 year old cheddar and a cutting board.

"You read my mind, " Twilight said as she cut herself a piece.

They sat there, drinking their wine, nibbling on the cheese and admiring the look of the sky as the sun slowly set. 

Rick leaned over casually to Twilight and asked, "so when are you going into season next?"

Twilight smiled at him, a little drunk on the wine and very drunk on love and said, "about 6 weeks or so."

Rick nodded and said, "it's funny, because I was thinking that in 6 weeks time or so I'd want to take a bit of a vacation in Equestria. Just you and me in some quiet out of the way place. Sound good to you?"

"I think we could do that."

He took her hand in his, smiled and said, "I love you Twilight Sparkle."

"I love you too."

They picked up their wine glasses and moved over onto the loveseat where they could sit together. A quick kiss, she leaned into him and they just watched the sun set over the trees happy to have found that elusive thing called "happiness" and looking forward to whatever the future might hold.