Today promised to be fun… for various values of fun. Shining Armor had let me know that he was free on Sunday, so of course we scheduled some interdimensional exploration.
Our visits to alternate worlds had continued over the years, albeit at a lesser pace lately. The initial goal of seeking advanced technology for use in my world continued but, more and more, it seemed that we were the leaders in such. The closest we had come so far had been early in the program when we contacted the House Path Universe. However, their ‘magitek’ concentrated on using technology to enhance magical systems, while my focus had been the reverse. My intended goal was fully opening trade with Earth where mana was in short supply and magic-intensive systems would quickly fail. Harmonic Composites used magic to enhance technology instead, and the products that we made would continue to work indefinitely in that environment. Nevertheless, despite the lack of success in that endeavor, the secondary objective of exploring new worlds continued to intrigue and surprise us.
A big part of my ‘Getting-to-Know-You” activities with Time-loop Luna had been having her partake in my regular activities. After all, if they had not been to her taste, that could have played a big part in accepting her into my herd. They also allowed me to get to understand what drove this version of the Alicorn of the Moon, what pleased her, and what turned her off. That had gone quite well and I had quickly spent more time with Loopy than the Luna of my universe. In the first world we explored together, Loopy was more than a little bemused to find that her counterpart was the Alicorn of the Sun, whereas her sister, Celestia, was the Alicorn of the Moon. The latter looked much like my Tia, although her white coat had a soft glow, while her nebula-like mane was subtler and best seen in its glory in the dark of the night.
However, Luna looked significantly different. Instead of dark blue, her coat was sky blue and her mane and tail were golden-glowing auras. Aside from appearances though, these Royal Sisters were much like ours, although neither was banished to the moon in their history.
The second time I took Loopy with me, we encountered an Equestria where the gender disparity did not exist. There were equal numbers of stallions and mares, and that was nowhere near more obvious than when seeing some familiar mares born as stallions instead. There, Rainbow Dash was a stallion and had married his childhood sweetheart, Fluttershy.
Applejack was a stallion too and hitched up with Pinkie Pie. I didn’t see that ship coming. Prince Twilight was currently being courted by Rarity to no one’s surprise. And yes, it was Luna who was Celestia’s brother in that universe which made for a completely different dynamic between the siblings. It amused Loopy to suggest that I should consider that Luna as the perfect partner for Marklestia. She may not have been directly related to my Celestia but her sense of humor was the same. What was it with these mares trying to hook up my alter ego all the time?
We discovered another anthro pony world, only these ones all wore clothes, unlike the one where many of our citizens commuted to and from nowadays. That wasn’t the most significant difference though. In that world, the only sapient species were the various ponies and changelings. The two species not only lived harmoniously together, but the male changelings also balanced out the excess proportion of mares. Changeling-pony couples were the norm rather than the exception.
I have long believed that the shape-changers were somehow a pony offshoot, considering their basic form and how readily the fertile drones could interbreed with ponies. With the dearth of other intelligent species on that world, it added another data point. However, those speculations were driven from my mind when I met my anthro counterpart and his wife, Chrysalis. I was very glad my bug wife wasn’t accompanying me on that trip because I don’t know how she would have reacted to my response at seeing that world’s queen. She was drop-dead gorgeous! And this from a stallion who actually preferred four-legged lovers now. My counterpart had good fortune as well as good taste.
When I saw this Chrysalis whispering to Penumbra while making a point of not looking my way, I had to head over. “Can I help you, Your Majesty?”
I saw Penny discreetly tuck a photo in her far saddlebag. The changeling queen smiled sweetly. “You’ll find out in due time.” The two trotted away, giggling.
Later that week, my bug queen let me know that it was time to fertilize her eggs and that she had reserved a room in the basement of the Castle of Friendship for the task. When I arrived that evening, I saw a familiar sight, right down to the jewelry and slinky dress.
My wife purred. “My stallion, be a dear and use the portals to take your anthro form, won’t you? Then you can show me how to properly undress your queen.” I hastened to comply without a word.
It turned out that “properly” involved quite a bit of clothing damage on both of our parts.
The exploration of alternate universes had been put on hold briefly due to Twilight Sparkle putting time into building the latest successor to her original portal generator. While it had performed admirably over the years, it had been tweaked and patched with improvements so much over time that it became a bit of a Frankenstein’s Monster. Twi decided to construct a brand-new unit incorporating all the improvements plus a few more desirable additions utilizing cutting-edge technology. The biggest improvement was an AI enchantment that would survey the other end of the portal for hazards. Only Shining Armor’s forcefield had saved us once from suffocating in a vacuum on an airless world, and a plunge into an icy lake had not been pleasant on another occasion. While the portal generator already had a failsafe that prevented it from manifesting inside solid objects such as walls, it did nothing about nearby objects. After I walked nose-first into a tree that was mere inches from the portal, I asked (demanded!) that Twilight do something about that problem while blood poured from my nostrils. The result was something that she proudly called the “Intelligent Situation Assessment And Correction algorithm”.
“You called it ISAAC?” I asked Twilight with a grin.
Of course, Isaac wasn’t a pony name, so she just gave me a blank look in response. Naturally, I kept calling it that. Better than the mouthful she had named it. Twilight eventually got used to it and started using the acronym too. Anyway, ISAAC worked quite well, either by adjusting the location of the portal opening so that we didn’t walk into walls or off a cliff, or by removing obstacles such as branches or hazardous debris. Between the improved software and the sleek new hardware, the new portal generator was a thing of beauty. We field-tested it many times first, tuning into universes we had previously explored to ensure that it was working as expected, including deliberately aiming the outlet for suboptimal locations. ISAAC made the necessary adjustments on each occasion, and we declared it a success.
And thus, we came to today’s full-scale operation. Shining had committed to the whole day – something about Cadance and the girls having a day out with Twilight Velvet. I had to sympathize with the stallion – I was not that girly even when I was Marklestia.
I had wanted Loopy to be with us, but she was still holed up back in her universe and “not in a fit state to travel” as she put it. Hopefully, I would be able to do something about that tonight. My herdmate had insisted that I not put off my long-scheduled plans, so Twilight Sparkle, Celestia, Penny, Shining Armor, and I were poised to encounter a new universe straight after breakfast. Steady Flight asked to come along too and I couldn’t tell my best pony friend no.
After ISAAC gave the all-clear, Shining stepped through the portal with everyone but Twilight hot on his fetlocks. We were all a little let down by what we beheld upon arrival.
“I thought we were supposed to come out in Canterlot?” Steady commented.
“We did… kind of,” Celestia said. “I recognize this landscape. This is how the plateau looked before Canterlot was built.”
“Is it possible that we came out in the hermit alicorn world again?” Shining asked.
“No,” I replied. “Twilight was trying significantly different settings. Drop your shield, Shining. I’m going up to take a look around.”
He did as asked and I took off along with Celestia and the ever-watchful Penumbra. I scanned the valley below and immediately spotted civilization. My pegasus far vision picked out several townships including one where Ponyville should be, although without a Castle of Friendship. Strangely, I thought I could see a tower in the middle of the Everfree Forest. I pointed this out to the others.
Celestia said, “Good heavens! I believe I know what has happened in this world. That’s the solar tower of the Castle of the Two Sisters. I can see a bit of the lunar tower behind it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “If that still stands and Canterlot was never built, do you think that this world never saw a falling out between their Celestia and Luna?”
“That’s certainly one explanation.”
“So – pay them a visit?”
Celestia grinned. “That should be fun.”
We landed just as Steady was returning through the portal after giving Twilight the all-clear. The purple mare emerged next, scanned the surroundings, then looked my way.
“We’re going for a flight to the Everfree,” I said. “Looks like you’re stuck here, Shining. Unless you grow wings in the next few moments, of course,” I added with a grin.
The unicorn stallion smirked. “I have the flight pack that I got from the House Path dimension stashed with my stuff in the portal room. You’re not leaving me behind.”
Penny said, “Please get a couple of guards to come back with you to watch the dimension gate while we’re gone.”
“Way ahead of you,” Shining replied as he stepped back through the portal.
He returned promptly along with a unicorn and a griffon Royal Guard. As soon as he had secured the flight pack, we headed for what we hoped would be an interesting royal visit.
We were maybe two-thirds of the way to our destination when we encountered a squad of pegasus Royal Guards flying from the direction of the Everfree. Our two groups pulled up about ten yards apart and one of their number approached us – a sergeant by his armor markings, although I did not recognize the pony. His eyes were on Celestia though when he saluted and spoke up.
“Your Majesty! Did you teleport ahead of us? Who are these ponies with you?”
“No, Sergeant, I did not teleport ahead,” the solar alicorn replied. “In fact, I am not even the Celestia that you left behind at the castle.”
That startled and confused the guards, and when military ponies are in that condition, they tend to get suspicious. I noticed them readying their weapons. I carefully prepared my defenses as I knew the others would do. However, before anything more could happen, Twilight moved up to the front of our group.
“We are emissaries from another universe and we come in peace. Do you recognize me?”
The guard frowned. “You resemble Queen Celestia’s student, but she is not an alicorn.” His gaze shifted to me. “And I do not know this stallion at all. Is he truly an alicorn or a changeling in the guise of one?”
I spoke up. “I am a true alicorn, but one from a different world with a different history. As Princess Twilight Sparkle said, we are explorers from another dimension and we only wish to establish peaceful relations with yours.”
The pegasus considered for a moment before nodding. “I gather that you are the cause of the major mana surge located upon Mount Canterhorn?” Upon our confirmation, he continued, “Very well, we will accompany you to Their Majesties’ castle. Please do not deviate from the path we take or else we may be forced to act.”
While a threat was implied and not unexpected under the strange circumstances, it wasn’t difficult to tell that the pegasi were nervous about the possibility of defending against three alicorns, not to mention a unicorn in a magical flight device and an aggressive-looking batpony.
Our flight continued until we reached our original destination. I’ve been to the Castle of the Two Sisters several times and seen the restoration work done upon it. Nevertheless, it couldn’t compare to the magnificent structure that dominated the small metropolis within the forest. Obviously, many improvements and additions had been made to this one since it had first been built. And it was supported by a city similar to Canterlot, and no less beautiful. I could see roads leading out of the otherwise untouched growth in four directions, hinting at frequent traffic. On the flight over, I saw no evidence of the dark magic that contaminated our Everfree.
Two more squads of Royal Guards met us in the courtyard as we touched down. I suspected that the sergeant had the means to communicate and had forewarned of our arrival. The alert and serious expressions told me that they were ready for hostile action. Taking the hint, our party waited until the local rulers approached.
Celestia and Luna stepped up with smiles upon their faces. Whatever they were truly feeling, they were nevertheless acting as confident and gracious leaders.
After looking over us all with a furrowed brow, Luna turned to her sister and said, “Star Swirl never mentioned this in his explorations of other worlds via portals. I wish more than ever that such knowledge had not been lost.”
Celestia nodded. “True. He spoke of much odder beings in the worlds his mirror opened.” She then turned to her counterpart. “I am Queen Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, and this is my sister, Queen Luna. May I assume that you are my counterpart from another universe, and this is your husband?”
Tia smiled. “That is correct. I am Princess Celestia, retired ruler of Equestria. This is my husband, Prince Mark Wells, current Triarch of Equestria, and this is Princess Twilight Sparkle, also a Triarch.”
“You are a Triarch?” Luna said. “Then there is a third co-ruler?”
Luna said ‘you’ and not ‘thou’ – together with the status of the castle, it implied that she had never been banished to the moon. “Correct,” I said. “That would be my other wife, Princess Trixie Lulamoon.”
That got the jaw-dropping reaction from both alicorns I was looking for. Not even they were immune to the stunned disbelief that Trixie was a princess wherever that particular counterpart was known to the local Royal Sisters. It never got old.
“Surely you jest?” the lunar alicorn asked.
I shook my head with a smile. “No, I am not joking. You would be amazed by what a pony can accomplish under the right circumstances. She ascended to become an alicorn too.”
Celestia said, “I have to hear more about this. Would you all care to join us for refreshments while we chat?”
“It would be our pleasure, Your Majesty,” Twilight replied.
The solar alicorn said, “I would ask you to call me Celestia, but I think that might cause a little confusion under the circumstances.”
My wife replied, “Since I am retired, you may call me Tia as my herdmates do.”
“Then, let us head inside and get comfortable. Captain of the Guard – you may dismiss the response squads.”
The indicated earth pony did so, although, as expected, a few Royal Guards remained to accompany us. That was hardly surprising as this Celestia and Luna were bound to have personal bodyguards just like us.
We had a pleasant conversation discussing the differences between our Equestrias. When queried about why we had arrived on Mount Canterhorn, we explained that it was where our capital was located. We pretty much glossed over our Luna’s fate as the reason why the seat of power had been relocated. We figured it was too soon to bring up such upsetting details. There wasn’t a great deal to learn from them that was unexpected due to the way their history had worked out. With no conflict between the sisters a thousand years back, the nation had quietly grown with little incentive to change the status quo. Once again, my world was more advanced than theirs. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see how Equestria turned out without the Nightmare Moon incident. Penny would later say that it was a tragedy that the thestrals never came to be in this world because of that. Not that she complained too much; she was all for a return visit. Thinking back, I remember hearing the words “exotic beauty” more than once from their Royal Guards.
Our chat was only brought to a close by our need to return to the portal. We limited the amount of time we kept it open due to the immense amount of power the open-ended gateway required. Further social visits were promised with the provision of an enchanted gem to attach to a suitable mirror. This would provide a more stable and power-efficient means of travel between our worlds.
Celestia and Luna accompanied us to the portal to see it for themselves and bid us farewell. Upon returning to our Equestria, Twilight shut down the mechanism to allow it to cool off and recharge before we proceeded to the next new universe. My Celestia and Steady had committed to giving advanced flight lessons to Lacewing and Allura. The solar alicorn promised to meet up at lunchtime and kissed me. When I tapped a cheek for Steady to do the same, he just rolled his eyes. When I changed to Marklestia and repeated the gesture, he blushed and hastened to join Celestia.
The next time I stepped out of the portal, it took no time at all to see the first obvious difference in this reality. While the Canterlot Royal Gardens looked familiar, the two changeling princesses standing just outside Shining Armor’s shield did not. Their blue manes and tails and dark grey chitin identified them as unevolved Crystal Changelings.
“He’s just so powerful!” said one.
“And he’s handsome, too!” said the other.
The first waved a hoof. “Hey, yoo-hoo! You with all the muscles and kick-plot shield! Wanna be my partner for the Spring Heat?”
The second gave her companion a shove. “Sis! Don’t be rude! There’s more than enough hunky stallion for us to share! Besides …” With a flash of green fire, a copy of Shining Armor stood in her place. With a voice an octave lower than my friend’s voice, she continued. “… we need to show him off to the whole clutch!”
The first likewise transformed into a similar copy. Her voice was yet another octave deeper. “You mean I get to show him off! Do you think he’ll need potency potions? I mean two weeks and a couple of dozen princesses is a bunch. Plus our marefriends, and their marefriends, and their marefriends…”
Penny was no help, wiping tears from her eyes while her whole body shook. From the gasp I heard behind me, Twilight had just entered but didn’t go to help her brother. Up to me then.
I walked up to Shining’s side. My friend’s red face and stammering were too much for me to resist. “Great job! You sure know how to make a good first impression.” His look of betrayal made me crack up.
The two princesses stopped their bickering, looked me up and down, then let out a squee. With a double flash, they returned to their original forms.
“An alicorn stallion!”
“And almost half as good-looking as the unicorn.”
“Yep, he’ll do just fine!”
Shining recovered from his shock enough to laugh at my expense. Penumbra and Twilight as well.
“Daughters! Behave yourselves in front of our guests!”
My eyes snapped up to find the source of the familiar voice. Princess Celestia glided in to land a dozen feet away. This realm’s Queen Chrysalis dove behind the white alicorn. A few moments later, only her head peeked into view.
“Mom!”
“Moms! Dibs!”
Celestia shook her head causing her pastel-colored mane to cascade around her neck. “No dibs, younglings. Now shoo! Your parents have work to do.”
The first turned back to Shining Armor. “I’m Cressida. Write to me at the hive, please!”
The second gave me a huge smile. “And I’m Amarissa. Remember! Two weeks from today!”
The pair took off leaving a sighing Celestia behind. “I apologize for our excitable daughters. I see from your dimensional portal that you hail from a different Equestria… although… I can’t say I’ve met your counterparts in mine.”
Chrysalis came up beside the white alicorn. She tried twice to get out words, only succeeding when she took her eyes off of us and onto Celestia. “We have, dear. The shield caster and purple mare are the children of Dean Twilight Velvet and agent Night Light. Although she is not an alicorn.”
Celestia pulled the changeling queen into her embrace. “You mean she wasn’t the last time you checked. Always strive for perfect accuracy, my beautiful mate.” She kissed the changeling on the cheek. Chrysalis blushed green and made a half-hearted attempt to bat the mare away.
Celestia turned to us with a grin, embracing the changeling even tighter, eliciting an embarrassed chirp. “My name is Princess Celestia. My sister Luna and I have ruled Equestria for over a millennium. And this lovable squeaky toy is my lifemate Queen Chrysalis of the Equestrian Hive. I do hope you can forgive my lack of decorum. We have only been married for a few decades and this is my first marriage. Lots of snuggles and tickles to catch up on.”
At the word ‘tickles’, the queen’s eyes went wide and with a bout of green flame, an emerald-colored snake appeared in her place and darted in the direction of the castle.
Celestia watched her quickly retreating wife and grinned. “Splendid idea! Please arrange for some refreshments for our guests!”
I said, “Greetings, Princess Celestia. We are—”
She held up a hoof that made me pause. She said, “Let’s wait for more introductions until we are in the Royal Reception Room. My sister will want to meet you and I’ll try to get my bug queen out from her safe spot under our bed. If you would drop your shield and follow me?”
Our party shared a look and we all nodded as one. Shining Armor’s horn stopped glowing and the forcefield rapidly collapsed.
Twilight hurried to trot next to Celestia. “I do hope we haven’t embarrassed your Queen Chrysalis too much.” That was Twilight for you. Willing to take the blame for something that was not her fault all for the sake of friendship. “Will she come back? We’d love to chat with her.”
The sun alicorn beamed. “Of course! My precious little crystal-bug just needs a minute to calm down. I’m ninety-five percent sure I can get her to join us again.”
I heard a banging noise above us. Looking up, I saw the windows and outside doors to Celestia’s chambers slam closed. All were covered in a green glow of magic.
Celestia’s smile slipped. “Maybe sixty percent.”
This world’s Luna met us in their reception lounge while the solar alicorn went up to her suite. The night alicorn traded small talk with us while getting some coffee into her system. About ten minutes later, Celestia arrived wearing a long, glum expression. No luck, it seemed.
Needing to lighten the mood, I showed this world’s rulers my party trick. Celestia’s mouth gaped and Luna’s ears perked up. I sat next to the white alicorn on a narrow couch, holding a teacup in the same manner. I said, “It’s almost like we were twins!”
Luna chuckled. “Prince Wells … no … Princesses Celestia, are you amenable to pulling a prank on a certain changeling queen?”
I smirked, “Why else do you think I took this form and sat so that no one can see my cutie mark?”
The real Celestia smiled widely … were those hints of fangs? “I love it, but how can we get my shy mate down here?”
I looked at Luna. “Ask her if she realizes that my fourth wife’s name is Queen Chrysalis.”
The dark alicorn nodded then disappeared with a pop of inrushing air.
I turned to my doppelganger. “Quick! Tell me how you would normally greet your wife in this situation.”
After a minute, Luna teleported back in and gave me a wink. Moments later, the changeling queen stood in the doorway. She only had eyes for the two copies of her mate. Both of us chorused, “There you are, dear! Won’t you come and say hello?”
The changeling scanned the other occupants of the room and then narrowed her eyes. She sauntered forward with no trace of her previous shyness. Chrysalis looked into Celestia’s eyes for a moment before locking lips with her mate. The kiss went on for some time. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna taking notes.
After leaving Celestia breathless, the changeling’s gaze settled on me. She pushed my teacup-laden hoof out of the way to curl up in my lap. I did my very best to return the enthusiastic kiss as good as I got. After all, the prank was my idea so I’d damn well better see it through!
After I don’t know how long but I’m sure longer than what Celestia endured, Chrysalis let me breathe again. She hummed then turned to Penumbra. “Not bad. Different, but not bad.”
“What gave it away?” asked Shining Armor.
“She kisses like a stallion.”
Shining and Penumbra fell over from laughing. Penumbra’s nodding head made me realize it must be true. “Really?” I said.
The bug queen’s forelegs hugged me around the neck. “Entirely adeequate. I have no complaints.”
I grumbled. “I have one. You’re supposed to be shy.”
She booped me on the nose. “I’m shy except when I’m with Celestia. So don’t change back, please.”
I switched to my pink-haired Marklestia form. “How about now?”
Chrysalis ignored the gasps of the Royal Sisters, instead tapping her chin with a hoof. “Mmmm … no. Too immature for my taste.”
I shifted to my short-maned and -tailed form. “And now?”
She smiled. “Sporty! I like it! I think I’ll just snuggle up here for the rest of the evening.” Chrysalis turned to look at her now-frowning wife. “Unless someone wants to likewise cut their hair short.”
Celestia’s eyes sparkled. “I don’t think so. No mare is worth that.”
The silence that descended on the room was broken by Celestia launching herself from the couch to make her escape only to be intercepted by a diving Chrysalis. Unfortunately, every action has an equal but opposite reaction and the couch toppled backward, sending me sprawling. I looked past the overturned furniture to see Chrysalis mercilessly tickling her wife who was shrieking with laughter.
Luna gave me an apologetic smile and raised her voice to be heard over the din. “Please forgive them. They still act like newlyweds.”
After we returned to our Equestria and rejoined Celestia and Steady Flight, we had a break for lunch. Trixie declared that she wanted to join us for the next new world. As per our policy to always leave one Triarch safely back home, Twilight drew the short straw and had to stay behind.
We emerged into this universe's Royal Gardens to be greeted by a fairly familiar face. I say fairly familiar because Sunset Shimmer never used to have a billowing mane and tail, not to mention wings. The crown and other accouterments were a new addition too. The alicorn raised an eyebrow at seeing us, and the other joined the first when Celestia emerged behind Trixie and me. We all silently took each other in before she spoke up.
“I am going to guess that this massive magical construct is an interdimensional portal and you are not the Celestia of our world.” She looked back at Trixie and me. “And I’m sure I would have heard of two other alicorns, especially a stallion. Although, the mare looks familiar somehow.”
A bit rude, but not too different from the Sunset Shimmer that I knew. I stepped forward. “I am Prince Mark Wells, Triarch of Equestria, and these are my wives, Princess Trixie Lulamoon, Princess Celestia, and Captain Penumbra. Also, these are Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Kingdom and Steady Flight, my best friend. We are explorers of other universes.”
“I am Princess Sunset Shimmer, Diarch of Equestria and Alicorn of the Day. My co-ruler, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Alicorn of the Night, will be fascinated to meet you, I’m sure. Maybe you can tell us about this Crystal Kingdom that I’ve never heard of before.”
This was the first time a pretty normal Equestria had no knowledge of Shining and Cadance’s domain. That was worth figuring out why not.
Trixie spoke up. “Trixie would love to have a conversation with you both, although if Twilight Sparkle is the Night Alicorn, I doubt she would wish her slumber to be disturbed. We could always come back at another time to talk with her.”
Sunset shook her head. “No, it’s almost time to set the sun and raise the moon. If she has not risen by now, she will soon.”
I glanced at the sun which was close to the horizon. Oh, right. Different time rate.
Trixie nodded. “Then, once you have concluded your royal duties, we can converse for a while. Trixie is quite curious about your different history.”
Sunset frowned at Trixie. “Do you always talk in third person?”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is the senior Triarch and she talks as befits her station.”
My wife was laying it on a bit thick which is what she tended to do when irked. I spoke up to head off any further friction. “I’m sure we all have our quirks. Mine is always giving ponies nicknames. Mind if I call you Sunny?”
Sunset stared at me for a moment before she smirked. “Point taken, Prince Sparky Flank. I suppose—”
“Sunset!” came a voice from above. “Who are our visitors?”
A purple alicorn came in for a landing and I recognized Twilight immediately. Which is not to say that she didn’t have some significant differences from our own. She was taller, for starters, but it was her mane and tail that stood out. Like Sunset’s and Celestia’s, it billowed in an unseen wind and stars shimmered in the darker portions. I won’t tell Sparkles this, but her counterpart was way more impressive than her. Better looking regalia too. Our Twilight was going to have to lift her game!
Sunset replied, “Twi, we have interdimensional guests. That Celestia is not my teacher.”
Twilight gaped at us before a grin spread across her muzzle. I recognized that look. It seemed this Twilight wasn’t so different from ours after all.
Sunset noticed the other alicorn’s mood and headed her off. “Friends, this is my wife and co-ruler, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Love, these are Princess Trixie Lulamoon and Prince Mark Wells, as well as their Princess Celestia. And the handsome unicorn is Shining Armor, Prince of a country named the Crystal Kingdom. Have you ever heard of such a place?”
Twilight frowned in thought. “Hmm… A history book I read mentioned a Crystal Empire that once existed, but any records of it ceased over a millennium ago. I would have to research it further. Perhaps Prince Armor can provide me with some clues?” She looked expectantly at the stallion.
Shining tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “You talk as if you don’t recognize me.”
Twilight blinked a couple of times. “Should I?”
“In our world, I am your older brother.”
“Oh! How wonderful for that Twilight Sparkle. I have no brother, only a younger sister named Gleaming Shield.”
“Does she have a cutie mark like this?” Shining turned to display his flank.
Twilight gasped. “Sweet Luna! Yes, she does! Is your special talent force fields?”
“Yep!”
Sunset chuckled. “Now you’ve done it. My wife is going to be geeking over all the differences and similarities between our worlds all night. Let me drag her away for a moment while I set the sun and she raises the moon. Then we would be pleased to invite you to dinner, if that suits you?”
It did, and we had a fascinating albeit necessarily brief conversation. Among the facts we learned were that Twilight had been Luna’s special student and chosen successor, while Sunset had been Celestia’s. Obviously, there had been no rift between those two here. Although this Twilight had been born earlier on the same day as Shining had in our universe, Sunset was still a few years older than her and had ascended to alicorn level before the purple mare. But, just as in our universe, Twilight had ascended at a younger age, so there wasn’t too much of a gap between the two. So small, in fact, that the two mares had gravitated toward each other, formed a relationship, and eventually got married. Not that either of them wasn’t attracted to the opposite sex. Frankly, if Shining hadn’t been Twilight’s brother from another world, Cadance might have had to fend off a couple of very interested mares. At least, it wasn’t me this time!
We parted with promises to bring our Princess Twilight on our next visit. By then, they hoped to have learned about the real fate of their Crystal Empire. Trixie left them with a warning about Sombra and we headed home.
Trixie was satisfied with her one trip to another world, although I gathered that she had every intention of paying Princess Sunset more social visits. Those two had gotten on like a house on fire.
Upon stepping through the portal, I quickly realized we had finally rediscovered the world where griffons and ponies always married. This had been one of the more interesting universes Twilight and I had encountered when chasing Starlight Glimmer through time. Unfortunately, we lacked the means of returning to it because Twilight did not have a suitable material object from there to tune into that world. Now that we had found it again, I knew my co-ruler would be heavily invested in researching their history.
Judging by how low the sun was to the eastern horizon, I figured it was just after the moon had been set and the sun raised. Therefore, it wasn’t a shock that our arrival drew the immediate attention of both of the ruling princesses. What we had not learned from our previous visit to this world was that, although this Luna was recognizably the same as ours, her older sister was a magnificent huge griffon!
There was no mistaking the white pelt and feathers with their hint of pink, and she still retained an aurora-shaded mane, tail tuft, and tail feathers. Her irises were the familiar shade of purple, but it was her kind and intelligent expression that left no doubt that this Celestia was no different from ours if you ignored species. My wife and the regal griffoness gazed at each other in surprise and intrigue before Luna broke the ice.
“I have always wondered what my sister would have looked like had she been born a pony. Welcome, visitors from beyond this universe. I am Princess Luna and my sister is Princess Celestia, although mayhap you knew this already.”
I stepped forward to make our introductions as usual. “I am Prince Mark Wells, Triarch of Equestria, and this Princess Celestia is my wife. Captain Penumbra is both my bodyguard and my other wife. And Prince Shining Armor is the stallion maintaining the shield that we won’t need.” I gave him a pointed look and he took the hint, deferring to my judgment. I nudged Steady Flight to fetch Twilight.
Griffon Celestia said, “I thought Prince Armor looked familiar. I must get a photograph of you to send to Cadance and Shining later.”
“You both seem very unsurprised at our presence,” I pointed out.
The sisters smiled and Luna said, “We received word some years back of a visit from a Princess Twilight Sparkle that was not of this world, and a green pegasus that accompanied her.” She looked me up and down. “There was no mention of an alicorn stallion though.”
“That was me. I ascended later.” Steady and Twilight stepped through the portal just then. “And you can ask Twilight to confirm that.”
Twilight’s eyes had already latched onto Celestia’s griffon counterpart though and I doubt the gaping alicorn had heard me say anything. Without a word, the two rushed forward to embrace each other. Accompanied by little hops, the two demonstrated their joy – one with whoops and the other with screeches. Yes, both were definitely cut from the same bolt of cloth as their lookalikes.
Luna laughed. “I believe I have seen enough proof. Would you care to join us for the morning repast? We may converse some more while we break our fast.”
“So, you say that griffons and ponies intermarrying is a rarity in your world? How did your species survive?” Grifflestia asked.
“What do you mean?” our Celestia replied. “Both our species are thriving in our universe.” The griffon shook her head in amazement. The white alicorn continued, “What happened in yours?”
“Both of our kind were in peril of dying out. The pony tribes were producing ever more female foals, while the griffons had the opposite problem. It was obviously worse for them because a clawful of hens can’t sustain a population. And while a single stallion can impregnate many mares, that does not mean they want to, especially if they want to focus their affections on just one. The pony population level was dropping, although not as fast as that of the griffons who, within a few more generations, would likely have become a memory.”
I said, “So, what made your ancestors think that they could breed with another species instead?”
Luna replied, “This started so long ago that history is not clear on it. It certainly predates my sister and me by centuries. However, researchers believe that desperate mares went looking for male mates and found the equally desperate griffon cocks more than willing. No pony or griff expected their unions to be fruitful, but foals and cubs came anyway. With those results, more and more interspecies mating began to happen. Griffon cubs were born as frequently as pony foals, despite the species of the mother.”
Grifflestia said, “You can imagine how the mindsets of both races have evolved over time. When your chances of finding someone to form a relationship with is far greater with a member of the other species, you start looking for what is desirable in them. Eventually, ponies started preferring griffon mates and vice versa. Oh, there are still a few same-species couples, but they are as uncommon as I suspect your world’s mixed-species couples probably are. I personally might admire a handsome griffon cock, but a stallion has him beat for sex appeal every time.”
Thankfully, she was looking Shining’s way when she said that, rather than mine for a change.
“ ‘Tis true,” Luna said with a nod. “I miss my husband’s proud beak and shiny talons.”
“Husband?!” exclaimed Twilight. “Can we meet him?”
“Alas, he is away on ambassadorial duties. I would be proud to introduce Satin Plume to you otherwise.”
I exchanged glances with Twilight and my Celestia. Satin was still consort to a princess in this world, but we were all wondering how Gilda would take the news of exactly which princess!
Twilight said, “I would love to study the dynamics of your interspecies relationships. Would it be possible to meet up with your scholars, and perhaps some willing couples?”
Grifflestia nodded thoughtfully. “Actually, I believe our scholars would be equally interested in how your society developed without the need for recourse to our solution. I will have a word with the Dean of Canterlot University on the matter. As for couples, I have one already in mind. One of my maids-in-waiting is currently on maternity leave and due to give birth very soon. Her husband, Arvid, has taken time off from his job to care for her. Magnolia has been complaining of being bored as she is not able to do much physically due to bearing twins, so I bet she would be glad of something to occupy her mind. The two have been happily married for several years and should be a good example of a griffon-pony couple.”
“That sounds perfect. Please pass on my regards and my request for an interview.”
Magnolia shifted on the bed, trying to get comfortable despite her gravid belly. “My ears are burning – someone must be talking about me.”
Arvid looked up from the book he was reading next to his mare. “Are you sure it isn’t just another pregnancy symptom, dear?”
“Oh, hush, Featherduster!”
Luna said, “I will arrange that for you before I go to bed, sister. It’s time for you to prepare for Day Court.”
Grifflestia nodded. “Alas, Luna is correct. I would love to continue chatting, but a diarch’s work is never done, as well you know.”
I said, “We’ll leave a couple of enchanted gems with you to create stable permanent portals between our worlds. We can schedule a more formal meeting at a later date.”
“And I’d like you to meet my sister, too,” Celestia said to her griffon lookalike with a mischievous grin. “I have a little prank in mind, if you’re amenable?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Oh, something like: ‘Dear sister! Do you see what Twilight's portal experiments did to me?’ ‘Don't lie now, I look awful, don't I?’ ‘Sister, I can't help this craving for raw fish. I need your support more than ever. Would you take me to a Neighponese restaurant?’.”
While Luna frowned, the alabaster griffon laughed and swished her tail. “My sister despises fish, especially when it's raw. Count me in.”
Celestia shrugged. “She might figure out you aren’t her tragically altered sister… eventually.”
Judging by her counterpart’s matching expression, I guessed the nickname ‘Trollestia’ applied to both mare and hen.
It had been a thoroughly enjoyable day of discovery and the source of most of the family’s conversation that evening. Shining Armor stayed for dinner with Cadance joining him. After the meal, we continued discussing what we had learned in the lounge room. We might have chatted for a lot longer except that Loopy arrived about an hour later. It was immediately obvious to everypony that she was deeply in heat but showing remarkable constraint nevertheless.
“Husband, it is time,” were her terse and succinct words before she turned and left the room again.
I rose from my chair. “My apologies, but this stallion has to do his duty to his mare. Cadance, Shining, I bid you goodnight.” I started heading for the door, only to see that all my wives getting up to accompany me, adding their farewells to mine.
When I arched a questioning eyebrow at Trixie, she rolled her eyes in exasperation. “This is no honeymoon tryst, Dowser. You are going to sire a foal into our herd, and that makes it a herd matter.”
In my defense, impregnating one of my mares normally happened when they were all in Season and in the mood, even if the rest used contraception to avoid getting knocked up. It had not occurred to me that they would still want to be part of the event while not in estrus. When we all trooped into the Royal Suite, Loopy was already on the bed, waiting for me, She appeared to be utterly unfazed by the arrival of all her co-mates, which backed up what Trixie had said. Did that give me performance anxiety? Heck, no! I was a stallion and my mare was in heat. Suffice to say, we would definitely be expecting a foal months later.
But when we were done, my other wives wanted their time too. Whether they were turned on by Luna and me making love, or they were aroused by a mare in heat, they were all eager to have sex with me. Yes, all of them. Thank the stars that I had a pony stallion’s stamina. I learned that evening that six mares was without a doubt my limit!
"It's good to be the Prince," I murmured as we snuggled together to sleep.
"King!" several mares reflexively retorted without thinking.
Ha! Gotcha!
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