As you stand sheepishly in front of the Princesses, a small gasp from behind catches your attention. Turning around, you see Twilight and her friends cantering over — the former with a very big smile plastered on her face.
"Princesses!" Twilight says cheerfully. "I see you got my letter, and I'm happy that you could make it on such short notice."
Luna giggles. "We heard about a famous 'riding instructor' who was in Ponyville, and had captured the hearts and minds of the residents — so of course the two of us were going to come down here and meet him for ourselves." She looks at you and blushes. "It has been so long since my last 'lesson,' so please forgive me if I am a little bit rusty." She arches her back and ruffles her wings, giving you a seductive smile. "Then again... you are a professional, and you have no doubt had clients like me before."
You facepalm. "Oh, God," you grumble. "Not this again." You sigh. "Look, Princess, I don't know what you've been told, but I am not that kind of 'riding instructor.' I teach people how to mount, ride and control a horse, okay?"
Celestia cocks her head at you. "Are we talking about the same thing here?" she asks, her tail flicking slightly. "Because what you are describing sounds exactly like what we have in mind."
Luna winks at you. "Do not feel embarrassed," she says. "I assure you that the two of us would make ideal students — though, for obvious reasons, you would be seeing us separately. I do hope that won't be too much of an issue."
You put a hand over your mouth, unleashing a volley of rather creative curse words, while Zayna speaks up. "I can assure you," she says. "My master and I do not offer those kinds of services. He merely teaches people how to ride and control me in a responsible and safe manner. And, as we've said numerous times, the kinds of activities you are referring to are illegal."
"In your world, perhaps," Celestia says. "But, as you can clearly see, you are not on your world anymore." She licks her lips and takes a few steps forward. "Now, come along, Luna and I have agreed that she is to get her lesson first."
You stamp a foot into the ground. "I don't know about Zayna, but I for one am sick and tired of having to explain our relationship." You point at Celestia and Luna. "You two are Princesses, individuals who are seen as pillars of goodness and virtue. So for crying out loud, get your minds out of the gutter and focus!"
There is a small pause before, to your and Zayna's surprise, both Celestia and Luna burst out laughing. You stand there blinking as the two of them lean on each other for support, wiping away tears of laughter from their eyes with a forehoof. The cackling giggles soon cease, much to your relief, and Celestia clears her throat.
"I'm sorry," she says. "Twilight has already explained everything to us in her letter — but Luna and I simply couldn't resist playing a little joke on you." She looks at her sister and grins. "By the way, Luna, I believe it took longer than you said it would for our friend here to lose his composure."
Luna groans and wordlessly passes a small pouch to Celestia, who tucks it into her mane. "Take your money, Tia," she grumbles, before turning her gaze to you. "We had a small wager going on how long it would take for our joke to 'get under your skin,' as I believe the saying goes." She sighs. "I thought for certain it would take you at least ten minutes to get angry with us, given that your job no doubt requires a lot of patience — but I think you can agree that that was nowhere near five minutes, let alone ten."
"Well, that is true — it's just that... I'm kinda fed up with ponies always making that assumption about me," you reply. There's a pause, during which you cough and look around awkwardly. Eventually, you clap your hands and rub them together. "Right, let's change the subject: can you get us home or not?"
"We can indeed send you back, if you so wish." Luna nods. "But the question is: do either of you want to go home?"
"Well, obviously, my answer is yes," you say, as though you are talking to an idiot. "I don't belong here, and neither does Zayna. We belong back in our own world with our own kind." You look at Zayna, expecting her to agree with you — but instead you are stunned when she lowers her head and looks away. "Right, Zayna?"
"I... I'm not sure, Master," she replies. "If we go home, then that means I won't be able to speak. It has been so refreshing to be able to converse with you, and to get a better insight into the man who has been my primary caregiver for so many years." She shuffles uncomfortably on her hooves. "And, in all honesty, I really don't want to risk going back and losing that."
You walk over to her, putting an arm around her neck and patting her gently. "I never thought of that." you mentally slap yourself. "I was so caught up in what I wanted – to go home – that I never even considered contemplating what you might want."
Zayna sighs. "You have the business to think of – a business in which I play a major role – and you also have friends and family who would miss you terribly if you were to stay here." she looks up, her eyes fixed on something nearby. "But, having said that, there is so much for me here that I really want."
You look up as well, your eyes locking on none other than those of Big Macintosh. Noticing that you are looking at him, his cheeks turn a deeper shade of red than his coat and he backs away slowly.
"When I was in that rescue centre, after all the other horses from my group were adopted, I was all alone," Zayna continues. "Then I was sent to that abattoir — only for you to rescue me. But ever since then, I have been alone. For the first time since I was a filly, I am around other equines — sure, they may not be horses... but they are my friends nonetheless."
You wipe a tear from your eye. "You really like it here, don't you, girl?" Zayna nods. "Well... what kind of monster would I be if I took you away from your true home?" You look at the Princesses. "Let her stay — send me back instead."
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Celestia asks. "Because I don't think I have to tell you that you will not be able to return to Equestria once you return to your own world."
A single nod is your response. Zayna sniffles heavily and nuzzles you, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry, Master," she says. "I don't want you to think that I'm being—"
"Selfish?" you interrupt, then shake your head. "No, Zayna, if anyone has been selfish, it's me. I've pretty much kept you confined to a life of solitude for years, not even giving you a chance at the interaction you so deserve." You let out a groan. "I should have realised that horses are social creatures, and need more than humans to interact with if they are to be truly happy." You give her a kiss on the nose. "And I want you to be happy."
Zayna smiles and, much to your surprise, kisses you on the cheek. "Thank you, Master," she whispers. "I hope you find another horse to take over my duties at the riding school."
"I'll try," you whisper back. "But I don't think any replacement will ever have anything on you."
"It's funny." Zayna smiles. "You've been a part of my life all this time, and now you're leaving it. I will never forget everything that you have done for me, Master — first you saved my life, and now you are giving me a new one."
"Touching." Luna's eyes are misted over. "Truly touching."
"Lulu," Celestia teases. "Are you crying?"
"No!" Luna shouts. "There are... there must be, um, ninjas! Yes, there must be ninjas cutting onions in the immediate vicinity."
Celestia rolls her eyes and chuckles. "We can cast the spell now, if you so wish." She looks around at the party still going on around you all. "On second thoughts, perhaps we should go somewhere with a little bit more privacy."
You look around as well, then nod. "Good plan."
***
A few minutes later, your little group is outside of Ponyville and standing on a wide expanse of grass. You can see a city standing atop a mountain in the distance, a few clouds dotted across the sky, and hear the birds singing from the trees.
Zayna is looking at you with a tearful smile, while Twilight's friends offer her some comforting words and hugs. Twilight herself, noticing your forlorn expression, comes over to you.
"I can tell that you're worried about Zayna," she says. "But you don't have to be — we'll take care of her, I promise."
"I know you will, Twilight." you nod. "I know you will." You walk over and give Zayna one last, very tight, hug. "Goodbye, girl, thanks for everything."
"Goodbye, Master," Zayna replies. "And thank you for everything."
You detach yourself from Zayna's neck and, at Luna's direction, stand directly in front of the two Princesses. You cast one final glance at Zayna, now surrounded by Twilight and the others, and bow your head. "Do it."
Luna and Celestia nodded, the latter gesturing for everyone to move back as an aura grew around their horns. The aura slowly became brighter and brighter, forcing you to cover your eyes at some point. Zayna gave a snort as she backed up from the light, her eyes awash with worry.
But just as quickly as it appeared, the light disappeared. You move your hand away from your eyes and chuckle. "Well then," you say. "That was certainly antic—"
You are cut off as two glowing beams of light rush out from the Princesses horns, merging into one before striking you in the chest.
A warm feeling spreads throughout your body as the beam grows in strength. A bead of sweat falls from Celestia’s brow as she tries to maintain her beam while Luna tenses herself.
As the beam spreads over your chest, a feeling of terror replaces the warmth you felt. Resisting the urge to run away, you stand absolutely still as the beam starts covering the rest of your body.
As the beam reaches your neck you feel a sharp pain in your entire body, as if someone was jabbing you with needles. You grunt as the beam reaches your chin, the pain starting to get worse by the second. You open your mouth and bare your teeth at the Princesses, knowing full well that something was wrong.
The Princesses didn’t notice you, but they were starting to look a bit worried. Twilight’s brow furrowed as she saw your expression but did nothing. Zayna looked at you with concern and tried to get the Princesses' attention by trotting up to them.
"Hey!" she shouted. "What's going on?!"
The Princesses' did not stop, although Celestia did cast a sideways glance at Zayna. By now, the beam was almost at your crotch. Your legs were quivering from the pain and you struggled not to fall.
You let out a cry of pain as the beam reached your crotch. This was not something you were prepared to accept — yet you were powerless to do anything about it. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see a few sparks of reddish violet whirling around you.
You yelp as something warm and furry suddenly collides with you and sends you hurtling towards the ground. You suck in some air as the pressure on your chest lessens, your entire body now feeling as numb as a rock. A loud pop tells you that the magic has dissipated, and a pained grunt tells you that you've landed. Slowly opening your eyes, you are surprised to find Zayna on top of you. There's a moment of silence – during which you realise you just got tackled by a horse, and now everything hurts like hell – before it is broken.
"Are you all right?" you ask in unison.
You both chuckle and nod, but the resulting silence is broken by Luna speaking in a too-loud whisper to her sister.
"Are we sure they're not a couple?"
You're about to put her right when events finally catch up to you, and you pass out from the intense pain.