Shifting Melodies

by Thadius0


Chapter 49 - Royally bugging the royal bookworm

When Ledger next woke up, it was after having a nice, hour-long nap to digest what Midnight had given him.  Sweet Hives, if that was going to be a regular thing, he would need to figure out a way to stomach it all.

“Oh, you’re awake already?” Twilight said from next to the bed. “I guess I didn’t have to come up here after all.”

“Ah...hello again, princess,” Ledger said once he heard her voice.  “And please do stay a while, I get the feeling you have things you want to talk about with me.”

“I always have questions,” Twilight giggled. “But I was sent up here to retrieve you for dinner, and Apple Cider strikes me as the kind that doesn’t like food going to waste.”

“Mm...in a bit, then, the bed is comfy still,” Ledger replied as he lay back down and sighed.  Feeling a bit cheeky still, he opened one eye and turned to look at Twilight before saying the next sentence.  “Feel free to join me if you like~”

His cheeky smile remained as the alicorn turned a shade of red, her mouth opening and closing a few times... before she grabbed his pillow with her magic and whapped him over the face with it.

“You, are just as bad as Midnight!” she huffed.

“Somepony had to teach me,” he said from under the pillow, though it was a bit muffled.

“Midnight...becoming a teacher?” Now that was a terrifying thought. “I don’t think Flirting 101 is in the school curriculum.”

“It should be,” Ledger said after pushing the pillow off his face with a hoof.  “You’re sexy when you’re trying.” Twilight spluttered again and looked away.

“Are you trying to embarrass me to death?” She sighed and waved a wing. “I starting to wonder if I can learn anything useful from you, or if you’re going to be this incorrigible the entire time.”

“Oh no doubt you can learn something useful from me,” Ledger said as he paused for one second before he spoke up in that cheeky tone again.  “What that is is entirely up to you, of course, but you can learn something from me.”

“Somehow, I feel like learning from you will be an interesting experience to say the least.” Twilight shook her head as she heard Midnight call out from downstairs.

“If you two are having sexytimes, I want in!”

“That...mare...” Twilight groaned and rubbed her head.

“Consider who I have to learn from myself,” Ledger pointed out.  “Midnight is, well, a terrible influence, and even Cider has her bad side.  And we already know what Scope is like.  Is it any surprise I might have been influenced by them?”

“No, I suppose not,” Twilight smiled. “Honestly, you should see Rainbow or Rarity when they’re feeling cheeky...or Pinkie, sweet Celestia that mare has said things that would make Midnight blush.”

“So,” Ledger said as pushed himself upright and looked at Twilight.  “Is there any other reason behind you being the one to fetch me?”

“Apple Cider asked me to,” Twilight replied. “She said that Midnight would likely delay you with...well, and Scope Lens wouldn't be much better.”

“Fair enough, and the reason she sent you and didn’t come herself?” Ledger questioned with a raised eyebrow. Twilight blushed and looked away from him..

“She said that she didn’t trust any of us in the kitchen.”

“Fair enough,” Ledger chuckled.  “Any idea how long we have until dinner…?”

“SOUPS ON!!” Cider hollered from down below.

“I believe that provides an accurate timeframe,” Twilight smiled and turned to leave.

“If you want to talk, Twilight Sparkle,” Ledger said as he slowly got to his hooves.  “I promise to take it seriously and listen.”

“M-Maybe later,” she said quietly and then hurried downstairs.  Ledger sighed softly as he followed after her, at reduced pace so as not to upset his stomach.

He did rather hope that relations between himself and the princess of magic weren’t going to be too strained after she saw...that little display.  It was unlikely, but hope springs eternal.


Dinner was absolutely marvelous, as per the standard of a meal cooked by himself or Cider.  Mostly Cider.

Twilight Sparkle...

They learned something about the mare that night.

Her stomach was a freaking bottomless pit. She easily ate four times as much as anypony else. A feast like this would normally have leftovers for two or three days...

She cleaned each and every plate.

On the upside, this certainly did pick up the slack from Ledger and Scope not eating much, for fear of upsetting their already full systems.

“I dread to think what might happen if we introduced her to Fredrick’s cooking,” Ledger commented aloud as he looked at the carnage the princess had wreaked.

“She’d drive him out of business,” Scope commented.

“I have no idea where she puts it all,” Midnight replied. She was also a big eater, but holy hell, Twilight put her to shame and then some. At one point, she’d wiped her muzzle with a bread bun and then ate that as well.

“Ah can see why Applejack likes y’all,” Cider chuckled. “Y’all eat like a horse.”

Everyone just stopped and looked at Cider.

“Whut?” she blinked.

“Think that through again, Cider,” Ledger said as he waved a hoof at the Apple mare.  “We’ll wait.”

Her response was to chuck a bread roll at his head. Midnight giggled as she looked at Twilight.

“No wonder you have so many Guards at Canterlot Palace. They’re not there to protect the demi-god Alicorns, they’re there to protect the chefs that can keep up with their appetites.”

“Oh shut up,” Twilight blushed as she wiped her muzzle with a napkin, and thankfully didn’t eat that too. “So I have a healthy appetite. I also use a lot of powerful magic. I did teleport here from Ponyville after all.”

Ledger pointedly looked from the table to the alicorn, then back to the empty plates decorating the table.  “I suppose that would explain why you just out-ate a platoon of Guards...Your body needs to get all that extra energy from somewhere.”

Twilight frowned as she looked at the drone. “I’m not entirely sure if I should be insulted or not...”

“Probably insulted, Ledger’s good at under-the-table comments like that,” Midnight warned her.

“That’s not all he’s good at under-the-table~” Scope grinned and Twilight flushed a deep red that ‘that’ particular memory came back up.  To his credit, Ledger blushed as well before pointedly looking away.  He cleared his throat before speaking up again.

“Anyway, it’s a shame you aren’t a little bit like a changeling, you’d be able to extract extra power from the emotions of those around you.  You’d have been filled up about an hour ago then.”

That was when Twilight was all but in his face, her gleaming eyes only a few inches from his own. “Is it possible for a non-changeling to learn that? Or is it a species trait? Did you evolve with that ability, or maybe it was something you learned more recently, in the last century or so? Oh, maybe if I could learn a similar method, or perhaps re-create a magical version—”

Instinctively, Ledger reached up with his hooves as his ‘Pink-reflex’ acted up around so many words, and clamped shut around the lavender mare’s muzzle.  “Twilight,” he said evenly.  “Please stop.”

The mare’s barrage of questions ceased... for now.

“Now when I take my hooves away, I will tell you the one way I know of for you to test this, and you are not going to over-react, okay?”  He wasn’t sure where this over-confidence in dealing with royalty came from, but the drone was rolling with it for now.

Twilight nodded again, her eyes showing that she was starting to get annoyed over being marehandled like this.

“Ledger, are you planning something naughty~” Midnight giggled, causing Twilight’s eyes to widen slightly.

“Hardly,” Ledger scoffed before letting go of Twilight.  “The one way I know of that you could use to test this revolves around an ability I possess.  I can give emotions back, if I so choose.  I typically put it into food so that others can know the joys of consuming something I take for granted.”

“Ohh, I forgot you could do that,” Midnight nodded. Then her eyes widened, “Wait, the last time you did tha—”

She was silenced by Scope’s hoof, who shushed her with a smile. “Noooo, this will be fine. It’s a real learning experience.”

Ledger waited for Twilight to come up with something as he idly considered his surplus of emotions.  He doubted he would need this much love ever, and living with Midnight meant that he was just going to be getting more anyways.  As long as he didn’t buck up, of course.

“Um, is this...safe?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

“I’ve done it to the food I make every so often, and they,” here the drone indicated the mares at the table, “can attest to it’s tastiness. As well, ponies don’t suffer any ill effects from having raw emotion or magic injected into them.  There is some minor disorientation, but no long-term drawbacks.”

Twilight tapped her chin. On one hoof, she was still a little concerned about the side-effects. But on the other hoof? Science!

“Let’s do science!” she grinned.  Ledger smiled as well and dropped his disguise, humming as he considered out loud how to go about this.

“Okay, to start with, I’m going to give you a very small dose of love, since I have so much.  Barely enough to be felt, but you should feel it,” the drone said as his horn lit up silver.  “Let me know when you’re ready.”

“Alright, bring it on,” Twilight nodded.  Ledger’s horn intensified slightly in its glow, and a small, narrow beam of silver light jumped from the drone to the alicorn.  It stayed connected for all of two seconds before cutting out.

“How do you feel?” the changeling asked.

Twilight blinked as she took a sharp breath and smiled. She took a step closer to Ledger and hummed. “Mm, kinda warm and fuzzy inside. It feels... nice.”

“That’s really just a drop of what Midnight just gave me an hour ago,” Ledger explained.  “Just a little love.  Let your system adjust to the extra emotion...I give it ten more seconds for it to rebalance, and…”

He stopped when Twilight stepped closer and then drew him in for a kiss. It was evident that she was inexperienced at this sort of thing, but the fact remained...

Princess Twilight Sparkle, the real one. Was kissing him!

Internally, he was panicking, and externally, Ledger didn’t even so much as blink or breathe as he all but locked up.

“Um, should we...stop them?” Cider blinked, looking almost as confused as Ledger.

“Ledger....” Midnight growled at him. Scope was holding her back...for now.

Twilight eventually pulled away and licked her lips thoughtfully. That had been...nice, but more experimentation was needed. She crossed around to the other side of the table and repeated the process with the house’s resident Thestral…

Meanwhile, Ledger fell over thanks to a sudden breeze being more than he could stand up to at the moment.  He just collapsed there, waiting for the world to make sense again.  If it ever did.

“I’d say I told you so...but I didn’t, so I won’t,” Scope cackled. Twilight eventually broke the kiss with Midnight, before shaking her head and realising what she’d just done.

She soon joined Ledger in completely freezing up and falling over.


About a half hour later, Ledger awoke and felt a warm body next to his, instinctively reaching out to hug it. The feeling of soft, feathery wings against his chest. The scent of lilacs from her dark blue mane... wait, what?

Ledger blinked and slowly looked down to the mare he was cuddling close to his chest.  The feathery wings had made him think it was Scope in her pegasus form for a moment, but the frame was wrong.  As was the smell.  And the horn.

He nearly locked up again when he realized he was cuddling Twilight Sparkle in their guest bedroom.

“Having fun?” she asked him in a dry tone.

“...Actually, yes.  Ponies are nice and soft compared to a changeling,” Ledger pointed out.  “Despite what Middy says, I know chitin can’t be comfortable.  Whereas ponies are just fun to cuddle.”

“I get the distinct feeling that this is Midnight’s and/or Scope’s idea,” Twilight sighed, but... she wasn’t moving. “Well, that was certainly a novel experience. And you said that was just a miniscule dose? Are you sure you got it right?”

“Quite sure,” Ledger said with a nod.  “It would have been enough to feed a changeling for, oh, half a day, less if they wanted to keep a disguise up or use any magic.  But compared to the ocean Midnight basically just saturated me and Scope with, it’s barely anything.”

“Midnight doesn’t do anything halfway huh?” Twilight sighed as her wings twitched. “I’d hate to see what’d happen if you gave me a larger dose,” she snorted in amusement. “Might have seen a repeat of your little fantasy~”

He instinctively moved one hoof down to her wings to stroke at them, like he would for Scope, and had already stroked one once before his brain caught up that this was not Scope, causing him to pause halfway through a second caress.

“...You can keep going,” she said quietly. “Already kissed you, so this is nothing.”

“I shouldn’t,” Ledger said, his hoof not moving one way or another.

“Yes... I suppose not,” Twilight replied softly, her wings giving another twitch due to the sudden lack of attention. “This is, not how I expected this visit to go.”

“I wasn’t even expecting a visit,” Ledger replied as his hoof finished the caress and moved back to a more normal position for cuddling the mare.  “But...I don’t think I’ll be complaining about it.”

“Heh, guess not,” she smirked. “Imagine the tabloids, Princess Sparkle, in bed with a Changeling for cuddles.” She gave a derisive snort and shook her head slightly. “And sorry about that, I actually wanted the visit to be somewhat of a surprise.”

“I think you managed that,” Ledger snorted as well. “And I think they’d speculate about more than you just cuddling me if they ever learned we were in the same bed together.”  That being said, he did give her a small, comforting squeeze. And to her credit, she still hadn’t blasted him yet. Yay, progress.

“I’ll just ignore it, they always make up some such nonsense about Celestia... they quickly learned not to do that with Luna. She threatened to curse them with unending nightmares... actually did for a few days until they started to believe her too.” She shifted into a more comfortable position and sighed.

“I’ve... been doing a lot of thinking lately, when I’ve had the time anyway. Having your Cutie Mark stolen by a crazed Unicorn is never fun...”

“I was unaware there was magic to do that,” Ledger said as his eyebrows climbed.  “But I imagine not.  Anyways, you were doing some thinking…”

“Mostly about Midnight, and you... and the teasing that your marefriend did,” she said, her voice getting quieter as she went on.

“Ah, well, yes, that’s Midnight for you,” the drone said as he nearly nuzzled the mare comfortingly.  Dammit Ledger, this is just a mare, not one of your mares!  Stop treating her like she’s Scope or Cider or Middy!  “And what about it were you thinking about?”

She was quiet for a good long moment. Ledger could almost hear the gears in her head turning and the mind of an alicorn at work, the mind of Twilight Sparkle at work was a beautiful thing for one such as himself.

“W-Well...” she eventually said. “I...was wondering, if maybe, you and the others...weren’t busy this weekend?”

“I don’t think I have any plans, this is the off-season for Cider, and the hype around Changelings is finally dying down to where Sugar has given Midnight a day off,” Ledger said.  “We might all be free to relax for once.”

“That’s, good,” Twilight stammered. “T-Then, would you and the others... like to.....” her voice got so quiet, even Fluttershy wouldn’t hear her.

“I can’t voice my opinion if you don’t speak up,” the changeling said. Twilight stiffened slightly, before she sighed and rolled over so she could look at him. Her head was down, as her eyes looked up at the stallion.

“Would you... like to go out on a date?”

Ledger stiffened as well as he considered the very notion.  Eventually he answered the mare, after he thought of the right way to word said answer.  “Provisionally, my answer is yes, I would like to go on a date.  The provision is clearing it with the others, of course.”  Then he leaned over and pecked Twilight on the tip of her muzzle with a light kiss.  “And might I say, had you gotten to me first, I would have agreed faster than your friend Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight blushed from the kiss and then frowned. “Why...would Rainbow Dash agree to a date with me?”

“...I would have agreed to date you faster than your friend Rainbow Dash can go,” Ledger deadpanned.  Sometimes, this mare...

“Oh, I guess that makes more sense... but you really should work on your wording,” Twilight said. She realised the position she was in with him and blushed harder, which in this low light made her look so…

So damn adorkable.

“Ahm,” Ledger coughed, looking away as he fought to keep his own blush and self under control.  “Ah, unless you...intend to do something with me, you should...probably roll back over, your highness…”

Twilight saw her chance at revenge and blinked innocently. “Oh, why’s that?” she asked. Ledger gestured with one hoof in her general direction before replying.

“Let’s just say if I were to look down, there wouldn’t be a whole lot from stopping me seeing if reality matched fantasy.”

Twilight tilted her head and glanced down... SWEET CELESTIA! She gave a whinny in surprise and all but leapt from the bed.  Ledger snickered at her reaction, before realizing he’d lost his cuddle-buddy and sighing.

“I suppose that’s the end of us cuddling, then,” the drone said sadly.  “It was...nice while it lasted.”

“Yes, well...it was until your ‘friend’ joined us,” Twilight replied with a light chuckle once she got her heart rate under control.

“I’m sure it’s nothing you haven’t seen in textbooks before,” Ledger fired back as he made sure said friend wasn’t in view.

“And today I have learned that textbooks cannot prepare you for the real thing,” Twilight snarked back. “Hmm, maybe I should send a letter to Celestia about this.”

“You could,” Ledger said as that comment sunk in.  “But I’m certain she doesn’t need to know all the details.”  Sweet Hives, this mare would document everything and send copies to her ruler, wouldn’t she?...  “Besides, it’s not like you know the details anyway.”

Then she got a wicked gleam in her eye. “For science?”

“Meep!” Ledger said as he froze up, his snarky dare backfiring on him.  “When I educated you earlier today, I didn’t intend for you to turn it on me like this!”

“Then I believe we are now even,” Twilight winked at him and turned. Just as a Thestral dropped from the ceiling and hugged her. “GAH!?”

“...And how long were you up there?” Ledger asked, surprised he didn’t notice the mare sooner.

“The whole time, you two are simply adorable,” Midnight cooed as she hugged the struggling alicorn. “Aw, don’t be like that Bookworm, you hugged Ledger, I want one too. Also, yes. We’ll go on a date with you. I don’t think Scope will care either way... Cider might be a little harder to convince, but then, the whole herd thing went over well...so, who really knows.”

“Please unhoof the princess before she recalls she has magic,” Ledger deadpanned.  “That’s a mess I don’t want to clean up.” Twilight blinked, and with a flash, had teleported behind Ledger, now using him as a chitinous shield.

“Aww, why do you always spoil my fun Levvy?” Midnight pouted. The drone shrugged before hugging the alicorn close with one foreleg.

“Dunno, but now I have my cuddle-buddy back~” he sang as he nuzzled the mare.  If she was gonna use him as a meatshield, he was gonna get some more cuddling out of it. That was when Midnight tackled the both of them with a happy giggle...

Then she noticed Ledger’s friend and poked it. “Ohh, is somepony happy to see me? Or does he want a threesome with a Princess~?”

“Insinuating that I would do anything to her before she was ready is going to earn you a penalty, Middy,” Ledger warned.  “Now do be a dear and go convince the others of Twilight’s little planned date before you cause her to combust?”

“A-Actually, he had that before he knew you were here,” Twilight replied, her blushing face hiding a cheeky smile. “I think... he wants me alone.”

“Ohh, is that so?” Midnight said with a playful growl.

“Well out of all the mares interested in me like that, she is the one I’ve spent the least amount of time with,” Ledger said.  “Plus if you were here all along, you know she was all but presenting herself not a moment ago.”

“I-I was not!!” Twilight’s face flamed red as she pushed him away with an indignant huff. Midnight giggled as she batted Twilight’s tail.

“Well, I suppose that’s true as well,” she grinned before flittering over to the door. “Have fun kids, don’t do anypony I wouldn’t do...which isn’t a lot,” she grinned and closed the door behind her... and then locked it from the outside.

“I am having second thoughts now,” Twilight muttered.  Ledger softly stroked her mane with one chitinous hoof before voicing his reply.

“Welcome to my old world.  Wanna know how I got to where I am now?”

“Snark, magic, and perverse sex?” Twilight deadpanned.  Ledger chuckled before rebuking the mare.

“Faith in one simple thing.  That they love me.  That’s helped me more than words can say.  Though it probably helps that as a ‘ling, I can verify that.  I suppose the real thing I have faith in is that no matter what we go through, we will always love one another.”

“Aww,” Twilight couldn’t help but daww at that sentiment. It was so hopelessly cute and sappy. “So um... why did Midnight lock the door?”

“I dunno, she knows we can both teleport, it was probably more to keep...others...out…” And then Twilight saw the ‘ling blush and look away.  “Oh wow, she really thinks we’re going to do something like that?”

Twilight’s brilliant brain ground to a screeching halt and exploded. Twice.

“For science?” she said weakly.

“Look, for all intents and purposes, I’m not moving unless you’re explicit in your requests,” Ledger shot back.  “I won’t have it said I did anything you didn’t want me to, so I’m doing nothing you don’t tell me to.”

“Yeah, well... I think that doing ‘that’ or anything even remotely related is not happening... yet,” Twilight replied as she starting thinking about fractals, economics, astrology...ahh, much better. “I think we’re going to have to settle for sorely disappointing your Thestral.”

“Hmm...I have a better idea,” Ledger said with a mischievous smile as his horn lit up.  “I have a spell that recreates noises from memory...what do you say to me replaying the sounds of what you walked in on to tease Midnight when she comes to check on us?”

“There are several problems with that,” Twilight replied in a dry tone. “One, I have finally repressed that memory. I do not need a repeat. And two, when she returns and hears that, she’d likely try to join in.”

“Fair enough,” Ledger said as he simply lay back and sighed.  “How about a soundproofing spell instead, and I simply be your changeling anatomy doll?”

“Why does that sound even more perverse?” Twilight sighed. Though, it would be good for her studies to get to know a Changeling more. She threw up a powerful soundproof barrier and smiled. “And I guess I could return the favour. I bet you don’t know much about Alicorns.”

“You first,” Ledger said as he gestured for Twilight to come close.  “If we’re doing anything like this, I will be a gentlestallion and let the mare go first.  Or we could argue royal privilege.”

“Very well,” she nodded as she summoned that massive book of hers. “Now, let’s get to work yes?”

And why did Ledger suddenly feel like a bug under a magnifying glass... and where did she get that magnifying glass!?

“Just, ah, do be careful?” He squeaked.  “Some parts of me are...rather delicate.  And I’d prefer they all remain attached.”  The wrong amount of pressure on his wings...he winced at the thought.

“Yes, yes, you’ll be fine,” Twilight hummed as she took notes on the structure of his chitin, the shape of his horn and wings. Comparing them to a common Changeling. Ohh, this was interesting~  Ledger squirmed a little at the attention, but sighed as he drank in the feeling of her learning something.

If he could, he’d be her lab-rat every day for a meal this fine. Twilight cast a glance downwards and chuckled.

“And I see you’re enjoying yourself again. I suppose I should be flattered you think so highly of me.”

Ledger squeaked again before he rallied his arguments.  “You’re an intelligent mare using me to further your understanding of the world around you.  It doesn’t hurt that you’re pretty as well and paying so much attention to me.  Add in the fact that we’re in bed, and I fail to see how that reaction is a surprise at all.”

Now it was Twilight's turn to blush again as she looked away. "Sorry, I've never really had somepony say those sorts of things to me before."

“Hang around us more, and I promise to not stop,” Ledger said, not sure if he was teasing anymore or not.

"I wonder, are you still teasing me?" Twilight giggled. Then the door to the room flew open and Apple Cider stood there with a serious expression.

“You two. Downstairs. Now." She said sternly before leaving. Ledger sighed before looking at Twilight.

“Think we should?” he asked the alicorn. She gulped and nodded.

"I think so... she looked pretty mad though."

“Maybe it’d be best if we hurried,” Ledger commented before crawling for the edge of the bed. Twilight nodded and with a flash of magenta light, the two appeared in the living room.

"Well, points for punctuality at least," Cider replied. Scope was still in her nest, hooves behind her head as she chilled.

Midnight was hog tied on the couch with an apple in her mouth...And Ledger could not resist.

“You got me a present?” Ledger cooed as he drew close to the thestral mare, a wicked smile on his face.  “Oh, the things I could do to her…”

"Not the time Ledger," Cider said coarsely. "That there is t'stop her from puttin' her two bits in fer the moment."

The Earth pony looked at Twilight with her stony gaze. "Alright Princess. Y’all wanna explain why mah marefriend came downstairs, spoutin' some hooey about you wantin' to date us?"

Twilight looked at Midnight, hoping that an incorrect answer wouldn’t get her into a similar position. "W-Well, it's true..."

Cider sighed and looked at Ledger. "And before ah start, what are your thoughts?"

“Well,” Ledger hummed before standing opposite Twilight.  “I think she’s an intelligent mare who is probably going to look at this like a new thing to study, and it’d be our duty to help her look at it as anything but something academic.”

"That's not-" Twilight started, but Cider raised a hoof and cut her off.

"So none y’all put even the slightest bit o'rational thought into this?"

“Tell me, at what point did ‘rational thought’ enter the picture?” Ledger snarked.  “Love isn’t something you reason with.  And I’m not saying this new relationship is.  No offense, Twilight, but I barely know you.”

"Ah ain't questioning that," Cider remarked. "One, in case y’all forgot, Twilight there is a Princess. One that has a lot of responsibility. Two, she lives in Ponyville. If this relationship worked... then what? Do we all pack up and move there? Or does that crystal castle of yers have wheels? And three, we're getting married soon and Midnight there has a foal on the way."

“Those are some very valid points,” Ledger admitted.  “Twilight, shall we address them in order?”

“Actually..." Twilight blushed and looked down. "I really hadn’t thought that far ahead... I'm sorry."

“Well then, I’ll take point,” Ledger said before taking a breath.  “One, Cadence is married, and there are rumors of Luna seeing somepony.  I think you’re allowed to both be a princess and have a relationship.  Two, Twilight teleported here, I think we can work together on refining that teleportation spell to where she doesn’t eat you out of house and home whenever she pays a visit.  I wouldn’t ask you to move your orchard anyways.  It’s not exactly mobile.  And three...actually, we should probably put our heads together for point three.”

"Mmmmmph!!" Midnight frowned before she did something Ledger had never seen before. She bit into the apple and drained it down to a withered husk before spitting it out.

"I'd like an early wedding if possible, before I get fat... Oh Celestia! I'm gonna get fat! Nopony will love a fat Thestral..."

Ledger reacted to the rapid emotional whiplash by all but glomping the mare and whispering comforting words into her ears.  “I promise you we’ll still love you every day you’re pregnant, and if I don’t, feel free to kick me outta bed that night.”

"If you stop loving me because of the thing you put inside me..." She eyed the drained apple core...then his package.

“Message received, not that it was likely anyways,” Ledger said before giving Midnight a peck.  “So, early wedding, with Twilight still dating us as a whole to better understand herd dynamics and how love actually works?”

"This is gonna be problematic, ah can see it now," Cider said. She let out a sigh and smiled at the alicorn. "Look, ah ain't sayin' no. And ah'm not trying to push you away. But this is gonna be mighty complicated, and we'd prolly need to keep it a secret fer now."

"I know, and... I should have given this more thought before jumping in hooves first," Twilight said. "Rarity told me to just go for it, and it was Applejack who said I should have waited a little more. Still..." She gave the group a friendly smile. "I'd like to see if this can work. I don't want to interrupt any plans you already have. But, I want to experience this. Please?"

Cider sighed again and looked at Ledger.

"Well shoot, how in the hay can I say no to that?"

“So long as we go at a pace everypony,” Here the stallion raised his voice, to make sure Scope heard him, “is comfortable with, then you really can’t.  Just be aware, your highness, we’re all getting hitched to one another soon.  Things after that probably won’t change much, but the planning of the wedding is going to be a nightmare.”

"Thank you," Twilight replied with a soft smile. "As for the planning, I could help? I'm pretty good with organising things."

"Now ah don't want some big royal thang!" Cider started.

"Agreed," Midnight shuddered at that. She remembered her last royal affair with not-so-fond memories.

"I didn't think you would," Twilight smiled. "Besides, you have such a lovely orchard. I think having it here would be perfect for you."

“I need to send a message home, my mother would never forgive me if I didn’t inform her of my wedding...which means father will come over as well.  And the odds of them keeping it to those two are low…”  Ledger hummed.  “Maybe say the trio aren’t invited, nor Joyful?  That’ll keep the others at home watching them.”

"But I miss little Joyful," Midnight pouted.

"Well, let's do a little preliminary planning," Twilight suggested and Cider nodded.

"Fair enough," she plucked Scopey from her nest and headed upstairs, Twilight following close behind.

Midnight watched them leave, and realised she was still tied up. "Hey! Guys? Don't leave me here like this!" She looked at Ledger and gulped.

"Ponyfeathers."

Ledger smiled mischievously as he raised one hoof.  Time to see how ticklish Midnight was~


About an hour or so later, the three mares returned to see Midnight still tied up and giving the occasional twitch. A rather large stain under her.

Cider’s eye gave a slight twitch as Twilight blushed and looked away.

"Do ah really wanna know what happened in here?" the farmmare asked with a raised eyebrow.   Ledger smirked before looking at the bound batpony’s form again, sighing softly.

“I might have gone a little overboard,” he eventually admitted.

"A little?" Twilight snarked at him. "Should you really be doing that with a pregnant mare?"

“All the more reason to do it now before I can’t anymore,” the drone returned.

"I'm mango..." Midnight half giggled, half sighed.

"Is...she alright?" Scope questioned. "You seem to have had fun."

“She’ll be fine,” Ledger said dismissively. Midnight gave another twitch and giggled again as Cider untied her. The Thestral went to give Ledger a kiss, before she put a hoof to her mouth and bolted from the room, the sound of her re-visiting dinner could be heard soon after.

“Yeah, I feel like that around Ledger sometimes as well,” Scope said.

“I get the feeling we’re in for a lot of that,” Ledger sighed before simply laying on the couch. Twilight nodded as she recalled the books she’d read on the subject.

“For the next few weeks anyhow, it’ll wear off soon enough, but this is the least of your problems. But...” she paused as she looked at him. “How much do you know about Thestrals exactly?”

“Not as much as I’d like to know,” the drone replied.  “Though I am learning more all the time.”

“Okay, so biologically, they aren’t a whole lot different than a Pegasus,” Twilight explained as she summoned a chalkboard and begun making some diagrams. “Well, aside from the obvious wing structure. They also have eyes more adapted for low light and movement, with also results in faster reaction times.” She scribbled a few notes down as Cider and Scope took a seat.

“But... when it comes to having a foal, things get...a little different.” She made a few more sketches, ones that depicted a Thestral, but with more open ears, large fangs and a wider wing span.

“They can undergo a metamorphosis of some sort, one where their emotional state rules over the more rational state of mind. An...accident involving Fluttershy led me to discover this. Her mother is a Thestral actually. Anyhow, the effects can vary depending on the individual... but um,”

She paused and shuddered a little. “Depending on the individuals...cravings, let’s just say that not all vampony rumours are just that.”

“Oh….my,” Ledger said as he looked at the door Midnight had vanished through.  “Should I be worried?”

“You should all be worried,” Twilight said. “Honestly, it could be nothing. Midnight is half Unicorn, so the effects for her might not be as intense as a full-blooded Thestral... or they could be much worse. Who really knows?”

“Ah think we ought t’find out,” Cider gulped. “Ah’m all fer some kinky vampony roleplay, but ah don’t want her actually sucking my blood.”

Scope cast a glance at the apple core on the floor then at Ledger. “Well, we all know where Midnight’s interests lie,” she said with a wry smile. “So, R.I.P Ledger’s penis.”

“More like R.I.P the mangoes of Las Pegasus,” Ledger fired back. A tongue flickered against his neck as a hoarse voice whispered in his ear.

“Did somepony say...mangoes~”

Ledger shuddered a little at the sudden attention, before pointing out they had company still. Twilight had yelped and hidden behind the board she’d summoned, whereas Scope and and Cider just stared at Midnight with wide eyes.

“What?” Midnight tilted her head.

“Y-Your eyes,” Cider finally stammered. Ledger took a look... and noticed that Midnight’s eye colour had changed from her usual beautiful emerald green, to a deep ruby red.

“Is that what you were talking about?” the drone whispered to the alicorn.

"I never expected it to begin so quickly," Twilight whispered back.

"You know I can hear you right?" Midnight deadpanned. "So care to share?"

“Twilight was just informing me about how your pregnancy cravings are going to be a bit more...intense than a normal pony’s would be,” Ledger said after looking away from Midnight’s new eye color.

Midnight looked at the chalkboard, reading what Twilight had put up there. But, what was more curious was Ledger’s reaction to her. Was he...scared of her?

“Ledger, what’s wrong?” she asked him directly.

Ledger pulled a small hand mirror to himself via teleportation and showed Midnight her own face for the first time since he’d said ‘mangoes.’ The Thestral looked at her reflection, and at the blood-red eyes that stared back at her.

“Well...this is...a thing,” she said, tilting her head and blinking. “Is this a permanent thing?”

“No, you should return to normal a month or so before you actually give birth,” Twilight explained. “How this transformation came about is quite interesting if anypony is curious. Ah, what am I saying, of course you are. It started around a thousand years ago, where somepony got the bright idea of using a genetic-based transmogrification spell in order to protect pregnant females from predators and the like. Unfortunately, the initial test mare took to it quite well, and they never realised that the spell was transferred to the child...and said mare was, gifted at that particular aspect. Rumours say that she had nearly forty foals in her lifetime...” She looked at the small group as Midnight continued to look at herself in the mirror, Scope was asleep...

“Aaaand nopony’s listening,” Twilight sighed.

“I am,” Ledger replied.  “So how was the spell meant to protect the mare?  Much less her foals?”

“The spell in it’s prime was quite potent,” Twilight smiled broadly. She loved learning, and she loved to help others learn as well. “At the height of the transformation, the mare was almost feral, no enemy would dare go near in fear of horrible mutilation or even death. Foaling mothers have a very powerful maternal instinct to protect their child, and this spell only added to that. Thankfully, it has diluted over the centuries, so you won’t need to keep her in a cage like they used to.”

“I see,” Ledger hummed.  “Well, this has been most enlightening.  She’s going to basically be a worse version of herself until she’s ready to give birth?”

“Still here,” Midnight said dryly.

“I wouldn’t say worse,” Twilight replied. “She’ll just be unable to control her base emotions and instincts as well as she normally can.”

“Again. Right. Here.” Midnight sighed again.

“...She controls those?” Ledger asked as he looked at Midnight with a raised eyebrow.

“Buck you guys,” Midnight pouted, folding her forelegs.

“Maybe once we get to know one another,” Twilight chuckled, causing the Thestral to cough, not having expected the counter snark.

“An’ one again, Ledger proves to be a terrible influence on those around ‘im,” Cider said. She got up and moved over to the alicorn and stared at her. “So, are ya sure about this? About adding yerself to our crazy family?”

“The future is never that certain,” Twilight replied. “But... I don’t know. I feel comfortable here. I’ve known Midnight for a while now. And Ledger is kinda fun and he has so much that I can learn from and teach to. I know my way around a farm thanks to Applejack, so I promise that I won’t be a burden around here, and as for Scope... well... yeah.”

Cider chuckled and shook her head. “Ah reckon yer a lot more approachable than the other princesses, and y’all are pretty cute,” that got a blush from the adorkable alicorn. “Alright, ah guess ah can give y’all a chance. Honestly, an’ jus’ when ah thought that this family couldn’t get any crazier. Next thing ya know, Discord’ll wanna join.”

“Ohhhh~ An invitation?”

Ledger’s eyes went wide as he shook his head rapidly.  “No no no no no.  Cider, please, don’t say his name again.  I think he’s got an eye on this family of ours.”

“Such a party pooper,” Discord hummed. “Arrivederci!”

Twilight sighed and shook her head. She seen some trashy romance novels written that involved her and Discord... Not enough brain bleach in Equus.

“Well that was...nope, ain’t gonna touch it!” the Earth pony replied. Midnight had left the room, and the sound of the fridge opening, followed by some adorable ‘nom’ noises signalled where she was and what she was up to.

“That’s my response as well,” Ledger said before looking over at Twilight.  “Still interested in joining the crazy?  I won’t hold it against you if you calmly begin looking for an exit.  Screaming counts against you though.”

Midnight trotted back into the room and sighed. “We need more food...”

“What do ya mean darlin’?” Cider asked.

“I ate all the food,” Midnight said, rubbing her bloated belly.  Ledger calmly looked at Midnight before looking back to Twilight.

“That offer is still open,” he repeated simply.

“I live with Queen Chrysalis,” Twilight countered. “As well as frequent visits from Discord, Pinkie Pie and I constantly get drawn into battles with ancient evils. This family is so normal it scares me.”

“Fair enough,” Ledger chuckled.  “Ah well.  Don’t say you weren’t warned later.”  He got a curious expression to his face then.  “Want to go over your teleport spell with me so that we only have one mare eating us out of house and home?”

“It’s only because I’ve never been here before. Now that I have. I can set a waypoint as a marker, so I don’t have to put as much magic into it.” Twilight gave a roll of her head and cracked her neck. “It’s getting late, we should probably get some sleep I think.”

“Sure thing,” Ledger said as he stood to one side of the stairs.  “If you want to sleep over, the guest room is yours.”

“Hmm, well Applejack is watching Spike for me...and to be honest, that new castle is just...” She trailed off and looked away. “Is it too forward of me to stay the night?”

“Only if you try to share our bed,” Ledger said as he watched Scope go up.  So there might have been an additional reason for him to sit near the stairs.  It’s not like they didn’t know about it.

“You could try being less obvious,” Cider chuckled as she trotted upstairs, giving her flank a little shake as she did.

“I could, but then would you feel good about being so attractive?” Ledger fired back before turning to Midnight, smiling as he looked at the thestral mare.

“What, not scared of me anymore?” she quipped.

“Startled by the sudden change, not scared,” he clarified.  “This family doesn’t have the best history with changes like that.  But it’s a natural part of you, and it’s something I’m going to have to do my best to learn about.”  He leaned forward and pecked the mare on the lips before continuing his statements.  “And on the upside, it’ll function as a built-in pregnancy timer.  When your eyes go normal, we’ll have about a month until you’re due.”

“Good to know I’m so convenient for you,” she said as she hugged him. “I’m still scared though Levvy. What if I screw this up? What if I—”

Ledger shut her up by kissing her again, deeper this time.  When they came up for air, he stuck his face right in front of hers, his silver eyes boring into her now-ruby ones.  “If you have a problem you can’t solve or aren’t sure about, come to me or Cider, okay?” he said simply.  “And if we can’t solve it together, we’ll ask Twilight.  I’m sure she’ll manage to turn something up.”

“Okay,” Midnight replied quietly as she hugged him. She suddenly stiffened and shuddered, and Ledger felt something warm splash onto his back.

“...sorry.”

“It’s okay, chitin cleans easily,” Ledger sighed.  “But it does seem a waste for you to eat everything in the house, just to throw it up later…”

“This sucks,” she sighed. “Come on, let’s go get a shower...”

“You go on, fur takes longer,” Ledger said as he gave her one final, light squeeze.  “I’ll join you in a minute or so.”

“Alright, see you in a bit,” Midnight nodded as she headed upstairs. She could already tell that the coming months were going to be a pain in the flank…

Ledger raised an eyebrow at Twilight.  “I assume you want me to go first, then,” he said, commenting on the fact that she’d not gone upstairs yet.

“Hmm, I was going to talk for a bit longer, but you seem to require a shower now,” she chuckled. “It’s not important anyhow. And we have all the time in the world now.” She headed upstairs and showed off plenty of that tight flank of hers. “See you in the morning?”

“Certainly,” Ledger said as he didn’t stop watching her for a second.  He could watch it all day...but it was upstairs and around the corner all too soon.  With a soft sigh, Ledger teleported to the bedroom and walked to the adjoining bathroom after giving Cider and Scope a quick kiss.

“Hello love,” he whispered to Midnight as he began the process of getting clean all over again. Midnight nodded as she turned, and Ledger could tell that she’d been crying a little. She reached up and held him close as the warm water washed over them, content to just remain like this for a while.  He would be here for her as long as she needed him.