“So, all ready to be discharged now?” Sugar asked Level Ledger. The question of why she was acting as a nurse still hadn’t come up as well.
“Oh, he’s been ‘discharging’ into Bookworm all morning~” Midnight giggled from his bedside.
“Guess my days of living as a pony are over, huh?” Ledger asked as he stretched. “Magical exhaustion sucks.”
“Gee, if only someone could cast an illusion on you,” Scope said with enough snark to choke her dragon form.
“I’m not discounting that,” Ledger said with an eye-roll. “But I’m willing to bet I was admitted as a changeling and void of any disguise.”
“Actually, little Scopey cast an illusion on you shortly after the battle, when some of the ponies started to wake up,” Sugar explained as she switched off the machines around his bed and helped the drone to his hooves. Ledger got up and made sure he was steady before walking around, recalling his last time with magical exhaustion none-too-fondly.
“Well that helps a bit,” Ledger said as he looked at the little nymph. “If you would, that would be very helpful.”
“Yeah, whatever,” she said as her horn shone and she placed the illusion over him. He now looked like his Unicorn form, only a little dishevelled and weary-looking. What? Critical-Eye wasn’t the only artist.
“Ooh, and since I have all of you here...” Sugar Darling suddenly smiled as Midnight facehooved and groaned.
“Seriously? You haven't forgotten about that?”
“When it comes to you my dear, I could never forget~”
“So long as it’s hooves off, and she consents to everything, I don’t see the harm in you interviewing her,” Ledger replied, finally giving in to the Violet’s incessant demands. The nymph clapped her hooves excitedly and smiled.
“And now Ledger is whoring me out to other mares,” Midnight sighed. “Thanks Lev. Really feeling the love.”
“Um. Wat?” Cider tilted her head in confusion.
“Sugar wants to write a book on Thestrals, and Las Pegasus only has the one,” Ledger explained for Cider. “And like I said, Midnight, hooves off. Unless you say something is okay, Sugar won’t do it. Got it, Sugar? Otherwise, I’ll find a way to repay you.”
“Filly scouts honor!” she said, crossing her heart with a hoof.
“Says the mare that volunteered for nurse duty, just so she could see for herself if I was telling the truth about Ledger,” Midnight smirked and Sugar actually blushed lightly.
“...I’m not gonna touch that one,” Ledger replied as he was satisfied with his range of motion. “Okay, is there anypony waiting to ambush us on our way out?”
“Maybe some newsponies, I don’t know,” Sugar shrugged. Midnight grinned wickedly as she brandished her blades. Oh Celestia, just let them try.
“You will not be adding a bodycount to today's proceedings,” Scope said. “Besides, all four princesses are here. Every reporter in the city is climbing over another to see them. You’re all but forgotten dear drone of mine.”
“Oh good. So long as they aren’t in the lobby waiting to talk to me, we should get out just fine,” Ledger said as he cracked his neck. “Okay, shall we?” His party nodded and they ventured forth, finding the city oddly quiet as they stepped outside, though there were Solar and Lunar guards everywhere.
“Mmm, I’m glad I have time off now,” Midnight stretched. “This seems like a massive pain in the ass to deal with.” It also hadn’t taken the group long to find the royal gathering, four alicorns hardly blended in well, and strangely enough, there were also no reporters around either. Guess they were being kept on lockdown as well.
“All...four...princesses?” Midnight’s ear gave a twitch, and after many months of being on the receiving end of the batpony’s tackle hugs. Ledger could see what was coming.
“Midnight,” Ledger warned her. “Think carefully before you assault a Princess, even with hugs.”
“But… all four!” she protested. “They are hardly ever in the same place! This is a golden chance!”
“What is her deal with molesting alicorns?” Scope asked. She had been walking close to Ledger, another illusion ready in case his current one failed for whatever reason.
“I don’t know, you’d think she’d be happy with the one,” Ledger sighed. “Promise to at least ask first?”
Thankfully, Cadence noticed them, ruining Midnight’s surprise attack. She waved at them as the others noticed as well and all four approached.
“Friends! How good to see you up and about!” Luna smiled, drawing Ledger and Midnight in for a bone-dissolving hug.
“Air,” he choked out, trying to tap on Luna’s shoulder to get her attention. Midnight had already passed out from the sudden attack and it was Celestia to the rescue, prying her sister off of them.
“Sister dear, they just got out of the hospital, don’t put them back.”
Luna blushed and released the ponies, Midnight waking and gasping for air. “See? she rasped. “Wouldn’t have happened if you let me attack…”
“Different problems then,” Ledger said as he made sure his own lungs were working correctly.
“Good to see you up and about,” Cadence said as she cast a quick healing spell on them. Just in case. “We were quite worried when we heard about this incident.”
“Who wouldn’t be?” the disguised drone replied after sighing at the soothing magic. “Changeling invasion, ancient monster...toss in a gang war and we’d have our own Ponyville.”
“Oh har har!” Twilight snarked at him. “Ponyville is nowhere near this bad.”
The other three alicorn’s remained suspiciously quiet, causing the youngest one to sigh and mutter under her breath. Celestia chuckled and turned back to Ledger.
“Still, this has been quite the harrowing ordeal. Are you alright?”
“Just some magical exhaustion, nothing I haven’t been through before,” Ledger said, brushing their concerns off. “A few days around the mares that tolerate me and I’ll be right as rain.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.” The alicorn hummed and looked around. “Still, there’s quite the mess to clear up here. We may be in town for a few days should you need anything.”
“I know,” Ledger groaned. “Bad enough that one of them showed up, but both an invasion and a monster from the history books? I expect relations to hit a low.”
“I honestly had no idea that three were slumbering in the desert,” Luna admitted with a small frown. “All the Changeling activity recently must have awoken them. I am thankful that most of you are whole and hearty.”
“And the rest will recover with time,” Ledger replied. “Honestly, we’d thought they were gone as well. Guess Pinks weren’t the only things to leave the lands.”
“Aye, you are most fortunate in this regard,” Luna nodded. “And such a devastating spell you used. We would like to study it at some point. Perhaps even teach our own mages.”
“I think only a Silver Changeling can use that,” Midnight replied, rolling her neck so it cracked. Then was promptly hugged by Cadence. What? What was this? She was supposed to be the hugger, not the hugee!
“Something like that,” Ledger admitted. “It’s a secret of the noble Silver line. It basically is a conduit for converting magic and emotions into a deadly weapon. All at once. Hence my magical exhaustion.”
“Hmm, perhaps we should recruit you into our Guard?” Luna hummed. “Tia stole one of my Thestrals. Perhaps I could steal a Changeling?”
“I don’t do much beyond TK and that spell,” Ledger said with a shake of his head. “And I think if I use it again, I might develop a headache from four mares hitting the back of my head.”
"A pity, but we understand." She looked at his mares and smirked. "You are a lover, not a fighter hmm?"
“I can be both when the occasion calls for it, but I get the feeling if I charge into battle again, chains will come out, and not in a good way,” the disguised drone chuckled.
“Aww," Midnight pouted, before she found herself wrapped in a magical aura. Sugar Darling and Moondancer approached, the latter giving the princesses a polite bow before they ran off with the Thestral.
"Halp! I'm being batnapped!!" Midnight cried as the two mares ran off. All four princesses shared a raised eyebrow and looked at Ledger.
“She’ll be fine,” Ledger said without looking. “That particular Violet has been after Midnight for a while. Turns out there isn’t a volume in the Pony Sutra about Thestrals. She aims to fix that, and today I finally gave her the go-ahead to interview Midnight.”
“And my best teacher apparently," Celestia mused.
"This is apparently normal for this city," Twilight sighed. She looked past Ledger and went to warn him, right before a talon landed on his shoulder, as Ace chuckled at the drone’s small flinch.
"Aye," he chuckled, giving the nymph on his back a scratch under the chin. “Well met Tia. Lulu. Oh! And little Candy and Booky are here too!"
“Hello again Ace,” Ledger said, looking over his shoulder at the gryphon and wincing again at the sight of how bandaged he was. “Dare I ask?”
"Ah," he shrugged. "You know me..."
"This amazingly stupid featherhead was found in the desert, along with the bodies of two more of those lizard thingies!" Amy spoke up from her perch.
“You killed two Chameleos?” Ledger said, now having a greater respect for the griffon. “It...took all I had, and Midnight, to kill one.”
"Yeah, that third one was a slippery bugger," Ace frowned. "Sorry I couldn't beat it. It got into the city because of me." He gave a bow of his head and then looked at the princesses once more. "Ah, before I forget..." he picked up Amy and held her out in front of him. "Meet Amethyst, my adorable little fiancé."
The nymph suddenly found all four Alicorns staring at her…
“Hi!” she said with a wave. “I’m the city’s resident Pink!”
“She’s... kind of adorable," Luna noted, the other three nodded in agreement.
"And she agreed to marry you Ace?" Celestia raised an eyebrow. "She does know you are completely insane yes?"
"Mhmm, she's worse," Ace chuckled, and was about to cuddle her, before she was was snatched up by the royal ponies and snuggled.
“Aww, don’t crowd ladies, plenty of me to go around!” Amy said as she did her best to hug them all back. At once. “And yup, assuming featherhead lives to the ceremony, he and I are gonna get hitched.”
"Hmm?" Celestia looked at Ace and nodded. "Then until such time. Specialist Ace? You are temporarily relieved from duty."
"Bwah?" The Griffon sputtered and shook his head. "Suppose I should have seen that coming. Well, whatever."
“Maybe now you’ll accompany me to some of those things I keep trying to get you interested in? Flower selection, cake selection, place settings?” Amy teased.
"I can do that," Ace nodded, then pulled Ledger close. "And my best buddy will love to join me right?"
"Ohh, that sounds fun," Cider giggled. Ledger grumbled before shooting a dirty look at the griffon.
“When did you become Fredrick?” the drone asked.
“You love my student, that makes us friends by default," Ace chuckled. "Hmm, thats not a bad idea though. Let’s get my kinsman involved as well."
“Marrying everypony?” Amy asked, her pupil-less eyes widening. The very idea was...very, very tempting.
"...I fear I may have said something dangerous," Ace said. Cadence looked at the buggy she was hugging.
"Can I help?" She asked her. The nymph nodded enthusiastically.
“Uh-huh! I could always use more help in planning my wedding! And I haven’t even done anything for Levvy or Freddy!”
The Alicorn of Love smiled widely as Celestia sighed. Things were about to get quite chaotic around here.
"Oh did you call-"
No. Go home Discord!
"Rude much?"
Go home or I’ll tell Fluttershy that I saw you kicking Angel Bunny, Celestia ‘thought out loud’.
”Well, that was just plain uncalled for," Discord said with a huff, his voice vanishing.
"I need a drink," Celestia sighed.
"I feel like I want to know, then I dragged that idea outside and killed it." Scope mused. "And Amy? Do you seriously intend to marry everyone?"
“Nah,” Amy said with a shake of her head. “Just your herd, Freddy and Narrow, and me and Acey.”
Scope just shook her head, then remembered she was still mad at Amy and looked away.
"You know, instead of gabbin' in the middle of the street, we can head home fer some lunch," Cider remarked.
"That sounds lovely," Cadence said. “I just need to find Shiny..." She looked past Ledger and her eyes widened. Shining Armor was walking towards them, and walking next to him... was Princess Cadence?
“What?” Ledger asked, not possessing eyes in the back of his head.
Shining walked up next to him, with the new Cadence on the opposite side of him.
"What? What's going on here?" Shining demanded. Ledger just sighed and closed his eyes.
“Chrysalis, so help me...I am still drained from the fight, I don’t need a headache from you now.”
The Cadence hugging Amy sighed, and with a flash of green flames, Chrysalis took her place. "Tch! And I really had you all convinced as well."
“You did pretty well, I admit,” Ledger said as he pointed at the bundle of pink in the queen’s forelegs. “But I think you’re forgetting about something.”
"Oh please, thanks to that lizard draining my magic, it also removed Sunbutt's seal. And what am I forgetting?"
Amy turned in Chrysalis’ grasp and smiled wide. Almost impossibly so. “Hiya Chryssie~” she sang.
"Pinkie Pie is far more terrifying," the queen said. “So do your worst little one."
“Already doing it,” She chirped. “Me and Acey are gonna have a foal sooner or later. Just think about that, Chryssie~”
Chrysalis looked at Ledger. “Can-Can they do that. Are these two allowed to actually breed?"
“The laws of nature are...malleable around Changelings, so they probably can” Ledger said with a shrug. “Whether or not they should is another matter entirely.”
Chrysalis decided that a change in subject was suddenly needed as she looked at Shining Armor, deciding he was far less dangerous. "Hello there darling, miss me?" she cooed.
“Like a heart attack,” he replied in a deadpan voice.
"Aw, I love you too~" Chrysalis purred. She floated Amy over to Ace and hummed. "Ah, it's good to have my magic back~"
"How come you're so healthy?" Twilight inquired. "Shouldn't you be suffering magical drain like Levvy?"
"Levvy?" Shining asked himself.
"I would," Chrysalis replied and then shuddered. "Except Miss Song is... very affectionate."
“Plus I’m sure not spending all her magic in a desperate gambit to kill the Chameleos helps as well,” Ledger interjected.
“Too true," Chrysalis chuckled and smiled viciously. "I'd have let it eat you while I ran."
"Chrysalis...." Twilight said with a warning tone.
"What? I'd have felt really bad about it afterwards."
“And to think I felt anything resembling care when it drained you,” Ledger sighed dramatically.
"Oh please, only a Pink would be gullible enough to believe that crock," the queen deadpanned. Ledger just shook his head and looked at the couple that had just joined them.
“We were going to Cider’s for lunch,” Ledger offered to Shining and the real Cadence. “You two up for it as well?”
"Hmm, sounds good," Cadence nodded, surprisingly unfazed by Chrysalis' antics. "Are you sure we won't be imposing Miss Cider?"
"Nah, ah just hope mah food goes down well with royalty." Though she offered the lunch, internally? She was what was commonly known as freaking the fuck out. Ledger noticed and walked over to nuzzle and comfort the mare. She smiled, but wasn't too much calmer.
"I'm sure whatever you produce will be wonderful," Celestia smiled. "Your family is quite skilled at catering."
"Thank you," Cider smiled, leaning into Ledger's hug. "Alright. Let's go everypony...and everyling, and everybird..."
“Or you could just say ‘everyone,’” Ledger said with a smirk.
"Oh hush," Cider bumped him with her rump.
Midnight sat on the edge of the bed as Moondancer brushed her mane, the bat having missed this more than she realised.
“So where do we start?" She asked her hostess. Moondancer shrugged and looked at Sugar.
"Not sure. And my ideas might not go down well with Ledger~"
“He did say to keep it to questions,” the semi-disguised nymph said before sighing. “Fine, I’ll ask, though it would be more gratifying to find out the fun way...what are some of the erogenous zones of a Thestral?”
“Well my ear tips are sensi-TIVE!?" Midnight yelped as she looked at the Unicorn that had just nibbled said ears. "Really Moony?"
“I didn't do anything," she whistled.
"Other than that, we have similarities to Pegasi...ahn~"
"As you can see, wings are another good spot," Moondancer chuckled.
“So I see,” Sugar said with a smile as she wrote as much down as she could. “Any other physical differences between yourself and Pegasi?”
Midnight turned to look at Moondancer, who gave a nervous chuckle at the look in the bats eyes
"Well, there are our tongues~"
"You wouldn't dare!" Moondancer said as she backed up slightly. "Sugar. Help!"
“I’m just an observer~” Sugar said as she thoroughly enjoyed the reversal of the previous roles.
"Not coo-MMPH!?" Moondancer tried to flee. But Midnight was going to show Sugar how a trained Thestral tongue worked. Sugar almost forgot to take notes, she was so enthralled with the show.
After a moment, or three. Midnight pulled back and licked her lips with a satisfied sigh. "Mmm, I forgot how tasty you were Moonbutt."
"Honestly," Moondancer sighed, blushing lightly. The bat just grinned and looked at Sugar with a predatory gaze.
"Your turn~"
“There’s no need for that,” the nymph weakly protested. Ledger had also said hooves off...
"Mmm, but Levvy only forbade you from touching~" Midnight giggled. She didn’t know why really, but she was feeling rather amorous right now. She leapt at the mare and proceeded to demonstrate her tongue to her as well. Sugar moaned into the kiss and did her best to avoid grabbing and holding that flank close to her. Something she barely succeeded at.
This mare was good...
Midnight broke the kiss and giggled. “Ohh, you’re tasty too. You have a nice marefriend here Moony."
"I do, do try and leave her in one piece," the Unicorn smirked.
"No promises," Midnight smiled. "Now. What's next~?"
“Aaah…” Sugar shook her head and made a few notes before she reached the next section. “Ah. Special abilities, if any. Beyond that tongue.”
"Midnight. NO!" Moondancer said.
"Aww," the bat pouted. Then leapt at her anyway, her fangs biting her neck. The Unicorn gave a loud moan and lay there blushing and breathless as Midnight pulled away.
“Dare I ask why you bit her?” the nymph asked with an imaginary raised eyebrow.
“T-Thestral… Love Bite,” Moondancer panted as she crawled closer to Sugar. “It, it stimulates… parts of the brain… it’s like, haaah~ Being in Heat, and climaxing. At the same time~” She was already placing needy kisses along the nymph’s neck as she groped her flank.
“Oh dear me,” Sugar said as she just drank in the affection for the moment, not returning it until she was done with her note-taking. This demanded proper documentation. “How long will she be like this?”
“Until she’s satisfied,” Midnight said, smiling at her lusty ex-marefriend. “And knowing Moony, that could be a while~”
“Well then, I’ll get to her in a minute,” Sugar replied, doing her level best to ignore those wandering hooves. “Anything else you feel like bringing up for my notes?”
“Hmm, I have a little hypnosis thing that I can do, only ever did it once with Moony,” Midnight said. Unless she had express permission, she’d never use it, no matter what state of mind she was in.
“I’d ask for a demonstration, but I would rather remain as I am for my writing,” the nymph replied. Midnight nodded as Moondancer found a little something to play with under Sugar’s tail, but Midnight pulled her away and looked into her eyes.
“I can also use it like this,” she said, looking deep into Moon’s eyes. After a moment, the Unicorn fell asleep, snoring peacefully.
“Well, at least she won’t molest you now,” Midnight giggled. Sugar pouted and prodded the sleeping pony with a hoof.
“But I was enjoying the groping,” she dramaticized.
“Well, if that’s the case…” Midnight leaned closer to her and then clicked her tongue. It sounded a lot like when Discord snapped his fingers as the Unicorn sat upright, then pounced on the nymph again.
“Oooh~” the nymph moaned. “Any...ha...thing else you feel like sharing?”
“A few, but you appear to be busy now,” Midnight giggled. “I don’t mind waiting.”
“Mmm, in that case, would you miiiiiiind showing yourself out while I tend to Moony?” The nymph squirmed from all the attention. “We can pick this up another day, I have a pony to please.”
“Aw, I’m not allowed to watch?” Midnight smirked. “Oh fine, have fun with her. She’s gonna be like that for a while.”
“So you said,” Sugar panted. “Oooh, she’s gonna get it good…”
Midnight just chuckled and shook her head as she walked out. Ohh, she remembered that position, Sugar was in for a treat. And she supposed she should start running now, Moondancer was going to kill her later. She gave one last nod and left the room.
Cider hummed a small tune as she swayed her hips while she cooked. She checked the pots that were bubbling, before dicing some vegetables and adding them to the stew that was brewing. Several times, one of the princesses had tried to enter, to either try and help, or just steal some food, but the Earth pony stood strong and denied the access.
She yelped in surprise as a pair of hooves snaked around her neck and she felt somepony nibble her neck. She turned her head and Midnight Song caught her in a kiss, humming thoughtfully at the taste, as Cider had just taste-tested some food.
“Mmm, somepony is especially yummy today!” the bat giggled. She peered at the pot and sniffed. “And what do we have here?”
“Vegetable stew,” the Apple mare said as she whapped Midnight’s hoof with a wooden spoon. “An’ it ain’t ready yet, so keep yer hooves to yerself.”
“Oh fine,” Midnight pouted and kissed her cheek. “Who else is here?”
“Ledger, Scopey, Chrysalis and all the Princesses, oh, and Prince Shining Armor as well,” Cider said.
“Cool, time to say ‘hi’ then,” Midnight said and fluttered up to the ceiling. Time for a surprise attack! She crept along the ceiling and into the living room, looking down at the group sitting in the living room. Ooh, even Ace and Amy were here~
“So,” Celestia said calmly as she sipped her tea, the group unaware of their newest visitor. “How have you been lately Mr. Ledger, aside from the obvious.”
“Excited,” Ledger said as he sipped at his coffee, not one for tea himself. “Working with Twilight is always an experience, one I wouldn’t trade for anything. Should we actually figure out a way to ‘unlock’ waypoints and make teleportation available to the masses...everything changes.”
“You’re trying to do what now?” Shining asked, and Twilight wasted no time in jumping in on an education.
“You know the waypoint spell yes? A set point that the caster can focus on, to make long distance teleportation easier? Well Ledger had the idea of creating one that any caster could access. And one that supplies it’s own power source so anypony could use it, regardless of species. Imagine! It could revolutionise long distance travel. I could have breakfast at home, pop over to the Empire for lunch, then be in Canterlot by dinner!”
“And I am sure it wouldn’t hurt the transportation of goods either,” Celestia said with a knowing smile.
Midnight looked around, having tuned out the boring conversation. Hmm, so many targets, but only one sneak attack. Who should she pounce on…?
“Which is why I’m the one working on it with one of the brightest minds of the generation,” Ledger said with a smile. “...Come to think of it, this is just continuing the trend, really…” the disguised drone trailed off.
“Oh, and what trend is that?” Luna asked.
“Well with Midnight, she helped me get over my issues and with her, I became the head of Pegasus Air,” Ledger said, apparently forgetting about the other stallion in the room. “With Cider, we made a viable plan to make a local brand of Crystal Wine. With Scope, we - briefly - revolutionized the mail system…”
“So how does Twilight fit in with that trend?” Luna dug deeper. “There’s one major difference between her and those other mares.”
“Oh?” Ledger asked, raising his eyebrows at the lunar alicorn. “What way is that?”
“Well Midnight, Cider and Scope are your marefriends yes?” Luna frowned and looked towards the kitchen. “I believe that’s your difference.”
“...Do you want to tell them, Twilight, or should I?” Ledger asked as he looked at the lavender alicorn.
“Tell us what?” Shining asked, as Cadence had already figured it out and held back a barely suppressed squee. Celestia just sipped her tea, her face and emotions unreadable as always.
“I, um, well…” Twilight blushed and stammered. And that was when Midnight discovered her target. She dropped from the ceiling and wrapped the lavender alicorn up in a deep kiss before turning to the group.
“Bookworm is our newest addition, and we love her very much~” she smiled. Ledger nodded, not perturbed at all by this turn of events, having barely ‘sensed’ Midnight before she pounced.
“I believe that covers that,” the drone said as he finished his coffee. Ace hadn’t been fazed at all by Midnight’s appearance, while the only reaction Celestia had given was a slightly raised eyebrow.
“Aw man, you guys are impossible,” Midnight sighed, as she looked at the pony she had pounced, who was recovering from a mild heart attack. “Except for you, I can always count on you for a great reaction.”
Scope may or may not have been clinging to Amy a little harder than necessary.
“Level Ledger.” Shining Armor said calmly. “Explain.”
“Your sister came to me, not the other way around,” Ledger said just as calmly. And if he knew Midnight…
It was actually Twilight that spoke up, much to the drone’s surprise. “And what’s wrong with that Shining Armor?” Oh snap, she never used his full name unless she was pissed. “Would you have preferred if I waited until we got married? Kept the tradition going?”
“Twilight! I—”
“Zip it mister!” she interrupted, actually zipping his mouth shut with magic. “I am a grown mare and I am allowed to pursue whoever I like for either romance or even just a roll in the hay!” She narrowed her eyes and smirked. “And believe me, they roll very well~”
Celestia coughed into her teacup as Luna just blinked. Even Cadence was stunned…
“I think I did too good a job with you,” Ledger said as he looked at his empty teacup, not willing to look up just yet. “...Midnight, we may have created a monster.”
“A sexy monster who is getting ALL the cuddles later!” Midnight purred and draped herself over Twilight. The alicorn sighed and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“And now the moment is gone.” She unzipped Shining and smiled. “So big brother. Problem?”
“Nope,” Shining said, sitting back and drinking his tea. He would freak out in private later. Right now, it was time to save face. “For a pony that loves her books, you rarely do things by the book huh?”
Twilight giggled at his lame joke and gave him a hug. And given that Midnight was on her back, she shrugged and hugged him as well. Ledger finally looked up at the other three princesses with a small smile on his face.
“I promise you all, no matter the situation, I do and will continue to treat Twilight like the princess she is. Even when she would rather I didn’t,” Ledger said. Internally, he was laughing his head off. Because he knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Does that mean…” Cadence said slowly, and Ledger could tell that a Pink explosion was coming. One that could herald the End Times. “When you all get married… that Twilight will...?”
“It depends on her,” Ledger said, trying to head that thought off at the pass. “She’s more than welcome to stay with us and join us, or if she would prefer to leave us because we’re just too crazy for her, that’s fine too. We’ll respect her wishes.”
“I won’t be marrying them straight away,” Twilight clarified, causing Cadence and Amy to deflate somewhat. “Perhaps once we’ve gotten to know one another better. Plus, this is a herd. I need to click with all of them, and I’ve only spent time with Midnight and Ledger.”
“Mmm, I do love spending time with her~” Midnight purred, still hugging Shining Armor for some reason.
“Remind me about that next time,” Ledger said to Twilight. “We’ll make a day out of it. You getting to know the others.”
“Mhmm,” Twilight nodded and then gave him a knowing wink. She was still keeping her earlier order after all.
“So,” Midnight decided to steer some heat away from Twilight and looked at Luna. “How’s your stallion going? Are you still seeing Mr. Bold from the bar?”
“You’re seeing somepony?” Cadence blinked at her aunt. “You never told me that!”
“Yes, well, t’was not a great concern,” Luna mumbled into her teacup. “Balanced Scales is quite the gentlestallion. I am to see him again quite soon… and perhaps make him thine royal consort.”
“Consort?” Cadence asked and Luna nodded.
“And that is quite enough of that,” Celestia shot that train of thought down. Chrysalis, who had been oddly silent until now, moved up so she was inbetween Shining and Cadence.
“Ohh, what a marvelous idea~” she purred. “Me and you and you, a happy little family~” she teased the royal couple.
“After the way you treated them before?” Ledger deadpanned. “I’d be surprised if they gave you more than a boot out the door.”
“Aw, don’t be like that,” Chrysalis purred. She looked at Cadence and licked her lips. “I always did have a little regret at taking your form over Shiny’s. I bet you would have been… mm, delicious~”
“Meep!” Cadence ducked behind Twilight as the Changeling queen laughed.
“I was unaware you were taking pony-changeling relations so literally,” Ledger said with his usual smirk. “Wasn’t it you that basically told me off for thinking along such lines back in Ponyville?”
“Yes, well,” Chrysalis tried to find a valid argument. Ah, fuck it.
“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” she replied. “And how is it any worse than Sunbutt rutting my grandfather for five hours straight!?”
Celestia coughed again, as everyone in the room turned to look at her.
“What?”
“And with that, I need alcohol to continue this conversation,” Ledger said with a sigh as he stood up to get some. “I am not talking about mating practices without some social lubrication.”
“How exactly did it turn to this?” Ace wondered as he moved to assist him. Well, given that Midnight was present, this was basically a given.
“So, still haven’t tamed the bat huh?” the Griffon chuckled to the drone as they poured a round of drinks for everyone.
“I bet that ever since you started teaching her, she’s been untamable,” Ledger replied. “I can only hope she’ll slow down a little bit in the days to come.”
“Hah! Midnight will never slow down,” he laughed. “You can only get caught up in her pace, hold on and hope you survive the ride.”
“She’ll sort of have to slow down,” Ledger shot back once they finished pouring the drinks. “Oh, none for her.” He waited for the griffon to catch on to the cues. Three, two…
“I’m aware of her pregnancy,” Ace said, pouring some juice for her. “Amy told me already, and I am happy for her. But I stand by my previous statements.”
Meanwhile, the bat had approached Amy and was staring into her eyes, humming thoughtfully.
“Hmm?” the pink nymph said as she tilted her head. “Whatcha want, Middy?”
“Weellll, a little birdy told me that you’re trying to get a bun in the oven,” Midnight said. “True?”
“Mmhmm,” Amy replied with a nod. “I’ve sorta wanted a foal of my own for a while, but I’ve been on my lonesome for even longer. Looking after the little ones the other day only made me realize it all the more. And now that I have Acey…”
“I hope it works soon. OH!” Midnight had an idea, a wonderful, probably dangerous idea. “Our little ones should totally be best friends!”
“Oooh, that sounds like fun!” Amy said as she giggled. “We’ll just have to see, but I don’t see why not!”
“We can have play dates and babysit and sleepovers and…” Midnight paused and her eyes widened. “Oh crap! I’m becoming a Mommy.”
“Thought that was implied by ‘I’m keeping it,’” Ledger snarked as he and Ace made their re-emergence with the drinks. “Don’t worry, you’ll have Cider, Scope, myself, and Twilight to fall back on.”
“Mhmm,” Midnight nodded as she took her juice and sighed. “I already miss cider, and being irresponsible, and oh man, I am really gonna miss all the great sex when I get fat.”
“You never fail to amaze me with your priorities,” Celestia sighed. “Still, quirks aside, I think you’ll be a wonderful mother Midnight Song.”
“She is the best at what she does,” Ledger said with a smile as he sat next to Midnight, before leaning up against her and hugging her with one foreleg. Midnight smiled and nodded, leaning into the hug.
Apple Cider emerged from the kitchen, a large silver pot on her back.
“SOUP’S ON!” she hollered as she set it down on the table, along with enough bowls and some sticks of Fredricks garlic and herb bread. Midnight was already at the table, licking her lips and looking at Cider and the pot, wondering which one she should eat first. Ledger walked over and smiled before realizing his situation in regards to magical exhaustion and sighing.
“Middy, could you…” he said.
Midnight blinked, then realised what he wanted and nodded. She moved so she could sit next to him. “So, you want me to feed you then?” she giggled.
“I could do with some assistance, what with my magic not being an option,” Ledger agreed with a nod.
“I believe you have something,” Shining snorted as he picked up a spoon. “Most ponies have these things called ‘hooves’. Maybe you've heard of them?”
“I don’t even have the power to transform right now,” Ledger deadpanned, lifting a hoof. “This is Scope’s illusion, all of it. Underneath is a hole-riddled hoof like any other changeling, and I never got good at eating with those.”
“I fail to see your problem,” Chrysalis said as she lifted her bowl with her hooves and gulped from it. Celestia sighed at her deplorable manners as she daintily sipped from her spoon. Ledger just shook his head before giving Midnight his best pleading expression.
“Hmm, I dunno…” Midnight mused as she held a spoonful of stew up and sniffed it. “Mmm, it smells sooo good~”
“Please?” Ledger whined out.
“Well, since you asked nicely,” Midnight giggled and she fed him some of Cider’s soup. It really was delicious, the kind that warmed you from the inside out. And then there was the love she poured into it. Hell, Chrysalis was already on her third bowl now.
“Meh, screw it. I’m staying here from now on,” she said between gulps. Ledger snickered before mentioning something between bites.
“And this is just one chef of Las Pegasus,” he pointed out. “There’s still Fredrick, we haven’t had you have some of his cooking yet.”
“Don’t do that, we’ll never get rid of her,” Scope said with a haughty huff. She suddenly squeaked when Ace picked the little nymph up and gave her a hug.
“I believe I haven't thanked you yet, for helping me out in the desert,” he said, placing a small kiss on the top of her head. “Thank you Miss Treasure.”
“S-Stopit!” she blushed. “You’re embarrassing me!”
“You’re sort of doing that yourself,” Ledger said with a smirk. “Though you’re very cute when you blush, so by all means, Ace, keep it up.”
“Perhaps my little lovebug has something to say as well?” he grinned, as Scope just huffed and looked away.
Amy put her bowl of stew down for a moment as she drew close to the nymph in Ace’s grasp. “Can I have a turn with her, Acey?” she asked innocently. Ace nodded and handed the ‘ling over. Scope was getting used to being marehandled at this point.
Celestia and Luna shared a small giggle, the nymph reminded them of a plush toy getting shared around a bunch of foals.
Amy, in a remarkable show of restraint, did not cuddle the life out of Scope, but did hug and hold her close before whispering in the smaller nymph’s ear. “You brought him back to me,” she said softly. “Thank you. Thank you so very much. If there’s ever anything you need...ask.”
“Yeah well,” Scope blushed even harder now. “Just… you’re my friend alright. S’what friends do. Help each other n’junk. No biggie.”
Amy just nuzzled the smaller nymph again before letting her go. “Kay, done now! You can go back to eating.”
“Oh, kay?” Scope moved back into her seat. Why did she get the feeling that the Pink mare was plotting something? Or maybe she was just paranoid.
The rest of lunch went smoothly, but there was still work to do and the royal ponies had to leave soon after. Ace and Amy left, presumably to try their current project again. And Chrysalis wasn’t done exploring the city. Apple Cider took a huge sigh of relief as she sank into the couch, her heart still racing over having served the fraking Princesses!
“Well that went well,” Ledger commented. “Nothing exploded or caught fire.”
“It’s cause Midnight didn’t cook,” Scope replied.
“Hey! While that may be true, you don’t have to point it out.” Midnight pouted, and Twilight let out a little giggle.
“Don’t worry Midnight, I can’t cook all that well either.” She looked at Ledger and then smiled slyly. “So… Midnight told me about that little bet of yours~”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ledger said instantly.
“Oh really?” she said, walking in a small circle around him, her tail dragging under his nose as a familiar scent caught him. “You see Ledger, I kept my end of the deal. It was very embarrassing for me. So I trust that you’ll keep yours?”
“That depends on if you manage to keep keeping it from here to the bathroom,” Ledger fired back, a smirk on his face. “I’m almost tempted to have you try without magic, but that’d be cruel.”
“What bet?” Cider asked and Midnight looked at her.
“Well, Twilight and Ledger had this really hot session this morning, with Ledger filling up our princess, y’know, as he does. Anyway, they had this cute little game where—”
“Get to the point,” Scope sighed.
“Okay, so if Twi wins, we all get to have sexytimes and Ledger is forced to watch. And do nothing at all about it, to us or himself.”
“I like it already,” Scope grinned evilly. “But, what if he wins?”
“Then he gets to order us to do whatever he wants. No questions asked.” Midnight nodded. “Well, within reason anyway.”
“Why? Why would you forsake us like that!?” Scope cried. “You had better win Twilight! That stallion is pure evil! There’s no telling what he’ll make us do!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow and looked at Ledger. “Really now? Do I have to get the girls and blast you with rainbows?”
“The most I would have them do is show you their form of attention, like I did this morning...while I was doing you,” Ledger said with an appropriately ‘evil’ smirk. “There’s no telling what Midnight will get up to if you allow her free reign.”
“Oh I can think of a few things,” Midnight said. There were all sorts of things she hadn’t shown Ledger yet. “Um, do any of you have a safeword yet?”
“Nope!!” Scope said, seeing that look in her eye. There was no way in Tartarus that Mistress Midnight was coming out to play.
“Ultimately, it’s up to Twilight. Who she trusts more...and wants more,” Ledger said as attention refocused on the lavender alicorn.
“Bathroom, be right back,” she suddenly yelped and teleported from the room. Midnight blinked and sighed.
“This family is soo weird,” Scope said.
“You’re only just now realizing?” Ledger asked. Twilight teleported back, a heavy blush on her face. She looked at Ledger and her eyes descended into a half lidded stare.
“Well… guess you win,” she said, as the other three mares blinked and then groaned. “Forgive me?”
“Maybe once we’ve had a little fun,” Ledger said, stepping close and giving Twilight a chaste kiss. “Tonight?” he asked, wondering if she would in fact be staying the night. Twilight nodded and smiled.
“I’ll be staying for the night. Rarity is looking after Spike, and Chrysalis is around here somewhere, so yes.”
“Excellent,” Ledger replied. “Shall we see how badly the city is doing beforehoof, though?” Twilight nodded and the group headed out. Well, most were. Cider had to stay and do some farmwork and Midnight offered to help her.
So two Changelings and a Princess walked into the city. This was either the start of a bad joke, or a very interesting story...