Penny was left panting. Sprawled on the bed the mare felt like she hadn't before. Ever. "I love you, Stick." The words didn't seem enough anymore and she nuzzled and kissed her partner.
"I love you too," Stick managed to say between snuggles. She returned Penny's affections in kind and the pair slowly mellowed out from their high into a continuing run of gentle cuddling.
All the shifting the changeling had done, during their fun times, had left her a little drained and she made it known to Penny with insistent nibbles. "Oh, feeling a bit tired are we?" Penny teased Stick letting off tiny bursts of her magic and getting a little grumble from her special somepony before she channeled deeply.
The happy sounds she stirred from Stick made her giggle and kiss her on the nose. There were no teeth, no dominance in this, it was something they simply shared. "I feel bad for leaving Perfect to handle everything." Penny murmured to the changeling who now brought her mouth to Penny's neck and just gently sucked there. "Hey, that tickles…"
Stick's feeding went on and on, the drone soon all-but glowing with energy. She ended up giving a sigh and pulling back from her lover's neck. "You can stop now, I don't think I could drink more if I tried. You look a little pale though, should we go get something to eat?"
Penny sighed, she was indeed hungry. "I swear, if this is how I am now what is it going to be like when I really am eating for three?"
"Adorable, that is what." Stick poked Penny's nose with a hoof. "Boop."
The unicorn was cross-eyed a moment and shook her head. "Hay!" This led into a minor tussle on the bed until Stick was pushed off.
"Hay yourself. I can't feed you unless you come too."
Penny grumbled something about overeating and reached out a hoof to Stick, who gripped it with her magic and helped the lunar pony up. "Come on, forget our packs and things, lets just get some food and come right back to things."
This sentiment agreed with Penny greatly. Food and a show? The two did a quick clean up, avoiding engaging in any further deeds and soon were wandering out of their rooms, still sharing kisses and nuzzles. As they approached more traveled paths things seemed to penetrate their little bubble of a world. The ponies of the castle seemed to all be rushing around and as one guard galloped past them the pair turned to watch him. "This is odd."
Stick and Penny turned back and froze. Luna, accompanied by Twilight and her friends, were running right toward them!
"What the…" Penny exclaimed and was about to fold back against the wall to let them past.
Stick, however, stood her ground. "Okay, I need to know, just what is going on?"
Luna looked ready to just run by but Twilight slowed before them. "Cadance and Shining are facing Sombra and his umbrum!"
"Uh, I thought that was the plan? I mean, I don't like him, he did some bad things, but isn't Princess Cadance," Stick leaned on the title with her words, "doing what she said and meeting with him?"
This not only slowed Luna down but stopped her. She still wore a scowl. "We must support her, that stallion is nothing but a monster."
The aggressive tones Luna used, her voice reverting to the Royal Canterlot Voice as she found her way blocked, cowed Penny.
"Isn't storming in, with Equestria's mightiest, a little much?" Stick gestured to the adorable mares arrayed around Twilight. "If Sombra came to talk peace, and brought an army with him, what would you call that?"
Luna stomped a hoof. "That would be a declaration of war!"
"And this isn't?" Stick waved that hoof more, indicating the princess of the night and her assembled force.
Both alicorns looked thoughtful now. "We aren't going up to clobber him?" Rainbow Dash asked into the silence.
It was the softest of voices that replied to that. "He has been naughty, but so was Discord, and he is a nice pony now." Fluttershy stepped up, the dark alicorn's attention making her cower a touch before Dash, Twilight and the rest of her friends surrounded her. "We should give Sombra the same chance." She gave the most adorable nod. It was enough to get Penny to enter the conversation.
"He… he's not a nice pony… but he might have reasons for doing things." Penny's words were soft but the acoustics of the hall seemed to help them carry. "I did some bad things too, but I hope that I won't be treated as a monster…"
Stick was quick to move to her mate, hugging the unicorn tight and ignoring the formerly rampaging princesses and their followers. "We have talked about this, you only did what you had to."
"And if Sombra only did what he thought he had to?" Penny's reply was a thoughtful one.
"Enough. We recognize that heading in may not be the wisest choice." Luna looked annoyed that she couldn't just dive in and save everypony. "You, be our messenger." Her hoof was raised to Stick, making the changeling 'eep' softly.
"I… I could go. Where are they?" Stick was still cuddling Penny.
"They are in the old tower." Luna gestured vaguely down the hall. "If you are not back soon, we will assume the worst."
Stick gulped at this, knowing this was something important. A single changeling wouldn't be considered too much, surely?
Nodding to Luna, Stick looked to Twilight. "Please, take care of my wife, and our foal." She rubbed Penny's belly for luck.
Twilight's wings shot up in surprise and she could see Pinkie Pie practically fighting not to explode with some inner turmoil. A lavender wing reached out and covered Penny in soft feathers. Stick kissed her on the nose and set off, her hooves clopping on the floor as she galloped.
Penny was well distracted. "Wife?" Her soft word was lost to the hallway.
Moon smiled at her somewhat clueless friend. She was the princess of friendship, how did she miss Fast's advances? Each time she thought to bring up the changeling princess it just didn't seem right.
Just as they were finishing their breakfast a dark-furred guard of the night watch galloped in and looked around before approaching their table.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle, a message from Luna." They bowed down to one knee and passed a letter to the alicorn with one bat-like wing. "She said it was urgent."
This got both their attention but Twilight, being the intended recipient, opened the letter so only she could read it. "Oh! I need to go!" Moon was shocked when, instead of making her farewells, Twilight dashed to a window and was out, soaring on her wings.
Moon Dancer looked to the guard who shook their head. "Sorry, ma'am, that was news for only the princess."
"You are right. Oh well, I guess that is breakfast over. Oh drat, and I never did give her that book!" Moon got up and collected the left over plates with good spirit and made sure they were cleaned.
Back to her rooms, she collected her things and boxed back up her dress. It had been fantastic, she had looked just like any other pony there. Today, her tail and mane had the odd frizz to it, but that was reasonably normal for Moon Dancer.
She trotted back to her home in good spirits. "I can't believe the day has come, will it be only a short visit or will I be leaving forever?" Moon nosed around all her belongings, eventually lifting the important ones and tucking them into her cases. One good dress, a few clothes and books, she would only need to go to the printer and pick up the teaching aids and she was ready to go.
"What do you mean delayed?" She sagged in front of Ink.
"Sorry ma'am, but we had to print off a whole lot of ledgers for some other customer. Your order will be complete in the evening." The stallion gestured to the big boxes of notebooks that were being filled more and more.
Moon collected herself, it would be another day then. "Quite alright. I can't really complain, since you are printing them for free." Her easy acceptance got a smile from Ink Blot.
"Thanks, until then." The stallion turned and got back to his work.
On her way home, Moon Dancer ran into Minuette and they started talking. "Did you hear about the big ball on up at the castle last night? Almost all the princesses were there!"
Moon blushed at this. She wanted to lie but her friend deserved to hear all of it. "Let me drop these things off at home and we can get a smoothie. I will tell you all about it."
The light blue mare's jaw dropped. "You were there?"
"There? I might have given a few ponies the idea for it. Now hold on…" Moon trotted the two blocks remaining to her house and just dropped her things inside. "There, now, where-"
Minuette was like a whirlwind of focus, Moon Dancer was grabbed up in the mare's magic and rushed to the little cafe they normally met up at. "Now," Minuette had Moon on a seat and spinning around to face her, "tell, me, everything!"
Moon giggled and started with her trip to Ponyville to catch up with Twilight and some other friends there. "And apparently nopony had thought to tell her about Princess Fast Change's appointment!"
The blue mare gasped at this, sipping at a strawberry and banana milkshake. "So she swept in, demanding a party?"
"Hardly, she had Spike send a letter to Princess Celestia, who thought it a wonderful idea. Then we had to get our manes and tails done, new dresses… I met a whole lot of changelings there. They seem really nice, I guess they would, when you liking them is what they need to live."
Minuette seemed a bit lost in some of the talk. "What do you… oh, did you let one feed on you?" She sounded almost scandalized, even though such had become a very 'modern' thing for ponies to do in Canterlot. "Well, technically, everypony has… sort of. When Princess Fast defended Canterlot against Chrysalis, she had to drink just a little from everypony."
"I didn't even feel that!" Minuette sounded cheated. A chance at something new and she hadn't really noticed it at all when it happened.
Moon grinned. "Well, you could go down to the hive and offer? I hear if you are just willing to be fed on it is free."
The blue mare's face turned crimson for a moment, then she tilted her eyes to the side and giggled. "I could."
"So, we had the party and it was amazing, I danced!" Moon had enjoyed that, truly. Likely something passed down in the 'Dancer' line. "It was great fun and I even slept in the castle last night." She left out a lot, particularly Twilight and Fast's little 'dance'.
"You danced? Who was the hunk?" Minuette drained the last of her shake and, wordlessly, a new one was levitated over and the old removed.
Moon blushed this time. "Blue Blood was there, he is so… handsome. Fancy Pants and his partner, Fleur, they are so adorable when they don't think anypony is watching."
"I wish I had been there…" Her friend sounded down and Moon looked up for the pony running the place, gesturing to a plate of donuts on a shelf. They were whisked out and on the table before Minuette even managed to pout properly. "Oh, yum!"
Feeling a little melancholy, Moon nibbled one as well. Would she be back? Her mind kept focusing on that but she suddenly realized, of course she would, it was only a train ride away!
Stick was charging along and, ahead, she heard voices. They sounded full of emotion, but she couldn't hear any indication they had come to blows. She really hoped things would turn out okay.