> Herding Instincts
>  by Sparky Brony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

He walks slowly down the halls of the Royal Palace. His boots ring on the marble floors with a measured tread. Nearly a full year of living in this world, and with the exception of the cyan pegasus pony that picked his broken body up from the gorge he had found himself in and brought him to Canterlot, he knows only the ponies working in the castle. Effective house arrest ever since he's gotten out of the hospital after arriving here. He nods at a passing guard as he walks to his room. He turns the knob and puts a shoulder against the heavy door. All the unicorns around here have no problem with the doors, but he has to put his muscle into it. 

He pushes the door closed and stops for a moment to put his head against it. The Princess’ words ringing in his ears, “I’m so sorry Timothy. But my ponies tend to be very insular. We deal with the other species on this world, but we tend to spend most time with each other. I don’t know what would happen if you leave the castle without an escort, and your safety is of prime importance here.”

He sighs as he turns to look at his room. Growing up middle class back home, everything around him would be considered opulent. Marble everywhere, gold fixtures in the bathroom, he even has a staff that takes care of his needs. Food is delivered any time he wants it. The bed is one of the most comfortable things he’s ever laid on. Just everything is so much. He kicks off his boots towards the entry closet. He’ll pick them up later. His stockinged feet sink into the luxurious burgundy carpet, made by some of the finest earth pony crafters. A change in the lighting gets him to look out the window, a pegasus pony is pushing a cloud. 

It never stops, the ponies are always so industrious, they are always busy. Even in their play, they are always active. He stops and looks up, on the ceiling of the sitting room is the same mark that is on Princess Celestia’s flank, a stylized sun.

He sighs. Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna, have been nothing but kind. They even visit his room from time to time. He always looks forward to Princess Luna, since he never has to be formal with her, and when she visits, they usually talk for hours, often late into the night. And when he’s bored, she always had a quip to make him laugh. 

He trudges through the massive sitting room, and he glances at his bedroom. It’s too early for sleep. He walks through the French doors onto the small balcony outside his room. From there, he can see for miles, which sure beats the corn stalks back home, he admits. He rests his elbows on the parapet and looks down at the ponies walking around. Every color of the rainbow, with those odd markings on their flanks. Cutie Marks, he recalls. Understandably, he didn’t notice the marks at first, he was more focused on the talking and magical part of the ponies, but as he grew accustomed to them, he noticed how everyone had one. He later learned that the talent of a pony or their “calling”, shows up on their flank when they realize what makes them special. 

Another thing he noticed was that he stood taller than most of the ponies he'd met, with the exception of the Princess of the Sun. She’s about eye level with him. At times, he isn't sure who is more uncomfortable about his height, the ponies who have to look up, or him who has to look down. He looks farther out, away from the city on the mountain. Down into the valley there sits a nice sized town. That’s Ponyville, where the rainbow maned pony that found him lives. Rainbow Dash visits from time to time, but even she seems wary of him, with him being the lone human in this world of Equestria. Soft hoofsteps grab his attention and he turns. The pony that emerges onto the veranda gets a smile out of him. 

Citrus Blush has always been nice to him. She’s always been happy to see him. She sees him standing there and gallops towards him, rearing up on her hind legs for a hug. Hugging her tightly, he just stands there for a long moment. Relishing the feelings of being close to her. The hug goes on for what seems like forever, and finally she squirms a bit, prompting him to let go. She sits down and looks at him, “Tim, you seem sad.”  He nods softly as he walks inside.

“Yeah.”

She thinks for a moment, then looks up, “You talked to Princess Celestia?”

He nods.

“She said no?”

Again, he nods.

“Oh Tim, I’m sorry. The guards get along with you so well. So does the rest of the staff. What was the problem?”

Tim sighs as he sinks into the couch, Citrus jumps up on the couch next to him and leans against him, his arm going around her automatically as he sighs, “Well, I think I was making a convincing case. Then Blueblood arrives.”

He smiles as she opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue, her tail thrashing, her ears back, “That royal pain in the flank? What was his problem?”

Tim sighs, running a hand absently through her soft bright orange mane, “He was vulgar, as usual. He compared me to some of the monkeys in the jungle. Said I should be sent there, away from decent ponies.” He leans his head back and moans, “You have been so nice to me. So has the Princesses, and the guards.” He lifts his head, looking at her. His bright steel gray eyes hold a gaze with her cerise ones for a long moment, “But there’s always the ones that aren’t so nice.”

She giggles, “I was afraid of you at first. You do know that right?”

He nods slowly, she continues, “I had to change your bandages, since the usual magical healing was of such a limited effect on you. The magic brought you back from the edge of death, but it couldn’t close up your wounds, it couldn’t fix your broken bones. And there was no way to make new blood for you. And even then, with you all bandaged up, you were still big and scary.”

He sighs, “Come on, I’ve seen the minotaur representatives visiting the Princesses. Are you saying I’m scarier than they are?”

She leans her head on his shoulder, “We know the minotaurs, and while they may be big, they are also peaceful. We’ve had more trouble with griffins than we’ve ever had with the minotaurs. And you have no idea how our first relations were with the minotaurs.” She giggles, “It was pretty rough, a minotaur would come into a town and all the ponies would flee.”

“But I’m not a danger to you, you know that.” He murmurs softly.

She snuggles even closer to him, “I know that, you know that.” She rears back a bit, so she can look into his eyes once again, “But the ponies out there don’t know that. Perhaps I should go to the Princess…”

She’s interrupted by him placing a finger on her lips, “I’ll handle it, but for now, just be a friend?”
She wraps her forelegs around him tighter and snuggles closer to him, “Always.”

They sit like that for a while, finally, he speaks up, “Citrus.”

“Mhmm?” She murmurs against his chest.

“Why aren’t you afraid of me anymore?”

She snuggles even closer, “Because I know you. How nice you are. How you would never harm a pony. I just wish I could let others know how nice you are.”

Tim sighs, he’s watched the ponies on the streets, their concept of personal space is a lot different than his. Ponies that are simply friends will walk very closely together. And ponies snuggle, and rub along each other all the time. It actually concerned him the first time that Citrus had hugged him. He didn’t know how physical ponies were typically, and when he pushed her away, the hurt look on her face really surprised him. She wasn’t trying to get close to him romantically, she just wanted to help a friend who was hurting. Once he realized it was common among ponies, he accommodated. After being here for as long as he has, he actually welcomes the contact.

“Citrus.”

She murmurs again, he smiles, “What does your cutie mark mean?”

She pulls her head away, “Well, a cutie mark is…” she trails off at the look on his face, “Oh, you and your questions.” She giggles, “Well, my mark, I’m very proud of it. My special talent is makeup, cosmetics.” She giggles at his confused look, “I help by making and selling them in my mom’s shop.”

“But you worked on me in the hospital. Aren’t you a nurse’s aid?”

“Don't get me wrong I love doing it and it’s good money here in Canterlot, but … Sometimes I like helping out at the hospital, as a volunteer. Makeup can cover up scars, but sometimes I wish I could heal them. I started by helping patients with their makeup...  but now I help with other things like bandaging and cleaning.

“Ah, and you were helping me?”

She nods, “It took months for your bones to heal.” She traces a hoof gently along the right side of his chest, “It was rough for you for most of this last year, Tim. You needed help, I wanted to help you.”

He leans his head back on the couch, noting the setting sun, “You had better run along home, it’s getting late.”

She groans softly, "I've been on my hooves all day and I'm already exhausted and I don't want to walk home alone."  She looks up slowly, "Is it okay if I spend the night here? You don't seem like you want to be alone either."

He sighs, his arm reflexively bringing her closer, “I’m good with that.”

***

There was a dull knock at the door, causing Tim to shift a bit. In the haze of sleep he thinks for a moment, then shifts again. Whoever it is can wait, he’s comfortable.

A feminine giggle causes his eyes to open wide. Then he takes stock of the situation, Citrus is passed out, her tongue lolled out to the side, both of his arms are around her. He looks towards the door, at the midnight blue head sticking through the gap of the still open door.

“Why did you open my door?” he whispers at the smirking alicorn.

Princess Luna looks faintly offended, “I did nothing of the sort,” she snorts

He looks sharply at the sleeping unicorn in his arms. “She must have forgotten to close it when she came in,” he thought as he absently smoothed out her mane as he looks at her. In response to his actions, she snuggles closer to him and sighs in her sleep.

Luna walks in further, her horn lighting, Citrus Blush is enfolded in her magic and lifted gently. Tim watches as she floats into his bedroom and is settled into his bed. As the covers wrap around her, she snuggles into the pillows and murmurs his name softly.

Luna giggles again, “I see she likes you.”

He smiles at her, then at Luna, “Yeah, she’s a good friend.”

Luna cocks her head to the side for a moment and her eyes narrow, “Are you so sure? Only a good friend?”

He furrows his brow, thinking, “Yeah, of course.”

Luna continues to just look at him for a long time, then she appears to reach a decision as she ruffles her wings a bit and comes up to him, her horn lighting, “May I examine you?”

The alicorn is nearly as tall as he is when standing, and with him sitting down, she’s a very imposing presence, though he’s used to her examinations. It’s less a medical exam and more of a total scan of him. He has proven to be quite resistant to the most typical magics of unicorns in this world, and she always wanted to know more about him. He nods as she gets close. Her lit horn is brought down slowly and finally touches his forehead. His entire body locks up as the magic courses through him, he can feel the tingle of the magic as he can feel the field flow over his entire body.

Luna grunts softly. “It’s quite irritating, you know,” she murmurs. “I can get the magic to focus on you, but it takes a lot of effort.”

A shiver of power starts at the crown of his head and moves throughout his body, and when it gets through his feet, Luna steps back, her horn extinguishing as she sits on her haunches and pants softly, “I really wish I knew how your species does this.”

He arches an eyebrow, “I’ve told you many times, while we do have references to magic in our history, we don’t actually have magic.”

She growls, “That doesn’t make any sense Timothy. All species have magic. It may be latent, or overt, but it is there. Griffons don’t have consciously directed magic, yet they can land on clouds just like pegasi. Minotaurs don’t have overt magic, but they have much of the strength of earth ponies. You can’t be that different.”

He sighs and leans back, “I know what you are saying, Princess, but what I’m telling you is true, the most magic I’ve ever heard of in my lifetime are illusions, nothing like what you ponies can do. Humans need machinery to fly like your pegasi, and we build equipment to do much of the physical work the earth ponies can do with ease.”

She shakes her head, “Then how did you become the primary species on your planet, if you are so weak, without any natural advantages against predators?”

All he can do is smile and shake his head along with a shrug of his shoulders. She growls, “You don’t make much sense.”

He shrugs again, “Sorry, Princess. I wish I could help.”

This gets a snort, “Yeah, I know Tim. If you could help, maybe I could find some way to send you home.”

That fact hits him where it hurts. His parents, his girlfriend, even his sister who was dedicated to making his life miserable, all gone. What he has in his life now are sapient equines. They’ve all been nice to him: the guards in the palace, the staff at the hospital, Citrus Blush, even the Princesses. Still they couldn’t replace what he had back home.  He feels a tear start to slide down his cheek, “Princess, I’m so tired of being a prisoner here.”

Princess Luna looks shocked, “Tim, we don’t know how the ponies will react to you. You are here for your own safety.”

He looks down, “What if I want to risk my safety? You know I wouldn’t harm a pony.”

She looks at him for a long moment, “Timothy, you are quite aware of my abilities to see your dreams.”

He nods, she continues, “When you first arrived, you were more unconscious than awake while you were healing, I spent a lot of time in your dreams. I was never able to understand how you got to our world. But I did see your memories of your home.” Her face softens, “I saw that you were a kind person. I believe in my heart, and I have been able to convince my sister as well, that you pose no danger to the ponies.”

“Then why can’t I go?”

She sighs and looks at him for a long while, “I’ll talk to my sister. She says she doesn’t want you harmed, there are a lot of things happening in Equestria. From changeling attacks to Tirek a short while ago. Equestria is a wonderful place to live, but it has its own challenges. I’m not certain that you would be entirely safe.”

He sighs, “Princess, I’m willing to take that risk.”

She looks at him a long time, then a quiet voice rings out, “I’m willing to spend time with him. To protect him.”

Both Tim and Princess Luna turn to look towards the bedroom, Citrus Blush is standing there, “He’s important to me. I’ll make sure he’s safe.”

Luna looks at her a long moment, then at Tim, who shakes his head, “I’m not having a woman put herself at risk for my benefit.”

Luna cocks her head to the side, “Why?”

He blushes slightly, “Because in my world, it’s the man’s responsibility to protect the woman. To take care of her.”

Luna smiles softly and opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by Citrus Blush. “You think I can’t handle anything?” she says as she stalks towards him, the fur on her back rising, “You think I’m some sort of wilting flower? In need of your protection?” Her voice rising with every word.

He raises his hands as if to fend her off, “Oh, no. I didn’t mean it like that.”

She snorts, “You are in Equestria now Tim. It’s the mare’s job to protect her stallion. I will protect you Tim.”

Luna looks sharply at Citrus, “You consider him your stallion?”

That gets Citrus to stop, her face turns red, all the way to her ears, which flick wildly, "No!" she protests quickly looking at Tim, as her blush deepens.  "He's a friend and it’s my ... duty."

Luna giggles and moves over to the smaller unicorn, putting a wing over the smaller pony and bringing her close for a hug, “Citrus Blush, are you willing to devote your time to his protection as if he were one of your herd?”

She squeaks and looks at Luna, "A herd? I never said anything about herds." Looking at Tim, she gulps and looks back at Luna, "I'm not even in a herd, I'm too young for that." Stomping a hoof in protest, "I just want to keep him safe and make sure other ponies don't harass him."

“Could someone tell me what’s going on here?” Tim asks.

Luna ignores him, “I’m not saying you should fall into bed with him, Citrus.” She looks slyly at Tim, “He’s very different, he might just be interesting in that way.” She looks back at Citrus, “I’m just saying, are you willing to be a lead mare to his young stallion? Guide him in learning our ways, protect him from harm?”

She ducks her head as she blushes even harder, the blush spreading down her chest, “Princess. I don’t know.”

Luna sighs, “Well, if I knew he would be protected by somepony as fiercely as that, I might be able to persuade my sister.”

Citrus opens and closes her mouth several times, but no words come out. Princess Luna stands up and makes her way to the door, “I see you two have much to talk about. I shall leave you to discuss this.” She extends a wing to Citrus, making the unicorn face her, “I’ve seen how you feel about him. Perhaps it’s time for you to tell him.” she says softly. She smiles at Tim, “Sleep well, young Timothy, we can talk more in the morning.”

Tim watches Luna walk slowly out of his room, her magic closing the door behind her. He looks at the closed door, then his head slowly rotates to Citrus, who is standing there with a single forehoof raised a bit, a shocked expression on her face, “What the hell was that about?”

The look on her face only increases his confusion. She walks slowly towards him her ears flicking back and forth. She remains silent as she hops up on the couch, then she puts a hoof on his knee, looking into his eyes deeply. He frowns, “Okay, this is getting weird.” He leans back as she comes forward, “What is going on here?”

She stops, looking at him, “I’m weird to you?” She asks softly, a little sullen.

He furrows his brows, the heat in her voice catching him off guard, “Well, remember, not very long ago I was in my world, and now I’m in a world with multi-colored ponies who’ve never heard of humans. And they have magic, I have none. So yes, everything about this situation is weird to me.”

Her lower lip trembles, “So…” She looks down, and to his shock, tears start to fall, “I’m just some creature to you?”

Before he’s able to respond she backs away quickly and hops off the couch, “Well, I guess I was wrong about you.” Her voice cracks and more tears start to fall, “I’ll go now,” she says softly. Her horn lights and in a bright flash, she’s gone.

Tim looks at where she was standing, his mouth hanging open, “What the hell just happened?”

***

Cayenne lights horn, her front door opens in response to her magical command. As she closes the door she uses her magic to pull down the zipper. The Princess Dress that she had bought at Canterlot Boutique is just beautiful, even though it took two times to get right. She pulls forward with her magic as she backs slowly out of the dress. In moments, a hangar floats over and the dress is draped carefully onto it. She smiles as she floats the hangar up towards her room. She knows where it’s going. She looks around the ground floor of the apartment, all the lights are off, though Citrus should be asleep by now. That mare never wants to go out on the town. She sighs as she remembers dancing with that one stallion, how beautiful he was. She shakes her head, something snatched her right out of her reverie.

“Hello?” She rotates her ears, there’s something there, she can hear it. She listens intently, she can’t identify what she’s hearing. She walks slowly up the stairs, then the sounds are a bit clearer. She’s able to recognize more. Her eyes widen as she gallops down the hall. She slides to a stop in front of Citrus’ room. She opens the door and there’s her roommate, laying in the bed, sobbing.

Cayenne gasps and gallops over to her friend, she climbs up into the bed and gathers her sobbing friend closer, “Who is the stallion? I’ll kill him.”

Citrus hiccups, “It wasn’t a stallion.”

Cayenne brings her friend closer, “Citrus Blush, in my experience, the only time a mare cries that hard is over a stallion.”

Citrus turns and hugs Cayenne hard, “I’m so confused,” she sobs.

With much coaxing, Cayenne is able to slowly bring out the story from Citrus. Finally, as Citrus winds down, she’s picked up in her friends magic with a small peep.

Cayenne grins as she carries her friend down the stairs, and they end up in the large kitchen. Cayenne lights the stove and brings out a pot and some ingredients as she sets her friend down in a chair. Cayenne focuses as the fridge is opened and more ingredients float towards her. She keeps an eye on her friend, who is sitting there, watching her, her tears abated for now. Milk goes into the pot and starts to heat. Cayenne diverts her attention from what she’s doing, though her horn remains lit, “Sweetie, he’s been in our world, for what? A year or so?”

Citrus nods as Cayenne continues, “And he’s been in virtual house arrest since he got out of the hospital?”

Again, she nods, Cayenne brings out a wooden spoon to stir the milk so it doesn’t scorch. As she’s stirring, she muses, “So, how many of our social customs do you think he knows?” She says as she looks pointedly at Citrus.
Citrus thinks for a long moment, then she hangs her head, “Probably none. But he hasn’t given me any signs at all that he’s interested. I had never thought about it before Princess Luna said something. So, I don’t even know how I feel about him.”

Cayenne arches an eyebrow as she judges the milk is at the right temperature. A carton of cream darts in and pours into the pot as she continues to stir, the scent of what’s she’s cooking starts to permeate the room. Her nose flairs as she inhales the aroma, she glances at her friend, “So… How do you feel about him?”

Citrus looks at Cayenne, then she sighs, “I like him. That much is obvious.”

Cayenne pours the mixture into two overlarge mugs and sets them on the table, she brings over a small jar and a spoon, “And a sprinkling of cayenne pepper flakes. And here you go.” She sets the large mug in front of her friend, who ponders the liquid before her.

She takes a sip of her own drink, relishing the creaminess and the spice of the drink, she smacks her lips together appreciatively, “Citrus, he’s an alien. He knows nothing about us, except from what’s he’s been able to observe from the castle. Which means he knows next to nothing. Add to that, he’s male.”

Citrus finally pulls her drink forward and takes a long sip, she sighs happily, then what Cayenne said finally registers, “What do you mean, he’s male?”

Cayenne giggles, “Trust me, I’m a couple of years older than you. Males...” she smiles distantly, “Are clueless. They know what they want, but they have no idea when we are offering it to them. You need to be blunt with him.”

Citrus Blush thinks for a long time, “Oh no, I’m not going to say I want him and I to fall into bed together just like that. That’s vulgar, and inappropriate.”

Cayenne giggles as she blows on her drink a bit, she takes a longer sip, “Oh Citrus, you’ll never have sex with him if you don’t try.”

That gets Citrus’ ears to perk forward as her mouth opens and her tongue sticks out, “Cayenne, that’s…” She trails off at the smirk on her friend’s face.

Cayenne’s smirk changes to a genuine smile, “Exactly what you want. I’ve seen how you are when you talk about him. You are in love, Citrus Blush. And I’m your friend. So, maybe you should just tell that stallion what you want from him.”

“But he’s so different.” Citrus whines, “What if his species is completely different that way?”

“Are you saying he doesn’t have the same equipment as any other stallion?”
Citrus blushes, “I don’t really know. If he’s not in a hospital gown, he’s wearing something else. I’ve never seen him without clothes. I once came into the bathroom while he was taking a shower, and he refused to come out until I had left the room. He’s weird when it comes to wearing clothing.”

Cayenne giggles, “Well, there’s one way to find out.”

Citrus drinks the last of her drink, “And how is that?” She says as she puts down the empty mug.

Cayenne flicks an ear, “Go to him, tell him you are in love, and wait for his answer.”

Citrus shudders, “And what if he says no?”

Cayenne moves over and rears up to hug her friend tightly, “Then your friend Cayenne will have to kick his sorry flank for not seeing what a wonderful mare you are.”

She giggles in Cayenne’s grip, “Thanks Cayenne.”

Cayenne nuzzles her friend, “Now go and let him know how you feel.”

***

Tim flips over in the bed, the conversation with Luna, and with Citrus, has rendered him unable to sleep. Seeing the look of pain on the mare’s face before she blinked out really hit him hard. But what did it all mean?

He thinks furiously, could she be interested in him? As more than a friend? He ponders that for a long moment, then rejects it. He’s an alien, there are ponies all around she could be attracted to. She couldn’t be interested in him, could she?

He shakes his head vigorously and flips over onto his other side, “Gah!” He screams as he sees the yellow unicorn with the fiery orange mane standing there, her face unreadable.

He looks at her for a long time, finally, he breaks the silence, “Citrus?”

She again walks slowly towards him, stepping onto the bed. “Citrus, what was going on earlier? What’s going on now? Why did you teleport away like that?”

She looks unsure of herself for a long moment, then she comes closer to him. “Tim.” She says.

“Yeah.”

“I think I’m falling in love with you.”

He shakes his head to clear it, “You are what now?”

She leaps forward and plants her lips on his in a passionate kiss.

> Chapter 2.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I think I’m falling in love with you.” Citrus Blush says softly, she looks at him snuggled under the covers in his bed. He freezes and she moves a little closer to him, her heart pounding a staccato rhythm in her chest. Does he feel the same way? Would he blow her off? 

“You are what now?” He says, not understanding what he has just heard.

She snuggles closer to him, enjoying his warmth. She brings her face close, nearly touching his, he tries a smile, “You’re falling for ugly little ole me? What is it? My lack of fur?”

Aww, he’s cute, she’s able to giggle over her nerves, “No, silly. I…” She searches for the words, “Well, you’re just…” Her eyes gaze into his, “Fun.”

She brings her muzzle forward and rubs her nose against his, he smiles and blows very softly into her face. She gasps and she turns her head to the side a little, and plants her lips firmly on his. Her tongue flicks out and teases against his lips. She feels him go slack and she takes the opportunity to invade his mouth with her tongue. She moans as she leans more into him. After time immeasurable, he brings up both hands, and places them gently on her cheeks, and pushes her away, getting a squeak from her in response as she opens her eyes to look into his.

“Citrus?” He asks softly. She shudders a bit, looking at him.

“Tim.” She pants.

He looks down, “I’m sorry, but I’m more confused than ever. You aren’t messing with me? You’re falling in love with me?”

She blushes and looks down, after a few moments, she nods.

“But how? I’m an alien to you.”

Her lower lip trembles, “I know. But when I was brought in, you were in such pain, and yet, with all that we were doing to help, it caused you more pain. And yet, through all of that, you never were mean. You never did anything to hurt the ponies helping you.” She lies down on the bed, “And when you finally healed. You’ve always been good to talk to. You are smart, compassionate, you truly listen when I talk to you.” She moves a little closer, “And it helps that you smell nice.”

He furrows his brow, lifting up an arm to check his smell, he took a shower today, but the ponies have nothing like the deodorant he was used to at home, “I smell nice?”

She smiles a little and nods with a soft giggle. She flares her nostrils a bit and leans forward to hold him, her head on his chest, “Citrus.” He says, she can hear the resonation of his voice in his chest, “You’ve been a friend to me since I woke up. I’m not the kind of person that hurts others just because.” He pauses for a moment, “I like you, I genuinely do. But you do know my life before here, right?”

Her hope starts to fade, “Your girlfriend, Karen, right?” She waits for his nod, “Karen isn’t here right now, you sleep alone here most nights. And Tim, you need to know, if the Princesses can’t send you back, you need a family here. You need a herd. To protect you, to provide you warmth, and togetherness, and the friendship and love you desperately need.”

He falls quiet for a long time, his arms around her. She can feel the strength in those arms as he holds her, those arms that would never hurt her. Her nose flares, she relishes his smell, she finds her tail thumping on the bed. 

“What’s the tail for?”

She murmurs softly, “I’m happy.”

She loves the feeling of his arms around her, but she needs to know. Finally, she lifts her head and looks again into his eyes, “So…” She finds her confidence fading, she lowers her eyes as she traces a hoof on his chest gently, “Do you like me?” She asks, pricking her ears forward, her heart deciding to accelerate again.

He hugs her close, “Of course I like you, Citrus.”

She narrows her eyes, “You know what I mean, I’m not just talking about like a friend.”

He tries a smile, but it doesn’t seem to fit right, he finally puts a single finger on her nose, “I’m going to have to be honest with you, Citrus. I don’t know.”

She feels tears to well in her eyes, “Oh.” She says softly, then she starts to pull away from him, “I’m so sorry.” She stands up on the bed and moves towards the edge, she sits down at the very edge and moans softly, “I’m such a fool.” She looks down and closes her eyes, a single tear dampening her fur as it slides down her cheek.

“Now hold on there.” Comes his voice behind her. She feels the bed move as he shifts, and his arms reach around her. With a strong pull, and a squeak from her, he pulls her onto him, lying back and putting her head onto his chest so she can see his face easily. She squirms a little bit, and he hugs her tighter, she gasps at the strength in his arms and looks up at him, he’s smiling softly at her. Which causes her to furrow her brow. In response to her inquisitive look, he brings up a hand and cups her cheek, “Citrus. The entire time I’ve been here. I’ve known you, the princesses and the guards. That’s pretty much it. I had no idea.” He looks at her seriously, “No idea at all, that you were interested in me in any romantic fashion.”

It’s her turn to look confused, “Tim, I’ve got to be pretty obvious if Princess Luna noticed it. I wasn’t aware of it until she said that earlier.” In response to his added confusion, “When she suggested I be a lead mare to you a young stallion in a herd, she was talking romantic feelings.” She looks down, her cheeks reddening slightly, “I hadn’t consciously considered it. Because you hadn’t shown any interest, I guess.”

“Any interest?”

She shrugs, “You know, your body language is completely confusing, you haven’t nipped an ear, I know you can’t make all the sounds we do, and you interact with the world differently than we do, you use those hands of yours where we use our muzzles or magic. But I would have thought you would show some sign. You never even touched my ear.” The mentioned ears flick back, “Then you shared your breath with me.” Her blush deepens, “That’s a very intimate thing, Tim.” She says as she looks up at him, “That’s why I kissed you.”

He brings a hand up and touches his lower lip, obviously remembering the kiss, she snuggles into his chest, “Tim, I didn’t know earlier how I felt, but now I do.” She reaches out a hoof and with a fetlock she runs it down his cheek, “I need to know what you think of this? Should I hope? Or should I go?”

His arms around her tighten as if to forestall her leaving, she shifts a bit to leave her back half on the bed, and her forelegs straddling his chest, she can’t control her tail, which continues to thump on the mattress. She watches his face intently as he thinks, finally he looks at her, “This is such a new development, Citrus. Well, at least to me. Humans have different customs to show affection. And yes, based on touching with our hands. I’d never bite your ears.” He reaches out a finger and runs it along the outer edge of her ear, causing her heart to once again race, and he smiles, “But I can touch them, and I think you like that.”

She fights to control her breathing, “That was…” Her blush comes back, “very intense.” She reaches over and runs a soft fetlock against his cheek, her blush intensifies, “I liked that.” She looks away for a moment, murmuring softly, “Though I wouldn’t mind if you nibbled on my ear.”

He chuckles, causing her blush to deepen, he heard that. She looks sharply up at him, and he keeps his face carefully neutral, after a moment he smiles and runs his hand along her cheek, “First off, Citrus. I am fond of you. You have been a constant comfort in my life since I got here. You’ve helped me learn a ton about how life is here.” He chuckles, “Even though you had to have a pegasus come here to show me they can land on clouds and move them around.” He shakes his head, “I’m still not certain how that is possible.” He sighs, “But, back to the subject at hand.”
He looks down, not taking his hand off of her cheek, “The guards are nice, but they are distant. The Princesses want to help, but their number one priority is all the ponies and their safety, so…” He stops, searching for the words, “So, I feel like a prisoner. And it hurts, to be honest.” He looks into her eyes, “I know this, I would be crazy right now. You have been always by my side when I needed you. I didn’t know until now that you were interested in me.”

He falls silent, Citrus watches intently for a long while, then leans forward and nuzzles his chin softly, ending with a soft lick. She leans back with a grin, looking at the shock on his face, she giggles, “So, you’ve had some time to think about it.” She wiggles a little bit, “And?”

He frowns a little bit, “What if I got back Earth, and Karen finds out I was with someone here. What would she think?”

Citrus perks her ears forward and giggles, getting a surprised look from Tim, “Tim, you are a silly human, if we got back to Earth, we could have Karen join.”

He freezes, and she could swear his heart stopped too, he shakes his head softly, “You would go back with me?”

She cocks her head to the side, “Of course, silly. A mare stays with her stallion.” She nuzzles him, “If you’ll have me, I’ll stay with you forever.”

“What do you mean, join?”

“Our herd, silly.”

“We don’t have herds at home, at least humans don’t.”

She frowns, “What? That’s silly! How do you humans do it? I thought you were in a herd with Karen.”

Tim reaches out and puts a finger to her lips, she leans back a bit and perks her ears forward, listening intently, “Well, for the most part, a man and a woman will start dating, hopefully fall in love, get married, and have kids.”

“Married?” She looks down, furrowing her brow as her ears flick back and forth, “Marriages are for nobleponys, and all they do is secure lines of succession between the mares and her daughters, or her other herd daughters.”

Now it’s his turn to be confused, though he disregards this for the time being. He thinks about everything she’s been saying, “So, if I understand everything correctly here, you are wanting me to be with you, in a romantic manner?”

She nods, and he sinks back into his pillows a bit, thinking furiously. She watches his face intently, “Karen wouldn’t be happy to add to us, would she?”

He looks down and shakes his head, “She was always a bit jealous. Not bad, but she kinda claimed me as hers.”

Citrus smiles, her tail thumping more often on the bed, “Fine, I’ll take what I can get then. If you want to take me if the Princess can find a way to your home, that’s fine. But if not, I’ll stay here and hope for you to come back. Maybe you’ll bring her.” She smiles brightly at him.

Tim brings her closer into a hug. After a long time, she leans back to look at him, “Tim?”

He looks down at her, “Yeah, Citrus?”

He can tell what she wants before a single word is uttered due to the bright blush that starts at her cheeks and expands to her ears and down the rest of her face, “I really liked kissing you…” She traces a hoof on his chest softly, “You know, earlier.”

“And you want to kiss some more?” He says softly, which gets a nod from her. He thinks furiously for a few seconds, then he decides, he brings his hands to each cheek, and brings her forward. He finds his eyes closing as their lips meet, her larger tongue again invading his mouth. He runs his tongue along hers for a moment as she leans her body into the kiss. He puts a hand to her cheek, and she moans into his mouth. His other hand reaches around and starts and the base of her skull, just softly touching along her spine. His mind spins, he can feel it, in every movement, every twitch, every moan. She wants him. The soft fur around her lips does little to detract, but he’s finding she’s pretty aggressive in the kissing department. 

Finally she comes up for air, she licks her lips a couple of times, “It helps you taste good too.” She says and giggles, her horn alights and the buttons of his night shirt fly in random directions as she pulls it apart, getting a gasp from him, she looks at his exposed chest, “You do have fur!” 

He laughs, “I’ve got hair on my legs too, and my arms, why are you surprised I have chest hair?”

She giggles, “No idea, but for some reason, I thought you didn’t have any hair there, that’s why you always wear clothes.” She leans down and nuzzles the center of his breastbone, “There’s not all that much here.” She lays her head on his chest, she looks up at him, “Your heart is beating fast.” She grins.

He reaches down a hand and places it on her chest, getting a smile from him as he responds, “Yours is too.”

She reaches up a fetlock and runs it along the side of his cheek, “You are beautiful.”

“Huh?” He looks at her for a long time, “Citrus, I’m an alien to you, what makes you think I’m beautiful.”

She raises her head and scoots forward to give him a peck on the lips, “You are beautiful…” Her blush comes back, “To me.”

She smiles at him as she pulls away, “You are blushing.” She says saucily.

He reaches forward a finger to her nose, she gets up off of him and her horn lights again, “Now, let’s get the rest of this off of you.” She murmurs, he reaches up a finger and taps her horn gently, cancelling out the magic. She winces a bit, “You should be careful with that, Tim. You could hurt a unicorn if you hit their horn too hard while they are doing magic.”

“I know, I had accidentally hit a guard’s horn while he was doing magic, boy he yelled at me quite a bit. So, I was gentle on purpose.”

Her eyebrows climb as he continues, “Citrus, are you seriously suggesting we have sex right now?”

“Of course silly, how do we even know if we are compatible if we don't try?” She giggles, “For all I know, you might be too small for me.”

His eyebrows rise, “Too small?”

She nods, nuzzling his neck, “You aren’t a pony, for all I know, you could be enormous, or tiny. I’ve never seen it.”

He finds his hands moving to cover himself, as he does, she nips his neck, hard. Getting a yelp from him.

“What was that for?” He touches where she just bit, that’s gonna leave a bruise.

“You want me?” She asks coquettishly. 

“You know that’s a big step, Citrus. Having sex.”

She nods, “Yes. An important step.” She says with half lidded eyes, “I know I can pleasure you. Can you pleasure me?”

She wants him to show what he can do. Part of his wants to just throw caution to the wind. But the rational part of his mind is hanging on by a thread. Instead, he brings her face closer to his, and this time he kisses her, finding it easier each time to not think of her as some alien, but just as a female attracted to him, he’s more aggressive this time, teasing her lips open, and running his tongue along hers, and feeling her teeth and tasting her. 

Finally she pulls away, panting softly, “Boy, Tim. You know how to kiss.” 

That gets a smile from him, “I’ve been told that before.” He again puts a single finger on her nose, “Citrus. Among humans, it’s a very big step to have sex. The intimacy, the feelings, it’s all a lot to deal with. I do want to have sex, and I have a feeling that you and I having sex is going to be amazing. But this is a new relationship. Can we take our time, work our way up to going all the way?”

“All…the…way?” She says slowly, her ears flicking back.

He nods, “Yeah, and I promise, I’ll do everything I know how to do to make you feel as wonderful as possible.” He again runs a finger on the outside edge of an ear, then he rubs his hand down her neck and her spine, and ends up resting it on her cutie mark. He looks at his hand, “Your mark, it’s warm.”

She reaches her neck over and nuzzles his hand on her mark. Then she turns back and nuzzles his cheek, “I think it means I’ve found the love of my life.” She says softly, then her horn lights again, drawing the covers back as she slides under the thick duvet. She orients herself on her back, looking at him, he moves onto his side and moves closer to her, putting an arm over her chest, where she puts her forehooves over his arm, holding him. She again nuzzles his chin, ending with a soft lick. “Tim?”

He smiles in response, and she continues, “I hope not all of your human customs are endearing yet irritating.”

He laughs, “No worries, Citrus. Some are even more irritating, and some are more endearing.”

That gets a giggle from her, “I can imagine.” She looks over at him, “So, what do your curious customs do allow? If you don’t want to go,” She crosses her eyes and sticks out her tongue for a moment, “All the way.” Her face softens, “What can we do? Because I really do want you.”

He thinks for a moment, and many different answers flash through his head, he finally settles on an idea, “Citrus, if I’m doing anything you don’t like, or it doesn’t feel good, let me know. But, I can start with this,” He brings his face forward, and kisses her neck right at the base of her shoulder, using his tongue to tease her skin. He brings his mouth away and blows on the newly moistened area. Her soft gasp gets him to run his hand slowly down her breastbone as he continues kissing her neck. He can feel that her fur gets thinner along her belly, but is very soft. He runs his hand slowly up and down her belly, enjoying the feel of her. He raises a little on an arm so his other hand has better access to touch her. She takes the opportunity to run her tongue along his ear, she brings the very tip of his earlobe into her mouth and she bites it far more gently this time. In response, he tickles her navel, she squirms in response.

“Does that tickle?”

She blushes even more, “No, it feels really good.”

That gets a smile from him as he graduates from tickling to rubbing more firmly. She sighs in pleasure in response.

“Citrus.” He says softly, she opens her eyes and looks at him, “I’ve never been with a pony, and I know you haven’t been with any humans before.” He chuckles at the thought, “But have you been with any of your own kind?”

She lifts her head and licks his cheek gently, then lies her head back down again, her blush quite prominent, she shakes her head softly. He furrows his brow, “Really?” At that, she nods, “I would be your first?”

Again, she nods, he feels a thrill of fear, “I’ve never been anyone’s first before.” He breathes.

She seems to sense his fear, she brings up a foreleg and wraps it around his neck, pulling him into a passionate kiss, he feels his entire body respond. After time eternal, she pulls away slightly, “It will be wonderful, because I’ll be with you, Tim.”

He finally remembers his hand on her belly and gently starts to rub lower with it.  In response she nuzzles tighter to him snuggling her muzzle against his cheek.   As he moves his hand down he finds the fur slowly thinning until his fingers are on a patch of smooth, warm skin. Breathing faster she gives his cheek a soft nip and a sensuous lick. As his hand caresses her udder, he finds the thick bump of her teat and gently gives it a squeeze. Squeaking Citrus perks her head and ears a bit before half slitting her eyes and snuggling tighter. She moans softly as he traces the outline of her teats. He moves over to kiss her, just relishing in her taste, and her feel. That last little part of his mind objecting being drowned out. She’s beautiful, and she wants him. 

He throws the duvet off the bed and starts running his tongue down her neck, listening to her pant. He moves his hand to her inner thigh, running up and down the soft skin there, he finally makes it down to her teats. He brings a teat into his mouth, sucking on it gently. Her tail thrashes back and forth as her panting gets faster. He lets the teat slip from his lips, and he kisses further down, teasing her thigh. This is the first time he’s seen this part of her. Her gasp is loud as he uses his fingers to gently part her lips. He brings his face close and inhales her scent. She’s starting to make some very equine sounds as he continues to tease her, he traps her tail under his chest. He stretches the soft outer lips apart and blows very gently, getting her to wink furiously and a loud whinny escapes her mouth.

“Eeeeeep!” Comes a voice, along with a loud thunk.

Tim looks up, a purple alicorn is standing there, her wings are extended over her face, though he can see an eye peeking through the feathers. A pile of books are on the floor next to her. He can hear her, “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!” She’s saying.

He looks down at Citrus, who’s trying to draw into herself, the covers are on the floor, not an easy reach. He flops down on the bed between Citrus and where Twilight stands by the door, “Uh, aren’t you here a little early?”

> Chapter 3.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight charges her horn and the duvet floats from the floor and drops onto both Citrus and Tim. He reaches back a hand and places it on her belly, letting her know he’s here. As his hand touches her, she tenses up. He opens his mouth, “Uh Twilight.” He slams his mouth shut with a click of his teeth, voice is way too high. He clears his throat a couple of times, “Um, Twilight.” Yeah, that sounded better, “Why are you here so early?”

Twilight Sparkle folds her wings at her sides and gestures out the window, the morning sun starting to light the sky in a bright pre-dawn, “Princess Celestia told you I would be here first thing in the morning.” She sighs, “It’s precisely five-thirty in the morning, just before sun up.”

Tim groans inwardly, he scoots back, putting his body up against Citrus’ side, she seems to relax a bit in response, “She did tell me first thing, but I thought first thing would be after breakfast.”

The purple alicorn cocks her head to the side, “No, that would be first thing after breakfast.”

Tim sighs, “Um…Twilight.”

She perks her ears forward, “What is it Tim?”

“A little privacy, please?” His voice cracks as he says the last word.

Twilight’s face positively glows as she finally realizes what he means, once again, her wings extend over her face, “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She says softly as she turns and slams the door.

He takes a moment to breathe and finally flips over to look at Citrus.

“I’m so embarrassed.” Citrus moans softly, “The princess of Friendship saw me getting it on with a stallion.”

That gets a smile from Tim, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know she would be that punctual.” He wraps his arms around her and kisses her cheek.

She huffs, “It’s Princess Twilight Sparkle, she’s always punctual.”

Tim rolls his eyes, “Who shows up at 5:30 in the morning?”

Citrus giggles, “Apparently, the Princess of Friendship does.” She rolls off the bed and lands on her hooves, she turns and rears up to give Tim a long kiss. After finally coming up for air, “I’ll be back later, okay?”

He looks into her eyes for a long moment, “I can tell her to buzz off.”

Citrus gasps, “No, you don’t tell a Princess in Equestria to…” She gulps, “Buzz off.” She shudders for a moment, “I’ll just have to mare up and walk out with my head held high.” 

She walks to the door, indeed, her head is held high, along with her tail clamped firmly to her rear. Her horn lights and the door opens. Tim hears her greet the Princess as she walks through the sitting room to leave. He reaches over and pulls on a shirt. A glance at his previous shirt tells him every button has been dispersed around the room. Maybe he can ask for a needle and thread. She certainly did a number on his shirt. He stands up and heads into the sitting room. The books that Twilight had dropped earlier are stacked on the table. The princess herself is pacing back and forth, her tail thrashing, her ears flicking nearly continuously. She finally turns to pace in his direction and does a double take, her ears flattening to the side for a moment, “Do you need a few moments, Tim?”

He furrows his brow, “What?”

She sits down and her tail continues thrashing along the floor, “I’m guessing if I had been a few minutes later, I would have found you in even more a compromising position?” She pointedly looks at his crotch.

He glances down and gasps, after everything, he is tenting his pajama pants. His hands dart down to cover himself up quickly, “I’m so sorry.” He moans.

She looks him, his bright red face, and his hands over his crotch, and she giggles, “It’s okay, Tim. I should have thought. And to be honest, Timothy.” She looks down, her ears again flattening to the sides, “I should have knocked before I just came in.” She waves away his response as she stands up and turns towards the books, her horn lighting as she picks them up, her tail continuing to swish back and forth. He gets several fleeting views of her own female parts. Until today, he’s never paid attention to that part of the ponies. The mares usually keep their tails casually over their female parts, so he’s never thought about them, really. With Citrus, hers were the same color as her coat, a very pretty yellow. Twilight’s are also the same as her coat color, a light lavender. Though something catches his attention as she continues chattering about the books, it flexes a bit and a small bit of flesh peeks out for a moment. He moves over to the couch and grabs a pillow, placing it over his lap when he sits down.

Twilight looks over at him with a smile, “Covering up?”

He can feel his face burn even more as she giggles, she uses her magic to pick up the books and walks with them over to the book shelf on the wall, her tail continuing to thrash and her nethers still flexing as she walks. Her horn quiets and she comes back over to him, sitting on her haunches on the floor, “So, was that your first time with a mare?”

Again, his face burns, “Well, we hadn’t actually gone all the way.” He mutters.

She crinkles her nose, “I know, Tim, I have a nose.” She sighs, “Have you, and Citrus, been intimate long?”

He shakes his head, “I didn’t know until not long before you showed up that she was even interested in me.”

She cocks her head to the side, a questioning look on her face. He glances over at the entrance to his suite, the door is firmly closed, he looks back at Twilight, “Well…” He looks down, “I never thought she could be interested in something like me.”

Twilight’s ears flatten back, “Why?”

He rubs the pillow a few times, searching for words, “Well, I’m so different than you ponies…” He trails off as a look of genuine anger blossoms on Twilight’s face.

She growls softly, “Tim, ponies herd with many of the other denizens of Equestria and beyond all the time. I know of herds that include griffons, zebra’s and one with a minotaur in it.” She stops, looking at him seriously, “Oh…I get it.” She chuckles a bit, “You are shocked to find you are interested in her.” She moves up and puts a hoof on his knee, “Why?”

Tim looks down, “Well, where I’m from, we have ponies and horses. And it’s…” He looks down, “It’s quite taboo to want to have sex with them.”

She looks seriously at him, “Just sex?”

“Well, they aren’t sapient like you ponies are. Some view that the equivalent of rape, because it’s merely an animal. It’s typically called bestiality.”

She frowns, “So would it be as taboo if those horses or ponies, or whatever, were as intelligent as you are, would it be as taboo?”

He stops and thinks for a moment, “I honestly don’t know. We can’t communicate with them the way you and I are talking. So, it’s hard to have an actual relationship with them.”

“You are the only sapient species on your planet?”

He thinks for a moment, "As far as we know." Shaking his head, he shrugs, “Some contend differently, but that’s pretty much how it is.”

She stands up and starts to pace back and forth, he looks at where she was sitting, and apparently, a few drops of something leaked from her, darkening a small patch of the thick burgundy carpet. Her tail is continuing to thrash back and forth, “Sometimes, I don’t know what to do about you, Tim.” She whirls around to face him, “So, with everything you have grown up with, you find it difficult to think that you are attracted to a pony? And that she is attracted to you?”

He looks down, thinking, “I don’t know, Twilight. Until she kissed me, I had never even considered the possibility. That much is easy to say.” He sighs, “But now that she has, and we…”

“Were intimate.” She supplies.

He nods, “Yeah, and well, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. She finds me attractive.”

“You don’t consider yourself attractive?”

“Well, I never thought ponies would find me attractive.”

She giggles and her horn lights, a mirror floats from the bathroom and hovers in front of him. He looks into his gray eyes in the mirror, “Look at yourself.” She murmurs softly. His dark brown hair, his familiar face. “You are different than we are, that is true. But you aren’t ugly. The right mare can see beauty in you.”

He looks at her, everything she had said, how she’s acting right now, “Princess, are you coming on to me?”

She yelps and her magic sputter, the mirror drops to the floor and shatters, “No.” She nearly shouts, “I’ve got too much going on. And I’m here to be your teacher. As Princess Celestia asked, to teach you our customs and laws. Make you a member of our society.”

He smiles, “Okay. So, what are you going to teach me first?”

She looks at him, her horn lighting again, the mirror mending quickly and floating back into the bathroom, “Well, considering you and Citrus. I think herds and sexuality just might be a good idea.”

Again, he feels as though his face is going to catch on fire, and Twilight giggles, “Did I hit a nerve there?”

He looks down, only to have magic force his face to look at her, “Nothing to be ashamed of, Tim. Colts and fillies need education on this as well. You didn’t grow up in our society, so I’m covering that. Those books…” She gestures to the bookcases, “Are mainly geared towards younger audiences. The will give you some knowledge of our lore, our fairy tales, what makes the ponies around you tick.” She walks around the room, “In fact, I had a whole checklist of subjects to cover when it comes to your education.” She stops before him and a piece of parchment zips out of her bag and unrolls in front of his face. It was, indeed, a checklist, written with perfect penmanship, and the entire length of it filled out and check marked. It suddenly rips in two, and he jerks back as fire quickly consumes the list. Revealing the alicorn once again who shoves her face nearly into his, “And you had to destroy it, by getting intimate with your nurse from when you were in the hospital.”

He frowns, “You know, Citrus has become a good friend since I got out of the hospital. She’s come over nearly every day after work. And she spends most weekends with me. It’s really not like I just met her.”

She snorts, “I know that. Remember, Princess Celestia has been having me work out how to send you home from the moment you regained consciousness. And I’m no closer to a solution than I was then.” 

He raises an eyebrow, “So, this is more frustration at the situation rather than actually being mad at me?”

Her eyes widen and her cheeks turn bright red, “I’m so sorry, Tim. I let my temper get the best of me.” She looks down, “Yeah…” She says dejectedly, “I’m quite frustrated at how little I’ve been able to accomplish to help you. And then seeing that you are starting a relationship here in Equestria.” She looks up at him, tears in the corners of her eyes, “Will you even want me to make a way to get you home?”

He sits there for a long time, unable to speak. He wants to go home, this place is so alien to him. But then he thinks about Citrus, and perhaps being here might not be such a bad thing. Twilight hops up onto the couch and leans against him, a wing wrapping around him, and she nuzzles his cheek softly, “I see, I’ll keep working, but it looks like we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

She hops off the couch and walks over to the bookshelf, “These books are yours. I’ve got extras. Some are reference for you, some are novels. And yes, the first few books of the Daring Do series.”

He looks at the books, “And there are books about herds and such there?”

She shakes her head, “If I had known what I was going to walk in on this morning, I would have brought some. Next time I visit, I will. You’ll need diagrams and pictures. And I have no intention of modeling myself for you to gawk at.”

He remembers how she’s been flexing as she’s been walking around, “Um, Twilight, when a mare’s…parts, I guess, flex a bit and something pokes out for a moment. I’m not exactly sure what that is.”

She keeps her composure, either she’s unaware that she’s been doing it, or she’s ignoring that fact, “That is winking, Tim. That little part pushing out for a moment is her clitoris. Do human females have a clitoris?”

He nods, “But they don’t flex like that.”

Twilight rears up, clapping her forehooves together, “I’m going to have to learn about you human’s sexuality as well, Tim. This is actually a good thing that I caught you two together. Because I need to learn everything I can about your people.”

He puts a hand behind his neck, “Well, I don’t know how much I can help, I was a moderate student, Twilight.”

She stops clapping and puts her hooves down, she looks at him seriously, “Tim, all we know about humans comes from observations of you.  Anything you can tell us about your people is helpful.   Everything from your day to day life, biology, interests, likes and dislikes, to whatever you know about your world and the universe you come from.   It can all be useful.   Even the smallest detail might be a clue that could lead us into finding a way to send you back home.” She puts a hoof on his knee, “You do want to go back, right?”

He feels tears spring into his eyes, “Twilight, more than anything. I really want to go home.” He stops for a moment, looking at the closed door for a long time.

“But you are worried about Citrus?”

He nods, “If you had asked me yesterday, I wouldn’t even hesitate. But now…” He looks down, “I don’t know. I want to go home, but I don’t want to leave Citrus.”

She smiles, “I don’t think Citrus wants to leave you.”

He smiles fondly, thinking of her words earlier, “She said as much, she wants me to gather up my girlfriend and come back to Equestria and live here happily ever after.”

Twilight looks concerned for a moment, “I’m not certain that will be possible. It’s likely that I’ll be able to manage a one-way trip, with no way to bring you back. Do you think she would risk that?”

He thinks back for a moment, “I have a feeling she wouldn’t think twice.”

Twilight gasps, standing up and pacing back and forth, “That mare has fallen pretty hard for you, Tim.”

He nods, “But I don’t understand, she was just completely okay with adding my girlfriend, as though it’s natural.”

She stops pacing, “Wait a moment, you seem to think it’s odd for a pony to not want a bigger herd?”

“Well, in my world, it’s usually one man to one woman.”

She jerks in surprise, her ears flicking as her horn lights, “Really? Humans are monogamous?” A set of saddle bags next to the door open and writing supplies emerge, “Are pair bonds for life, then?”

He shrugs, “Usually, I guess. My parents divorced when I was a teen.”

She continues writing, “Go on.”

He shudders, he’s not really in the mood to talk about that, his parents, and his girlfriend, both are kind of a sore spot for him at this point, he changes course, “Well, when it comes to ponies, a herd is lots of ponies?”

She shakes her head, “No, a typical herd is one or two stallions, along with four to six mares, sometimes more. Especially with earth ponies. Pegasi typically have smaller herds, usually one stallion to three mares, though there are exceptions. And unicorns are typically right in the middle there.”

It’s his turn to cock his head to the side, “But why so many more mares than stallions?”

She giggles, “Oh, you have been in the castle all the time, and before that, the hospital. Most of the royal guards here are stallions. That’s an old tradition that I’ll cover later.” She smiles, “It all comes down to our genetics. Remember, Tim, our genes provide for three subtypes, the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. We all have varying degrees of magical abilities. All that adds up to the mare to stallion birth rate to be about three or four to one.”

His eyebrows rise, “So, a lot more fillies than colts are born every year, so you need to have multiple mares to a stallion in a family…”

“Or you’ll have a lot of lonely mares out there.” She finishes. Twilight walks over to her saddle bags, “I brought something from Ponyville, I think you might like it.” Her horn lights and a bottle floats from her bags over to him, “It’s from my friend Applejack’s farm. Apple Cider, I think you’ll like it.”

He takes a moment to pull off the top and takes a long drink, smacking his lips, “Very good.” He smiles, “So, since we are into sexual habits of you ponies. Does same sex pairings happen?”

She cocks her head to the side, “I’m curious about why you ask that question, Tim. Is it uncommon in your world.”

He snorts, “Yeah, I mean there are some, but for the most part, it’s men with women.”

“It’s a little more complex here, mares and stallions and mares with mares, are quite the norm. Stallions with stallions are rare, because there are a lot less of them. Usually that happens within a herd with multiple stallions, though they do mate with the mares too.”

He furrows his brow, “And this is only for procreation? As in to make foals?”

She stands up, and starts pacing, he notes that her tail is still flagging from time to time as she walks, “We are an intelligent species, Tim. Not base animals. Sex is for pleasure, and for procreation. And no…” She stops for a moment, her face scrunched a bit, “We don’t just want to have sex when it’s for foals, though I’ll admit, when a mare is in season…”

Judging by the redness of her face, he supplies, “Mares are a lot more interested in sex then?”

She nods. And he smiles, “So, would you say that Citrus is in season, would that be why she wanted to jump my bones?”

She looks at him sharply, “While I can’t say for certain, I’m pretty sure she wanted you simply because she wants you. I seriously doubt that you could sire a foal. I’ve looked at your genetic information. I don’t think you are compatible when it comes to foals.”

He looks down, and is surprised to have a wing brush against his cheek, looking up he sees Twilight standing there, a soft smile on her face, “Though I have to say, Tim. After talking to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, along with the guards and some of the other staff at the castle, and meeting you myself. I have no doubt that you would be a good father to any foals your herd would eventually have. Even if you can’t give them to Citrus and whatever other mares end up in your herd.”

“Gah!” He yells, “How many mares is she going to want?”

Twilight giggles, “She’s a unicorn, she might want any size of herd.” She looks at him slyly, “What would you do if she wanted a big herd? Two or three more stallions, and ten more mares.”

His eyes bug out, mouthing the word ten slowly, she whaps him on the shoulder with a wing, “Don’t get all full of yourself, Tim. Ten mares is a big herd, but no worries there, you’ll have some stallions to help with the mares. Unless…” She turns and walks slowly around the room, her tail continuing to give him occasional views of her own marehood. He is watching as it winks again, getting a gulp from him, “They don’t want a foal right there. Then you would be the only one to be able to satisfy them.”

He gulps again as she gets up on the couch next to him, her magic bringing a book towards him, “Well, that’s enough today about sex, let’s work on a different subject, hmm?”

He puts his hands to the sides, off of the pillow and nods. She smiles and heads over to her saddle bags, he’s calmed down now, then his left hand notices a bit of wetness on the couch cushion next to him, that was where Twilight sat when she gave him a hug. He rubs his fingers in the small wet spot, then brings them up to his nose. A quick inhalation, and he looks over at Twilight. The smell was so similar to how Citrus smelled when he had parted her lips, an almost woodsy smell, very pleasant. He sniffs again, and looks at Twilight, who is continuing to talk as she pulls things from her saddle bags. He shakes his head, what’s going on here?

***

Cayenne snorts as she jerks out of bed, it’s gotta be Citrus coming home that woke her up. She glances at the clock, it’s not much after six, they had plenty of time to do the deed. She grins as she gets out of bed, ignoring how tired she is. Her magic yanks open her door, and a quick glance at Citrus’ bedroom shows that the yellow mare hasn’t gone to bed yet, so it was the front door closing that woke her up. She trots down the stairs and looks around, the light in the kitchen is on, though the sun is brightening the entire apartment. She moves over to the doorway to the kitchen, watching Citrus move around. The other mare’s horn is lit, pulling something to drink out of the fridge. She smiles as eggs float out of the fridge as well. A moment later tomatoes and kale also join the eggs on the counter. Citrus turns around as a big bowl comes out, and the yellow mare gets to work.

“Morning.” Cayenne says as she hops up on the bar stool to sit next to where Citrus is working, “Anything I can do to help with breakfast?”

Citrus nods absently and slides the cutting board over, along with an onion and the kale, “Slice and dice.” Citrus says softly, and Cayenne gets to work with a knife.

She peels the onion and has it diced quickly, she brings a bowl over and lifts the cutting board to slide the onions in. She starts working on the kale, keeping an eye on Citrus as she finishes with a pie crust and fits it into the pie pan. The look on Citrus’ face doesn’t seem like a satisfied mare, she decides to break the ice, “So, how was he?”

Citrus’ magic sputters and fails, causing the eggs to fall, Cayenne is quick with her own magic to catch the eggs, she giggles, “He was that good? Don’t want to tell me?”

Citrus looks down as her magic starts to chime again, gently grasping the eggs and starting to crack them into the bowl, “He’s an amazing kisser.” She says softly, her cheeks heating.

That gets a grin from Cayenne, “Okay, he’s good at kissing, but how was he in bed? Did he ride you hard?”

Citrus blushes even more, “Well, what he could do with his mouth and his wonderful fingers…” She shudders, “I made some very embarrassing noises from that.”

Cayenne finds her own face starting to heat, “You are avoiding the question, Citrus Blush, did you and him…”

She trails off at the soft shake of Citrus’ head, “No, Cayenne.” She looks up at Cayenne, “We were really close, I was just about to pull his pants off of him. When…” She trails off.

Cayenne sits there for a long time, watching Citrus sitting at the bar, her magic holding an egg over the bowl, but not doing anything with it. She finds herself tapping a hoof on the edge of the stool. She finally reaches a hoof over to touch Citrus on the withers, “Citrus?” She says softly.

Citrus bursts into tears, the egg explodes and the yellow mare flops her head onto the counter, “Princess Twilight Sparkle showed up, as Tim had his face under my tail.” She wails.

Cayenne’s eyes bulge, she whistles softly, “The princess of timing or what?  Well?  Were you enjoying?” 

Citrus turns and looks at Cayenne, blushing heavily and nodding slightly, “No kidding. Why couldn’t she wait ten minutes? Or even five? I just wanted to show him I was interested. We could have done more later. But nooo… bloody Princess bloody Twilight bloody Sparkle has to bloody show up and ruin the whole mix.” She flops her head back down on the counter, “He’ll never want to do anything with me after that.”

Cayenne rolls her eyes, “Yeah, the same human creature you’ve been talking to me about for a year, the one who’s always nice, no matter what. Who has the most gentle eyes you’ve ever seen. The one who’s so beautiful that you can’t believe all the other mares in Canterlot aren’t knocking down his door. Is going to forget you the instant you have to leave because of Princess Twilight.” She snorts, “If I were you, I’d go right back down there and…”

Citrus growls, “And what? Tell Princess Twilight she has to leave because I want to have sex with the human stallion? I think that will go over really well.” She whickers aggressively, “I’d probably end up in a dungeon.”

Cayenne giggles softly, “Oh, Citrus, you can be so cute when you are frustrated.” She nuzzles Citrus’ neck, getting the other mare to jump, “I know I can relieve that stress.”

She gets nuzzled back, Citrus sighs, “You know, I’m quite tempted, but what I want right now is a stallion. That stallion, I want Tim.” She huffs, “And I’m going to have to wait for him.”

Cayenne leans back, “Well, I don’t want to be lead mare, I’ll leave that to you. Are you going to try to get him moved out of the castle? Into our place?”

Citrus looks around, “Well, it is rather small, maybe we can upgrade a bit. But yeah, I want him out of the castle.”

“It’s not going to be easy, the ponies don’t know anything about the human, and if he’s as odd looking as you’ve said, it might be hard.”

Citrus sighs, “I’m planning on going to the Princesses today to petition he be let out.”

Cayenne smiles, “I don’t have a problem with that, hell, I’ll go with you on that. But wait until tomorrow to do that.”

Citrus furrows her brow, “But…” Only to have a hoof placed over her muzzle.

“Today, we are going to go apartment shopping, and find a bigger place. And then we are going to White Lightning’s party tonight.

“A party? What…”

“Yes, a party, you know who’s going to be there, right? Silverwing. I want to see him, I think it’ll take a little while, but that’s two stallions for our herd eventually.” She nuzzles Citrus again, getting her ears to flick back and forth, “You do still want to start a herd, right? We’ve been talking for months.”

Citrus nods, “I’m sorry Cayenne, I’ve been so preoccupied with Tim…” She trails off.

Cayenne decides to be a little more aggressive, she kisses Citrus softly, letting her lips linger on the yellow mare’s cheek, finally she pulls away just a little bit, “It’s okay, Citrus. We’ve known each other long enough. We’ll get Tim into the herd, and get him here, then we will see what happens from there, sound good?”

Citrus nods, turning to Cayenne and kissing her back. After a long moment, both mares are breathless. Citrus looks at the bowl, “Let’s finish breakfast.” 

Cayenne hops off the stool and walks towards the stairs, “So, after breakfast, what are we doing today?”

Citrus sighs, “First, we are going to find a larger apartment, then we are going to White Lightning’s party.”

Cayenne nods firmly, “Good, I’ll pick out a pretty outfit for you.” She trots up the stairs, ideas blossoming in her head as she heads into Cayenne’s room.

***

Tim sits on the large couch. After Twilight had left, she worked with him until well after noon, he had decided on a nap. Now it’s nearly midnight, and he can’t sleep. He turns the page on the book that Twilight had given him. In addition to reference books, she has given him several good novels to read. He’s got a stack of Daring Do books, along with an excellent book he’s reading at the moment. He finds the words fading into the background as he thinks about Citrus. She’s really into him, he remembers the wonder of when Karen had let him know she wanted him. He was clueless, seventeen, and had no idea. She was able to make him understand she was interested in him. And yet, with just over a year in Equestria, Citrus Blush has decided she wanted him. That makes him smile. He closes the book and looks out at the lights of Canterlot. This city is quite beautiful.

He sits up at the sound of a knock at the door. Could it be her? He stands up quickly and moves over to the door, he grabs the handle and pulls hard to open it.

“Tim!” She shouts as she leaps at him, he lets go of the door in time to catch her, though her weight landing on him is too much, he ends up on his back, she reaches forward and kisses him. After an immeasurable amount of time, she pulls away, her eyes narrowing, “I want tchu…” She shakes her head softly.

He reaches up a hand and cups her cheek, “Citrus, I do believe you are drunk.” He looks at the rest of her, “And you are wearing…clothes.”

She moves off of him and twirls around, showing off her dress. A dark red and black top with matching skirt. Though he notices a red bow weaved into her tail. She stops unsteadily and smiles at him, “You like?”

“I’ve only seen the guards wear armor, that’s so pretty.”

She smiles happily, “I went to a party, White Lightning was celebrating. Quite a few ponies there.” She comes forward and stumbles over her dress, he lurches forward and catches her. She giggles and looks up at him, “Wanna take it off of me?”

He narrows his eyes as she giggles. She seems to be steadier now, so he lets her go, she walks towards the bedroom. After a moment she stops walking, turning to look back at him, her eyes cross as she looks up at her horn, after a few seconds, it begins to glow, a soft cerise glow enfolds him and picks him up gently, “I’m not as think as you drunk I am.” She slurs.

He’s in no position to argue as she carries him to the bedroom, she places him on the bed as she hops up with him. She moves up and kisses him again, he kisses her back, fiercely. He relishes her taste, and the added flavor of the alcohol she had apparently drunk as well. His hands run along her body, Feeling the soft fabric, he grabs the dress and pulls it towards him. She breaks off the kiss and backs out of the dress, allowing him to throw it to the floor, though the tail ribbon stays, the big bow right over her rump and the tails of the ribbon weaved into the fur of her tail. She giggles, “You like unwrapping your present, Tim?”

He nods as she lunges forward to kiss him again. He finds his body reacting strongly, she pushes forward, forcing him to lie on his back, continuing to kiss him. Her hooves roam along his chest and sides as she continues, her tail thrashing right over his crotch. She moans as she kisses, the same smell from earlier permeating the air. He’s finding he really likes the way she smells. She breaks off the kiss and moves her head to his shoulder.

“Do you know what I want to do with you?” She whispers into his ear.

He wants her just as intently, “What?” He pants.

She goes silent. And her body slowly relaxes into his. After a few moments, she emits a soft snore, getting a grin from him, he pulls away and looks at her, she’s sleeping peacefully. He takes a moment to pull off his shirt, he likes the feel of her fur against his skin. He grabs the covers and arranges her as the little spoon, he pulls the covers over both of them and brings her closer, she nuzzles him softly in her sleep.

“Citrus, I’m falling in love with you too.” He whispers softly as her deep breaths lull him to sleep.

> Chapter 4.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citrus Blush relishes the warmth all around her, the beds in the royal palace are a new level of comfort. She snuggles into the warmth behind her, then she stops. She is in bed with Tim. What did she do last night? She searches through her memories, the last thing she remembers is bidding good evening to Cayenne before she walked onto the palace grounds. She peeks an eye open. Yes, she’s in the palace, in Tim’s bedroom, with the human himself lying next to her, his body heat a comforting presence for her. She stretches her neck around, and she can see that Tim is completely passed out. Citrus wiggles slowly away from him, finally finding the edge of the bed, she drops onto the floor. Never before has she been so grateful for the thick carpeting here than this morning, as she walks silently into the bathroom. She charges her horn and shuts the door as she flips on the light. She rears up and looks at herself in the mirror.

“I look a fright,” she laughs softly, mindful of the sleeping human. A washcloth is brought out of the cupboard and wetted, then Citrus takes several minutes to clean off the expertly applied makeup from the previous night. Once her face is clean, she turns her attention to the toilet. After her bladder is empty she moves to the bidet. She adjusts the water temperature and washes that area. Upon the water hitting that area she quickly sighs. If they had done anything last night, she would at least have some soreness back there. Soon her marehood is squeaky clean, and she shuts off the water. She trots up to the vanity and rears up to look in the mirror, staring herself for a long moment. “I’m not going to let anypony distract me today,” she whispers fiercely, egging herself on. “If Princess Celestia herself shows up, I’m going to let Tim know how much I want him.” She smiles brightly at herself as her horn lights again, extinguishing the room lights as she opens the door.

A quick and silent trot has her hopping back up onto Tim’s bed. She moves over next to him and sits down. When she had moved away, he had rolled onto his back. All the better for her, and for him. He had removed his shirt apparently and she moves her head closer to inspect his chest. She takes in the spiderweb of scars up and down his chest from the several surgeries he had to go through. Repairing all his vital organs was not an easy task. Surgeons who barely had a clue about his anatomy had been working to save his life, so they weren’t all that elegant when it comes to cutting him open. He was pretty much healed, the scars weren’t irritated and red anymore. She turns her attention to his pajama pants, her horn lights up and he’s completely covered in her aura. He doesn’t react to the soft chiming of her magic, she undoes the tie for the waist of the pants and slides them down and tosses them off the bed.

“That’s it?” she whispers, a little disappointed after looking at his manhood. The testicles are a decent size, but the penis itself, not so much. She leans forward to inspect it further, her nose flares, inhaling his scent. His own musky smell causes her insides to heat up, and she can feel herself wink as her tail thrashes back and forth. She snorts softly as she enjoys how wonderful he smells. He groans softly in his sleep and bucks his hips a little bit. Her eyes widen as his penis twitches before her eyes. In a matter of seconds it’s swelled to nearly double its previous size. She narrows her eyes, looking up at his sleeping face, his brow is furrowed like he’s having a bad dream. She knows one cure for bad dreams. She looks down at it again, even if it stays this small, she still wants him. She wants him inside her. She nuzzles it a bit, it still remains fairly flaccid, not really good for sex. And as she watches, it subsides and retracts back to its previous size.

His scent is driving her crazy though, feeling herself wink long and hard. She’s all ready to go, she can even feel her wetness starting to leak. The feeling is almost as bad as when she was in heat. Well, there’s one way to get a stallion ready to go. She nuzzles the tip gently, and is rewarded with a guttural groan from him. That elicits a smile from her, he’ll like what she’s about to do next. Her tongue flicks out, running around the tip. His reaction is strong as the penis starts to expand once again. She draws him into her mouth, using her tongue to feel the member as it continues to expand. And expand it does, as she continues to use her tongue, his penis not only gains length, but girth. A pony stallion’s penis expands as well, but it looks a lot different. The mushroom shaped head is something she’s finding she likes as she runs her tongue around the edge of that head. He’s groaning even more now, getting a grin from her. He likes it. She shifts a bit as he stops growing, though he certainly likes what she’s been doing with her tongue, she decides to take a different course. She pulls out to where just the head is in her mouth and then she sucks strongly on it, while at the same time flicking her tongue on the very tip. She watches his face as his eyes fly open as he nearly screams.

She lets him go with a soft pop. “Good morning, Tim,” she greets him with a sultry giggle.

His eyes flick back and forth, he seems to be trying to piece himself together for a moment, then he focuses on her. “Citrus!” he shouts and then looks down, “Where are my pants?”


She giggles and points at the floor, “I found a better place for them.” 


He furrows his brow, “Ya know, you could have asked.”


“Would you have said no if I had asked?”


“Well,” he thinks for a moment, “No. I wouldn’t have.”


She moves over and kisses him on the lips, just a soft peck, “So, what’s the problem?” She kisses him again, her tongue invading his mouth, enjoying his taste as her nostrils flare, inhaling his scent, which nearly makes her knees give out. His arms wrap reflexively around her as he responds to her kiss, their tongues battle for a long time, though she makes sure to rub hers along his small, sharp teeth. While kissing him, she moves to straddle him, her forelegs over his shoulders, her rear legs over his middle, and her tail continuously thrashing on his now erect manhood. She nearly gasps as his hands touch her sides, she moans into his mouth as he runs both hands up and down the soft fur. Her tail flags when both hands reach her flanks, tracing her cutie mark for a long moment, then he moves his hands back up, towards her barrel. Finally he brings them to her cheeks, she pulls back, panting.

“So, you like me waking you up?”

He nods, “Best way to wake up.”

She looks over her shoulder at his manhood. It continues to twitch and throb and she doesn’t want to wait any longer. “Well, it’s about to get better,” she grins as her horn lights. She leans forward to lay on him as she scoots back, her winking marehood moving closer to his manhood, her magic gently grasps him, lining him up with her. She wants to see his reaction as he enters her. She scoots back a little more, and she can feel his tip tease her entrance, part of her wants to just slam back and have him inside her fully, but she remains in control. She wants him to feel the lust that she is feeling. She adjusts her rear legs to get better positioned on the bed, lifting her rear a little bit so she can move easier. She adjusts his tip up just a little bit and moves back. She gasps as she feels the tip move into her. His eyes roll back as she continues taking him into her. His hands move up and down her body, caressing her cutie marks, then running along her ears. She smiles as she puts one forehoof, then the other on his chest as she finally has all of him inside of her.

She’s already panting, winking over and over, and her clit is grinding against his pubic bone. She’s already close to her peak. She shifts her rear legs to have good purchase as she moves her forelegs a little bit down his chest. Slowly she lifts off of him, which surprises her as her body wants nothing more than to just slam back down onto him. She whines softly as she brings herself to where he nearly comes out of her, then she slowly lowers herself back down, her body screaming in pleasure as he once again fills her. Any doubts about his size not being enough are completely banished as she once again raises herself. It’s almost as though her body wants to betray her, and just keep him inside of her forever, but she’s nearly passing out with the pleasure as she lowers herself onto him again and again. Each time, she gets a little faster, her hips meeting his with a little more force. He starts to groan as she continues, she can feel her peak coming. Faster than she’d ever believed.

“Oh, Tim!” she cries as her orgasm slams into her. She hilts herself once again on his body, her body doing everything it can to milk him as all reason leaves her. She screams her pleasure, just sitting on him, the feel of him filling her making her entire world explode in her mind. Finally the pleasure ebbs a bit and she collapses onto his chest, panting. She looks at him, his eyes are round, he strokes her ears and her head as she continues to pant.

“Well, those were some fireworks,” he chuckles softly.

She smiles as she raises her head a bit, shifts, then she notices something. Shifting again, she looks at Tim, “You are still ready?”

He smiles and runs a hand along her cheek, “Yeah.”

She furrows her brow, “You didn’t cum yet, did you?”

He shakes his head slowly, getting a growl from her, “Well, I’m going to have to fix that.” Only to squeak as his arms lift her off of him. Tim rolls and places her on her back, he grins as he moves down her body.

“Oh no, I don’t want to cum just yet, Citrus. I want to make you scream like that again, those fireworks were awesome.”

Her eyes widen as he foregoes the foreplay that he had done yesterday. Once again, he brings a nipple into his mouth, she whinnies as he sucks on it. He repeats with the other, getting more equine sounds to escape her lips. The dark bedroom lights up with several different colors as her horn brightens the room once again. Her eyes close as she focuses on what he’s doing to her. Her tail thrashes under her as he continues to pay very close attention to her teats. Citrus  never knew how sensitive those could be. She gasps as he moves a little further south, his tongue moving her lips aside as she continues to wink almost continuously. Tim traps her clit with his lips, and he does the same thing to her that she had done to him earlier, sucking strongly on it while using the tip of his tongue to flick on the very tip of it. Just a few moments of that has her screaming again. He moves again, his arms moving from supporting his weight, to spreading out at her sides, those beautiful fingers moving along her barrel, every nerve ending causes fireworks in her head as he buries his face in her marehood. His strong tongue may not be very long, but long and slow laps up and down her lips has her entire body trembling. The room lights up again as she peaks once again.

She pants as he continues to use his tongue on her, finally she’s able to concentrate enough to use her magic, she brings his head away from her marehood. “Tim, I want you, right now. I want you inside me,” she moans. He smiles as he comes forward, trapping her rear legs against his chest.

“Your wish is my command,” he replies with a guttural growl. She watches as he uses a hand to direct his cock into her and screams her pleasure as he once again enters her. He starts to move with a purpose, his hips working as he pistons into her. She watches his face, seeing his chin is dripping wet from her juices, the occasional droplet landing on her chest only turns her on more. All reason once again leaves her as another orgasm explodes inside her. She just enjoys the feeling as the pleasure just rolls around inside her entire body, leaving everything tingling. As the orgasm abates, she notices that his pace has changed, and he’s gotten even bigger inside her. He’s about to cum himself, he shifts a bit and her eyes go wide. He’s planning on pulling out!

“I don’t think so!” she shouts, spreading her legs and getting them around his hips as best she can, she pulls him closer into her. “Don’t you dare stop!” she demands as he starts to shudder. She closes her eyes and can feel his cock as it spasms inside her, her inner walls trying to milk him as he continues to cum. Every spurt, every twitch of him inside her intensifies her feelings, and that pushes her over the edge once again, this time, her orgasm is quieter, but no less intense. Electric tingles of pleasure race around her entire body, centering on her groin, and slamming right into her head. She closes her eyes and just enjoys the feeling as his body finally relaxes. She finally relaxes her grip on him and he pulls out, shifting his weight to the side so he can collapse next to her, she wraps all four legs around him and brings him close.

“Citrus...” he pants. “That … was … amazing.”

She smiles in a blissful daze. “Yes, you were.”

She licks his chin, tasting herself. She frowns as she asks, “You like the way I taste?”

He nods, “You taste different than anything I’ve ever tasted before, and you are amazing.”

She raises an eyebrow, there’s a bit of a tang to her taste she didn’t expect, but it’s not entirely unpleasant. She reaches up and kisses him, their tongues intertwine for a long moment, but they have to break away sooner than they’d like. She sucks in air greedily, knowing he’s doing the same.

“Citrus,” he starts softly, as his breathing starts to slow down towards normal.

She looks up at him, he smiles. “I was thinking about you all day yesterday,” he continues, to which she smiles back. “Well, you know how you told me you were falling in love with me?”

She nods, “Yes, I remember.”

“You were passed out last night, but I wanted you to be awake when I told you again. Told you that I’m falling in love with you too,” he whispers.

She reaches forward and kisses him, running her tongue along his teeth and wrestling with his own tongue.

Finally she breaks away, still panting softly, “Tim, we need to see Princess Celestia.”

His face falls, “Why? She won’t let me out.” He grumbles.

This gets a grin from Citrus, “Movers are at my place right now, I got a new place to live yesterday.”

He shakes his head as though to clear it, “Movers? You got a place yesterday? You’re moving in today?”

She nods, but he only furrows his brow further, “But why?”

“So you can move in with us, silly.”

Tim’s eyes cloud with confusion, she moves up and nuzzles him, “I talked to Cayenne, she agrees with me, so we found a bigger place to live. And I’m going to ask Princess Celestia to let you move in with us.”

“Us?”

“Cayenne and me, duh.” She clops her forehooves together, “Our own little herd.”

His eyes widen, “Cayenne.” He gulps, “Is she going to expect…” He runs his hand along the sheets of the bed.

“Sex?” She asks, fluttering her eyes? “Well, that is only part of being in a herd. The biggest part is the family, the mares protect and support the stallions.”

“Stallions? As in more than one?”

She cocks her head to the side, “Well, Cayenne has a stallion friend, we’ve already talked about it, and she’s going to court him into the herd.”

Tim stops for a moment, thinking furiously, “And you’ve told Cayenne that I’m not a pony? That I’m…”

“Human?” She chirps, then she giggles, “Of course I’ve described you to her. She said you sound interesting, she said she’ll make the decision for sex after she’s met you.” She leans close and her voice lowers, “Though after this morning, I’m pretty sure she’ll be jumping you pretty quickly.”

His eyes go wide and he just looks at her, she leans forward and bites his ear, hard. Getting a wince from him, she runs her tongue along his ear then whispers softly, “You were amazing, and I guarantee she’ll like you when I tell her. She’s told me enough about the stallions she’s been with. It’ll be nice to have my own story for her.”

“Story?” He yelps.

She cocks her head to the side, smiling softly, “Oh, stallions in your world kiss but don’t tell?” She leans forward and kisses his check, “No worries, I’m not going to tell everypony I meet. Just Cayenne.”

She stands up and moves to the edge of the bed, her tail swishing from side to side, she looks back at him, her tail flicking to the side and he gets an eyeful of her marehood, which winks at him before she jumps off the bed, she giggles, “I need a shower, want to join me?”

He gulps as he stands up, he concentrates on putting one foot in front of the other, the light in the bathroom snaps on as he gets close. He watches her as she uses her magic to turn on the shower as she starts to work on the bow, the velvet of which has been crushed by sleeping, and the morning’s activities. Her magic picks at it and she huffs, “Did you like it?”

He sits down on the floor and starts working to unbraid her tail, “The sex? Or the bow?”

She looks down, “Well, to be honest. Both.”

He gets the bottom half of her tail unbraided, his fingers moving up through the soft hair, “Well, first off, the bow looks completely adorable on you. I really like it.”

She looks up at him, “Really? So, you want me to wear one more often?”

He nods, “Anytime you want to wear it.” That gets a grin from her, and he continues, “When it comes to the sex…” He trails off.

She lowers her head to the side, “I know, I’m not all that experienced, I just did what felt good.”

That gets him to shake his head, “NO!” he exclaims, “Not that at all. It was possibly one of the best times I’ve ever had.” His voice softens, “It’s been a long time for me, and I had resigned myself to never again. It was a shock to find out you were interested in me.” That gets her ears to prick forward as he finishes unbraiding her tail, he pulls on the ribbon, drawing it out, “Then to wake up with you like that. And all you wanted to do was make love to me.” His face reddens, “I’m flattered about that, and very thankful. That will be a time I will remember for the rest of my life.”

She smiles, “Well, Cayenne is a couple of years older than I am, and she’s had some more experience. I hope your first time with her will be just as wonderful.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” He asks softly.

She looks at him questioningly, “Serious?”

“About other mares in our relationship.”

She nods, “Well, we’ve got Cayenne to start with. And once we get all settled down, we can look for other mares as well.”

He sighs, “Citrus, I don’t know about this. I’m falling in love with you, that I know for certain. But I’ve never even met her. Even though you’ve told me a lot about her during the time I’ve known you. How would I know if her and I are compatible? If we would enjoy each other’s company, much less any sex, gah, this is just all so confusing.”

Her face scrunches up, her ears flicking back and forth, then she smiles brightly, “Oh, because human are monogamous, right? Just one male and one female?”

“Well, yeah. This whole thing is totally new to me.”

He’s interrupted by a soft nuzzle on his neck, she sits down and brings up a hoof to his cheek, “Tim, do you trust me?” She looks deeply into his eyes, he nods slowly, “Then don’t stress about it. If you find you don’t prefer Cayenne, you aren’t going to be booted out of the herd. You are safe with us.”

“But won’t she be upset?”

She looks down, “She might be upset, Tim. But that means we’ll have to court that stallion she was talking about into the herd that much faster. Though you just might find you like her more than me.”

He snorts, “Fat chance of that.”

She giggles, “You are sweet.” Her horn lights and the glass door to the shower is opened, “Well, let’s get all cleaned up to see the Princess.” She moves into the steaming shower and is immediately drenched. He follows and the water plays over his body as well. He takes his time to wash her, despite her insistence that she can wash herself. He then sits down, letting the water from the multiple shower heads play over both of them as he slowly works the suds into her fur. As he’s washing the shampoo out of her mane she turns and looks at him with a smile, “I kinda like this,” she sighs contently.

He grunts in agreement as her horn lights and the bottle of shampoo moves over to him, she giggles, “My turn.” Her magic squirts out some of the viscous liquid and she works it into his hair, along with expanding her magical field all over his body. He squirms as she finds his few ticklish spots, but she doesn’t exploit them. Her intent seems to be simply to get both of them clean. Soon she’s directing him to stand underneath the big shower head in the middle, letting the water play over his body. He closes his eyes and enjoys the hot water as the suds wash down the drain. He almost wants to whine when her magic chimes and the water turns off. He closes his eyes and braces his body, he knows what’s coming next. In moments the shower stall has become a wind storm, warm air rushes all around, and in a matter of a few minutes, he’s dry. Citrus taps the door and it opens and she trots to the mirror. She tsks softly as she works a brush through her slightly damp mane.

“How are you still wet?”

The brush stops, still held in her magical aura, “I’ve got a little more fur than you do, Tim. It takes a bit more to dry, though if I stayed in the dryer long enough, my mane and tail would become a big puffball, and that’s not easy to fix.”

He turns and looks back at the shower stall, the first time that had happened, it had nearly blown him over, “How do they do that? I’ve never seen any blowers or motors or anything like that?”

“Magic. What else could it be?” She chirps as she finishes with her mane, she turns and picks up the bow, “Well, I won’t be wearing this one. I’ll have to get some more of these, since you like them so much.” She places the bow on the counter and turns to look as Tim heads into the closet, she giggles, “Well, remember, the new apartment isn’t going to be as fancy as the royal palace, but it’s nice.”

He pulls on his boxers and finds a pair of dress slacks. Some pony had been brought in when he had asked for some clothes although he couldn’t remember her name. The white pony had taken his measurements and in a matter of a couple of weeks, he had a closet full of clothes, everything from casual, everyday wear, to clothing fit for a ball. And nearly everything had some kind of gemstone set into the collar, or on the shoulder. Everything tasteful, never ostentatious or gaudy, but always there. The slacks he chose are midnight black, while the bright white shirt he picks out has a single diamond sewn at the tip of each collar, the fold of the clothing fits him perfectly. He pulls on the sky blue jacket that came with the outfit, with more diamonds on the cuffs. Precious gemstones must be easy to come by here in Equestria. At home, this outfit would be tens of thousands of dollars. And that is without counting the custom work by a very skilled pony. He had asked one of the guards how much was spent on that, and the guard had just laughed. He pulls on the lapels of the jacket to set it on his shoulders just right, and he turns around to see Citrus just sitting there, looking at him.

“By Celestia, you are beautiful in that.” she compliments him. She stands up and walks over to him, somehow swaying her hips as she walks, “I’ll never understand why you like to wear clothing, but that just works perfectly for you.” She nuzzles his hip, “Let’s go and see the Princess.”

He sighs, the Princess was quite insistent that he stay in the palace a mere two days before. But he follows Citrus as she high steps it towards the door, her confidence inspiring him as she heads towards the door of his suite. Her magic easily opens the door and he follows her into the corridor. Two guards he knows walk by, both are light gray unicorns. The stallions offer a friendly smile to Citrus and one of them comes over and hip checks Tim.

“Sounds like you two had quite a morning,” he snickers.

“Magnet!” Tim nearly shouts, “You were listening?” His face turning red.

Magnet Bolt stops and sits on his haunches, “Tim, Star Bright and I patrol this corridor. The walls are thick, but they aren’t completely soundproof.”

Citrus turns around, her tail flagging and her ears folded back, “And I will thank you to keep that kind of information to yourselves.” She snarls, her face red.

Magnet shakes his head and pulls off his chanfron, as he does so, his coat color fades from dark gray to a bluish gray, and his white mane and tail are suddenly red. “Miss Blush, we work in the palace, we know how to keep our muzzles shut,” he answers, his own face heating. He glances up at Tim, then back at Citrus, “To be honest, we really like the big guy here.” He smiles at her confusion, “He doesn’t treat us like mobile furniture like some of the nobles do around here, he’s never been anything but nice. Even during his recovery, when he was hobbling around in pain, he was always nice to both us, and his nurses.”

Citrus nods, “I know he was.”

He continues, “We were all hoping he’d find love. And you’ve been coming around a lot, pretty much since he’s moved in. But we didn’t know if you were just being a friend, or something more.” He glances at his partner, “We’d actually been talking to a few of the guardsmares. One or two expressed mild interest, but nothing really serious.”

Citrus’ eyes have gone wide, she glances up at Tim, then back at the guards, “Well.” She clears her throat and shakes her head to clear it, “I’m glad to hear you hold him in such high regard.”

He smiles as his helm is replaced, his colors reverting back to the normal gray of the unicorn guard, “Don’t mention it.” He and his partner turn to walk down the corridor, continuing their rounds.

Citrus takes up the pace once again, with Tim falling in behind her, he knows the inside of the Canterlot palace almost as well as any guard. Citrus gestures for him to move up next to her, “Why are you so nice to the guards?” she asks softly.

He’s momentarily taken aback by the question, but after a moment he answers, “Well, they’ve never been anything but nice and professional with me. There were a few times they were called in to help the doctors when I got moved to the palace. And they’ve always been exceedingly polite.”

She nods, “That’s what I thought. I knew there were plenty of reasons I was falling in love with you.”

She giggles at the look he gives her, “Tim, you don’t care about status, you just treat ponies based on how you are treated.” She looks forward, “You’ve got a big hoof up on many of the nobles around here. He wasn’t kidding, the guards are nothing as far as many of the nobles act. It’s kinda sad, really,” she pauses for a moment. “I probably don’t talk to them enough when I’m here.” She looks up at him and giggles, “Well, of course, it’s because I’m focused on you when I come here. I’m coming here for you, not much else matters.”

Tim finds his cheeks heating, “You are sweet.” He stops as they get to a set of doors. Two pegasi guards are standing there.

Citrus steps forward, “Citrus Blush and Tim Malone to see Princess Celestia.”


“They don’t need to see Auntie.” Comes a familiar, sneering voice. 


Tim turns and looks at the white unicorn with the bright blonde mane, “Blueblood.” Tim snarls.


Citrus moves between Tim and the larger stallion, he watches her body language. She’s looks nearly identical to how she did earlier when she was warning the guard, with her ears flattened back, and her tail flagging back. She paws the ground as she keeps moving to stay between Tim and Blueblood. Tim reaches forward and places a hand on her withers, “You just mind your own business. I have every right to talk to Princess Celestia as anypony here.”


"You are not a Citizen of Equestria, nor a member of any 'Recognized' kingdom, and as such, your legal status is tenuous at best. The rights you have are what my aunt gives you and those can be stripped quickly with a mere word, commoner." He prances up towards Tim, completely ignoring the enraged mare.


That gets a low growl from Citrus and Tim entwines his fingers in the base of her mane, she shudders a bit but she looks back at him, he smiles down at her, then he looks at the stallion, “Princess Celestia said that I could talk to her anytime I wanted to. Even if she was seeing anyone else, I’ve actually been escorted into her quarters more than once. So you can take your hot air and piss off.”


Blueblood prances forward, “I am not named Prince. Prince is my title. As much as you forget I am actual royalty."


Tim crouches to get the same height as Blueblood, “I’m sorry, your highness, but I will be seeing the Princess.”


Blueblood tosses his long mane, “Well, you’ll be waiting a while, she’s currently talking to the Griffonstone representative.” He starts to walk away, then he stops and looks over his shoulder, “Ambassador Griswald is in the middle of negotiations. I don’t think they’ll like being interrupted. So you’ll just have to wait out here.” With a flick of his tail, he turns the corner. 


Tim turns to Citrus, “Follow me!” he tells softly as he turns on his heel and jogs off, “I’ve got an idea.”


Citrus takes off to follow him, keeping up with a moderate trot, “Where are we going?”


He laughs softly as he turns a corner and starts up a narrow flight of stairs, “I’ve had free time, so I’ve explored the castle. Let’s go watch.”


“But Prince…” She starts only to trail off at a look from him.


“Do you care what that stuffy ass says?”


She continues trotting up the stairs as she thinks, “Well he’s never been nice to you.”


He nods, “Exactly, come on!” At the top of the stairs, he heads down a narrow corridor. He makes a turn and then descends a level of stairs. They end up at a plain wooden door, he turns to Citrus, “I’ve sat here a few times before, and Princess Celestia saw me sitting there, she smiled at me. So I’m pretty sure it’s okay to be up here. This is a little viewing area, if you don’t know where it is, it’s hard to see from the floor of the throne room.”


Citrus’ eyes go wide, “We are going to spy on the princess?”


He shakes his head, “No, just watch. And wait until they are done. Princess Celestia will likely know we are there, and she can let us know to leave if she wants. I’ve watched her talking to the Canterlot nobles quite a bit up here. It’s perfectly okay.”


She smiles tremulously, “Okay, Tim.” He reaches out and opens the door, holding it wide for Citrus to slip through, then he gets into the little vestibule himself. Then he stops. It was already occupied. A griffon is sitting there, her eyes wide.


“Um, hi.” she greets in surprise.


Tim looks down at Citrus, then up at the griffon, “Hi.”


She steps off the chair and comes up to Tim, she’s a little shorter than Citrus. This is the first time he’s met a griffon, Her head and body are pure white, she has black claws and dark gray wings are folded at her sides, the tip of her long feline tail is the same gray as her wings, she rears up and puts her claws on her hips, “You really shouldn’t be up here.” She warns, quietly.


Tim peeks over the edge, looking out into the main throne room, A griffon is down there as well, quite a bit older than the one up there with him. He’s sitting at a table with Princess Celestia. Tim’s heart catches in his throat as the Princess glances up and catches his eye, though he’s gratified when she winks at him with a sly smile. He turns back to the griffon, “I don’t think you are supposed to be here either.”


She giggles, “Well, that’s what my dad would say. Though it’s kinda boring to watch them have tea together. She extends a claw, “Galileah.”


He reaches his hand out and grasps her claw, “Tim, that’s Citrus,” he says as he gestures towards Citrus. 


She moves back over to the small line of chairs, “Well, if you are going to stay, then settle in.”


Citrus takes the seat on the end, Galileah on the other end, and Tim ends up in the middle, Galileah leans over, “So.” She asks softly, “What are you? I’ve never seen anything like you.”


“I’m human.”


She frowns, which is amazing to Tim to see a creature with a beak actually frowning, “Human.” She seems to be tasting the word, “Where in the world are your people? Are you an ambassador?”


Tim glances at Citrus, then back at the griffon, “I’m not from your world.” He sighs, “I really don’t know how I got here, the ponies said I was severely injured when I came here.” He puts an arm around Citrus, “And Citrus Blush here has been instrumental in my recovery.”


Galileah cocks her head to the side, “Not from our world?” She furrows her brow, “And you don’t know how you got here.” She smiles, something else that twists Tim’s mind, “That’s so cool.” She glances over the parapet, “Oops, Daddy is about done with his meeting with the pony princess. I’ll catch ya later.” Faster than a thought, the griffon slips through the door. 


“Well, hello Tim,” comes Celestia’s voice from the main throne room. Tim glances over and smiles at Princess Celestia. He makes to move to the door, and both of them are gently grasped in the Princess’ magic. They float gently down and land before the Solar Princess, Tim bows, as does Citrus. Princess Celestia looks at them both, “So, what brings you to me this beautiful day?”


Tim opens his mouth, but Citrus beats him to it, “Princess Celestia, I brought Tim here.”


The white alicorn narrows her eyes a bit, looking at Citrus. Citrus, for her part, starts to wilt under the scrutiny, but she soon stands tall, “Tim’s been in the castle ever since he got out of the hospital. He’s a prisoner. I want him set free.”


Princess Celestia raises an eyebrow, “I would hardly call him a prisoner. He cannot leave not because he’s a danger, but because there are enough unknowns in Equestria that he would not be safe.”


Citrus moves over and brushes up against Tim, “Princess, I want to take responsibility for him, I want to be the mare to watch him, to protect him.”


Princess Celestia looks at Tim, “Would you go with her? Let her guide you, let her be the leader, know that her love for you is true?”


Tim gulps a bit, then he looks down at Citrus, who is looking up at him, “Princess, I’d go wherever Citrus leads.”


“Then I now pronounce you mare and colt.” Princess Celestia says firmly.


Tim’s eyes bulge, and judging by the strangled sounds coming from Citrus, she’s just as shocked. Princess Celestia waits several seconds as both of them try to stammer out a response.


“Now sister, that wasn’t nice,”  Princess Luna chimes in. The midnight blue alicorn comes up and sits next to the solar alicorn. She looks at Tim, “You’ll have to forgive her, sometimes she thinks she’s clever.”


The loud exhale from Ctirus announces she’s breathing again, Tim reaches over and places a hand on her back, noticing her heaving sides.


Celestia giggles, “Oh, Luna, you spoil my fun.” She moves closer to Tim, “Yes, I was joking.” She looks over at Citrus, “And considering who your sire is, an official marriage might be a good idea in the future.”


“We haven’t even figured out how big we want our herd.” Citrus says softly. Then her ears fall, “I’m going to have to tell my parents about me starting a herd, aren’t I?”


Celestia nods, “Tim, you may go with Citrus, with my blessing. Just remember that you may visit here any time. Understood?”


Tim nods, “Thank you, Princess.” Both of them bow as Princess Celestia walks off towards her office, her sister with her. 


Citrus turns to Tim, clopping her hooves together. “Let’s go, we can send somepony for your clothes and stuff later.” She turns and gallops for the door, her magic yanking it open as she rushes through. Tim hot on her heels.


Tim gasps as they rush through the castle, “Citrus, where are we going?”


She looks over her shoulder, “Your new home.”
> Chapter 5.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citrus Blush trots through the corridors of the Canterlot castle with a purpose, her human coltfriend jogging just to keep up with her. Her hooves and his boots ring on the marble floors as they rush through the castle. The guards watch curiously as the lone human and the little unicorn both rush towards the exit. As they get to the main doors, Citrus skids to a stop. She looks up at Tim, “You ready?”

He smiles, “I was born ready, love.”

She raises an eyebrow, “Love?” She thinks for a moment, then smiles, “I like that.” She nods to the unicorn guard, who’s horn lights and the door is drawn slowly open. They walk sedately through the doors and down the stairs onto the grounds. Tim squints at the bright light of the sun, the pegasi are apparently keeping today nice and sunny. A nice late spring day. He’s been on the grounds of the castle, including the gardens where there are many statues. Celestia had walked with him among those statues, explaining the story behind each one. Citrus’ tail starts wagging in happiness again as they get to the gate. The two guards there open them for her. Tim pauses at the threshold, looking around at the bustling city.

Citrus looks back, “Something wrong?”

Tim shakes his head, “No, this is just a first for me. I don’t even remember coming into the castle.” He smiles brightly, “But, I’ve been wanting to do this for months.” He steps onto the street, “It feels good.”

Citrus moves over and nuzzles his hand, “We’ll head to the new place first. I hope you like it.”

Tim looks around, “There are a lot of ponies here.”

She nods as they start walking together. She keeps close to Tim, his hand brushing her cheek as they walk. They turn down the street and continue, “We were in luck.” She says, “We will only be a few blocks from the castle.”

As they continue walking, Citrus starts to frown. While the streets are bustling as always, ponies pulling carts in the streets, along with the hoof traffic on the wide sidewalks,  the two seem to be walking in some kind of bubble, the ponies seem to be keeping several body lengths away from them. She’s used to brushing up against other ponies as she walks, but with Tim, that’s not happening. Then she looks at the faces all around her, fear. She glances up at Tim, his head is rotating around, taking in all the sights. She puts a smile on her face, “There’s plenty of good shopping around here, Tim.” She points out the various shopfronts. She looks up at him, her smile becoming genuine, “And we can visit restaurant row, some of the best food in Canterlot.”

Tim looks down at her and grins, “Good vegetarian places?”

Citrus snorts, “It’s ok Tim, I know that you like meat. There are quite a few places that cater to both pegasi and griffons. You can get fish, or chicken there.” She bounces a bit, “I know a great sushi place that has any kind of fish you can think of, and some are spicy enough to blow your ears off.” She blushes, “Cayenne took me there on a date.”

Tim looks thoughtful, “I’ve never met Cayenne, what’s she like?”

Citrus looks thoughtful, “Well, she’s smart. She has wonderful taste in food. She’s one of the best chef’s I’ve ever met. Her restaurant is over in restaurant row.”

“She owns it?”

Citrus nods, “She specializes in spicy foods, loving to cook food that will light the belly on fire. And she manages to pack a lot of flavor into it. She’s gotten more into management over the last year. She’s trained a wonderful new chef who’s got as much passion for spice as she does. She’s a wonderful businessmare.” She looks over at Canterlot Boutique, “Speaking of businessmares, that’s the store where your clothes were made. We can go there sometime if you want.”

Tim blanches, “Citrus, I’ve got enough clothes for five humans for a lifetime.”

Her eyebrows raise, “I would think that a species that always wears clothes would want to have a lot of clothing.”

He shrugs, “Citrus, I’ve always been happy with simple clothing, jeans, sneakers, t-shirts. All that was sent, quite a bit of it I won’t wear all that much, it’s too fancy.”

She hip checks him, “Well, when we go to parties, you’ll need to dress up, at least occasionally.”

Tim rubs the back of his neck, “Citrus, I’m not much into…”

He’s interrupted by a loud voice, “Watch out!” Tim spins quickly, bracing himself. And he’s knocked back by a feathery missile. They roll on the ground, Tim curling around the pony, as they end up against a wall.

“Tim!” Citrus yelps as she rushes over to the human.

Tim shakes his head, then puts a hand to it, “Not very bright.” He mumbles. He looks down at his chest, a pegasus is curled into a ball, her wings wrapped around her head. He shakes the pegasus gently, “Hey, you okay?”

“I’m so sorry.” The pegasus moans.

“Flitter, what the hay?” Comes another voice, Tim looks up to see another pegasus hovering looking at him in return, “What the heck are you? Flitter, get away from that thing!” The other pegasus moves forward, only to be blocked by Citrus.

“Hold on, she could be hurt.” She says to the flying pegasus, she turns to Flitter, “Flitter, are you okay?” She puts a hoof on Tim’s shoulder, “It’s okay Tim, set her down.”

Tim sets the pegasus down on his legs, she shakes her head and looks up at him, “You’re too tall.” She huffs. The other pegasus comes over and puts a hoof on her withers, “It’s okay, Cloud Chaser, I was just buzzing a friend, and wasn’t paying attention until the last second, he caught me though.” Flitter looks up at him, “Thanks.”

Tim smiles, “Don’t worry about it.” Flitter steps off of his legs and moves a bit away so she can stretch.

“Oh, Tim, you’re bleeding!” Citrus shouts, she rushes over to him.

Tim looks at the tear on his jacket and brings a hand up to his forehead, “I’m okay, just a scrape.” He looks at the small scrape on his hand slowly oozing blood.

Flitter looks up at him, “I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention.” She looks down, tracing the ground with a hoof, “You’re hurt because of me.” She looks ready to cry.

Tim reaches out a hand and taps her nose gently, “It’s okay, I’ve gotten worse by tripping over my own feet.” He brushes off Citrus as he stands up, “I’m Tim, and this is my marefriend, Citrus Blush.”

Citrus stops for a long time, looking at him. Marefriend? She shakes out of it to watch the grayish blue pegasus with the light blue mane get a hoof bump from the human, he looks over at the other pegasus, “And you are?”

The other pegasus looks at Flitter, who smiles back, then back up at Tim, “I’m her sister, Cloud Chaser.” She says.

Tim holds out a hand at Cloud Chaser, “Nice to meet you, Cloud Chaser.” The other pegasus looks at his hand for a long time, then at her sister. Finally, Flitter moves over and hip checks her sister forward. Cloud Chaser looks back and gives her sister a dirty look.

Flitter giggles, “Go ahead, Cloudy, he’s not going to eat you.”

Cloud Chaser huffs and puts a hoof in his hand, and he shakes it gently, “Nice to meet you.”

The other mare looks at her hoof for a moment, as though she’s making sure it’s still in one piece, before setting it down, “Likewise.” She says slowly.

The silence starts to stretch, finally Citrus steps up, “Well, we were heading to our new home, want to join us?”

Flitter flinches. She had been staring at Tim, her mouth hanging open, and more than a little fear in her eyes, she looks over at Citrus, “Nah, we’ve got to get going.” She spreads her wings and takes to the air, without another word, her and her sister gain altitude and streak off. Citrus watches them leave, then she helps Tim to his feet. They continue walking until they get to the apartment building, Citrus smiles at the doorpony, who’s mouth drops as she watches Tim walk past. Citrus trots to catch up, pushing the button for the elevator. A quiet ding announces the door opening, and Citrus leads Tim into the elevator.

“Princess Celestia was right.” Tim says simply.

Citrus looks up at him, “I don’t follow.”

He looks down at her, tears in the corners of his eyes, “The ponies, they weren’t just scared of me, they were terrified.” He wraps his arms around himself as though he’s trying to keep warm, “That kind of fear causes those feeling the fear to lash out in desperation.”

Citrus bites her lip, he had noticed. With the way Tim had faked it, she would have bet money that the fearful glances would have gone unnoticed as they had walked through the bustling city, “Thank you for getting me out Citrus, but it may have been a mistake for me to be out here.” A tear starts to make its way down his cheek, “I should have stayed in the castle.” He whispers.

Citrus rears up and puts her forehooves around him, hugging him tightly. She’s gratified to have him put his arms around her, though without him leaning down, she can’t kiss him. She nuzzles his chest as best as she can, “Tim. They don’t know you. You just have to be patient.”

He huffs, “Citrus, I saw over a thousand ponies in that half hour walk we just did. This town is huge! What am I going to do? Personally introduce myself to everypony we meet? Let them know I’m not a danger, and hope they believe me?”

Citrus looks up at him, finally, she stretches out a hoof to touch his cheek, “Tim, pick me up, please.”

He looks confused, but he reaches down and cups his hands, settling them on her rump and pulls her up to where they are eye level with each other. She throws her forelegs around his neck to hold on to him. She looks into his eyes, “That is why Princess Celestia didn’t want you going out on your own. She wanted you to have a pony that would be by you. You need a herd. You need us. Cayenne and I will protect you.”

He snorts, “Cayenne hasn’t even met me. How do I know she won’t act the same way?”

She reaches a hoof and makes him look into her eyes, “Tim, do you trust me?”

He jerkily nods, and she reaches forward and kisses him, although she keeps it short and she pulls away, “Cayenne and I will protect you. We are your mares, you our stallion. It really is that simple.” She lights her horn and the elevator dings as it starts to move, “Trust me Tim, we will be at your new home soon.”

He lets her down as the elevator continues to rise, he watches the dial as it gets to the fifth floor and keeps going, “How high are we going?”

“The tenth.”

He looks up at the dial, “That’s the very top, the penthouse.”

She nods, he looks down at her, “Isn’t that expensive?”

Citrus furrows her brow, “Why would that matter? I’ve got a good job, I do volunteer work, Cayenne has a great job. It’s not a problem.” The elevator dings and the door opens, she leads him out of the elevator and down the corridor to an entry door, “Here we go.”

Tim stops at the door, he looks at Citrus, “I don’t know if I can get a job, considering how terrified the ponies are of me.”

Her eyes widen, “Why would you ever need to get a job, Tim?”

“To help pay my way.”

She sits down, looking at him for a long time, “Tim, paying your way is our responsibility.”

He shakes his head, “Citrus, I’m not going to be a leech.”

Her eyes widen at the conviction in his voice, she sighs, “Tim, can we discuss this later? You can meet Cayenne, and get to know her a bit, then we can talk about that part of our future, okay?”

He looks down, gray eyes gaze into rose for a long time, then he smiles gently, “Okay Citrus, I trust you.” He tugs his jacket, ignoring the rip in the sleeve, “I guess it’s time to meet her.” He reaches towards the door and opens it, he glances around the small entryway.

Her nose flares, “She’s in the kitchen.” She says, “She must be unpacking it.”

Tim sniffs the air a little bit, then he turns towards the kitchen, a short walk through the living room, and they end up in the large kitchen. Citrus glances around, the furniture is all in place, and a small pile of discarded boxes show that Cayenne indeed has been busy. The mare herself has reared up, her horn alight, her back to the entryway, “Was wondering when you two would get here.” Cayenne says as she brings a wooden spoon up, she delicately licks the spoon, smacking her lips, then she turns, and her magic sputters and fails. The spoon clattering to the floor. Cayenne sits down heavily, “Wow.”

Tim flinches, which gets Cayenne to leap up, “Oh no. I was just surprised.”

He looks down, “Like everypony around here,” he nearly sobs, only to have the other pony come and rear up herself to hug him.

“Citrus has told me all about you.” She says gently, “I’m not afraid of you.” She nuzzles his chest, “I’ve been pretty eager to meet you, Tim. And with everything that Citrus has been bending my ear about forever,” She moves her head so she’s looking into his eyes, “I’m very happy to have you here.” She giggles, “You’re really tall. I expected you to be taller than most ponies, but you are even taller than Princess Luna. That surprised me.”

Citrus moves up and rubs a hoof along his back, “It was an interesting walk here.”

Cayenne glances at his arm, “So, what mare needs me to apply hoof to flank?” She reaches out a hoof to touch the tear.

Tim laughs at that, he glances at Citrus, “You were right about her being protective.”

Citrus giggles, Tim explains what happened during the walk. When he’s done Cayenne smiles, “You handled that well. Though the ponies did not act right.” She sighs, “When we go out again, I’ll be with you. Don’t you worry Tim.” She puts a hoof on his arm, “You are safe with Citrus,” her eyes flick to Citrus, then narrow as she looks back at Tim, “and with me.” Her voice almost ending in a growl.

Tim narrows his eyes, “But we’ve just met.”

She moves back over to the stove, “Does it matter?” Her magic picks up the dropped spoon and deposits it into the sink, another spoon is picked up from a drawer. She dips it into the sauce and floats it to Citrus, who has a small taste. The spoon floats over to Tim, who also takes a taste.

“Wow.” He huffs, “Spicy.”

Cayenne giggles, “Of course it is. I love cheese sauces, the creaminess of the cheese, with the spice I put in. Wonderful counterpoints of flavor.”

Tim watches the spoon fly back to Cayenne, deciding to answer her rhetorical question, “Well, it does kind of matter.” He looks down, “Why?”

Cayenne sets down the spoon and turns around, she hops up onto the stool and gestures for Tim to sit at another stool. He folds his tall frame onto the seat. She puts both hooves onto the table, “Tim, I’ve heard about nothing but you for most of the last year since you were brought into the hospital and Citrus started helping you.” She glances at the yellow mare, who’s face is slowly turning red, “I knew she was in love with you for a long time, probably even before she realized it herself.” She looks over and sees Citrus nodding, she smiles, “We had been discussing even before she met you to make a herd. It would have happened much sooner, but she wanted us to have a stallion before we decided. We’ve gone on a few dates, and we live together. We are as close as two ponies can be.” She stops and looks lovingly at Citrus. Citrus notices the attention and her blush deepens, Cayenne continues, “I trust her. Not just in general, but I trust her judgement when it comes to other members of the herd. She wanted you, so I knew you were deserving of her love. And that means you are deserving of my loyalty and support.” She licks her lips, “As to bedroom activities, those are yet to be determined. Though judging by the look on her face.” She smiles as she watches a guilty grin spread across Citrus’ face, “You’ll find I’m quite curious.”

She hops off the stool and walks over to the stove, “With all of that being said, you are a stallion in our herd.” She works as she continues to talk, a pot zips over to the sink and drains through a strainer, the sauce is brought over to the table and plates zip out of the cabinet, “Citrus has said that you don’t know our customs. So we will teach you.” She glances back at Tim, “And I’m sure you are going to be teaching us quite a bit.” She comes back to the table and hops back up on her stool, “I want to know everything I can about you.” She looks him up and down, “You aren’t exactly bad to look at, just different.”

Tim sighs as the plate is assembled before his eyes, thick pasta, along with the creamy white sauce. Along with some lumps in the sauce, he spears one of the lumps with his fork, he picks it up to inspect it, “Chicken?”

Cayenne nods as she levitates a fork and twirls the pasta onto it, she spears a small piece of chicken and brings it up. She looks at it for a long moment, then takes a bite. She chews thoughtfully for a moment, then swallows, “Ponies typically eat plants. But it’s not a problem biologically to eat meat. We just don’t usually like it all that much.” She smacks her lips, “Though this isn’t all that bad.” She takes another bite.

Citrus looks at her plate, then at Cayenne, her own horn lights and she takes a bite as well. She smacks her lips and looks at Cayenne, “Wow, I’ve never thought it would be that good.” She smiles at Tim.

Cayenne giggles, “Well, I’ve already got a few meat dishes at the restaurant, given the amount of pegasus traffic we get. I’ll have to add it to the menu.”

Tim contemplates the food before him, after a moment he takes a bite, the fire spreads along his tongue, he closes his eyes as he chews, sweat starts to pop from his forehead, “Wow.” He gasps.

“Good?” Cayenne says as she floats a glass of milk over to him.

He smiles as he takes the milk from her magical field, he sets it down and takes another bite, “Yes, and it’s very spicy,” he smacks his lips, “I like.”

She looks at Citrus and smirks, then back to Tim, “Heat is a really subjective term. For most of us, this is just warm and flavorful.” She flutters her eyes, “Though, if you’re not used to the heat…” She takes a bite.

He gathers up a big forkful of the pasta and sauce and puts it in his mouth, “Oh, Cayenne, I can handle the heat.”

She giggles and looks at Citrus, “I like him.”  Finally she settles down to eat her own food.

***

Tim is in the kitchen, cleaning up after another wonderful meal by Cayenne, dinner to be exact. Although this one wasn’t as spicy or had meat, it was equally as good. Tim picks up another plate and runs it under the water. He takes the small hard bristled brush and scrubs the plate clean and places it in the dishwasher. He hears the soft clop of hooves as he picks up a cup and starts to wash it.

“You know, we can do that easier.” Citrus says.

Tim glances over, “It’s okay, sometimes it’s therapeutic to wash the dishes.”

She rears up next to him, she slides over and rubs her side along his, “Tim. You don’t have to do all of this. We don’t expect stallions to either be working or in the bedroom. Those years are long past.”

He looks over, “I like to work, Citrus. You know that. I was going insane in the castle.” He reaches down and kisses her cheek, “You are a life saver, getting me out of there.”

She giggles, “I wish I had realized much sooner, Tim.” She huffs, “By Celestia, I was blind. I couldn’t see my feelings until the Princess of the Night herself brought them up.”

“It’s alright, Citrus.”

She wraps her tail around his leg, just enjoying touching him, “Everything is going to be okay, right?” She asks in a small voice.

He looks down again, “I hope so, Citrus.”

Another set of hooves enter the kitchen, they both look over at Cayenne, who has a big smile on her face as she looks at them, “You two are so cute.” She teases.

“Thanks.” Tim says dryly.

Cayenne comes up, “So, wanna go for a walk? See more of this city?”

Tim looks down as he picks up the last fork, “Well, the walk today wasn’t all that fun. I think I’ll pass.” He puts it in the dishwasher and grabs the soap for it. In moments the machine is humming away as it does its job. He puts his hand on it, “Let me guess, magic?”

Citrus nods as she gets back on all fours, “Come on Tim. You’ll have both of us with you.”

“I don’t even have my clothes from the castle yet.”

Cayenne grins, “You don’t have to wear anything, Tim. We aren’t.”

That gets a bright blush, “You have tails to cover yourselves. I don’t.”

She giggles, “I was kidding, Citrus told me of your thing about clothes. But…” Her horn lights, and the jacket floats up from the chair it was hung on, he watches as the fabric on his sleeve is mended, “You look really good in it. And your stuff should be delivered tomorrow.” She sets down

Tim looks over at Citrus, “The other ponies, you saw it.”

“Don’t you worry Tim, if anypony treats you badly, I’ll have some words with them.” Cayenne growls.

“Cayenne, I don’t want you getting in fights because of me.”

She saunters around him, “Who said anything about a fight?”

Tim looks at Citrus, then back at Cayenne, “The look on your face is of someone up to mischief.”

That gets a full throated laugh from Cayenne, “I’m liking him more and more, Citrus.” She moves up and rears up to put her hooves on his chest, “You are sweet, Tim. And I’ll tell you right now, if anypony is rude to you, I would kick her flank from here to Ponyville. But I guarantee you, with two mares walking with you, they won’t say a word.”

Tim sighs, he glances at Citrus, who’s ears are forward, and she’s smiling slightly. He glances down at the mare reared up towards him. He hesitantly brings up a hand and cups her cheek, Citrus’ smile widens. He reaches up and runs a finger along her ear, getting a shuddering sigh from the faintly pink mare.

Cayenne opens her eyes and looks back at Citrus, “You were right.” Getting a giggle from both mares.

Cayenne walks towards the door, her tail swaying, “While you were busy with the dishes, I was getting the dish about this morning.” She looks back at him and smiles.

He finds his face heating, he looks at Citrus, who shrugs, “Come on Tim, let’s go.”

They emerge from the main entrance to the apartment building, Cayenne looks around, “Princess Luna has outdone herself.” The night indeed is very beautiful, with wispy high clouds and bright stars visible. The moon is half full at the moment, and it’s light is complemented by the street lights. The hoof traffic all around is markedly less than it was that morning.

Though Tim notices something different, “Those aren’t pegasi.”

Citrus looks in the same direction, then back up at Tim, “Those are thestrals, Tim. They are primarily noctournal. Some of them are night watch, but most are just ponies, living their lives in the Crown city.”

Tim watches the two dark colored ponies, one with a bright white mane, the other with ink black, walk next to each other. They have tufted ears, and while the ponies have extraordinarily large eyes to begin with, these ponies eyes are even larger. They both seem to be smiling and chatting as they walk, their wings folded casually at their sides. Tim looks up, not a single pegasus is in the air, but a couple more of the thestrals are winging their way above the city streets. Their batwings easy to mark out in the dim lighting.

Tim leans down to Citrus, “I don’t see many pegasi in the air.”

“No, it’s pretty rare to see a pegasus flying at night. They will, but not very often. Remember, a crash can incapacitate a pony for hours or even days. Better to fly when they can see.”

“Ahh.” Tim says. They move away from the building and walk down the street, the girls each pointing out different parts of the city as they make their way through the city on the mountain. Tim pays attention to what they are saying, but he’s more interested in how they are acting. Both ponies are nearly leaning against each other as they walk, their bodies in constant contact. Though, occasionally, they’ll move closer to him, putting a head under his hand, wanting that close contact from him as well. It seems much of the other hoof traffic has similar goals, ponies walking together, nearly constantly touching. He soon can pick out herds as they walk among each other. Usually a mare and one or two stallions walking together, with other mares rotating either ahead or to the side of the main group, or in the main group themselves. He feels Citrus push her head under his hand, he looks down at her and meets her smile.

“See, it’s a lot better with an actual herd with you.”

He looks around, there is some space between them and the other ponies, but much less rigid compared to the morning. The looks of fear are still there, but less intense. He watches eyes flick between the two mares and up at him. Some turn away, some continue watching.

“Beautiful.” Tim breathes in.

Cayenne looks up at him, a questioning look on her face.

“Citrus,” he finds his face heating, “and you.”

That gets a blush from Cayenne, “You aren’t so bad looking yourself.” She hip checks him, “Are all of your species this visual?”

He furrows his brow, “Yeah, aren’t you ponies?”

She giggles, “While we are somewhat visual, it’s smell that really gets to us.”

“Really?”

Citrus ends up on his other side, “Yeah, Tim. And you smell really good. You are also really good to look at.”

“That isn’t the first time you’ve said that.” Tim says, a little confused.

Cayenne rubs up against him, “I never thought I would be interested in someone that’s not a pony. But I’ll admit,” She looks down, her own ears turning red, “I am.”

Tim finds his eyebrows rising.

“Ahh, here we are.” Citrus squeaks.

Tim looks up, the entire building looks like marble fashioned into rolling waves, though inside is brightly lit and very cheerful looking. He looks at the sign, he was shocked to his toes that the ponies spoke his language, though the signs are some sort of odd script. Citrus notices his difficulty, “It’s Cookie Crisps’ Magical Bites. One of the best coffee shops in Canterlot.”

“Coffee shop?”

She nods, “Oh yeah, she’s also one of the best bakers in Canterlot. You would have to go to Ponyville for anything better.” Cayenne leads the way in. The smell of brewing coffee grabs Tim the instant he steps through the doors. Though as he enters, all the conversations are immediately choked off. Tim and the two mares walk slowly up to the counter.

Citrus looks around, noting all the eyes glued on Tim. She wants to do something, but Cayenne puts a hoof on her withers, “I’ll handle it.” She whispers fiercely. Citrus rears up and puts her hooves on the counter. Cayenne walks behind Tim and Citrus while the yellow mare is ordering their coffee and sweets. “You should all be ashamed of yourselves.” Cayenne growls loudly, “Would you be acting like this for a herd with a yak? Or with a minotaur?”

Tim looks back at the ponies sitting around. It looks like they are more surprised by Cayenne’s outburst than by him.

She scuffs the floor with a hoof and snorts, “He’s different. So what? He’s also nice, and gentle, and loving.” She stops and looks back at him, a soft smile on her face, “He’s made his new herd very happy just by joining us.” She narrows her eyes as she looks around the room, “Give him a chance.” Her voice gets quiet as she finishes and whirls around to rear up next to Citrus.

Citrus nuzzles Cayenne, “You did good.” She says gently, the low conversation has started to resume. Though Tim continues looking around, and notes that the ponies are still keeping a wary eye on him. It’s not long before the coffee and the cookies are ready for them. Citrus takes the tray and balances it on her back. Cayenne leads them out a side door, onto the large patio. They find one of the smaller tables and all sit down. Tim can hear instrumental music playing through concealed speakers. Soon after sitting down, the conversation on the patio starts up again as well. 

“So, are you liking your tour of Canterlot?” Citrus asks.

“Yeah, everything about Canterlot is beautiful.” Tim says, “I think the ponies will accept me, eventually.” He moves the stirrer in his cup, his latte is actually very good, but he is thinking furiously. He looks up at the two girls, “I’d like to find a job, maybe earn some money.”

Cayenne snorts a bit, and Citrus looks at him incredulously, “You don’t want to spend time with us?” She asks, tears in her eyes.

“Oh, no. That’s not it, Citrus.” He cups her cheek with a hand, “You have a job yourself, and so does Cayenne. I wouldn’t be happy being home alone.”

“But, there will be plenty to do at home.” She says, “Don’t forget, Princess Twilight will want to continue your lessons.”

Tim sighs, “I’ll make time for that, but remember, I worked back home, it feels odd to me not to have a job.”

“But we can provide for you, anything you need.” Cayenne says, “You don’t have to work, Tim.”

Tim nods, “I’ve never been one to depend on others for my needs. I drove trucks back home. It didn’t pay the best, but it paid enough.”

Citrus nudges Cayenne, “In his world, the stallions do the providing, for the most part.”

Tim shrugs, “Well, a lot of women work too.”

Cayenne looks at Tim wide eyed, “Stallions are expected to work, to provide for your herds?”

Tim nods, “Yeah. I was taught when I was young I was supposed to protect and provide for my family.”

Both mares shake their heads and look at each other, Citrus speaks up, “Tim, you don’t need to here.”

Tim puts a hand on her hoof, “I know, but I want to.”

Citrus looks down, “Can we just get you settled in? A week or two, then we can talk about you getting a job?”

Tim sighs, looking around at the ponies on the patio. They seem to be calming down as their little herd has continued to talk, though they are still being glanced at. He takes a bite of the cookie, and his eyes grow big, “This is spectacular.” He breathes.

Cayenne giggles, “Told ya.”

Citrus takes a sip of her dark coffee, “I think you are going to like Equestria. We aren’t going to just stay in the city here. You need to see all of it. Even places like the Crystal Empire, Griffinstone, and Appaloosa.”

Tim looks up at the night sky, watching the stars twinkle, “Yeah, I think I’m going to like it here.”

> Chapter 6.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the sun rises it finally reaches the angle of the window, banishing shadows from the bedroom and chasing away the darkness.   Its glow warms both skin and fur as light fills the room, ushering in the beginning of a new day. Tim squints and moans against the unwanted reminder of the world outside, before the soft chiming of magic, and the rustling of the curtains, banishes the intruding morning. He feels a body shift on his right side, and he reaches out to touch the soft fur. That gets a smile, then he feels a body shift slightly on his left side. He squeezes his eyes tightly shut for a moment as he thinks. When they got home last night, he had fallen asleep by himself while the girls were out in the family room talking. He remembers when Citrus had crawled up into bed with him and snuggled with him on his right side. So, did Cayenne decide to join in the middle of the night? He just thought Citrus’ head was on his chest. Maybe not, he opens his eyes slowly, in the dim light he can see both girls are asleep with him, both of their heads are on his chest, their horns are just barely touching. 

He reaches out, “Citrus.” He says quietly, though he doesn’t get a response. He smiles and reaches out to touch her ear. She had mentioned something about him nibbling on her ear, but he likes to simply touch the soft ears. He runs a finger down the outer edge of her ear, getting it to flick a little bit. He ups the ante a bit, using a finger nail to gently run along the inner edge. Her breathing quickens for a moment and she bearily opens an eye. She looks forward at Cayenne, then her eyes rotate and focus on Tim. 

She smiles sleepily, “G’mornin, love.” She whispers.

“I kinda need up, Citrus.” He whispers back.

Her forelegs tighten around his body, “But I want you here.”

He cups her cheek, “It’s going to get very wet in the bed if I stay here much longer.” He says, keeping his voice low in deference to the sleeping Cayenne.

Citrus grins, “Oh, really?” Then her eyes widen, “Oh, wait, you mean?” She glances down, then back up at him, “You gotta…?”

He nods.

She scoots back then climbs over him, getting next to Cayenne. He slides out from her grasp as Citrus moves in to take his place. He kisses her on the cheek before sliding to the edge of the bed. This bed is enormous, larger than a king size at home. He shakes his head as he pads into the bathroom. He closes the door and turns on the light.

It’s not the gold plated everything at the castle, but the marble countertop along with the white porcelain of the toilet and bidet still shows very high quality. He closes his eyes in pleasure as he’s able to let loose.  The loud splash reverberates around the room as he empties his bladder. That task done, he moves over to the sink and grabs a tooth brush, the girls had thoughtfully gotten a few extra and one of them is with each of theirs. He squirts a dab of tooth paste onto his brush and looks at it for a long moment, the flavors the ponies choose for toothpaste take quite a bit of getting used to. He brushes his teeth quickly and then he rinses out his mouth. He looks in the mirror, a couple of days of growth has him needing a shave quite badly. Hopefully his razor will arrive soon. He looks at the clothes folded over the towel bar. All he’s wearing is his boxers. He contemplates getting dressed, but he walks from the bedroom leaving the clothes where they are. He stops and looks at the girls on the bed, Cayenne has her head over Citrus’ barrel, Citrus has gone back to sleep apparently. Part of him wants to wake her up the way she had woken him up the day before. He smiles at them, then he gets an idea, he walks back into the bathroom and grabs his shirt. Then he pulls on his pants quickly. He barefoots it downstairs into the kitchen. 

With their rapid move, there are plenty of boxes to deal with, but most of them are stacked in the living room, written on in that incomprehensible pony script. But Cayenne, being a chef, had prioritized getting the kitchen unpacked first of all. He reaches up above the island where several pots and pans have been hung and grabs a large non-stick pan. The oven is fairly easy to understand, he turns the knob and hears a satisfying whoosh of the burner igniting. He remembers seeing eggs in the fridge before, and…yes, there they are. He looks around in the fridge and finds some big mushrooms, along with some bell peppers. He’s not the best chef in the world, but he knows his way around the kitchen. A large cast-iron pan is added to the stove, along with a generous pat of butter. Dicing the peppers and some onions happens quickly, along with thin slicing several potatoes. They all end up in the cast iron fry pan as he cracks an egg into the other pan. As he walks by it, the coffee maker is switched on, after checking to see if it was prepared the night before. Soon it’s burbling away as he works on the rest of breakfast. Quite quickly there’s a stack of fried eggs ready, and he finds the spice cabinet to work on the peppers, onions, mushrooms and potatoes. Soon he’s pouring the meal into a large serving bowl just as he hears the soft clip clop of hooves at the stairs. He looks up at the pony that emerges.

“Good Morning.” He chirps happily.

Cayenne growls, “Not until I have coffee.”

He takes a sip of his own before he slides a cup over to her, “I don’t know how you like it.”

She takes a sip, “I like it unaltered.” She glances back at the doorway, “Citrus likes hers with lots of cream and sugar.”

“To be as sweet as she is.” He says, getting a bark of a laugh from Cayenne.

“No kidding.”

Cayenne’s horn lights, and several eggs along with the potato and vegetable mixture float onto her plate, she takes a fork and stabs a pepper, she brings it up and inspects it, she raises an eyebrow, “Not bad.” She takes a bite and chews thoughtfully, “Not bad at all.” She looks up at him, “You are pretty good around a kitchen.”

He shrugs, “When you are on the road a lot, you take advantage of time you get in the kitchen.” He takes another bite, relishing the flavor.

“Food.” Comes Citrus’ voice. Both Cayenne and Tim look over at the yellow pony as she walks into the kitchen, she hops onto the stool as Cayenne floats the food onto the plate. Citrus takes a bite then her eyes go wide, “This is really good, another new recipe Cayenne?”

Cayenne grins, “It wasn’t me who cooked it.”

Citrus looks at Tim, “You?”

He grins, “This is the first time I’ve been in a kitchen in over a year, the chef at the palace could never figure out how to do that right. And boy, if I asked to use the kitchen to cook, I’d get chased with a wooden spoon.” He giggles, “There’s a first time for everything, and getting chased by an earth pony with a wooden spoon isn’t something I’ll forget anytime soon.”

The girls both giggle as they slowly complete their food. Citrus is the first to finish, her magic brings over a napkin and she daintily wipes her lips, “Tim, I’m sorry, but I do have to work today.” She glances at the clock on the wall, “And if I don’t hurry, I’m going to be late.” She leaps off the stool and the clatter of her hooves follows her upstairs.

Cayenne looks back at Tim, “Unfortunately, I have work to do as well today.” She looks around, “Are you going to be good? All alone?”

Tim smiles, “Of course, Cayenne, I’ll clean up, and maybe I’ll work on unpacking.”

Her eyes get wide, “I appreciate the help, but Citrus and I know how we want things, could you let us handle it?” She stops at the look on his face, “Well, there are several boxes of books, you can load the book cases if you want.”

She hops off of her stool, “I’d better get ready myself.” She stops for a moment, looking at the stairs, “And in three, two, one.”

“Gottagoloveyoubye!” Citrus calls as she gallops by, opening the door with her magic so she doesn’t even have to slow down. She slams the door behind her as the sound of her hooves fades down the hall. 

Cayenne giggles, “That girl never changes. She’ll probably gallop down the stairs because the elevator takes too long.” She walks towards the stairs and walks slowly up. Tim focuses on finishing his own meal before he hears Cayenne walk back down. She hops up in the chair next to him, her face bright red, “Tim.” She says very softly, “Would it be okay if I were to kiss you?”

Tim moves closer and puts a hand to her cheek, he leans down and gives her a kiss on the lips. He opens his eyes to an annoyed looking Cayenne, she arches an eyebrow at him, “I’m not your sister, Tim. Why don’t you kiss me like you mean it?”

In response, Tim gathers Cayenne into his arms, she reflexively puts her forehooves around his neck, getting their faces very close. She licks her lips for a moment, then leans forward, her eyes closing as their lips meet. Tim decides to be bolder this time, his tongue teases her lips apart, and their tongues meet, her longer tongue curls around his as she invades his mouth, she tightens her grip on him as their kiss continues, but finally, she pulls away. She takes a deep breath and smiles, “Citrus said you were excellent at kissing.” She pants for a moment, “She was right.”

He can feel his face heating as she continues, “I was kinda on the fence about bedroom activities,” her ears turn red, “But I think it would be fun, don’t you?”

He nods stiffly, Cayenne giggles, “are you worried that Citrus would get jealous? She’s told me how odd you are when it comes to such things.”

He nods again.

She leans forward and kisses him on the cheek, then she runs the tip of her tongue on the edge of his ear, then she whispers into his ear, “I promise you, she will be happy if we take that step. But remember, it’s up to you, I’m not going to push you,” she nips at his ear lobe, “not too hard, that is.” She giggles as she moves out of his arms, she walks slowly towards the door, “Remember Tim, both of us want you to be happy.” She waits until he is looking right at her before she flicks her tail to the side, giving him a view of her own femaleness. She giggles as he can feel his face getting even more red as she disappears upstairs.

He shakes his head as he picks up the plates, “Two mares, at once?” He says softly as he starts washing the dishes. 
He works until Cayenne comes back downstairs, she hops up on the stool and asks for another kiss, and he tries to outdo himself from earlier, and seems to be largely successful as she pants softly walking out the door, making sure to give him another eyeful, along with a slow wink, and he can tell there’s a bit of moisture back there as she exits the apartment. It doesn’t take him long to finish the dishes and have the kitchen tidied up. He wipes off his hands as he moves into the living room, the furniture looks quite comfortable, he grabs one of the boxes and heaves it over in front of the large chairs, he settles in as he strips the tape off the box.

“Books, how did I know it was going to be books?” He picks up a tome, feeling it’s heft, he opens the book and riffs through the pages, the written language of the ponies seems to bear no relation to English. That’s more than a little curious to him, since the books that Twilight had given him are easy to read. He closes the book as his attention is grabbed by a knock at the door. He frowns as he gets up, who would be coming here today? 

“Good morning Tim!” Comes a very familiar voice as he opens the door.

“Twilight?”

“In the fur.” She chirps, then she stops for a moment, “Can I come in?”

He smirks, “That’s better than appearing in my bedroom before sunrise.”

She blushes, “Well…” She looks down and traces a hoof on the floor, “You were in the castle then.”

He smiles and opens the door wide, “I know, but it’s really nice that you aren’t barging in. Though I’m confused, I understood our lessons would be weekly.”

She walks past him, her tail waving from side to side as she walks, and for a second time this morning he gets an eyeful of a mare’s parts, she turns around to face him as he closes the door, “When Princess Celestia informed me that you had moved out of the castle, I decided that since you have been dropped in the deep end, so to speak, when it comes to living in pony society outside the castle, you might need a bit more.” She sits down on her haunches, “Plus, I still need more information from you.”

Tim nods as he closes the door, “I’ll tell you anything I can, Twilight.” He moves over to the box and draws out another book, he looks at the book, “This is just so crazy.”

Twilight’s ears perk forward and she comes over next to him, “What?”

“I was blown away that you spoke my language when I woke up, but your written language is completely beyond me. Yet the books you gave me are in English.” He looks sharply at her as she laughs, “What?”

She wipes away a tear, “Oh Tim, you are so cute.”

He frowns, “I don’t understand.”

She cocks her head to the side, still chuckling, “I’m not speaking your language. I have some knowledge of what your language is like, but you hear your language, but when you speak, you are actually speaking mine.”

That gets a shake of his head, “But, how?”

“It’s a series of spells that Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and myself worked together to place in your brain.” Her ears flick back and forth, “It was quite difficult, you continue to be curiously magic resistant, so establishing the weaves and getting them to stay was quite a challenge.”

“So, I’m not speaking English?”

She shakes her head with a giggle, “It was easier to imprint a translation matrix in you than to take months, if not years, to teach you our language.” She looks down, “The decision was made by Princess Celestia after one of the few times you were conscious and the words you said made no sense to us. It really took a lot of effort, for all three of us, to get it working correctly.”

“Amazing, but why can’t I read these books?”

She sighs, “The books I gave you have a translation spell imbued into the pages. It’s quite tedious, and very time consuming, even for an experienced mage.” She floats a book over, “For much written communications, we use simple pictograms, color and shape specific, to indicate stores, restaurants, gathering places, that sort of stuff. For official documents, like with treaties, we will imbue the document with the translation spell, so a yak can read something written by a zebra, or a pony can read something written by a minotaur. The spell inside you affects verbal communications, different parts of the brain handle visual.”

“And with these books?”

“They are in our language, and I don’t have the time, or energy, to put that spell on each and every book here, I’m sorry Tim, but for now, you’ll have to read the books that I’ve brought you.” She giggles, “Well, they are at your old rooms, I’ll make sure they are brought here with the rest of your things.”

“Would you be able to actually teach me your language?

She narrows her eyes, her ears flicking back and forth, “It will take a long time to learn, I’m not all that versed in your language, just what we could glean from you. The spell is incredibly complex, you were hard to understand for a while, until the spell was able to learn your language and adapt to your thoughts.”

He frowns, “It reads my mind? My thoughts?”

She shakes her head, “Sort of, but more in line with able to read what’s on the surface.”

He looks down, “Well, perhaps if I can write out at least some of my language in my words. I’ll teach you what I can, and perhaps we can teach each other.”

That gets a bright happy smile from the purple princess, she again sits and clops her hooves together, “That would be wonderful!”

He stands up and starts to walk towards the kitchen, then a thought strikes him, “When is my stuff to be delivered?”

She stands up to follow, “Princess Celestia is doing some work before everything is being sent over. It should be later today.”

He nods as he opens the fridge. He moves over and opens a cupboard, a familiar pictograph gets his attention, he pulls out the box and points at it, getting a smile from Twilight, “Exactly how it works, with familiar pictograms, we can make such communication much easier, like a tea bag for tea. The little picture on the corner of the box tells you the brand, but you’d have to decipher the scripts to know exactly what’s in it. But at a glance, you see that’s a box of tea bags.”

He sets down the tea and pulls out a big pot, filling it with water, he places it on the stove. A quick glance in the freezer shows there’s plenty of ice, “I’m making iced tea, want some?”

Her eyebrows rise, “But tea is a hot drink.”

That gets a big smile from him, “Not always.”

***

Tim takes a sip of his tea, with Twilight’s help, all the book boxes are now folded flat, and all the books are arranged by subject in the several built-in book cases in the living room. Twilight is now reclining on the couch, with him on the other side. He sets down his tea, “you mentioned needing more information about how I got here.”

She nods, then she hops off the couch and moves to sit on her haunches right in front of him, “When we had worked on your memories before, a lot of the pain you had endured had clouded those memories. So, I want you to tell me what you were doing, well before that point. Then I’m going to start a spell I found, it should suppress the pain of the memories, and allow you to remember them easier.” Her horn lights, “I simply want you to close your eyes and relax. Speak naturally, don’t try to force the memories, just…let them flow.” Her saddle bags, which she had hung up by the door when she had entered, float over next to her, and a small writing desk emerges. A purple quill and a long roll of parchment are ready very quickly. She looks at him expectantly.

Tim closes his eyes as directed and leans back, listening to the soft chime of her magic, “Well, as I’ve told you before, I drove trucks. I didn’t own my own truck, but I worked for a trucking company. I’d been hired for a job out west, moving car parts from the dock to the distributor warehouse, where it would be trans-shipped to different car manufacturer factories. It was to be a six-month contract to start, with options to renew, driving a company truck, they paid per diem so I could live in a hotel, or rent a place. I was looking forward to it.” He smiles, “I remember getting into the plane. I was planning on bringing my girlfriend out after a few months, and we would rent a small place together.”

He shifts, this is where the pain would rise again, and the memories would get hazy, he squints a little in anticipation, “The plane had gotten to the height it was supposed to get to, the captain had turned off the seatbelt sign, so I had leaned back my seat and loosened the seatbelt.” Amazingly the pain wasn’t coming this time, “I wanted a nap during the flight, so I’d be refreshed and ready when we got to California.”

He finds himself relaxing more as he talks, “I know I had fallen asleep, then there was the craziest sound, like metal being sliced.” He shakes his head, “I opened my eyes and I was in the air, thousands of feet in the air, but the plane was gone. I screamed as I fell. It felt like forever, falling. Then I remember some sort of impact, but it wasn’t with the ground, but it hurt like hell.” He jerks, “Someone caught me, but I was dropped again, the last fall wasn’t all that long, but I hit the ground then.” He shakes his head, “Then I remember that blue pegasus picking me up and flying me super fast into the town.” He shudders, remembering the pain, just not really feeling it this time, “Then it’s all a jumble,” he furrows his brow, “I remember hearing you ponies talk, I didn’t understand what you were saying, but I remember that I was in and out of consciousness.”

A soft gasp gets his attention. He opens his eyes, Twilight’s eyes are closed tightly, the quill is darting over the parchment, it looks like she’s written quite a bit in the last few minutes, but then he looks at Twilight again, she’s got sweat dripping slowly down her face, “Twilight, are you okay?”

Her horn quiets a bit, and pain slams into him, not as bad as other times, but it’s certainly enough to make him gasp, Twilight looks horrified, “Oh Tim.”

He shrugs it off, “It’s been a lot worse, Twilight, but it looks like you were in pain.”

She looks down and traces patterns on the carpet with a hoof, “Well, I couldn’t find a spell to remove the trauma of the event from you, at least not without removing the memories associated with it,” her face falls. “So, I found a way to transfer it.”

His eyes bulge, “So, you felt the pain I had felt every time I tried to tell you all of this?”

She nods as she sets down the writing desk, her horn finally extinguishing, “I told you, I need to know everything I can about you, Tim.” She hops up on the couch next to him and extends a wing around his shoulder, “I’m willing to accept the pain, if it helps you.” She nuzzles him softly.

His eyes widen, the only other pony to nuzzle him like that has been Citrus. He finds himself on his feet, “Okay, Princess, what do you think of the iced tea?”

She pouts for a second before lighting her horn and bringing the tea over, she takes a sip, “It’s quite good, I never knew tea was this good when iced.”

He nods as he moves into the kitchen and pours himself another glass. Moving back into the living room, he sets down his glass on the end table and settles back into the sofa, Twilight had moved back to the other side of it, and has her own tea glass between her forehooves. 

She takes another sip and smacks her lips softly, “So, now, about your parents?”

He cocks his head to the side, “How do my parents have any bearing on getting me back home?”

She sighs and sets down her tea, “Tim. I told you I need as much information as I can get, it may not seem relevant to you, but the more I learn, the more complete picture I can build. And even if you decide not to go home, the information will continue to be valuable.”

He looks at her for a long moment, “My dad was an iron worker in Philadelphia. I grew up just outside the city. I never really cared to work with hot steel…” He trails off as her wing enfolds him, while he was talking, she had moved closer to him. Her wing brings him closer to her, “Um, Twilight?”

She lays her head on top of his, “It’s alright, just keep talking.” She says softly.

He swallows a couple of times, “My mom was a school teacher. She taught special education in elementary school.”

Twilight inhales softly, “You smell nice.” She says almost too quietly for him to hear, but he does.

He pushes away from her and stands, he whirls around and opens his mouth, and before a word comes out, there’s a knock at the door.

Twilight clops her hooves together and she leaps off the couch, “That should be from the castle.” He watches as she moves to the entry foyer, her tail seemingly casually moving side to side, though it seems to hang when it’s up high to either side, giving him a good long look at her. His eyebrows rise as her marehood winks once, then a second time as she finally opens the door. 

“Good morning, Princess.” Comes a voice that Tim recognizes, Twilight moves back to reveal a cream colored unicorn stallion with a gray mane and tail, along with an impossible gray moustache. Tim stands up as the stallion canters into the apartment and stands before him.

“Mr. Malone.” He says stiffly.

He gulps, “Mr. Kibitz.”

The older unicorn’s horn alights and a scroll comes out of his saddle bags, he clears his throat. “From Her Royal Highness Princess Celestia and Her Royal Highness Princess Luna. Mr. Tim Malone of Earth. You are hereby appointed Ambassador to the throne from the Royal Courts of America, with addition responsibilities of advisor on human affairs to the Crown. Signed this day in my presence.”

Tim sits down, “What does that exactly mean?”

Kibitz cocks his head to the side a bit, “You now have legal status in Equestria. Princess Celestia has worked quite hard to get the language correct. You have diplomatic immunity, to an extent.” He refers to the parchment, “You are entitled, due to the proclamation, to a stipend of five hundred bits per month. As your new herd has procured sufficient living arrangements, that was deemed sufficient.”

Tim look at Twilight, who’s beaming at him, then back at Kibitz as he clears his throat again, “Now, as to your responsibilities, you are required to present yourself before the crown when commanded, but not more than two times per year. You will also be expected to attend the annual Grand Galloping Gala. You are also expected to continue to work with Princess Twilight Sparkle when it comes to your acclimation to life here in Equestria. Do you have any questions?”

Tim sits down heavily, after a moment, he shakes his head. Kibitz smiles and brings forward another piece of parchment, “This is for your signature, acknowledging your receipt of your first month’s stipend.”

He takes the proffered quill and looks at it for a moment, Twilight comes up next to him, “This is good, Tim.”

Tim looks up, “But America doesn’t have Royal Courts.”

Kibitz smiles, “To be honest, that really doesn’t matter, it does make it easier to translate in this case though.”

Tim looks at the parchment for a bit, then finally signs. He hands it back to Kibitz, who puts it in his saddle bags. He brings out a small card, “Here is your diplomatic identification. Congratulations Mr. Malone.”

He looks at Twilight, who comes up and nuzzles him again, “This is wonderful Tim, you have full legal status here.” She nudges him, “And that means Blueblood, and some of the other nobles which have made your life somewhat difficult won’t be able to do anything.”

Tim brightens as Kibitz turns and gestures. Several earth ponies file in, with boxes on their backs, Kibitz turns back to Tim, “And where do you want your belongings placed?”

Tim gestures to the bedroom and Kibitz bids him a good day. Twilight draws him into the kitchen as the other ponies do their work, “It’s better to stay out of their way, Tim.” She says softly.

He sits on a stool at the island, “This is a lot, Twilight. I’m an ambassador now?”

She hops up next to him, “No worries, Tim.” She nuzzles him again, “Well, let’s get back to work.”

***

Tim flops down on the bed, he’s hot, sweaty, and exhausted. After Twilight was finished with his education for the day, he decided to put everything that had come from the castle away. This apartment is truly a penthouse suite. Three bedrooms, yet the master bedroom is enormous. With a walk in closet that would qualify as a bedroom back home. Given how little the ponies wear clothes, it’s quite surprising. But then again, if a large herd has quite a few mares, even the small amount of clothes each mare has would add up pretty quickly. He rolls onto his side to look into the closet, he’s taking up nearly half of it, though with several pairs of shoes along with all the clothes that white mare had given him. He’s never going to use them all.

“Tim?” Citrus calls out softly as she pokes her head into the bedroom.

He mumbles in response, causing her to hop up on the bed, she nuzzles him, “Tim, why is there a bag full of bits on the kitchen counter?”

“It’s my stipend.” 

She cocks her head to the side, “Oh, for what?”

He sits up and explains the visitors he’s had that day, her eyes get round at the mention of his new position. But she lets him finish before she comes up and hugs him. Then she recoils, “Tim, what have you been doing?”

He shrugs, “After Twilight left, I got busy. Mainly unpacking my stuff, and getting the books put away.”

Her nose crinkles, “You stink.”

He reaches out a hand and cups her cheek, “I thought you liked the way I smell.”

That gets a giggle from her, “Well, not when you are stinky like this. Go take a shower, and get dressed up. We are going out to eat. To celebrate!” She rears back and clops her hooves together.

He furrows his brows, “To celebrate what?”

“Our new herd, of course.”

He just shakes his head as he rolls off the bed, as he pads into the bathroom, Citrus calls out, “Want some company in the shower?”

He thinks for a moment, “I really do, but I have a feeling we might be spending a bit more time in the shower than we need to.”

She trots into the bathroom as he pulls off his shirt, “So, then when we get home, we can have sex?” She sits down, her tail waving from side to side.

Looking at her face, and the expectant, happy smile there, he kneels down and kisses her, deeply. His tongue battling with hers as he wraps his arms around her. Then she surprises him by pushing forward, and in moments he’s on his back with her laying on him, her hooves gently moving all over his body. He runs his hands along her back, he grips her rump, getting her to moan into his mouth. He moves forward on her body, running his hands over her cutie marks, then he traces along the point of her hip, just off of her rear leg, she pulls away and shudders. His eyebrows rise and he repeats the motion, getting a guttural moan from Citrus.

Finally, she opens her eyes, he smiles at her, “Did that feel good?”

She gulps and nods, “That was amazing. Like lightning along my body.” She’s able to gasp. She moves off of him, “I want you to be clean and smelling nice when we go.” He rolls over and gets to his feet easily, though he feels a pinch on his rear. He stops and turns around, Citrus is looking at him with a lascivious smile as her horn quiets. He shakes his head as the strips off his shirt. He opens the glass door to the shower and glances back, Citrus has disappeared. He shakes his head as he turns on the water and adjusts the temperature to his liking. Before long he’s showered and dried. He stands in the closet with just his boxers on. That white mare had a great love of formal clothing. Despite his initial protestations when she had come in to measure him, about him wanting just simple clothing, he has enough formal clothing for a lifetime of Grand Galloping Galas. He picks up the sleeve of one barely pink suit, he’s not much for the color, but he has to admit, the cut with the maroon shirt to go with it and brilliant white tie makes it very striking. He moves over to a dark blue jacket with white pants, the shirt is also brilliant white with a purple tie. How did that mare know so much about human clothing? He shakes his head as he gets into the outfit.

“Tim.” Citrus says quietly behind him, he turns around as he finishes tying the tie around his neck. She is wearing a cream colored dress with a bright purple accent, this one his different though, it has a cutout for her tail, which is exquisitely braided, and has a big purple bow right over her rump, with the tails of the bow weaved into the braid of her tail.

She breathes in softly, “Tim, you are beautiful.”

He smiles, “I was just about to say the same about you.” He extends an arm, “Shall we go?”

She rears up and gives him a hug, “Most certainly, love.”

***

The walk to restaurant row, the heart of Canterlot’s culinary district, goes much like his first walk through the capitol. The streets are dotted with ponies in pairs or small groups, all who give him a wide berth. Few ponies seem to be alone, and those that are seem to be the quickest to change streets at the sight of the strange creature.   

A group of pegasi quickly usher a griffin inside one of the restaurant chains, much to the griffin’s surprise.  An older filly quickly grabs a little pony in uniform and pulls her inside. The idea of new and strange doesn't always sit well with the pony mindset. Though, Tim feels better with Citrus walking this close to him. But before too long, they are in front of a set of double doors. 

“Well,” she says, “Here we are.”

He looks up at the sign, he can tell it’s a restaurant, but not much more than that. He looks down at her, “Where is this, exactly?”

She looks confused for a moment, then she smiles, “Oh yeah, about our written language.” She shakes her head and points with a hoof, “Spitfire Grill”

He nods as she draws him into the restaurant. The lighting is muted, and the booths are arranged to give a modicum of privacy to each table. A pegasus is standing at the entry, she chirps happily, “Hiya Citrus, and who do we have here?”

Citrus cocks her head to the side, “Orange Swirl, Cayenne has told you about Tim, right?”

Orange Swirl’s cerise eyes widen as she looks up at Tim, “The hoo-man?” She asks stiffly.

That gets a giggle from Citrus, “Yeah, the human.”

The tan pegasus comes closer, looking up, “You’re tall.” She extends her wings and hovers a bit, she gives him a considering look, then she glances down at Citrus, “Well, you have pretty good taste in stallions, Citrus. He’s different, but certainly not ugly.”

Citrus rolls her eyes as the pegasus lands and folds her wings, she moves over and grabs some menus, “I’ll let Cayenne know you are here. She had mentioned something about a celebration. I’ve got just the table in mind.”

Citrus grins as they are brought back through the restaurant, and they are quickly seated in an intimate booth. Water is brought out, along with coffee. Tim leans back as Citrus looks over the menu. She looks up for a moment, then moves around the round bench to sit next to him. She places a hoof on the hard cover of the menu, “Spitfire Grill,” She says softly, then she points to the second line, “Food with attitude.”

That gets a laugh from Tim, “Given her love of spicy food, I believe it. That linguini last night had plenty of attitude.”

She opens the menu and starts reading off the different menu items, as she is doing so, she sidles a bit closer to him, and soon she’s pressed up against him, her head on his shoulder as she lazily reads the menu to him. Then her entire body tenses and her head moves away, Tim looks at her, her ears are flicking back and forth. She moves away from him, though he can feel her shudder as she moves.

Tim reaches out a hand, “Citrus, what’s wrong.”

She shudders and shakes her head, Tim looks around, then he sees a large unicorn stallion walking slowly towards their table, he’s light gray in color, with a black and dark gray mane and tail. Green eyes stare daggers at Tim and Citrus. Tim narrows his eyes and tries to slide closer to Citrus, only to be stopped by her hoof. 

Tim is able to keep a hand on her withers, she ducks her head, “Hello father.”

Tim’s eyes widen, he looks at the stallion, who puts on the fakest of fake smiles, “Yes, Citrus Blush. Good to see you too.”

Citrus tries to pull into herself, the stallion looks at Tim, and the smile falls off, “And who in Celestia’s name are you?”

“I’m Tim.”

“And exactly why do you have those claws…” he frowns, “or talons of yours on my daughter?”

Tim bristles at the tone of voice of the stallion, “I’ve told you my name, wouldn’t it be courteous to tell me yours?”

The stallion’s eyebrows rise, “I’m quite surprised my errant daughter has not informed you. My name is Rotten Apple, but that doesn’t address the question,” His horn lights and a golden magical field enfolds his hand and draws it away from her withers, “Why are you touching my daughter?”

“Father, please…” Citrus starts

"Father please?"  He snapped a glace back at Citrus sternly, "I am your father, and I will see to your safety."   Turning his head back to Tim, he narrows his eyes. "I am waiting for an answer, you furless primate."

Tim stiffens, “Citrus is my marefriend.”

“Marefriend!” He shouts, “The buck I’ll let some monkey man mount my daughter.” He stops and shakes his mane, “Our family has a proud and noble heritage. We are hard workers, strong, trusted by the princesses. Do you want to dishonor that? For the sake of your dam, please. There are many wealthy, wise, and respected stallions around this city. Several are even graduates of the Gifted Unicorn School. Young filly, you are coming with me, and…” His muzzle is covered by a pink magical field and all that can be heard is muffled attempts to talk.

“Rotten Apple, you’ve had too much to drink.” Comes Cayenne’s voice, “Let me help you to your taxi cart.” She comes closer, “Do I have to eject you?” She growls at him, “This wouldn’t be the first time my bouncers have had to.”

Rotten’s eyes are as round as they can go, he attempts to shake his head in her magical field. His horn lights, and Cayenne's field disappears from his muzzle, he glares at Cayenne, then he turns back to Citrus and Tim and straightens his own jacket. He huffs as he looks back at Cayenne, “This is Canterlot, for a restaurant to succeed, it depends on reputation. Not just of the food, but of the building, staff and owner. Unicorns, visiting dignitaries, and the royal staff care primarily about social status first and foremost.  If you don't care about yourself, your family... if you don't care about your status.  Then your business will fail."

He looks at Citrus, who withdraws further, "Would you buy goods from unicorns who have a reputation for cheating and stealing? Would you buy from unicorns that have a reputation of ignoring the laws? Your relationship could have other unicorns looking down their nose at you and spreading the word that your restaurant is not... socially acceptable."

Cayenne growls “And what do you think those unicorns would think if they knew you were browbeating your own daughter, in public?”

"A level of standards is expected of all who live in Canterlot." He scoffs, “My daughter, dating some hairless ape creature? That is far more shameful.”

Cayenne moves up and smacks her snout into his, “Well, in MY restaurant, there is a reputation that ponies can eat here without harassment or belittlement.” She lowers her voice, “Now, you get out of here before I get really upset. You are banned from my establishment, Rotten Apple, if I see you here again, I’ll make sure you are thrown out of here so hard you bounce twice.”  she paws the floor, “Now get out of here.”

Rotten looks at Citrus and Tim, but a soft growl from Cayenne gets his hooves moving. Another unicorn stallion, nearly four times the size of Cayenne walks up, he crowds up against Rotten to keep him moving. Cayenne smiles as the stallion is finally led from the restaurant and she hops up into the booth, “Sorry it took so long.” She nuzzles Citrus, “I was finishing up my paperwork so we could enjoy dinner together.” She recoils, “Citrus, honey, he’s gone. It’s alright now.”

Citrus is just sitting there, trembling, Cayenne looks up at Tim, “Help me with her.” She says as she presses herself up against Citrus. Tim slides over and brings her up against him, Cayenne nuzzles Citrus, keeping close as Tim rubs his hand along her side, trying to get her to calm down. She looks at one of the servers, “I need a drink for her, right now. A mojito to start, and we’ll go from there.”

Rapidly, the drink is brought in, Tim holds the cup for Citrus to drink from the straw, Cayenne growls, “If he weren’t a stallion, I’d beat him from here to Baltimare.”

“What’s his deal?” Tim asks.

“Rotten Apple really lives up to that name of his.”

Tim brings Citrus into his lap and wraps both arms around her as Cayenne holds up the drink for Citrus to slurp down. It takes three tall drinks before the trembling subsides. But finally Citrus relaxes into Tim’s arms.

As their food arrives, Cayenne grins at Tim, “I think you’ll have to carry her home.”

Tim leans over and kisses Cayenne on the cheek, getting her to blush heavily, “Thanks.” She glances around, “You know, Tim. Public displays of affection like that are actually frowned upon.”

He cocks his head to the side, “But you ponies are always rubbing up against each other.”

Her blush deepens, “Close contact like that isn’t kissing, Tim.” She ducks her head, “You will very rarely see a stallion mount a mare in public.” She looks around, “That’s why I have the booths arranged the way I do, to give couples and herds enough privacy.”

“So, it’s okay here?” 

She nods, though her blush remains, “It’s okay, but if you did that outside, you might get a couple of old mares doing more than giving us dirty looks.”

He looks down, “I’m sorry.”

She rears up and runs her tongue along his ear, “I’m just letting you know.” She sits back down and mops up the last of the sauce on her plate with a piece of bread, “You like the food?” She takes a bite of the bread.

He nods, “Your food not only has attitude, but quite a bit of authority.”

“My new chef is quite skilled, wait until I get some windigo ghost chili’s. You’ll get a taste of some real fire.”

Tim gulps, “I like heat, but I think I’ll pass on that, love.”

She looks at him for a long time, taking the final bite of her bread and chewing, finally she swallows and again moves up to him, nuzzling his cheek, “I like it. You can call me love anytime, love.”
> Chapter 7.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The main door lock clicks as it is closed behind the small herd, Citrus is walking the very slow walk of a pony with too much alcohol in her. She giggles as she walks, with Cayenne on one side of her, helping to direct her as they make their way slowly down the street. It’s a very late night in Canterlot, the streets have very few ponies walking around, though the night watch is patrolling the streets. 

Citrus stumbles, and Tim reaches over to help her, “Come on my little pony.” He murmurs as he helps guide her down the street.

She giggles, “My little pony,” She drunkenly sings, “What will todays adventure be?” She stumbles again.

“Okay, I think you’ll need help.” Tim says as he brings his arms around her and pulls her up.

He puts her over his shoulder as she continues to sing, “My little pony, will there be exciting sights to see?”

Cayenne giggles, “She’s wasted.”

Tim looks down at her, “Why does her dad affect her so much?”

She shrugs, “He’s a member of the Apple family.”

Tim frowns, “Like Twilight’s friend, Applejack?”

Cayenne nods, “The same.” She glances up at Citrus, who has subsided to quiet humming. She sighs, “The Apple family is all over Equestria. Rotten is a part of the Apple family, and he’s not nearly as down to earth as Applejack and her kin. He has farm roots, but he left them behind when he discovered his special talent.”

Tim’s eyebrows rise, Cayenne continues, “Imagine perfectly aged and fermented cider, or other products that usually require a lot of time to produce. He can age that cider in seconds with his magic, he can do all of that quite a bit easier than the rest of the predominantly Earth pony Apple family.”

Tim shrugs, shifting Citrus on his shoulder as they walk, she mumbles a bit before quieting down, “So, why is all this important? Princess Celestia mentioned that because of her parents, she would need to tell them pretty quickly.”

Cayenne sighs, “Well, he’s been able to climb many of the social circles, even after leaving her Mom’s herd. Though the herd was quite small, he was the only stallion, so the herd kind of fell apart.” She looks back at Citrus, who is peacefully lying on Tim’s back, “Her mom moved out to the coast, we see her every so often, but Rotten is the one you need to watch out for.”

Tim reaches into his pocket and pulls out the small card he had been given by Kibbitz, “You know what happened today, right?”

She cocks her head to the side, “You told me something about visits from the Royal palace, I was too busy with Citrus to fully understand.” She comes over and rubs against him, “I’m sorry, Tim.”

He smiles, “It’s okay, I’m still trying to take it all in.” He offers it to her, and she pulls it from his fingers with her magic. Her horn gets brighter so she can read the text, then she looks up at him.

“You are an ambassador to Equestria now?”

He nods, “That’s what I’ve been told.”

That gets a rich throaty giggle from Cayenne, “If you had shoved that card in his face, he would have been fawning over you.” She stops for a moment and makes a face, “Hell, he’d probably be offering you a spot at his company.” She floats the card back into his pocket, “A lot of the nobles will be wanting your attention now with that little wrangling from Princess Celestia.”

“Wrangling?”

She looks up at him, “Not everypony that shows up here in Equestria from outside our borders can become an ambassador. And even with you being the only human, that wouldn’t automatically qualify you for it. You must have made a good impression on the Princess for her to grant that to you.”

She looks up at him then uses a hoof to push on his thigh gently, “You’re blushing.” In response, his blush deepens, she moves over and rubs up against him again, “It just shows how good a stallion you are.”

Tim looks down the softly lit street, two ponies in armor are walking towards them. Cayenne notices them as well, “Good morning.” She says to the guardsmares as they get close.

“Why are you carrying that pony?” One of the mare’s gets close to Tim.

Cayenne moves between the two, “It’s alright, she’s had a bit too much to drink, we are taking our herdmate home.”

The guardsmare snorts, “Herding, with that odd creature?”

Cayenne bristles, “You are royal guards, and you don’t know about Tim?”

The first guardsmare turns on Cayenne, “We are rarely in the castle, we have a job to do.”

“It’s quite alright, my little ponies.” Comes a new voice, getting the guards to freeze for a moment, then they both turn around and immediately bow. Princess Luna comes forward, “How goes the night my faithful guards?”

The first guardsmare steps forward, “Princess Luna! We were just investigating when we saw a pony being carried by an unknown non-equestrian.” She looks back at Tim, “We were concerned we had a pony napping situation on our hooves.”

Princess Luna arches an eyebrow, “With another pony walking with him?”

The guard rubs the back of her neck with a hoof, “We were just finding out what was going on.”

Princess Luna huffs quietly, “On your way, young Timothy here is an ambassador from the Kingdom of Earth, and this is the herd he has joined. Everything is quite alright here.”

Tim watches as the guards make quick apologies and canter off, both of the large earth ponies tossing glances over their withers back at him as they make their escape. Princess Luna giggles softly as she turns to Tim, “It is rather late for you to be out.”

He nods, “Rotten Apple showed up and got Citrus all worked up.”

“Ahhh,” Princess Luna says, “I know of some of the difficulties there. Rotten wants her to get into a herd befitting his status.” She sighs, “Keeping his eye on the prize, and having a daughter in a noble herd would certainly help his standing with the other nobles in Canterlot.”

He looks at her, “But not with you?”

Luna smiles, “Of course not, while many of the nobles do try to curry favor with the crown, they have their own affairs to tend to. We don’t really worry about the nobility of Canterlot, or of any part of Equestria to be honest, so long as they tend to their duties and treat the citizens under their care fairly. My sister and I do not interfere in the day to day lives of our little ponies. Though any pony that feels the need can petition us for a decision.”

He looks down at Cayenne, “It’s worked quite well for thousands of years, Tim.”

Citrus starts to squirm a little on his shoulder, he brings her weight a bit closer and rubs the top of her head for a moment, “It’s very different from what we had back home.”

Luna smiles, they’ve talked about the government back home, he never joined a party, never really cared about politics, so he could basically only tell them what he remembered from high school. She turns and gestures, “You are heading home, correct?”

Tim nods as they start walking, Princess Luna falls in next to them as they walk, she keeps an eye on Tim, “Are you okay carrying her?”

He shifts a shoulder, she’s not tiny, she has some weight to her, but not all that bad, he smiles, “Nah, I’ve got her.” He hugs her tighter, “Feels good to help her.”

That gets a knowing smile from Luna as she looks down to address Cayenne, “Are you getting to know the new stallion in your herd?”

Cayenne takes a long time to answer, she looks up at Luna, then up at Tim, after a few moments her face colors, “We are still figuring it out, Princess.”

“As is natural, he’s been in your home for less than two days.”

She looks up at Tim, “I can see what Citrus loves about him.” She says, almost too quietly to hear, she flicks her ears back and forth, “He has a good heart, and he’s fiercely loyal.” She looks up at Citrus, who is snoring softly on his shoulder, “And he really loves Citrus.” She looks down, “I’m finding that I hope I am deserving of that love.”

That gets Tim to stop, both other ponies stop as well, Cayenne’s face a mask of confusion. Tim gestures with his shoulder at Princess Luna, who’s horn lights and Citrus is drawn carefully off of him, he smiles at Luna thankfully and kneels down to Cayenne, “Don’t say that Cayenne, I can see how Citrus feels about you. I’m paying attention.” He puts a hand on her cheek and gently wipes a tear away, “I’ve been in your world for a year, I’ve known Citrus for a long time while I was healing, but I have learned quite a bit in my time here. And since Citrus wanted me in your herd I’ve had to think long and hard. You mentioned that Citrus would be our lead mare, right?”

She nods.

He rubs her ear gently, “That means that you trust her to lead us, to make the best decisions for us, and we should place our faith in her in making the decisions for the herd?”

Cayenne nods, “You’ve been listening to Twilight, haven’t you?”

He smiles, “Yes, I have, and I’ve been listening to Citrus as well.” He leans forward and nuzzles her cheek softly, getting a bright blush from her, “She thinks we can work out together, and I trust her in that. That means that what I feel for her, applies to you as well.”

She looks up at him, “Really?”

He nods, and with a happy squeal, she jumps at him, wrapping her forehooves around his neck. She looks into his eyes for a long moment, then she kisses him. He finds his eyes closing as her tongue invades his mouth, their tongues wrestle for time immemorial, when they finally part, she takes a look at Princess Luna and squeaks, backing away from Tim quickly, “Sorry Princess.”

Princess Luna floats Citrus back to Tim, “It’s quite alright Cayenne, I understand the feeling.” They continue walking, and after a bit, Luna looks at Tim, “Are you planning on keeping the herd small, just you and these two?”

Tim shakes his head, “Citrus has an idea for a couple more. One more stallion she was thinking of. She said she wants foals someday.”

“Children are a joy of life, Tim.”

“Well, Twilight was quite certain, our genetics are too different for humans and ponies to interbreed.” He looks down, “Though I don’t know about being a dad.”

Luna giggles, “You never know, where magic is involved, and I, for one, believe you would be a good father.” She brightens, “This is your building, is it not?”

Tim looks up, “Yeah.”

“Then I shall bid you good night.” She nods at him and walks off, the mists off the night envelop her and in moments she’s gone.

Tim looks down at Cayenne, who smirks, “Yeah, she does that, one advantage of being an alicorn.”

It’s not very long until Tim is putting Citrus into the bed, he moves up to kiss her on her forehead, right next to her horn, and her eyes snap open, her forelegs snake out and she grabs onto his arm, “Tim.” She breathes gently.

He rubs her cheek with his free hand, she snuggles into his hand, “Don’t leave me.”

He looks at Cayenne, who is using her magic to pick the ribbon out of Citrus’ tail, “It’s time for sleep.”

Citrus huffs, “You promised.”

His eyebrows rise as her cheeks color, “Citrus, you are more than a little drunk, you are in no shape to…”

She growls, “I know I’m way too drunk, but I want you and Cayenne to.”

Tim freezes, looking at Cayenne, who’s magic has sputtered, dropping Citrus’ bow to the bed. He looks down at Citrus, “Don’t you want to be sober enough to enjoy that too?”

Citrus shakes her head, “No, the sooner the better, I want you to show her the love you showed me.” She flicks her tail from side to side, “Please?”

He looks at Cayenne, who’s face has gone beet red, though her tail is fanning back and forth, the smell of the room starting to gain a spicy musk. Cayenne ducks her head, “It can wait until tomorrow, Citrus.”

That gets a giggle from Citrus, “Yes, we can all enjoy each other tomorrow morning, but I want you to do it now.”

Cayenne moves over and nuzzles Citrus’ cheek, “Citrus, it’s fine, we can wait.”

Citrus rolls over and heaves herself onto her hooves and wavers as she’s standing up, “I heard some of your conversation with the Princess,” She looks at Tim, “You said you trusted my decisions.”

Tim glances at Cayenne, who is sitting down, apparently trying to control her tail, which is wiggling underneath her, then back at Citrus, “Of course I do, but…”

“But nothing.” Citrus interrupts, “I may be very,” She burps softly, “drunk.” She shakes her head and brings a hoof up to her temple, “Owww.” She breathes heavily for a moment, “But I want you to show her.” She narrows her eyes, “Please Tim?” She turns her head to Cayenne, “Please Cayenne?”

Tim sits on the bed, and moves over to lie next to Citrus, who he gathers into his arms, “Citrus, are you sure?” 

She frowns, “If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t be asking, Tim. You made me feel wonderful. I wish everypony had a first time as good as ours. But I know for certain that I want you and Cayenne to have sex.”

Cayenne moves over and lies down next to Tim, “Citrus, I’m fine right now. We can wait until morning.”

Citrus growls again, “Cayenne, after I told you how wonderful Tim was, you said you were curious.” Her face spreads in an evil grin, “Well, it’s time for your curiosity to be satisfied.”

She sighs and looks at Tim, “Well, our lead mare said she wants to watch us, what do you think?”

He shrugs, looking at Citrus, “I guess I’m up if you are.”

He feels pressure on his pants and looks down, his crotch is glowing with a flickering rose colored aura, Citrus giggles, “You aren’t up yet, we need to fix that.” The magic shifts to his shirt, popping the buttons of the shirt as it’s ripped open, “Come on, Tim, let Cayenne see you.”

Tim looks at Cayenne, who’s gone very still, he sighs softly, yet another shirt that is going to need some repairs. He takes it off and unbuckles the black fake leather belt, it’s always awkward taking off his clothes with someone else there. He closes his eyes as he works, first the pants make it to the floor, then his boxers join them. He turns around and looks, Cayenne is there, her tail flagging, her marehood winking as she lowers her front and looks back at him, “I’m ready.” She says softly, closing her eyes.

He looks over at Citrus, who is giggling as he moves over to Cayenne. He looks at her for a long time, watching her wink. She certainly has seemed to be thinking about sex, her arousal is leaking down her legs as her clit winks in and out. The spicy smell is certainly more pronounced now. He looks at Citrus, who nods with a big smile. Cayenne, on the other hand, huffs, “Come on, mount me already.”

He looks down, he’s gone from completely flaccid to full mast in record time, her smell affecting him strongly, he reaches his hands out and puts them on Cayenne’s cutie marks, getting a loud moan from the mare, and an extended wink from her marehood. Then he leans down and catches her clit with his lips, his tongue running along it, tasting her. That gets a yelp from Cayenne, who jerks and spins around, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Told’ja.” Citrus slurs, “he’s not like other stallions, your first time isn’t going to be in and out and done.” She giggles and rolls onto her back, “You are in for a treat.”

Tim look at Citrus, then at Cayenne, “Did I do something wrong?”

Cayenne looks at him, her eyes wide, then she shakes her head, “No, Tim. You just...” She looks at Citrus who is humming happily, lying on her back, then back at Tim, a small smile coming to her face, “You just surprised me, that’s all. Normally a stallion would just mount me like that. We’d have quick sex, and Citrus would be satisfied.”

Tim frowns, “Quick sex? Why would you want sex to be quick?”

She sits down with an audible squishing sound, the blankets are going to have to be washed in the morning, Tim thinks, she takes forever to search for the right words, “That’s how it goes, with stallions. Normally with mares, we will do what you just did, I mean, don’t get me wrong, the feeling of a stallion entering you is like nothing else,” she glances down at his member which is still throbbing between his legs and shudders a bit, “But I’ve never had a stallion use his mouth on me.”

That gets a snort from Citrus, and Tim smiles, “What do you want, Cayenne? I’m up for anything if you are.”

She looks over at Citrus, “Citrus said you did that with her, but I thought she was pulling my horn, but I guess you actually did.” She thinks for a moment, “Do you like how I taste?”

Tim nods, “Different than Citrus, more spicy than sweet. But yummy.” He smacks his lips, getting her to flinch and blush even deeper.

Cayenne shrugs, “Well, if you are up for anything, I guess I am too.”

That gets a smile from Tim, and a giggle from Citrus, Tim gestures to her, “Well, we can start with how you were, and work from there.”

Cayenne’s ears flick as she once again turns around, presenting her plot to him. Tim finds he’s getting more into it, it could be how she smells, which is making his thoughts get fuzzy from time to time, he again rubs his hands on Cayenne’s cutie mark, enjoying her moans. He watches her wink, and finally runs his tongue up her lips, tasting her, she flinches a bit as her moans get louder. That gets him smiling as he brings a hand up and runs a fingertip on her extended clit. Her forelegs collapse, depositing her head onto the pillow, as he lets his tongue invade her marehood, her body continuing to shudder as her marehood gushes more of her arousal. After a moment he runs his hands along the forward part of her leg, along her hip, and just like with Citrus, she shudders in pleasure, her tail flagging straight up. He keeps running a hand along the tender flesh as he flips over to lie on his back on the bed, shifting to have his head between her spread rear hooves. Tim puts his hands on her hips, pulling her towards him, she nearly collapses onto him, but now he has access to her teats. Slowly he brings a nipple into his mouth, rolling it around with his tongue, both of his hands are caressing her cutie marks, and he enjoys the feeling of her entire body twitching in pleasure. 

He reaches up and gets his hands around her barrel, lifting her off the bed and bringing her onto his chest. Her tail is now thrashing back and forth over his erection, giving him little bursts of pleasure as he cups her cheeks. He brings her face down to his and kisses her, his tongue invading her mouth, after a few moments she starts kissing him back, he lets his hands roam all over her body, enjoying the soft fur. She doesn’t seem to favor running her tongue along his teeth the way Citrus does. Cayenne concentrates on attempting to subdue his own tongue. He fights back, and their tongues writhe between both of their mouths as they both fight for dominance, he reaches back and finds the moisture and heat of her marehood. He slips a finger in and rubs it on the inner wall there, getting her tongue to lose coordination as her breathing becomes stuttered. He opens his eyes and looks at her horn, which is glowing brightly, throwing sparks all over. He brings his other hand down and starts playing with her clit, her horn glowing even brighter.

She pulls away from the kiss as her eyes close tightly, just a few minutes has her on the edge. He reaches up with his teeth since his hands are occupied and bites her ear, gently. That gets her breathing to stop for a moment as sparks shoot from her horn as she shudders in his grasp, the entire room lighting up brightly as she silently climaxes. After several seconds she collapses onto his chest, panting as she pulls away from his hands. Her eyes open and very slowly focus on his, she brings up a hoof and uses a fetlock to stroke his cheek, “Wow.” She’s able to say softly.

“I made a lot more noise the first time.” Citrus slurs softly, lying on her side, her own horn flickering softly.

That gets a blush from Cayenne, “I’ve never been loud, had a big herd growing up.”

Citrus giggles, “He’s good, isn’t he?”

Cayenne nods, “I could pass out right now.” She looks at him, “You haven’t finished yet, right?”

He shakes his head, her eyes widen, “You mean, we aren’t done?”

He smiles, “Nope, not unless you want it to be done.”

She smirks, “Not on your life, love.” She moves forward and kisses him strongly, her tongue invading his mouth. She moans softly as his hands roam along her body, he takes the time to slowly run his fingers along her spine, feeling the bones through her fur, he runs his sensitive fingertips down her barrel, enjoying the feel of her rapid breathing as he moves his hands under her belly to play with her teats. As he does so, her body starts to shudder again, he’s able to open his eyes to see her horn glowing brightly, after a moment she pulls away and looks at him intently, “I want you inside me, now.” She’s able to pant.

He levers himself up as she turns again to present her plot to him, winking furiously, he smiles, “You wish is my command, love.” He lines up and notices a bit of a problem, with him on his knees, she’s actually too tall for him to enter her comfortably. He looks around frantically, and apparently Citrus has been paying attention, two large pillows float over towards him. He grabs them and puts them on the bed right behind Cayenne’s hooves and puts his knees on the pillows. That gets a grin, just enough, he grabs Cayenne’s hips and rubs her cutie marks for a moment.

“Come on, please!” Cayenne moans as he teases her entrance with the tip of his penis. He looks over at Citrus, who is watching intently, a soft smile on her face. He smiles at Citrus as he slowly enters Cayenne, who moans and shudders as he does. He has to close his eyes, the feeling of her strong walls trying to suck him in overwhelms everything as he is hilted all the way inside. Then he starts to move slowly, nearly pulling all the way out before pushing slowly in. The feel of her is nearly overwhelming as he increases his pace. Before too long he’s pistoning into her frantically, just relishing the feeling. 

A soft slurping sound and more moaning gains his attention, he finally opens his eyes to see that Citrus has edged her way over to Cayenne, and is kissing Cayenne, her hooves around Cayenne’s neck. Watching the two of them kiss nearly drives him over the edge. He reaches out one hand and fumbles around a bit, running his hand along Citrus’ thigh. She sighs and spreads her legs at his touch. She’s easily as wet as Cayenne is. He plays with her own winking slit as she starts to moan. Cayenne pulls suddenly away from Citrus as her entire body spasms, getting a shocked gasp from Tim. Her horn again emits fireworks, bright sparks that fly everywhere. She’s clamped down on him, as her walls pulsate, pushing him over the edge, he groans loudly as he cums strongly. His entire body vibrates as he pumps his seed into her. Time stops as his entire consciousness is focused on the feelings originating in his groin, and flashing like lightning throughout his entire body. 

Finally it’s done and he collapses onto her back, panting. She looks back at him with a knowing smile, her horn lights and she gently brings him to lie between them on his back. He wraps an arm around her and brings her close as her horn quiets and she snuggles up against him. On his other side, Citrus wraps a hoof around him and also snuggles close to him, her horn lighting and bringing up the comforter to cover them all. She giggles softly, “That looked pretty good.”

He fights to slow his breathing, his heart is pounding in his chest, “I feel as though I’ve run twenty miles, and enjoyed every step.” He’s able to pant.

Cayenne giggles as she runs her tongue along his ear, “You were spectacular, love.”

He squeezes her closer, “So were you.” He squeezes both of them tightly to him, “I’m the luckiest human in existence.” 

***

“Sir.”

Tim shifts a bit at the sound.

“Sir, we’ve landed. It’s time to deplane. Unless your ticket is to Tokyo.”

That gets Tim’s eyes to open wide. He looks around, there are a few others on the plane, gathering their bags and moving their way down the aisles. He looks up at the steward that has just shaken him gently, “Huh?”

The steward smiles, “Welcome to San Francisco.”

Tim leans forward, looking around, was it all a dream? Equestria? Citrus? Cayenne? More than a year in a dream? He shakes his head as he stands up, “Thank you.” Is all he’s able to say. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and powers it on. As it boots he opens the overhead bin and pulls out his laptop bag. He shakes his head softly as he walks up the jetway. “This isn’t possible.” He mutters softly.

Everything seems normal to him as he walks through the terminal, gets his bag from the carousel and heads out to get a cab. In big cities, its normal for cabs to hang around, looking for fares, so he sits down and consults his phone for the address to give to the driver. Tim reaches under his shirt, feeling his chest. The scars that’s he’s had to live with for much of the last year, to his mind, are gone. 

Fremont, California is his destination today. He’s going to fill out the final paperwork for the job, and pick up the keys for his truck. The cab drops him off in front of a mobile building. He looks at the logo on the side and climbs the stairs to open the door.

“Good afternoon.” Says the receptionist. That gets him to shake his head, she sounded familiar.

He’s able to smile, “Tim Malone, I’m a new hire, a driver?”

She nods, “Yeah.” She opens a drawer and rummages around, “Here’s your paperwork, your keys, and we’ve got temporary housing set up for you.” He stands up and glances out the window, the cab is sitting there. It only takes a few minutes to sign the sheets of paper as they are presented to him. She gives him a flirty smile as he puts his hand on the door, “Thanks Cayenne.” He says absently as he heads out into the California sun. 

The cab drops him off at an apartment complex and he swipes his card to pay for it. He sighs as he shoulders his laptop case and shoulder bag, pulling his suitcase behind him as he walks.

“Hey, let go of me!” Comes a voice, a very familiar voice.

“Citrus?” Tim whispers, all of his luggage ends up on the ground as he sprints around the side of the building. He skids to a stop. Citrus is there, with a long catchpole’s rope around her neck. Two men in uniforms are there, one with the other end of the catchpole, the other is holding… “Hey, you get away from her!” Tim shouts.

The other officer looks up at her, “Mind your own business, son.” Tim blinks, that sounded like Rotten Apple, he lowers what he’s holding over Citrus’ face, he works on the buckles in the back, and she’s got a muzzle over her face. She looks at Tim plaintively as the officer tightens the muzzle.

He looks up at her, “It’s a dangerous animal, and we are taking it where it belongs.” He smiles evilly, “Don’t worry, we’ll make it quick.”

"No."

"If she was more docile she might have been used as a breeder by one of the drug companies.  As is she's pretty useless."  

"She's NOT USELESS!"  Without another thought, Tim runs at the man, lowering his shoulder to get the man in the gut.

Tim gasps as his eyes open to a dark room, Citrus is peacefully sleeping next to him, Cayenne on the other side. He brings Citrus a bit closer and kisses the tip of her horn. She smiles softly and snuggles into him, whispering his name as she settles back into peaceful slumber. He smiles, it was just a dream. He closes his eyes once more, enjoying the feel of both girls next to him.
> Chapter 8.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim opens his eyes with a groan, he looks down and sees a bright burgundy colored mane with a faint rose colored horn sticking out bobbing up and down. The horn in question is glowing softly and soft slurping noises greet his ears. He finds his eyes crossing, she’s got him very near to climax. He looks to his side, Cayenne is lying on her side, her rear legs are spread wide, and Citrus is between her legs, her muzzle buried in Cayenne’s marehood. 

“Cayenne, wait, please! I’m gonna…” He’s able to gasp as he peaks. She sucks even harder as he starts to explode, his toes curl as he unloads into her mouth, his breathing becomes ragged as his orgasm overloads everything else. Feeling her tongue and the strong suction of her mouth on his member makes his eyes roll back as his hips buck harder into her mouth. 

She keeps sucking hard as his orgasm finally starts to abate. She finally lets his oversensitive member slip from her lips, she looks up, licking her lips lasciviously, “Good morning, love.” She says softly.

He blinks as she giggles and reaches down to grab Citrus, who she brings up and kisses her deeply. Both unicorns run their hooves over each other’s bodies as they make out. After a few moments they break loose, then both of them crawl to lie on each side of him, cuddling closer and reaching forehooves over his chest. He lies there, a faint smile on his lips.

After a bit, Citrus giggles and raises her head to look at him, she glances at Cayenne, “He tastes good, doesn’t he?”

Cayenne nods, “He doesn’t like to release into the mouth very often,” She looks intently at him, “Why not?”

Tim finds himself blushing, he can feel the heat of his face, “Karen didn’t like the taste, she liked going down on me, but never had me finish in her mouth.” He shrugs, “I guess I got used to fighting to keep control.”

Both mares giggle, and Cayenne snuggles her head closer, “I like when you lose control, Tim.”

For a long time, Tim lies there, an arm around each mare, holding them close as they just chat, and enjoy the morning together. Finally Citrus gets to her hooves, she moves to the edge of the bed and sits down, curling her tail around her rear, “Tim, you’ve been living here with us for a month now.”

He nods.

She blushes and looks at Cayenne for a moment, then back at Tim, “As the only stallion in our herd, you certainly have a say with decisions like this.” She gulps, “A very good friend of both Cayenne and I has been talking to us about courting into our herd, and she’d like to go on a date.” She smiles.

Tim frowns, “You want me to go on a date with a mare I’ve never met?”

Citrus’ ears flick, “No, she’d like to go on a date with all three of us.”

His eyebrows rise, “I’m open to it, if it’s okay.”

She smiles, “Of course it’s okay, her name is North Point, she’s been a friend for a while, and she’s heard about our stallion, she’s curious.”

Tim looks at both girls, both of their faces are quite red, his brow furrows, “Okay, what gives?”

Cayenne ducks her head, “Well, she’s interested because of one thing.”

“Huh, what?” Both of their ears are flicking back and forth, and both are immensely interested in the sheets of the bed. He thinks for a moment, then it hits, “Sex?”

Both nod, Citrus looks down, “I’m sorry, we were having lunch with her. And then we started talking about the other day, and how wonderful you were. We had forgotten that she was sitting there for a few minutes.”

Cayenne giggles, “If she had been a pegasus, she would have had the wing boner from hell.” 

“Wingboner?” Tim asks.

Both the girls smile, “Pegasi usually express their emotions via their wings.” She flicks an ear, “Earth ponies and unicorns primarily emote with our ears, tails, and faces. But it’s very different for the winged ponies. For many pegasi, they can usually communicate with each other with their wings, but what the other tribes can easily tell is aggression, fear, and if a pegasus is interested in a pony.”

Tim looks between both girls, “what does a wingboner look like?”

Cayenne cocks her head to the side, “Well, usually if the wings are up and fanned out from the body, that’s typically a wingboner, it’s from old mating dances they did before the tribes unified, though doing some of the motions are still in their instincts. It’s like a plumage display.”

“Like a peacock.”

“Sorry, a what now?”

Tim shakes his head, “It’s a kind bird from home, they have big feathers that the males show off.”

She nods, “Probably similar.” She sits up, “If their wings are up, but in line with their bodies, that’s more a fear response, ready to fly off at an instant’s notice. And if they are more to the side than up, that’s a threat display, trying to make themselves look bigger than they are.”

Citrus has been nodding, “But even then, watch the ears and face, ponies aren’t one dimensional.”

Cayenne snorts, “I remember reading about what happened during the unification, after hearth’s warming, pegasi always found it hard to communicate with the other tribes, we just don’t communicate the way they do. Those problems have continued to today. But not nearly as bad.” 

They lapse into silence as the girls come up and lay down with him, he’s got to admit, cuddling with the girls is always a good thing. Though there are times he misses television, the ponies tend to not really enjoy much sitting still. He nuzzles Citrus, then turns his head and nuzzles Cayenne, “I’d like to get a job.”

Cayenne snorts as Citrus sits up, she puts a hoof on his chest, “Why? Aren’t we taking care of you well enough?”

He shakes his head, “That’s not it.” He sighs, “I enjoy cooking occasionally for you two, I always enjoy spending time with you. But remember, before I came here, I had a job, I did stuff.”

Cayenne leans over and nuzzles him, “You need more date nights?”

He stops for a moment, he wants to growl, but they aren’t understanding him, “I like spending time out with you, and the more I’m outside, the more the ponies around here have seemed to get used to me. That is good, but I don’t like being dependent on you.”

Citrus smiles, “You think you are a burden to us?”

He nods.

She giggles and looks at Cayenne, “Stallions, they are all the same.”

That gets his eyebrows to furrow, “Huh?”

They are interrupted by a knock on the front door. Tim looks at Citrus, “Any visitors planned for today?”

She snuggles into his shoulder, “No, I was planning on a quiet weekend at home.”

Cayenne grumbles as the knock is repeated, “I’ll get it, or they won’t ever leave.” 

Tim leans back, holding Citrus close as they enjoy the comfort of the bed, then Cayenne’s voice wafts into the room, “Citrus, Tim, I think you should come down here.”

Citrus looks at Tim, her ears flicking, as he sits up and walks to the closet, he grabs a pair of boxers, along with the pony equivalent to jeans and a pullover shirt, it has Citrus and Cayenne’s cutie marks on the pocket, something they had bought for him recently, he finds he likes having that on. And having those cutie marks being worn by him has made going out in the city a lot better. He’s still trying to figure out why. He follows Citrus down the stairs and into the kitchen, Citrus bows when she gets into the kitchen, then Tim sees why. Princess Twilight Sparkle is sitting on a stool in the kitchen, Cayenne is standing before the stove, a pot is being stirred.

Twilight looks over at him, “Hi Tim.” She says with a big smile. She looks over at Citrus, “I’m sorry Citrus, but I’m going to borrow your stallion for a while. I have a theory on his origins, but I’m not hopeful about this theory. Though I need to test it out with him. So, we’ll be gone for a while.”

Citrus sits on her haunches, “A while?”

She nods, “Likely most of the day, but it could be longer. Is that okay?”

Citrus looks up at Tim, then she looks back at Twilight, “May we have the honor of breaking fast with the Princess of Friendship first this morning?”

Twilight smiles as a mug floats to her, encased in Cayenne’s magic, “I’d love to.” She takes a sip and flinches, “Spicy.” She murmurs, getting a smile from Cayenne.

As Citrus and Cayenne work on making the food, Tim moves up and sits across the table from Twilight, “What is going on?”

Twilight glances at the two unicorns busily preparing food, “I’m afraid I can’t divulge everything here. There are royal decrees from Princess Celestia that I must honor. She agrees with me that the chances of this being successful is rather low. But we are exploring every avenue we can to give you the option of returning to your home.”

Tim looks at Citrus, who is nosing around in the fridge, she’s humming as she works, her body swaying back and forth, and most of all, her tail sways a bit, giving him quick views of her,  “If this does work out…” he trails off, not knowing what to say.

Twilight follows where he is looking, then a knowing smile appears on her face, “I would never send you away without giving you the opportunity to say goodbye.”

Tim looks down, does he want to ever say goodbye to Citrus and Cayenne? He leans back in his seat a bit as he thinks for a long time, and soon a plate of scrambled eggs with onions and peppers is placed before him. A big cast iron pan then floats over and scoops some shredded potatoes onto the plate, followed by shredded cheese. He looks up as the same happens with Twilight. The alicorn’s horn lights, and she brings a forkful of the food to her mouth. She chews slowly, “Do you like everything with spice in it?”

Tim takes a bite, the eggs bite back, but in a good way. He smiles as the heat works through his body, “Don’t like the heat, Princess?”

She flushes, “I guess I’m not used to it.” She takes another bite, “It’s very good.”

Cayenne and Citrus hop up onto their own seats with plates for themselves. And much of the meal is eaten in relative silence, only broken by the occasional gasp and murmur from the Princess as she eats. Though once or twice, it seems as though her mane starts to waft like a candle flame as she eats. He glances at Citrus and Cayenne, who seem unconcerned about the changes. Though hearing the princess pant as she reaches for a glass of water makes him suppress a smile. 

As the plates are flying into the sink, Princess Twilight stands up and walks slowly towards the front door. Though Tim notices that she is keeping her tail quite firmly over her privates. She looks back at him, “Coming?”

Tim moves over and collects hugs and kisses from both of his mares. Citrus fusses over him, her horn lighting and a hair brush zipping from the bathroom for her to quickly run through his hair before she kisses his cheek. Then he follows Twilight out the door and down the elevator. She remains quiet as they finally exit the building and start walking towards the palace. Tim follows curiously, watching how the other ponies in Canterlot react to the Princess of Friendship walking among them. Several ponies greet her as a close friend, and at times their progress is slowed as Twilight talks easily with the other ponies. Though one thing interesting stands out to Tim, with Twilight there, the ponies seem to accept him quite a bit more than when Citrus or Cayenne are with him. Much of the time, he doesn’t even get a second glance. That actually makes him happy, walking with the Princess of Friendship is having a very positive effect. Maybe he can fit in with the ponies after all.

Before too long, they walk onto the grounds of the Royal Palace. Twilight stops just inside the gate and looks at him, “Tim, please put your hand on my withers.”

Tim looks around, then slowly places his hand on her warm fur, she looks forward and her horn lights. It brightens quickly and with a loud pop, she disappears. Tim looks around, where did she go? A few moments pass, and with another loud pop, Twilight reappears. She trots over and growls, “Well, that should have worked. Let me try again.” He dutifully places his hand on her withers and once again, she pops out of existence, leaving him standing in the courtyard. He hears a snicker from one of the guardsmares at the gate. In moments she pops back, muttering to herself. She looks up at him, “Well, it seems your magical resistance applies to teleportation.” She smiles, but the smile makes him want to take a step back, “I guess we’ll have to fly.”

“Fly?” He yelps, “How would we fly?”

She spreads her wings and turns sideways, “Climb on.” She chirps, her tail fanning back and forth. “It’s either fly, or we are going to have to spend hours on the train.”

He looks at the purple alicorn who is not much more than half his height, “Aren’t I a little big to ride you?”

She closes her eyes for a moment and her tail clamps to her rear for a moment. Her wings stiffen with the primaries on the very tips pointing straight up. After a few seconds, it seems she gets more control of her wings with a huff. She stops and looks at him, “Sorry, was distracted for a moment, but no. I’m an alicorn, and far stronger than anypony of my size. You aren’t that heavy.” With that, her horn lights again, and he’s gently picked up and placed on her back. He finds his knees fit right behind her wings, she folds her wings and walks around a bit, getting used to his weight. She looks back at him, her wings unfurling, “Ready?”

He gulps and nods. And with a great flap of her wings, they are airborne. She doesn’t seem to want to go for much height as she barely clears the palace wall. She banks gently, heading around the palace towards the great dropoff towards the valley. As they clear the city, she tilts forward and they start to accelerate. Tim yelps and flops forward, putting his arms around her neck as they continue to drop.

“Don’t worry Tim, I’ve been flying for a while now. I’m pretty good in the air.” She calls over the wind. Their destination is quite obvious, he’s been told the name of the small town before, with the big crystal palace in the midst of the modest houses. She angles towards the castle as they get closer, and soon she’s backpedaling her wings to slow down and land on a balcony of the crystal castle. She keeps her wings out while he shakily climbs off of her, though he notices a bit of a sigh from her as he puts his feet on the crystal flooring. She takes a moment to adjust her wings as she folds them at her sides. She gestures for him to follow, “What I’m to show you has been determined by all the princesses of Equestria to be kept most secret. You are not to speak of what you see to anypony, not even your herdmates. Can you do this?”

Tim swallows and nods as her horn lights for a moment, a cool feeling passing over his body. She smiles and walks through a big set of French doors, and they are in some kind of throne room. Six, no, seven thrones are arrayed around a big table, she can recognize Twilight’s cutie mark at one, with a smaller throne next to it. The others have different cutie marks. One of them is the three diamonds of the white pony that made his clothes, he also recognizes the tri-colored lightning bolt coming down from a cloud for the rainbow maned pony that brought him to the hospital.

She trots from the room into the corridors of the castle, walking with a purpose. He follows sedately, looking at the few palace workers as they clean and do daily work for such a large building. A quick descent down a set of stairs and soon they are before a large door, with her cutie mark in the center, and the other cutie marks arrayed around it. Her horn lights and she touches her cutie mark with it, causing the door to open. Tim follows as they make it into a cavernous room, well lit from fixtures floating throughout the room, she looks back, “This is my lab.” She gestures around, but off to the side is something that gathers all of his attention. A horseshoe shaped mirror is sitting there, though it seems to be connected to a wood and metal device. Wires snake all over and seem to connect a glowing book to large spheres next to the surface of the mirror. Twilight reaches out a hoof to the mirror and the surface reacts, glowing softly and looking like water in a calm pool.

“This is a portal.” She says, “to another world.”

His eyes widen, “And you are only now showing me this?”

She nods, and holds out a hoof, “Are you aware of the multiverse theory?”

Tim searches back, thinking furiously, “Where anything that can happen, has happened, and each possibility is its own universe?”

“That’s a decent rundown of it. But this mirror doesn’t go to many different possible universe’s, just one. And based on my research, along with the research of a friend, I really don’t think this is your home. Though why it hasn’t been abandoned as an avenue to send you him is there is technology, much like what you have described as being in your world. And they stand on two legs like you, have different schooling, it’s quite different from Equestria. Though there are also marked similarities with my world as well. So, we are going to go through, and you can see if this is your world, or even close enough to your world.” She looks up at him, “Are you ready? It’s rather shocking to pass through the portal, so be careful.”

He nods and she slowly walks through the portal. He takes a deep breath as he follows. As he fully breaches into the portal, the energy of it pulls him through. His scream is sucked from his lungs as he is drawn to an infinite length and pulled through the power between the worlds. 

All of a sudden, it’s over. He’s on his knees, panting. He looks down, his hands are the same as they always have been. He takes a moment to feel his body, everything is normal. “I never get used to that feeling.” Comes Twilight’s voice. Tim turns and looks.

“Twilight,” He’s able to breathe as he levers himself to his feet, he reaches out a hand, “are you okay?”

“Yes, thank you, Tim.” She says softly, looking up at him, she’s still shorter than him. Though she’s now wearing clothing, a light blue blouse with a hot pink tie, along with a pleated skirt, knee high socks along with purple boots that reach almost up to her knees. She gets to her feet unsteadily.

“You look, more human, but not.” He says. Her skin is the same lavender as her coat was as a pony, her mane remains the same, dark purple with a lighter purple and gumball pink stripe. She takes a few deep breaths and stands more firmly. She offers a small smile.

He looks at her face, “How old are you, Twilight?”

She blushes, “How old do you think I look, Tim?”

“You look like a teenager.” Is all he can say.

She sniffs, “I’m twenty-four years old, Tim.”

He chuckles, “Could have fooled me, you look like you are sixteen.”

“Really?” She twirls a finger in her hair for a moment, a faint blush appearing on her face. She finally stops and focuses on him, clearing her throat multiple times, “Well, let’s get going,” with that, she marches off. 

Tim looks around at the school, and off to his left is a big football field. Twilight walks on the sidewalk next to the field. The different colors of the humans the way Twilight is continues here. He sees boys in football jerseys, their skin every different color of the rainbow. As he gets close, one older man is talking to a younger boy. He’s extremely skinny, he has actually a fairly normal skin tone, then Tim sees his hair, which is green. The dad is dark green with unnaturally red hair. Tim tenses as he hears what the man is saying at full volume, “You’ll never get into college, your grades aren’t good enough. And I’ll be damned if you are going to be a layabout and stay in my basement.” Tim comes to a stop as the man continues, “You’ve got to get a football scholarship, son. Just like me!” A hand closes on his arm, Tim jerks to see Twilight, gesturing for him to follow. He starts to walk slowly, as the man continues, “You have to, or you’ll be a failure, a nothing.” Tim grits his teeth as he follows Twilight down the street.

Soon, they make it into the town, the buildings look fairly normal to his eye, though the colors seem to be a bit brighter than he’s used to. He watches a young lady with unnaturally pale skin, along with big pink sunglasses and electric blue hair walk down the other direction. On her head is a pair of headphones and she’s bopping to the electronic music he can hear from them. A turn of his head has him looking at a parking lot. Three girls are working to wash a car. Though one is a pale yellow with bright red hair, and a large pink bow in that hair, another is unnaturally white, with light pink and purple hair, and a third girl with orange skin and magenta hair. Another older teen is there, with bright white skin and an indigo blue mane. She seems to be watched the three younger girls as they bounce around, making more of a mess than necessary to wash a car. She looks up and notices Twilight, a bright smile appearing on her face as she waves, getting Twilight to wave back. Twilight giggles as they keep walking.

Tim moves up next to her, “You like walking?”

She nods, “Ponies walk most places.”

Tim huffs, “I wasn’t one to get in a car for a few hundred yards, but this is a fairly long walk.”

She giggles, “Oh hush, we are almost there.”

He follows as they turn down another street, this one fairly commercial. Twilight turns and opens the door for Tim, the smell greets him, making him smile, he looks at Twilight, “A Chinese food restaurant?”

She smiles and shakes her head as she makes her way among the tables, they get to where the restrooms are, and she opens a door, revealing a set of stairs. Tim follows her up the stairs. Two doors are along the hallway. Twilight walks past the first and stops in front of the second door, she knocks on the door, and it’s quickly answered. “Twilight!” Comes a voice, and a young woman emerges. She seems to be a few years older that Twilight, with almost human colored skin, though it’s more orange, and bright red and yellow hair. She reaches out and hugs Twilight tightly.

After a moment, Twilight extricates herself from the other woman and turns to Tim, “This is Sunset Shimmer. She’s actually from Equestria.” She smiles, “I’ve been writing to her about you. She agrees with me that it’s not very likely that this is your world.” 

Sunset starts, “Oh, come on in. Twilight is here too.”

Tim follows the girls into the apartment. He looks around, the entry door opens to a small kitchen, though it’s hard to call it a kitchen with a mini fridge and a hot plate/toaster oven/coffee pot combo, along with a small beat up microwave. The table and chairs for the small eating area are the same as are down in the Chinese restaurant. She leads them into the living room, with a low table and pillows spread throughout. And then Tim stops dead, a near identical copy of Twilight Sparkle is sitting on a pillow, drinking from a coffee cup. Though the only difference Tim can see is she’s wearing thick glasses. He looks back at Twilight, then at the new Twilight, “Huh?” Is all he says.

Both Twilights giggle, the former pony princess comes up and draws the other Twilight to her feet, “This is my counterpart in this world, she’s also Twilight Sparkle.”

Tim shakes his head for a moment, and finally offers a hand, which she shakes gently, she looks at the Equestrian Twilight and giggles.

Tim takes a moment to look at both girls, now both have identical blushes, and both are playing with their hair, twirling it around a finger. Sunset looks at Tim, “Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Tim. I’ve told Princess Twilight here that this world is quite different than the world you’ve described to her.” She moves to the small window, which actually gives a decent view of the street, “You’ve described motor vehicles, and airplanes, and technology like big screen cell phones, and such.” She reaches to the table and tosses him a phone, “A lot of that is here.”

He presses the button on the side, and the screen lights. Though the make is not familiar to him, the screen responds to his touch, but it’s markedly different from the phone he had before he came to Equestria. He hands back the device as he looks out the window, the occasional car tools down the road. Brands are obvious, but none of the names or logos are at all familiar to him.

Princess Twilight comes over, “How does this world feel to you?”

Tim closes his eyes, he stands there for a long time. Finally, he turns back to Twilight, “sorry.”

She smiles softly, “That’s what I thought. While it would be very easy to just send you home here, and Sunset would be able to keep an eye on you.” Then she blushes deeply, “And I would be able to visit you fairly easily.” She trails off for a moment, her eyes unfocused, then she flinches and looks at him again, “I wish I had my horn here though.” She turns to Sunset Shimmer, “When you came through the first time, what language did they speak?”

Sunset frowns, “The same Canterlot accent to our language back at home, Twilight, why?”

She places a hand on his shoulder, “Tim was speaking a completely foreign language when he arrived, we had to implant a translation matrix into him for him to understand us.”

Sunset comes up, peering at him, “Really?” She looks intently, then sighs, “There are times I really miss my horn.” She reaches up and rubs the top of her forehead. She looks at Princess Twilight and sighs, “well, come with me, I’ve looked up the counterparts you’ve asked for.” She heads into the bedroom, Tim and both Twilight’s following. He looks in the small bedroom, a thin mattress on the floor, her belongings and clothes are either hung up in the tiny closet, or are in milk crates along one wall. A computer is on the floor, a pillow in front of it, the big CRT monitor is perched on a milk crate, and two more crates hold the keyboard and a mouse pad. She settles before the screen, the computer is booted up. She clicks a few times, pages showing on the screen. Tim kneels down, the screen is in the same incomprehensible script the books are back in Equestrai. And the keyboard seems to have even more letters than the keyboards back at home. 

He looks around, “Living rather modestly?” 

She looks at him, “What?”

He gestures around, she smiles, “Oh, well, before I went to Canterlot, to Princess Celestia’s school, I never had all that much, my herd broke up before I was born, and my mom passed away a few years before I went to the school. I don’t need much. And making deliveries for the restaurant pays the bills.” She looks up at Princess Twilight, “I’m doing fine here.”

She turns to the computer and starts working, “Let’s see, Cayenne Pepper, she was pretty easy to find, she’s graduated from Canterlot High a few years ago. She’s working at a customer service company. They contract with mobile carriers to provide services for them. She lives with her parents.”

Tim looks at Princess Twilight, she’s kneeling down next to him, eyes intent on the screen, she had Sunset look up his herd? He looks back at the screen, Sunset is continuing to work, “And we have Citrus Blush here.” She brings up a screen. “Wow, she graduated salutatorian in her class just this summer, and she’s in pre-law in college here in town.” She taps some more on the keyboard, “She’s got pretty good grades here. And she’s working for…” She flicks across a few pages, “One Rotten Apple, at Apple, Orange, and Cobbler Law Firm.” She looks over at Princess Twilight. “The office is less than ten minutes away.”

Twilight adjusts her glasses, “I’ll drive us there.” She stops for a moment, “Wait a moment,” She traces her finger along the screen, “That’s my dad’s lawyer. They are doing some big anti-trust case for him right now.” She looks back, “I think I’ve met her before. Once when daddy took me to visit Peach Cobbler about the case.”

Tim stands up to follow the girls, Princess Twilight stays close as they head down the stairs and through the restaurant. On the street, she leads them to a fairly expensive looking car. She pushes a button on the key and the doors open, she giggles, “Shining let me borrow his car.”

Twilight and Sunset get in the front seats, Princess Twilight hops in the back seat, dragging Tim in behind her. Another press of a button has the doors closing, and she pushes a button on the dash, and the engine rumbles to life. Tim settles into the seat as she pulls away from the curb. That feels pretty normal to him, her driving through town does feel right. But everything else about this world, it’s just different. It’s different from Equestria, and very different from his home. He watches out the window as the drive. The people here are all the colors of the rainbow. He sees bright orange skin, yellow, green, blue. Never any real normal human colors. He looks at the Princess, who is looking around as they drive, “How often have you come here?”

She stops and looks at him, “I’ve only visited a few times, this is actually the most of the city that I’ve seen.”

“And you talk to her?” He nods to Sunset.

She nods, “We’ve got books, if you write in one, it appears in the other.” She smiles, “I had to work hard to make a copy of the book so it can keep the portal open with the magic imbued in it, and I can still use the one I’ve got. That means I can keep the portal open all the time.”

He glances at Sunset, “Does she visit you?”

For a moment, Princess Twilight looks immeasurably sad, then she shakes her head, “No, she left Equestria not on the best terms with Princess Celestia.” She leans closer, “I’ve told her to simply go and talk to the Princess. But she refuses.”

“I was a different pony when I came through the first time.” Sunset says softly, “I’ve changed, but…” she trails off.

Princess Twilight and Tim look at her, her face betraying her struggle, “I burned too many bridges when I left.”

“But Sunset.”

Sunset Shimmer turns to her with a hard look, “We’ve talked about this before. If I go back and talk to the Princess, it will be on my terms. When I am ready to talk to her, I will.”

Princess Twilight reaches out a hand and puts it on Sunset’s shoulder, “You know she will accept you.”

Sunset flinches, “I was wrong, I was horrible.” She shakes her head violently, “I don’t know if I deserve to be forgiven by her.”

“You do, though. You’ve been accepted by the girls here. You can be accepted at home Sunset.”

Sunset turns and looks seriously at Princess Twilight, “I’ve told you, when I’m ready.”

Princess Twilight nods, “I’ve talked to Princess Celestia, she will be happy to see you, when you choose.”

Sunset is able to give a watery smile, “Thank you, Princess.”

“We’re here.” Twilight says as she pulls the car into the parking lot. It doesn’t take long before they are in the elevator, heading up. When the doors open, they look around. It’s a Saturday afternoon, and there aren’t all that many people here. 

Though one face stops Tim in his tracks, a young lady is walking down the hallway, yellow in color, with orange hair and very pretty cerise eyes. She’s holding a stack of books to her chest as she walks. Princess Twilight steps in front of her, “Citrus Blush?”

She stops, looking at the two Twilight’s standing there, her eyes bulge, “You’re the girl that was singing against those sirens.” Tim suppresses a gasp, she sounds exactly like the Citrus he remembers.

Princess Twilight smiles, “Yes, I was there. So was Sunset Shimmer.”

Citrus smiles, “Well, this is a private business, but I remember you from school.” She glances around, “I don’t think Daddy would mind if I took a few minutes.” She walks over to a desk, setting down the books, “What can I do for you?”

Princess Twilight looks back at Tim, “This is Tim, he’s from a world much like yours. Sad to say, not exactly like this one. But it’s very similar.”

Tim steps forward reaching out a hand, “It’s a pleasure.”

She shakes his hand, “likewise.” She says softly, then looks back at Princess Twilight, “But what does that have to do with me?”

Princess Twilight looks back at Tim, then she turns to Citrus, “Well, since this isn’t the world he came to my world from, he’s made a few friends back in Equestria. One of them was the nurse’s assistant from the hospital when he was recovering. Her name was Citrus Blush.”

Citrus looks at both Twilights, “So, you are from that portal at the school.” She looks down, “So, there’s a version of me, living in Equestria? And I’m somehow friends with him?” She looks at Tim.

Twilight steps forward, adjusting her glasses, “That’s right, everyone here has a counterpart back in Equestria.”

“You said she’s a nurse’s assistant?”

Princess Twilight nods, “Well, she does that as part of her volunteer work. She actually makes and sells cosmetics, and she’s really good at making cosmetics for covering up scars, and helps with designing for reconstructive surgery.”

Citrus sighs longingly, “I’ve always been good at cosmetics.” She looks back into the office, “Daddy said I need to get a good career. So, I’m going to be a lawyer.” The tone of her voice makes Tim step forward. Only to be stopped by a look from Princess Twilight.

“Well, we’ve taken enough of your time, Miss Blush. We are just trying to get Tim to see the world here.”

Citrus smiles, “Oh, that’s fine. It was very nice to meet you all.” She moves over and picks up her books, “You can visit anytime.” She says as Sunset and Twilight herd Tim and Princess Twilight to the elevator. 

When the door of the elevator closes, Twilight leans close, “With everything you’ve told me, Princess. The people here don’t always follow the cutie marks like the ponies do.”

Princess Twilight huffs, “But they would be so much happier if they did.”

Sunset reaches over and gives Princess Twilight a hug, “They probably would, but there is a lot of things different in this world. We all have counterparts, but we don’t have the magic here that is in your world. We are able to make do, but it’s not perfect.” She looks at the closed door of the elevator, “Sometimes, it’s just not feasible to follow your talent the way you do in Equestria.”

Tim looks at Sunset, “You said Cayenne works in customer service? So, I’m guessing she doesn’t follow her passion either?”

Sunset looks bleak, “No, I don’t think so.”

Tim growls, “We need to help them.”

Princess Twilight puts a hand on his shoulder, “I’m sorry Tim. But we can’t change their lives to how we think they should be. They must make the decision to follow their passion, or not. It’s not our right to change that.”

“But Citrus isn’t happy, and I’m certain Cayenne isn’t either.”

Princess Twilight grunts softly as the elevator doors open, “I know, Tim. But we can’t force them. If you force them, then you are responsible for the results. If they have trouble making a living because of your interference, it’s on you.” A couple of tears slide down her lavender cheek, “One thing I’ve learned about being a princess, is the responsibility of those placed in your care. You can’t play God. You cannot control their lives and force them to be how you think they should be.” Her voice gets really quiet, “You have to let them make their own mistakes.”

Tim follows them back to the car. And the drive back to the Chinese restaurant is undertaken in silence.

***

Tim follows Princess Twilight, Sunset and Twilight towards the statue base that is the portal in this world. Tim watches as the girls hug and offer parting words to each other. Tim looks at Sunset, “You said there is a counterpart for everypony in Equestria, yet we haven’t met your counterpart.” 

Sunset smiles, “It’s because I haven’t met her. She could be in the city, or she could be in another part of this world.”

Princess Twilight turns to Tim, “You don’t have to stay in my world, they do look different than you. But you can stay here if you want. Try to make a life here, with more familiar technology, a more familiar life to what you had back at your home. I’ll still be working to find a way to send you to your world. But the option remains.”

Tim looks around, the sun is slowly setting in the distance and the moon is coming out. “No, I much prefer being with Citrus and Cayenne.”

Princess Twilight smiles, “Okay, let us go then.” She takes a deep breath and walks up to the portal. Putting a hand to it for a moment, watching the marble ripple. She quickly steps through and disappears.

“It was nice meeting you, Tim” Twilight says softly as Sunset offers a hand for him to shake.

“Thanks.” He says as he walks up to the portal. He closes his eyes and takes another step, feeling the power of the portal take him. Once again, his body and mind are stretched as the currents of the energy pull him through. And then it’s over, he’s tumbling across the floor of the crystal castle.

“Oh Tim, I’m so sorry!” Comes Twilight’s voice, a tinge of panic creeping in.

“Ugh, what happened?” He asks, and finally opens his eyes, his body feels odd. He shakes his head, wincing. He puts a hand to his head. Then he stops, it’s not a hand, but a pure white hoof. He freezes, looking at the offending appendage.

"I'm sorry, this wasn't supposed to happen.  Your not from our world or the one through the portal, so the mirror shouldn't have done this.   I can fix it, i can find a way to fix it.... I hope...   I'll do everything i can i just need to do some research....  I'm sorry..."

Tim can feel a tail lashing underneath him, he looks back at it, it’s a blue violet, though it has a grayish mulberry stripe through it, he reaches up and touches his new mane, “I’m a pony now?”

Twilight comes over and nuzzles him softly, “I wasn't expecting this, but it's an easy fix," Her ears flick back and forth, "I think. I just need to do a little research and get a few things.  It shouldn't be to much trouble.” She stops in her tracks and looks back at him, “Unless you want to stay this way?”

Tim looks at his brand new hooves, "I have no idea how to be a pony!" He moans as everything catches up with him. His eyes roll back and he collapses to the floor.

> Chapter 9.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gently rhythmic motion brings Tim back to consciousness. He opens his eyes to near total darkness. His ears flick back and forth for a moment. “Huh, wha’ happen?” he’s able to croak out. He lifts his head and attempts to look around even though it’s completely dark. He can hear a body moving around, and after a moment, the light snaps on and he flinches at the sudden onslaught upon his optic nerves. He blearily looks around, watching Twilight hesitantly step towards him, a look of concern on her face.

“You okay?” She asks softly.

He looks down at his forelegs, “"Why the heck am I a pony now?"” He grumbles, fighting harder than he cares to admit to not panic.

She nuzzles his cheek and pulls away, her cheeks glowing faintly along with his, "What's wrong with ponies?  Most of us get along just fine, Tim.” She says as she turns around to walk towards another bench. She hops up on it and lays on her side comfortably. “I promise I can fix this.”

His throat constricts. “That’s not what I meant.” He looks down. “Why…am I a pony now?”

“The mirror, it reoriented you for this world,” She sighs, “It shouldn't have, because you’re not of this world... I… but the magic that makes the mirror what it is, is really old, and I didn't take that into account. I really thought your magical resistance would work. I tried my hardest to bring you along on the teleport, but it didn’t work. I thought there was no way the mirror would affect you. Then, when we went through into the other world, you were unchanged.” She looks about to cry, “I really thought it wouldn’t be an issue.” Her ears flatten. “Sorry.”

Tim sighs and lifts a hind leg to check himself out. Four legs, yes. And, yes, he’s a stallion – he doesn’t know what he’d’ve done if he saw anything different. He looks around the room, a very luxuriously appointed coach. He looks over at Twilight, who’s horn is lit as she brings a book over. “Where are we?”

“On the train back to Canterlot. I don’t use the royal coach on the train very often.” She looks around at the small bookshelf and the very comfortable benches, “But, when I do, it’s nice.”

He watches her read her book. He asks, “What am I going to do?”

A bookmark floats up and into the book, which closes and is placed next to her. She looks at him as the soft glow fades from her horn, “You have two options. You can stay with me either back in Ponyville, or you can stay in the castle in Canterlot. Your herd can be informed that things didn’t go as planned, so you’ll be away longer. Then you’ll return to them once you are back to your former body.” She sighs, “Or you can go home, and we will tell them this was a magical mishap that will take a few days to fix.”

Tim sits there in shock. He can feel his ears flicking back and forth. Twilight seems to be reading him. She smiles, “I didn’t think you would like that option. So, that’s why we are on the train right now. We will head to your home. And you can be with your herd while I work on trying to fix this.”

“What if you can’t fix it?” His voice starts to rise. If he still had fingers, they’d be balled.

She rolls her eyes. “I will fix it, Tim, I promise. I’ve already written down six theories on how to fix the problem. Once I get you home, I’m going to teleport back to my home, and I’ll be in the lab, figuring it out.” She looks down, her face coloring, “Though I’m going to have to examine you once or twice. Your new form that is.” Her wings shift a bit, and she seems to make a conscious effort to keep them under control. “I’ll also help you to learn how to use that horn.”

Tim’s eyes bulge as his forehooves quickly find the horn jutting from his forehead. “I’m a unicorn?”

She nods, adding, “And for some reason, with my scans of you, there is no more of your magical resistance.” Her ears flatten. “Though when I’m able to change you back, that may be a part of your nature, so it’s likely to come back once you are on four- er, two…” She looks over at him, “feet again.”

He looks at her seriously, again, feeling his ears flick back and forth. “Does that really frustrate you?”

She huffs a bit, then she’s silent for a long time, seeming to look inward. After about a minute, he opens his mouth to ask the question again, when she responds, “Yes, it really does.”

“Why?”

She reaches out a wing and touches the tip of his horn, a certainly odd feeling to him, “Anything else in Equestria, I can get to know with my magic; I can touch it, feel it with my magic. I can explore it, inside and out. And I would know it’s nature and function right there. Unicorns use our magic for almost everything. And you are nothing more than a black hole to me.” She hops off her bench and crawls up next to him, spooning against him and putting her forehooves around him. “You’ve been such a mystery to me.” She puts her head on top of his like a shelf, her larger size making this easy for her to do. He can feel her breath on his horn, which causes his eyes to cross, “You still smell good.” She murmurs softly.

“Umm, thanks?” He’s able to squeak. He starts to harden, but he isn’t keen on this.

She squeezes closer to him, her wing folding over his body. “I had to use magic to pick you up and carry you to the train station. You passed out so hard.” That gets a giggle from her. “I just put you down and closed my eyes for a little while until I heard you move.” She boops the top of his head, “I’m sorry about this, Tim.”

He’s able to shrug his shoulders. “I guess it’ll be okay. I just hope Citrus and Cayenne will accept me the way I am.”

She moves her head and nuzzles his cheek. “Tim, I know they love you. I don’t think it will matter to them that you are a pony now. And as you said before you passed out, you don’t know how to be a pony.” She sighs, “But they will help you learn, and when I’m not doing research, I’ll help you learn as well. You shouldn’t be this way for long, unless you choose to be.”

“Choose to?”

Twilight blinks slowly as she answers, “Well, they want foals, don’t they?”

Tim nods, “Citrus does. Cayenne is still thinking about it.”

“Well, as a pony, you would be able to become a sire.”

He finds his eyes widening, children. With Citrus Blush?

Twilight hugs him tighter, “Tim, your breathing just got a lot faster. Are you okay?”

He’s able to nod, “I can be a father?”

“Yes, you are a pony, down to your DNA right now. You can have foals, so long as your mare is in heat.”

She trails off, holding him tightly as the train continues, he almost lets it lull him to sleep, but he fights it. “Twilight?”

“Mhhmm?” She murmurs softly.

“Why did you take me there? Based on everything you’ve learned before we went through, you could have easily dismissed that world well before we went through.”

She freezes for a moment, then she finally sighs, “I’m still learning about that world. It’s so similar to mine, and yet so different. The students wear what essentially are cutie marks on their clothing. Like Sunset Shimmer, she wears a shirt that has her cutie mark as a pony on it. Fluttershy wears a skirt with the same three pink butterflies she has in my world. And the clothes that appear on me when I step through…” Twilight Sparkle stops for a moment, her head moving. He glances over to see her looking at her flank, “Has the exact same cutie mark on it that my coat has here. Yet it doesn’t transfer to my skin. I’m still the same pony there as here, I just have a different form. Pinkie Pie here is exactly the same as the Pinkie Pie there. Yet… it seems as though some of them don’t follow their passions the same way the ponies did.”

He sighs, “Well, they have different lives; an economy that seems a lot different than you have here.”

She nods, “I know. So, some of their priorities changed.” She moves her hoof from around his shoulders down, it touches his flank softly, “Have you ever done anything that makes you truly happy?”

“What do you mean?” He nearly yelps as she giggles and moves her hoof back around to simply hugging him. This was getting uncomfortable; as attractive as the princess was, he was a man of a herd!

“I... I'm just wondering,” her voice trails off for a moment, then she perks up, “When was the last time you did something for yourself, or for others that... made you feel happy and at peace?”

“I...I don't know...some things are relaxing I guess...why do you ask?”

“Just trying to figure out if you missed your cutie mark or never found one?”

“My mark?” He yelps, “My cutie mark?  I'm not a pony!” He lies his head down and huffs, “I'm not supposed to have a cutie mark, ok Twilight?”  He shifts a bit so he can see her out of the corner of his eye, “Hell, I'm not supposed to have hooves...” Tears start to flow, “I want my hands back, I want my face back...I don't want to be stuck as some....”

“Some what?” Something about her voice quiets his tirade.

“Some... some...  some stallion...  I want to be myself.”

She makes soothing sounds and squeezes him tighter. “Tim, when I first went through that portal and ended up being similar to you. I had a serious freak out. You probably could have heard my scream half way across town.” She nuzzles the back of his neck, “If Spike had not been there, and helped me calm down, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“Why did you go through in the first place?”

She stops for a moment. “Well, you know Sunset is from Equestria originally.”

He nods, she takes a long time to tell him about her first adventure through the portal, back when it opened once for three nights every thirty moons. She finishes up by saying, “As with most of everything else I’ve told you, this needs to remain between us, okay?”

He nods. He takes a moment to calm down, though he finds he has to shift his hips a little bit, things seem to be moving around back their of their own volition. He lays his head down, “I don’t know what my calling is. I don’t have any special talent. I’m a good truck driver, I’m good with tools, and I’m a decent mechanic. That was out of necessity, though. My dad worked steel, I know he found his calling there.”

Twilight hums softly, “So, I know I’ve asked whether or not humans get cutie marks before, but I’m trying to understand why you don’t.”

He shakes his head, “I don’t know, Twilight. Maybe my world doesn’t have magic? And that world through the portal, the magic is different enough that you don’t have the humans there getting cutie marks.”

She growls, “But that doesn’t make any sense, if we get cutie marks, and they are our counterparts, they should get them, too.”

He looks down for a moment, “Maybe they don’t get them in their skin, but some part of the magic there draws them to put them on their clothing. An unconscious connection to the magic back in Equestria.”

She again puts her head on top of his and snuggles closer to him. “That’s possible, but it doesn’t seem they get their moment of realization, that moment of crystal clarity, of purpose, that a pony gets when they get their cutie marks at the same time. Twilight over there was almost five years older than I was when she started wearing that mark on her clothes. When she discovered how much she loved to learn, how right it was for her.”

“And Citrus, Cayenne?”

She snorts softly into his mane, "I was actually pretty excited at first," She murmurs softly. "A chance to see people that aren't following their cutie marks like in Equestria. Humans who have taken a different route then the ponies.   But did you see her outfit?  I couldn't see any marks, nothing that could be an alternate cutie mark.  Nothing that could show she found a different love. And she seemed so, listless, almost empty."

He shrugs. “She was wearing business attire, many companies I guess have stricter standards for what one wears at work. She may be more casual off the clock, and it might show up there."

"That could be possible. I'm going to have to find out more, see if I can get Sunset and others to find out more information.  This started as a request from Applejack though."   She stops for a moment, "Not our Applejack, theirs. She knows about our Apple Bloom here getting her cutie mark. And though she hasn't told her little sister about her counterpart’s success, at the same time she's watching her sister trying more and more... dangerous? No, I guess the term would be extreme; they’re more like just activities with her friends. They have their own version of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, foals trying to find their place and cutie mark. But instead of looking for cutie marks, theirs are trying to find their place in the world and make their mark on the internet. Making online videos or such trying to get attention, validation, the things foals get when they get their own cutie marks. Applejack doesn't want to see her sister get hurt physically or emotionally scarred from doing something bad." Shaking her head slowly, Twilight leans against Tim.

Tim looks at his flank, “I don’t know, Twilight.”

The entire train car shifts with a jolting clank. Tim pops his head up, only to have Twilight hug him tighter and shush him gently, “It’s alright, Tim, the train is just about to stop.”

He pulls away from her and gets to his hooves. He looks down. “I don’t even know how to walk like this.”

She giggles, “I’ll show you, Tim. It’s easy. Foals can do it, and you can, too.”

Before the train finally stops in the Canterlot station, Twilight gets him to where he is able to walk through the carriage easily. He follows her through the streets of Canterlot. The moon is nice and bright as they make their way towards Tim’s apartment. He notices more odd looks from the ponies as he walks with the Princess. He sidles closer to her. “Why are they looking at me like that?”

She looks around, then shakes her head hard, causing her ears to flop. “I’m sorry, Tim. I was thinking.” She murmurs softly. She keeps watching as they continue to walk, she finally moves back closer to him, “They are curious how a full grown stallion can be without a cutie mark of his own. Don’t worry, I will get you fixed up soon.”

He follows her into the lobby, watching the doormare do a doubletake. He sighs and follows Twilight into the elevator. The ride up ten floors passes quickly and soon Twilight is standing at the door, Tim a few paces behind her as she knocks.

After a few moments, the door opens and Citrus opens the door, she immediately brightens seeing Princess Twilight. She gestures for them to come in.

“I’m so sorry, Citrus.”

Citrus’s eyes narrow as she takes in the stallion and Twilight. “I don’t see Tim here. Where is he.”

Twilight’s wing moves and the tips of the feathers are placed over his mouth as she steps up. “There was a problem. You see, magic sometimes does things we don’t expect, and, well, this is one of those times.” She looks back at Tim as she withdraws her wing and folds it. “Tim is right here.” He closes his eyes tightly, if they reject him now… He can’t stop his body from shaking.

Citrus looks at him for a long moment as Cayenne trots into the entry foyer. “I’ve got coffee brewing…” she says then she trails off. “Citrus, what’s going on?”

Tim looks down, “She’s right, something went wrong, and I’m a pony now.”

Tim peeks a bit, looking on as both mares look at him with identical looks of shock on their faces. They both just look at him for a long time, then they look back at Twilight. “You aren’t messing with us, Princess?”

Twilight hangs her head. “I am going to fix this. It shouldn’t be more than a day or two.”

“Better be.”

Tim closes his eyes. Nothing could be worse than this. Then he feels an impact, and he’s on his back, two warm bodies are hugging him tightly. “Oh, Tim.” Citrus says softly, nuzzling him.

“Couldn’t have chosen a better tribe,” Cayenne says, nuzzling his other cheek.”

“So, it’s okay?” He’s able to ask.

Cayenne lifts her head away, “Why would we care what form you are? You are still Tim, right?”

He nods and gets a tight hug from Cayenne, along with Citrus tightening her hold on him. “We love you, Tim. It really doesn’t matter.”

A loud sigh brings everypony’s attention to Twilight, “I was a bit worried. I left with a human and brought back a pony.” She smiles, “I promised Tim, and I’m promising you, I will fix this.”

Citrus extricates herself from Cayenne and Tim and moves over to Twilight, “He’s still our Tim, no matter what he looks like.” She says softly, nuzzling the larger princess. “You said you’ll fix it.” She looks back at Cayenne and Tim. “I think he’d be happier as a human.”

Tim rolls over and gets to his hooves. With Cayenne still connected to him, he moves over and sits on his haunches, offering a hoof, “Please, Princess. I don’t mind being a pony. But I just feel…” He looks down, his ears flicking back and forth, “Off.” He looks back up at Twilight, “I don’t feel natural, it’s actually the craziest feeling.” He shakes his head, “I think I can get used to it. But I’ve spent all my life as a human, and walking around on all fours like this.” He holds up a hoof, “It kinda feels like I’m walking on the tips of my fingers and my tip toes. It’s the craziest thing.”

That gets a smile from Twilight, “You will get used to it. But I’m going to go. I hope to have an answer for you soon.” With that, her horn lights and she pops away.

Citrus looks at where Twilight was for a moment, “She makes it look so easy.” She murmurs, then she turns back to Tim. She watches Cayenne for a long time as the other mare just sits holding on to him, nuzzling his face, her eyes closed and a big smile on her face. She moves over and hugs Tim, “Don’t mind if I do.”

After a few moments of both mares loving on him, he finally huffs, “I wasn’t even gone twenty-four hours.”

“We know,” they say in unison. Getting a groan from him.

Cayenne pulls away, “Tim, it’s not how long you were gone, but we’ve heard about magical mishaps happening in Ponyville from time to time, and always related to Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Citrus giggles, “Yeah, Lyra told me that when that blue mare came to town, Pinkie Pie’s muzzle was magically removed.”

“What was her name?” Cayenne asks, moving back to nuzzle him.

Citrus giggles, “I have no idea.” She moves away and turns to sit in front of Tim. “My heart fell when I saw the look on the Princess’s face. I thought something bad had happened to you.”

Tim bites his cheek for a moment, stifling what he wants to say as Cayenne finally detaches herself from him. She leads them all into the kitchen. “I’ve got coffee done already, but are you hungry?”

Tim’s stomach picks that moment to grumble loudly. He looks down at it, then back up. “I guess so.”

Both girls giggle and look at each other. Citrus trots from the kitchen while Cayenne shuts down the coffee maker, “Well, it’s rather late. But I don’t think it’s too late.”

“For what?”

Citrus walks back into the kitchen wearing a small satchel which clinks softly. So, she’s planning on buying something. She looks at Cayenne, who nods. “Let’s go.” The yellow mare says.

Tim follows the girls as they walk to the front door. “Where are we going?”

Cayenne looks back at him, her tail waving back and forth, teasing, “Some place we couldn’t take you.”

“Some place that’s a guilty pleasure for both of us.”

Tim shakes his head, “Okay, where?”

Both of them smile and say in unison, “Hayburger!”

***

Tim opens his eyes. The wider setting of the eyes means his vision now has a wider field. But the ponies have their eyes mainly on the front of their faces, so he still has depth perception like he did as a human; it’s just a little different. That little change made all the difference in the world, which made bringing a hayburger to his mouth was more of a challenge than he would have liked. He remembered watching the girls use their magic to lift their own burgers easily. He’d finally gotten so frustrated with the experience, Citrus had used her magic to feed him gently, snuggling and nuzzling him in the restaurant. He was so drained from the entire day, when they got home, he had crashed before the girls, though having them at his side when he woke up was a very nice thing.

He looks at them, remembering how many times they’ve mentioned scent when talking about him. He finds he can flare his nose a bit. He inhales softly. That almost gets a snort from him. The difference between how hayburgers smelled when the girls occasionally brought them home, and fresh from the restaurant, just boggles his mind. He understands why the girls like a simple mix of flour, rice flour, hay and water, wet shaped into a patty then tossed in oat flakes and baked, along with hay that’s deep fried with seasonings is absolutely wonderful.

A little bit of pressure in a very sensitive area has him using a hoof gingerly to push the covers down. He’s always been average size for a human, and the girls have said what he doesn’t have in length, he makes up for in girth, staying power, and skill,  is now quite evident here. He’s certainly at full mast right now. Though the shape of this penis is something he’s trying to understand. The tip is flat flared, the length is certainly longer than it was as a human, but it does look a bit skinnier. Many of the same sensations greet him, fully extended, it’s just as sensitive as his was as a human. He gingerly reaches out a hoof and just slides it down his new length, getting a soft moan to escape from his lips. Okay, perhaps this is a bit more sensitive than he thought it would be. A thrill passes through him as he imagines what it must be like to make love with to his mares with the equipment nature intended at last.

“Someone woke up happy,” Citrus’s voice purrs. He looks over at her. She’s got one eye open and a smile on her face. She reaches up and kisses him, her tongue running along his teeth gently. She pulls away with a smile, “Want to try it out?”

“Oh, I wanna watch.” Cyan says, getting Tim to glance over at her. Her hungry smile is nearly identical to the one on Citrus Blush’s face. That gets a smile from him, and a nod.

Citrus shocks him by running her tongue quickly down his length, getting a loud moan from him. She giggles, “What do you think, Cayenne? Have him just go at it?”

Cayenne looks thoughtful. “Nah, make him work for it.”

Their grins start to go from hungry to predatory as they come closer, Tim decides to go for broke and pulls them towards him. Where he learns something, even with a longer tongue, three way kisses are awesome. And awkward. He can hear the chime of magic from one of the girls and he can feel his penis being fondled gently, getting a groan from him. The girls pull away, Citrus’ horn is glowing softly, and she is smiling, “Like that?”

He’s able to nod as she ducks her head down, bringing the tip into her mouth gently. His eyes roll back as the sensations threaten to overwhelm everything. Then Cayenne darts forward, running her tongue along his horn, which is faintly glowing. The resulting sensation nearly lifts him off the bed with a yelp. He claps a hoof to his horn, shuddering.

“You like?” Cayenne purrs.

Tim glances up, he can barely see the tip of his horn, it’s still glowing, “What the hell was that?”

Citrus comes up and leans against him, her tail intertwining with his, “That, is the worst kept secret of unicorns.”

Cayenne laughs, “No kidding, everypony knows the horn is at usually the least sensitive part of a unicorn, but get one excited to where the horn glows…” She trails off, licking her lips.

He looks from one mare to the other, confused. “I don’t understand.”

Citrus giggles, “Have you ever had an orgasm, but was still ready to go down there?”

He furrows his brow, “I don’t think so.” He glances up, “I’m not even certain how I made it glow.”

“Oh, Citrus did that, getting you all excited, it’s an involuntary response. It doesn’t work with all unicorns, but with you, it certainly does.”

“What exactly happens?” Tim asks dubiously.

“Lay down on your side. I’ll show you,” Citrus says, nudging him gently. He lays on his side as Citrus straddles him. She ducks her head down quickly, running her tongue along his horn, getting a guttural moan from him as the sensations override everything else. “When your magic is in your horn like this.” She says softly, her breath on his horn causing small twitches all throughout his body. “It’s more sensitive than anything else.” She slowly puts her lips on the tip, sliding his horn gently into her mouth, the feeling getting his body to jerk uncontrollably. His groans and moans get giggles from Cayenne, who buries her muzzle into his neck. While he can feel her tongue parting his fur and caressing his skin, the sensations from his horn are overwhelming anything else.

Citrus’ lips meet his forehead, and she sucks strongly, her tongue writhing along the length of his horn, getting a shout from him, her mouth brightens as his horn throws off sparks, lighting up the inside of her cheeks. She snorts as the orgasm overwhelms him. He jerks as the orgasm flows through his entire body, leaving him panting and spent. She pulls off and takes the tip of his ear in her mouth, nipping it gently and getting another full body twitch from him. She breathes softly into his ear, “You like?”

He’s only able to nod. She moves up and kisses him, her tongue intertwining with his for long moments, she moves a bit to be able to whisper into his ear, “You want to keep going?”

He’s quite aware of how painfully erect he is at the moment, but he’s not ready for that just yet, he pants softly, “Lie on your back.”

Her eyes widen, “Even as a stallion?”

He nods, “You both are yummy.”

She giggles as she lies back, and he focuses to turn his body and get his hooves underneath him. His new senses are assaulting him right now. Her smell caused his head to feel funny before, but now, It’s overwhelming. A big part of him wants to just straddle her and enter her taking her until her folds overflow with his seed, but he fights that feeling; he wants her to feel as good as she made him feel. And he’s not confident enough to try to do the same with her horn. So he looks at her splayed marehood lying exposed before him. She’s leaking quite a bit and winking often, and he runs his tongue along her slit, relishing her taste. And if anything, her scent increases as she moans lustfully under his tongue’s ministrations. “Ohhhh, yeah.” She murmurs.

He reaches his hooves up and caresses her cutie marks as he works on her, his tongue is much longer than it was as a human, he uses that to his advantage as he plunges it deeply into her, getting her own hips to buck a bit as he explores her interior with his tongue. He looks up, her own horn is glowing, and he watches Cayenne move over and envelope Citrus’ horn with her own lips, getting a loud gasp from Citrus. Tim grins as she winks long and hard, he moves and traps her clit between his lips. Sucking hard while watching her face. She’s beyond words, beyond thought as she climaxes strongly, the sparkles from her horn lighting up Cayenne’s cheeks.

When she collapses to the bed, Cayenne moves over and kisses Citrus. Tim’s cock lurches a bit as he watches the two mares make out. Then he notices something, Cayenne’s rump is in the air, her tail flagging back and forth, her own marehood winking furiously. Tim grins as he gets unsteadily to his hooves. The only one here to not have an orgasm is Cayenne. He noses underneath her tail, getting a yelp from her. She looks back, “Well, if you want to, go ahead.” She says softly. That’s all he needs as he rears up, his chest landing on her back. He doesn’t have any hands to direct himself, but he finds he can feel what he’s doing. When he feels her wetness, he hunches his hips forward, entering her with a gasp.

“Pretty good, isn’t it?” She moans as he shifts a bit to enter her fully. He can only grunt as he starts to thrust. It feels incredible – perfectly, hot, tight, wet, and it’s making him tingle all over like electricity. He thrusts a bit more, feeling a bonfire of pleasure consume his horsecock In a matter of seconds. He hilts instinctively, bucking wildly as he cums strongly into her. As he does, her horn flares brightly, sparks shooting everywhere, joining the ones from his own, mimicking the action lower down. Cayenne rears her head back and for a moment, both of their horns are crossed together. Everything in the room is pushed around, Citrus squeaks as the magic brings her closer to them as they are lost in pleasure. Afterwards, he’s spent, panting onto her back as he tries to regain his composure.

He’s able to groan incoherently as he pulls out and falls over onto his side. After all of that, he has no energy left for several minutes until he can groan, “Sorry.” The chime of magic sounds and he finds himself lifted. Cayenne moves over to lie with him as he’s settled down next to Citrus, who nuzzles him.

“That…was amazing.” He gasps. Getting a giggle from both of the girls.

“Yeah, it was.” Cayenne says.

He grunts a bit, “I usually am able to last quite a bit longer there.”

Cayenne nuzzles his neck, “It’s all right quick shots, normal for a stallion. If anything, it’s odd for us that humans can just keep going forever until they cum.” She wraps her hooves around him and squeezes tightly, “That hit the spot perfectly, Love.”

Citrus kisses him for a long moment, then she smiles. “Love, you my beautiful stallion,” She whispers.

Sleep is wanting to overtake him, “Love you too, my wonderful mare.” He’s able to whisper back as he loses that particular fight.

***

Cayenne is downstairs, working on brunch. Though he’s had to explain the term to the girls. He’s up in the bedroom with Citrus. His eyes closed as she whispers into his ear, “Now breathe.” He takes a deep breath and she tickles his ear with her own ear, getting it to flick and he looks at her.

She growls softly, “You need to focus, Tim. Close your eyes until you can feel the magic.”

He dutifully does as she tells him, he roots around inside his skull, trying to feel something. He finds his lungs starting to burn, he’s been holding his breath. He lets it go with a huff, “I don’t feel anything.”

She comes up and nuzzles him, “You are just learning. You weren’t born with that horn. You have to learn, love.”

He tilts his head and kisses her, relishing her taste. He pulls away a bit, “You want to go again?” He whispers, giving her throat a little nip.

She snorts, “You are cute.” She glances around the room, “Maybe later tonight.” She giggles, “I’m still worn out from earlier. Now closer your eyes and focus.”

He sighs and again closes his eyes. They’ve been trying for over an hour -- her voice becomes a droning in his ear as he tries to see the light, or whatever that has to do with magic. He had the magic earlier, an involuntary reaction. So, he can use the magic, but to be able to use it at will is another story altogether.

He can feel her breath on his ear as she softly whispers in it, “Light and warmth, like it’s just over your withers, just out of reach, but you can feel its effects.” She purrs the words softly. He flicks an ear and shakes his head, for a moment he felt what seemed like warmth.

She giggles, “Your horn did glow, for an instant.” She rubs her cheek along his, her horn touching the tip of his, the connection there getting a gasp from him, “Okay, let’s try another way.” She says, “Just feel what I’m doing, and you should be able to feel this open up to you.”

The electric spark that got a gasp from him turns into a warmth all over his body, though he can feel the warmth is coming from her. She continues in almost a sultry voice, “You can feel the warmth from me. Now, try to feel it from a different source.”

There it is! The warmth bathing his mind also shows another source, and it’s exactly like she described it, it’s like a light source just out of view, eagerly he reaches for it in his head, hearing Citrus yelp, “No, don’t grab at it!” But her warning is too late, his horn sparks, blowing them apart.

“What the hell is…” Come’s Cayenne’s voice as she gallops through the door and skids to a stop. She looks at Citrus, who is shaking her head hard, then she puts a hoof to her head in pain. And Tim, who lies on his back, stunned. Cayenne giggles, “So, you showed him how to find magic and he reached too hard.”

“And he sparked.” Citrus growls. She flips onto her hooves and walks over to Tim, picking him up with her magic and placing him on his hooves, “You don’t reach for the magic; you open yourself up to it.”

He furrows his brow. “What is the difference?”

She leaps forward and hugs him. “What did I just do?” She says softly into his ear.

“You gave me a hug.” He says dubiously. She pulls back and walks a few paces from him. She sits down and holds her forehooves wide, inviting for a hug. She wiggles her eyebrows and he moves over to her and hugs her.

“That second time was me opening myself to a hug. Understand the difference?” She smiles, “One is taking, grabbing. The other is inviting.”

“But magic doesn’t have consciousness, you said.”

She nods, “No, it doesn’t. But it is energy. It doesn’t want anything, but it is there to be used. You open yourself too it, and you can harness it. You try to force it, and it can rush into you more than you can handle. That’s when you spark. And things can get really bad if you spark.”

“Like how bad?”

Both girls shiver for a moment. Cayenne looks at Citrus, then back at Tim with fear in her eyes,/“An experienced unicorn, one who has been using magic for years, could die, and if the power level is high enough, it could cause a backlash that could affect everything around him. It’s been about eighty years since the last time that happened -- the unicorn carved a forty-body-length-wide crater when the surge finally died down. It is rare, but ponies have died from such surges.”

Tim snorts, “You are teaching me something that could kill me? You are using something that could kill all of us?”

Citrus shakes her head, “The pony in question had suffered an injury and was trying to reestablish his magic. And without somepony there to help him…” She looks at him, her ears flicking back and forth, “What you are learning, given time, will become second nature to you.”

“So, I’m not going to blow myself up? Or you?”

Cayenne giggles, “No, you aren’t, Love. You are too inexperienced to do anything like that. Just be patient and learn when we are showing you.” She takes a moment to kiss both of them and she trots out, her tail held high and swishing back and forth happily.

Citrus smiles, “Alright, you’ve been able to feel it, try it again, this time open yourself to it. You’ll know when it feels right.”

Tim sits on his haunches and closes his eyes, he can feel the warmth, and instead of reaching for it, he tries as Citrus directed him to do. Her voice croons into his ear, “You are a young flower, opening your petals to the light of the beautiful sun.”

In moments she giggles happily as he can feel the magic flow into him, he opens his eyes to seeing his horn glow a faint pink, he groans, “Why does it have to be pink?”

She cocks her head to the side, “You didn’t notice the color before?”

That gets a smile from him. “I was kinda busy,” Tim grins as the color fades.

“Food’s done,” comes Cayenne’s voice from the kitchen.

Tim feels his stomach gurgle as Citrus puts a hoof on his shoulder. “You can touch it now, before we go eat, pick up that hair brush, and put it away in the bathroom.”

He reaches forward, opening his mouth. He stops at a sharp yelp from Citrus, “With your magic, Tim.”

He rolls his eyes. “I can do better with my mouth here.”

“Yeah, but right now, I’m teaching you how to do your magic.” She looks out the door then back at Tim, “You aren’t going to eat until you pick up one little hair brush.”

He sighs and closes his eyes for a long moment. Soon enough, his horn alights again. She smiles, “Good.” Now, you know nothing about that hairbrush, anything other than what your eyes tell you. Your magic will tell you so much more about it. Reach your magic out, feel it push towards the brush.”

He grunts as he stares intently as the brush lying on the floor, for a moment, a pink aura surrounds it, and it gets a gasp from him, he can feel it’s exact shape in his mind, the texture of the grip, the flexibility of the bristles. The shock causes him to lose his magic for a moment, then he sticks his tongue out the side of his mouth as he concentrates again, opening himself to the magic without closing his eyes this time. Again, his aura surrounds the brush.

“Good,” Citrus says softly into his ear, “Now you are connected to it, it will now conform to your will. Think of it lifting into the air.”

He grunts as he imagines the brush going into the air, it zooms straight up and crashes into the ceiling. He looks at it as Citrus giggles, “Not with all of your strength, Love. It’s just a hair brush.”

He carefully lowers it and stands up. He walks towards the master bathroom, the brush firmly in his aura. He carefully places it on the counter, he lets go of it and turns around, seeing Citrus sitting on her haunches, clopping her forehooves together. “See, that was easy.”

He looks up at his horn, then he feels his stomach, “Wow, that was more tiring than I thought it would be.”

She nods, “Magic is energy, and to use it also uses your own energy. True gains in magic power are achieved by learning how to be more efficient with what you have already.”

“And how much is that?”

“A skill magic user, like Princess Sparkle, can do ten thousand times more than you for the same energy.” She notices Tim frown. “She’s a freak of nature,” she explains, brushing past him as he follows her out the door and down the stairs, before when he walked behind her, it wasn’t all that noticeable, but now, with his head much lower than it normally is, and his snout leading the way. The smell of her, not just the sexual smell when she’s ready to have sex, but just the normal smell of Citrus Blush is soft and fruity -- Very pleasant to the nose. Her tail is swishing gently side to side as she walks, not really revealing anything to him, but he still finds it alluring. He flares his nose to enjoy her scent as they walk. Then another smell assaults his senses.

He looks on the counter. “You have those in Equestria?”

Cayenne looks up. “What?”

“That type of bread; we call them croissants at home.”

Cayenne’s eyebrows rise, “Really?” Her magic picks one up and stuffs it in his mouth, “That’s the same name we have for them.”

The flavor of the croissant, soft and buttery, spreads across his tongue, he bites into it and is greeted with a surprise. He snorts, “Apple jam?”

She nods, “I dusted them with cinnamon and sugar.” She glances at Citrus, “You have been working to learn magic. You need simple carbs and sugars to pick up your energy.”

He finally swallows, “But I haven’t done all that much.”

She smiles, “Learning magic takes a lot of energy. You are going to be hungry.” She comes up and rubs her body along his. “We are taking care of our stallion. This, mares take very seriously. You saw us growl at the princess earlier – don’t fight us over your welfare, okay?”

Citrus nods, adding, “She’s right, you know.”

Cayenne laughs, “Now, come, eat unless you want me to feed you myself.”

He concentrates for a moment and his horn alights, he picks up another tasty morsel and tries to bring it to his muzzle, only to smear it on the side of his face, he huffs as Cayenne brings the remains to her own muzzle and takes a bite as Citrus licks his cheek gently, cooing “Don’t worry, fine control will come. It just takes practice.” Her horn lights and she brings another croissant to him, teasing his lips with it. He opens his mouth and she brings it close enough for him to bite off a piece, he munches as he watches the girls, a new appreciation for their magical abilities dawning inside him.

“It’s really hard to learn, isn’t it?”

Both nod. “It takes a year or so of a young unicorn to get fine control when she can’t see where exactly it’s going,” Citrus says gently, “Don’t expect to get it right off. It’s good you were able to pick things up quickly, you are a quick study.” She grins, “It helps that basic levitation is fairly universal among unicorns. Just a few basics will do; most of us will ever be like Twilight.”

He accepts another bite to eat as Cayenne brings out the rest of the food.

***

Tim lies on his side. The girls have been insatiable all evening. He doesn’t even need to glance at the clock on the mantle to tell him it’s well past midnight. Cayenne snuggles up to him from behind, putting her forelegs around his barrel and nuzzling his cheek, “Sorry.” He’s able to mutter.

“For what?” Citrus replies, freshly winded from another rutting.

He huffs, “The moment I enter you, it’s like some kind of switch, and I’m done.” He narrows his eyes, “I was able to last a bit longer this time.”

She giggles, “It’s normal for a stallion, Tim. Don’t worry about it.”

Cayenne crawls to his front and he puts his forelegs around her, she snuggles into his neck, “You are doing just fine, love.”

The pop of teleportation gets all three to raise their heads, the sound of galloping hooves gets both Cayenne and Citrus to move between Tim and the door, their horns alight. Princess Twilight Sparkle skids as she gets through the open door. “DNA!” she shouts.

Both girls’ horns quiet and they both look back at Tim, then to Twilight. “What?” Citrus says dubiously.

Twilight sits down, her nose flaring, causing her to blush incandescently. “I’m so sorry to interrupt -- I’ve been researching and experimenting. I need a sample of Tim’s human DNA.”

“DN what?” Cayenne says

"Sorry, it's really advanced medical and magical thing, humans probably don't even know about its existence yet.  It's essentially the building blocks of life, the spell that tells each cell what it’s doing. If we have some of his human DNA, a part of him from when he was human, we can teach his body how to human again," Twilight explains in full book mode.

“Deoxyribonucleic Acid,” Tim states flatly, getting all the mares to stare at him, Twilight looking especially sheepish as she nods.

"Like hair?" Cayenne asks as she tilts her head, looking at Tim.

"Yes, not the hair itself, but if it has a follicle or skin cells attached we can use that!" Twilight responds, perking up and smiling, "We can get his original spell and return him to that!  Did you brush him down before he left?"

“Oh, yeah, I did.” Citrus says and gallops into the bathroom, as she does, Tim gets up and gets off the bed, sitting on his haunches as Citrus returns, the brush held in her grip, the magic aura changes from blue to violet as Twilight takes the brush.

She focuses on the hairs in it, pulling them out one by one, examining them one by one as she speaks, “Back a while ago, I was able to turn myself and my friends into breezies to help a migrating group of them make it home. And I had to have a reference to be able to perform the spell.” She finally pulls a dark hair from the brush, and looks at the little white bit at the end, “Yes, a little bit of skin there. I didn’t need the whole breezie to do the spell; I just needed their DNA.” She looks up at Tim, her horn still lit, he yelps as a few hairs are plucked from his mane, “And I’ll need a few of these for reference in the future. And..” Her horn shines brighter, then gets brighter still, getting the other ponies to flinch back from the assault. With a small bang, Tim brings his hands before his face, they are human again!

He stands up, smiling at Citrus and Cayenne, who are smiling brightly at him. Cayenne nudges his hip. “Told ya she’d figure it out.”

“Oh, Tim.” Twilight says softly, her horn sputtering a bit as it quiets. Getting him to look at her, her face is beet red, and her wings are again pointed up, vibrating softly, he looks at her in confusion, she breathes heavily and mutters, “I think you should get some clothes on.”

He looks down. He’s undeniably at full mast and completely naked. He yelps as he runs for the closet, getting giggles from Citrus and Cayenne. Citrus moves over and nuzzles the Princess’s cheek gently. “It’s okay, Princess, he has that kind of effect on us too.”

Twilight shakes her head her horn relighting as she fights to fold her wings, “What effect?” She mutters, looking at both Cayenne and Citrus, “I’ve ruined enough of your day, I’ll go now.” With that, her horn brightens and she teleports away.

Tim comes back into the bedroom, now sporting a pair of boxers, “Okay, that was weird, are you ready for bed?”

Cayenne giggles as her horn lights, “Not just yet.”

Citrus also lights her horn, her aura starting to tug on his boxers, “I think you are over dressed for bed, love.”

He glances around, “Where did Twilight go?”

Citrus grins, “Probably home, but either way, you are back to yourself.” Another firmer tug nearly brings his boxers to his knees. “Come to bed, Love.”

He smiles as he lets the boxers fall to the floor. Cayenne is already lying on her back, looking at him with a sultry look. “I’m ready to go again, aren’t you, Citrus?”

Citrus grins as she hops on the bed, she runs her tongue along Cayenne’s horn, getting a growl of pleasure from the pink unicorn, “We are waiting for you.” She says softly as he climbs into bed

> Chapter 10.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim quietly slides out of bed, the three mares  are all sleeping peacefully. He pads quietly into the restroom, taking a  few minutes to run through the shower. The smell of sex has been  permeating his nostrils most of the night, and while the scent is quite  pleasant, he’s quite ready for something else at this point. As he  scrubs his body, he finds it amazing, after nearly a year without any sex at all. He’s had more sex in the last month or so than he ever had  in his life.

He puts his head on the smooth tile, letting the  water wash the suds away. He wouldn’t have his arrangement with Citrus  and Cayenne any other way, but if North Point really wants to join the  herd, he doesn’t know how he’s going to satisfy all of them, or answer her. He had passed out pretty late last night, and just the thought of another round makes his body ache. The girls are insatiable! He looks down, “Traitor,” he growls at his half-hardened member. His body seems to have other ideas about the matter. Perhaps there is something to the idea of having more than one stallion in the herd?

The dryer does its job quite effectively and he walks quietly into the closet. It’s early summer here in Canterlot, so some dark canvas shorts along  with a light green t-shirt, again emblazoned on the pocket of his chest  with Citrus and Cayenne’s cutie marks. He looks at the girls, sleeping  together in bed -- will he be adding a new cutie mark to his shirts  soon? The girls seemed so happy when he got the shirts. That white mare at the Canterlot Boutique said it was so romantic for  him to get shirts like that. Though she’s also called him in several  times, him being the only human in Equestria, she wants him to practice  different fashion ideas on. She always pays him well for that, even  though the clothing can only be used for him. He sighs and closes the  bedroom door quietly.

He’s not always the first one up in the  morning. More often, he’s the last one to awaken, most often to an empty  apartment, with breakfast left on the counter. All he has to do is tap the top of the cover to dissipate the spell one of the girls puts over it before they leave, and it’s as fresh as though they had just cooked it. Sometimes the magic these ponies have is very useful. This morning, though, is going to be him making food for all of them. He opens the refrigerator, and with a smile he brings out two dozen eggs, along with  some buttermilk and a few other ingredients. He knows there is plenty of bread, so assembly takes very little time. Two pans of French Toast casserole make it into the hot oven and he turns around to see a unicorn standing there. He smiles as she yawns. “Good morning, North Point.”

She brings her hoof down from covering the yawn, “Good morning, Tim. You don’t look worse for the wear after last night.”

He nods, “Just needed some sleep -- breakfast will be ready soon.”

“Oh, you didn’t need to do that, I was coming down to make breakfast.”

He smiles, “Oh, I don’t mind.”

She cocks her head to the side, her ears perking forward, “You are  certainly a different kind of creature, Tim.” She smiles brightly, “I  think I like you.” Her horn glows, and a stool is drug back slightly,  allowing her to hop up. Tim pulls out his own and sits across from her.

After last night, it would be more odd for the conversation to be awkward.  It’s not just the sex, but the fact that conversing between bouts has become the norm for his new herd. He’s actually found out a lot about her, but not about one thing specific about her, “So, North Point, tell me about your cutie mark.”

To his surprise, she glances at the  drawing compass on her flank and flushes bright red. He leans a bit closer, “I’ve never seen a pony react that way; most are immensely proud of their cutie mark and finding out their special talents.”

She very nearly hides her face. She glances around the room, and after a long time, she looks at him, her orchid eyes bright, “I’m not certain that I have the right cutie mark.” She says very softly, almost too quietly for him to hear.

Tim stops for a moment, he looks back at North Point. She’s sitting on the chair, inspecting her forehooves, looking like she’s trying to draw into herself. He glances down at her cutie mark, a drawing compass, he thinks. “What do you do?” Tim asks softly.

“I’m an architect.” She whispers, looking down at her flank, “I’m really good at it.” She sighs, “But…”

Tim watches her, she’s so different than the happy, lusty mare he had met the evening before. Within an hour of her arriving, they were in bed together. And now, she’s almost ready to cry. He comes around and puts his arms around her, “North, I won’t pretend to know everything about cutie marks,” he glances back at the stairs to the bedrooms, then back  at her, “but something that both Citrus and Cayenne has told me about  them. It was a moment of clarity. When they knew what made them what they are.”

North Point looks down, “That’s how it goes, apparently.”

“What were you doing?” He asks softly.

She  looks up at him, “It was Canterlot Filly scouts. I was a blank flank  when I joined, but one of the most fun parts of it, was the cookie drives.”

He lifts one eyebrow, struggling not to laugh and bring up an earth parallel. “Canterlot Filly scout cookies?”

She nods, a happy, almost childlike smile on her face for a moment. “I  would sit down and plot the route for all of us to sell the cookies. We were on hoof, of course, pulling these little wagons, so we didn’t want  to cross over our path too much. Each of us, though, needed to hit as many houses as we could. I’d do maps up for all the fillies in my troop,  giving them areas to go to that covered the most ground, but gave every filly an equal chance to sell as many cookies as possible.”

She closes her eyes, rocking slowly as she talks, memories of the past dancing through her mind, “There were contests for the troop that sold  the most cookies. I used to love doing the maps; I could lay down and spend hours finding the best routes. My time and work paid off for us in the end, our troop outsold all others and we won a special prize, a trip!”

"A trip?"

“We got to go to Manehattan as a troop to go see Hinny of the Hills!” She opens her eyes looking at him and giggles at his confused look, “It’s a very famous play. Our troop got to see it performed live, and in Manehattan of all places!” She squeals a  bit for a moment before calming down and clearing her throat, “Well, after the play, we had some tours of the city that we got to go on.” Her ears flatten back, “Three other fillies and I got lost; we were separated from the group. We were coming back from the statue in the harbor when we got caught in a crowd. They didn’t notice us and we got pushed off at the wrong ferry dock and stranded.” She sighs softly and  shakes her head once, “It started to rain, so we really couldn’t stay put and wait for help. Everypony was scared and the other fillies turned to me. They said that since I was able to plot all those routes, I could navigate us through Manehattan I could find a way back. The trouble was, the tourist map we had was pretty useless.”

“Useless?”

She  nods, “Oh yeah, it was more of a novelty map. It gave basics, but nothing was really labeled, it was hard to know what streets were what. It did, however, show the locations of the buildings and landmarks. From that, I was able to work out the distance, directions, and such based on what I could see on the map, and what I could see from the dock. I had to draw in some extra buildings to act as landmarks while since not every one could be seen from different streets.” She giggles, “It took  us some time but I made it back to the hotel with the other fillies safe in tow. The counselors were so worried about us, and we made it back,  they were shocked that I had managed to bring everypony through. They said for my good work, I had earned my navigation badge that day. When  they gave it to me, I realized that I could find my way around anywhere  and help others find their way too, and that was when my mark came in.”

He smiles, "Tell me more."

Her smile slowly falls off her face as she stretches out her leg a bit  looking at her hip, “My dad was so proud of me, so proud to show me off. He told me that drawing the buildings, what I used to find my way through the city, showed what I was good at. He said that I was a natural architect, I could recognize building types and styles, and then I can draw them. He told everyone that I was meant to make big  buildings for big cities. He told me that I would have gotten my cutie mark much sooner if I hadn’t been focusing on the silly cookie maps and focused on the buildings.” She sighs softly, “So. I don’t know.”

Tim moves over and gives her a hug, “I don’t know much about architecture or blueprint work, but your compass is a divider compass.”

She nods slowly and looks back down at her hip, “I know. We use it for  moving measurements on blueprints. Though we tend to use rulers more for  that. It’s hard sometimes. I feel like I'm just going through the  motions without any real goals. But dad says my mark is the measure of my worth."

He nods, “I had an aunt that was an architect, she had a whole set of compasses, she said each was for a different task.” He runs a finger along her cutie mark, noting the soft shudder that runs through her as he does so causing her to bite her lower lip slightly,  “The catch is, this is more like a cartographer’s compass. They use them for reading distances on maps, or on globes, since a ruler doesn’t work well on a sphere.” He smiles. “Most architect’s compasses have a removable tip here.” He says, rubbing over the bottom of her cutie mark,  “This lets them change it out for a pencil.”

She turns, bending  her torso a bit, and looks at her cutie mark for a long time, then up at  him, then back at her flank. With a slow nod she stands up on the stool  and drapes her forehooves over his shoulders looking into his eyes and  softly says, “Thank you.” As he opens his mouth to respond, she lunges  in and kisses him. Her tongue enters his open mouth and he finds his  arms wrapping around her barrel to hug her back.

“Awww, how cute.” Comes a voice.

She  pulls away and looks over at Cayenne. The mare in question comes over  and hops up on another chair, “Hope you have some for me, too.”

Tim  smiles as he goes over to collect a kiss from Cayenne. After time  immemorial, he pulls away from Cayenne, moving over and opening the oven a bit to inspect the breakfast, “It’s almost ready; where’s Citrus?”

Cayenne smiles, “She’s still passed out.”

That  gets a laugh from the other two. Cayenne wiggles her eyebrows, “I think we wore her out, Love.” She moves over to Tim, her lips puckered for a kiss. He obliges her, enjoying her softly spicy flavor. A small whine catches his attention after a few moments, North Point is sitting there,  her eyes wide, her tail wrapped around her rear.

“Hng! Okay, you are too adorable.” Tim says. North Point smiles brightly as he comes over and gives her a kiss as well. His nose flares as he is lost in the  kiss with North, though after a few moments, he has to pull away. “I  think breakfast is ready.” He moves over and grabs the earth pony oven  mitts and pulls the food from the oven. He uses a foot to close the oven as he sets the pans down. He pulls out some plates and dishes up generous servings for the girls. Soft humming grabs his attention and he turns around. Both mares are sitting there, nearly identical smirks on  their face, he looks at them, “What gives?”

Cayenne blinks a few times and seems to shake her head a little bit, she smiles, “Nothing, just enjoying the view.”

Tim rolls his eyes as he places a plate in front of each mare. Both their horns light up as they each pick up a fork and start eating. Tim sits down himself and digs into his own breakfast. After a few minutes, soft hoofsteps announce a yellow mare’s entrance.

“Citrus!” Tim chirps after quickly swallowing. “Good morning.”

Her nose is twitching as she walks into the kitchen. “Good morning, love,” She says softly, “It smells like Prench Toast.”

He nods, “It’s a casserole, but yes, it’s French Toast.”

She smiles as she hops onto her own chair as Tim moves to get her some food as well, and in a matter of moments, all four are happily eating the  meal. The constant hum of magic permeates the room as juice is pulled  from the fridge and the unicorns eat.

After he pushes his empty plate away, Tim leans back, “So, what’s on the menu for today?”

Citrus looks at North Point, and both smile, “Shopping!” They say in unison.

Tim shakes his head as Cayenne giggles, “I’m going to work.”

Citrus smirks, “You are missing out, love.”

Cayenne arches and eyebrow, “Somepony has to keep the bits flowing.”

That gets a snort from Citrus, “I know, and what flows in must flow out,” She smiles cutely, “I’m helping.”

Tim suppresses a laugh as Cayenne uses her magic to flick a piece of the casserole at Citrus, who catches the morsel adeptly. She munches happily, offering a smug smirk back at the rose colored mare. And after a few moments, both dissolve into giggles, “Good one,” Cayenne says with a laugh.

Soon enough, the apartment is empty though. Tim occupies himself for a little while cleaning up from breakfast, then he pulls out one of the books that Twilight had given him. Briefly wondering when he will see her again, she’s missed the last two appointments, the first with a letter explaining other commitments that had magically appeared right in front of him, the second was missed without any explanation. He hasn’t seen her since she turned him back human. After only a few minutes, he’s slamming the book closed; he’s read all the books she had brought. There’s no television here, he doesn’t have a phone or internet service to occupy his attention. And sitting around the house holds no appeal for him at the moment. He sits there for a long time, looking out the  expansive windows in the living room, then he finally makes his decision and walks into the bedroom.

***

Tim is standing  before the door to the Spitfire Grill. He looks up at the sign, he knows where this place is, but reading the crazy script of the ponies is  beyond him, Twilight’s only started teaching him their alphabet. He  looks around quickly, after going out quite often with his herd, the fear factor for the ponies of Canterlot has seemed to subside for the most part. Some ponies do a double take when seeing him still, and quite often little foals are dragged away by parents as they seem to be fascinated by such a tall creature as him. But the unofficially imposed bubble from his first time walking these streets isn’t nearly as pronounced. In fact, a few faces seem to offer hesitant smiles. Though the ponies seem to notice the cutie marks emblazoned on his shirt, and that seems to offer them some measure of comfort, even though he’s not with any members of their species at the moment.

He takes a deep breath and follows three mares and a stallion through the doors. The same pegasus from before is greeting the small herd like they are close friends. She smiles at him quickly before she takes them back. Tim waits patiently for her to return, and in a matter of minutes, she comes back into the entry foyer, “Good afternoon, Tim, Cayenne is pretty busy at the moment, but I can see if…” She stumbles to a stop as he holds out a hand for her to shush.

“Orange Swirl, I need some help.” He says quickly.

She blinks several times, “You need…” Her eyes dart towards the office, “my help?” She breaks into a smile. “What for?”

“I want a job.”

A dark look passes over her face as she again glances at Cayenne’s office, “I didn’t know your herd was hurting for bits.”

Tim  blinks, “What? No, the girls don’t discuss finances with me, I’m not  even asking for money.” Her face screws up in confusion as he continues,  “I’m bored, I’ve read all the books, I don’t have anything to do at  home. When they are home, it’s wonderful to spend time with them, we talk all the time, and it’s great. But when they aren’t there…”

“You get lonely?”

He nods.

She  smiles, “You wouldn’t be the first stallion to get stable fever.”  Orange glances back at the office again, then gestures for him to come closer. “I don’t think you could work out in the front end; I think some ponies would be put off by you.” He flinches, and she reaches out a  wing, cupping his cheek with it, “but no worries, hon. I’ll take you back, our kitchen manager can find something for you to do.”

Tim thinks back, he had worked at a pizza joint in his teens, he can do it. He smiles brightly, “That would be wonderful!”

She  smiles brightly as she turns, gesturing for him to follow. He dutifully follows the mare through the dining room and finally she pushes through a swinging door. She looks around the relatively quiet kitchen, finally picking a direction and she moves over to a light purple unicorn with a green mane and tail. She has two green apples on her flank.

“Orange Swirl, what is Cayenne’s stallion doing here?” She says with a curious look.

Orange Swirl smiles brightly, “Apple Stars, Tim here is looking for a job.”

The other mare looks sharply at Tim, then back at Orange Swirl. “Seriously?”

Orange Swirl nods, “He’s got too much time on his hooves, and he’s bored. I know you can find him something.” She flicks her tail and turns around, nudging his hip with her head as she passes. “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

Tim watches Orange Swirl depart, then he turns back to Apple Stars.

She  glances at the clock on the wall. “Dinner service will be starting  soon.” She looks down and sighs heavily, “One of our dishwashers called in sick, so you are going to be on dish duty.” She looks at him sharply,  “You can do dishes, right?” He nods, she points with a hoof, “Okay, just remember to keep your hooves clean, and keep your mane and tail tied up.”

Tim looks down at his hands. “You do know I don’t have those, right?"

She growls, “And? Are you expecting special treatment from me because of  that?” She comes closer, “Listen here, little mister, I treat everypony  that works in my kitchen the same--nopony gets special treatment here.” Tim is slightly stunned; ponies are seldom so gruff, or direct. They would rather avoid an entire mane than muss a few hairs. He opens his mouth, and she steamrolls right over any objection, “I don’t care if you are mounting the boss -- get to the sinks and get busy.”

Something about the tone of her voice gets him moving, he smiles as he heads in the indicated direction, “Yes, ma’am!"

She snorts as she whirls away and moves over to another pony as he finally finds the three sink setup he remembered from his limited time working  in food service. He looks at the stack of dishes. There is some kind of machine resembling an industrial dish washer, complete with trays to put the dishes in sitting next to the sink. He smiles. He can do this. He  fills the first sink and finds the soap, glad it’s the same brand as what they use at home. He guesses another bottle is for sanitizer, which he pours into the third sink, and the second sink is for fresh water  for washing off the soap. There aren't many dishes or pots and pans to deal with at the moment, so he gets busy. Dinner service is going to be hectic, so it will be best to keep ahead of the dishes piled on his left.

He loses track of time as ponies come in, dropping off stacks of dishes, and the kitchen itself generates plenty of pots and  pans for him to work on. Washing dishes has never been his favorite  thing to do, but after so long dealing with boredom, this is actually  fun.

Things are really starting to get frantic, judging by the  general din of the kitchen. Tim looks up from the sink as the volume  increases quite a bit. Over by one of the ovens, a unicorn is ranting  and screaming. Tim turns off the water and edges closer.

"Who here  was the last to use the oven!" She shouts, stomping her hoof. "Own up  to it now, or I will have you demoted to aboyeur.” She growls, “No,  that's too good, pouliche de cuisine, you hear me, you ungrateful nags?"  She shouts, getting much of the kitchen staff to shy away.

Apple Stars trots over to the chef. "What’s wrong?"

"The  oven is out, dead cold and won't start, and whichever broomtail was the  last to use it didn't report it. How can we be a functioning kitchen without a proper oven?” She shouts while Apple Stars tries to talk, “Are we going to have to lower ourselves to fry cooks tonight? Serve pan dishes only?"

Tim moves forward. “Can I take a look at it?”

The chef flattens her ears, snorting, “You, little hay burner? Cayenne's toy bell stallion?” The way the final word alone was enunciated carries more unpleasantness than his mares entire confrontation with Twilight.

Tim frowns, “I’m pretty good with fixing things, can I take a look?”

She glances at Apple Stars, then back at Tim, she trots away after giving  the oven a savage kick. “If you can get it to work, dinner might be saved. I’ll work on what appetizers I can get out for now, but I need it  quickly!” Her horn lights and several pans are moved over to a cooktop.  “If some little fuzztail thinks he can fix a ten thousand bit oven in fifteen minutes, let him," She grumbles as she stirs something in a pot.

Tim,  for his part, lies down on the floor and slides under the bottom of the  oven. The ponies are meticulous about cleaning; even underneath the oven, everything is spotless. He looks up at the access panel. “Hey,  anyone got a tool box?”

He can see Apple Star’s hooves move away, and in a few moments she’s back, a heavy tool box clunks down to the floor,  “What do you need?”

“A flat head screwdriver.” He calls out, and  quickly one floats underneath the oven, allowing him to grab it. He works quickly, removing the screws, and the plate. He reaches up. “I  need a wrench,” He calls out, and in moments a serviceable set of channel lock pliers floats into his grasp. A few minutes of work has the gas regulator in his hands. He takes the small device and cleans it, it  seems to be in fairly good condition from the outside, but the inside  seems to be caked with something that looks like char. He brings the port to his lips and blows hard, his cheeks puff out as it doesn’t allow  anything through. He presses the small button on the outside to open the valve manually, and it doesn’t move. He growls and cleans it out  quickly. He tries again, and the valve moves a little bit. With a grim smile, he continues cleaning it. And soon the valve moves the way it’s supposed to. He re-installs the small part and slides out from under the  oven. He turns on the gas and presses the igniter, and smiles as he  hears the satisfying whoosh of the burner igniting. He slides underneath again, putting the access plate back in place and he threads the first  screw back in.

“What the hell is going on here?” Comes a familiar voice. Tim cringes as he can feel his foot encased in magic, he finds  himself sliding out from under the oven, “Tim, what are you doing here?”

"Oh, hi, Cayenne," Tim says as he fakes a smile, "Just looking for a cloth  and some good grease cutting soap." Holding up his hand, he shows her the black grime on his fingers.

She rolls her eyes, “Oh, har har.” Her ears splay back, “What are you doing here?”

He  sits up, “I’ve been asking to get a job,” he looks down, “"I'm starting  to feel like a caged animal. No matter how gilded the cage, no matter how pretty the walls, a cage is still a cage."

Cayenne’s ears drop, "I know,” she sighs. “I just worry about you; you’re not as fast or as strong as an earth pony, you don't have magic, you can't fly...”  Her ears flick back and forth “you’re..."

He smiles, “I know, love. We’ve talked about this, I'm like a foal... But I don't need to be protected. For some things, I need to find my own way and have my own free time"

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay to go behind our flanks,  Citrus and I have been discussing what to do.” She sighs, her ears  flicking back and forth, “Go home, and we will discuss things later.”

“Hold on!” Comes another voice, Cayenne looks at Apple Star as she steps forward aggressively, “Tim, you don’t go anywhere.” Cayenne’s mouth drops open as Apple Star continues, “You hired me to run the kitchen, I hired him to help with dishes, and it turned out he’s good at more than that.”

Cayenne’s ears flick back, “This is my herd’s business, Apple Star.”

“No, it’s not.” Apple Star says as she slams a hoof into the tile, “This is your restaurant’s business. He came here, he was bored, he LOOKED like a foal who wanted to help. He needed something to do."

“But…”

“But nothing,” She says firmly, "I gave him a job. I made him feel useful.  And if you fire him, you had better be looking for a new kitchen manager."

“Apple Star, you don’t need to put your neck out like that, I’ll go.”

Apple Star whirls around at Tim, stalking towards him slowly, “Don’t be a frizzmane, the staff talks, and in the few hours you’ve been here,  you’ve done an excellent job with the dishes.” She taps the oven, “And  if you can save us a couple of hundred bits on a service call, as well as saving a potentially ruined dinner service, I am hiring you on full time. There are  plenty of little projects that you can help with, keep this kitchen in tip top shape, and keep things going smoothly.” She glares back at Cayenne, then back at Tim, “You keep doing a good job and I’ll keep you on, and the only way you are leaving is if I’m following you out the  door.” She whirls back to Cayenne, “Don’t treat him like a foal; you  said when you hired me, that it’s my kitchen and I run it. Well, I’m running it, and he stays!”

Cayenne’s jaw works a couple of times. She looks up at Tim, then back at Apple Stars, her ears flicking back and forth. “I did say that…” she allows. She looks up at Tim. “Are you  enjoying working here, Tim?”

He nods, “I like it; I miss working  with my hands.” Cayenne seems to be fighting with herself mentally, so  he walks over to her. Kneeling down, he gives her a hug, “I’m going to be fine. Remember, I was herding trucks that weigh tens of thousands of pounds down the road without a problem, I can handle some dishes and the occasional odd maintenance job.”

She sniffles a bit, her eyes watery, “So, this isn’t to escape us?”

He shakes his head vigorously, “No, home is where the heart is, and my heart is with you.”

“Awww, how sweet,” Apple Stars snarks, getting a glare from Cayenne, which turns into a fierce blush.

Cayenne reaches and kisses him on the cheek, then moves away, “Well, what are  you all waiting for? Dinner is still being served, and we’ve got a lot of hungry ponies out there. Get busy!”

Tim stands up and offers a mock salute., “Yes ma’am!” He starts to walk away, then turns back to  Cayenne. “I think I got some grease on your coat.”

She looks at her shoulder, and the greasy hand print on it, she looks up at him, “You know you are going to pay for that later, love.”

He smiles as he walks back over to the oven, “I think I will enjoy that.” He says as he slides back underneath the oven, he grabs a second screw and works to thread it into its hole. In a matter of minutes, the plate is back in  place and tightened down, he slides back out from under the oven, “All  good,” Tim says softly.

“About time,” the chef responds as her magic encases the temperature control, the oven again whooshes to life,  getting a small smile from the unicorn. She looks at Tim, “Well, back to  your dishes, fuzztail.”

He smiles as he picks up the tool box, “Yes, chef.”

***

Cayenne had left before it got really late. She had said that she was going to let Citrus know what was going on, after she brought him into the office and apologized for her earlier outburst. Tim didn’t have any problem forgiving her, though. He had finished the rest of the night getting caught up with the dishes and had finally bussed the last of the tables after the majority of the customers had left. After an evening full of work, he’s actually pleasantly tired. The mare that works the bar for Cayenne locks up the door of the restaurant and turns to him. “You okay  to walk home?” She asks as she levitates the keys back into her little day pack.

Tim shrugs, “Yeah, it’s not that far, and Canterlot is pretty quiet.”

She nods as she trots off, bidding him good night. Tim breathes in deeply,  enjoying the night air. It’s now well after midnight, and the majority  of the ponies are at home, asleep. Tim turns and walks down the nearly deserted street. Canterlot is certainly a safe place compared to his  childhood home in Pennsylvania. Heck, it’s probably safer than almost  any city on Earth. The night guard walks through the streets from time to time, but the ponies tend to be peaceful, so there doesn’t seem much for them to do. Tim watches a stallion, obviously with too much to drink in his belly, walk slowly down the street. The pegasus doesn’t even look at him as he shambles on, getting a smile from Tim.

Tim turns  and heads down another street. He’s been slowly learning more about  this city on the mountain, with its narrow streets along with wide boulevards, it is surprisingly big. He looks at a group of large apartment buildings, and a turn of his head brings large storefronts and office buildings. Not the glass, steel and concrete of home, but the  construction seems to be fairly modern in method. A crane that would have been at home in any Earth city is attached to another building in  the process of being built. And just a block away is a fanciful building, sculpted to look like wave crashing, though Tim has no idea  what the sign on the establishment in that building means. The streets are well lit at night, with lanterns distributed all throughout the streets, though the technology keeping them lit is beyond him. It could  be more magic for all he knows.

At the center of a cross street, a fountain stands to form the heart of a roundabout. A cut marble foal sits on a pedestal pouring water endlessly into a basin below. The fountain sits on a small circular patch of grass with a raised lip  around it. The sound of the water flowing is mixed with soft singing.

A dark mare looks up at the foal, her voice carrying a sadness Tim hasn't heard before.

"I lose my way, no pony cares." The mare raises her hoof gently to stroke foal on the statue. "The words I say, no pony hears."

A  shudder goes down Tim’s back as he looks at her, her voice cracking a  bit as she goes on, "My life, it seems, is a world of dreams."

She sits down looking up at the sky, her ethereal mane blowing in the night wind, the stars mirroring those in the sky. "Deep in the night, you'll find me." Lowering her head, she looks down at the fountain, touching the water with her hoof, "Dream and you're right behind me,  stay..."

Her hoof dripping, she lifts it to touch the face of the  statue, water droplets forming on the foal’s face and running down like tears. "If you could only stay..."

Looking down, her own tears fall to the ground. "We'd dream the night.... away..."

Tim steps forward, watching the alicorn as she stands looking at the statue, her tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. He clears his throat, getting her to flinch and turn towards him, “Good evening, Princess.” He  says softly.

Princess Luna folds her wings, emotions war on her  face, and finally she offers a watery smile, “Given the hour, I would  think good morning would be the proper greeting.”

He frowns at the look on her face. “I thought you would be in the dream, helping the ponies.”

She  tosses her ethereal mane slightly. “I have spent much of my night in  the dream realm, but occasionally I prefer to walk the streets, to keep a  closer eye on my little ponies.”

Tim starts to walk down the street, and to his surprise, the large princess moves to walk next to  him. She seems content to merely walk next to him as he continues on his way home. But, after a few moments, he notices something riding on her  back, “Ummm, Princess.” He says softly, looking at the dark mass.

She stops and looks at him expectantly. “Is there something amiss, young Timothy?”

He points, “What is…” He stretches out his hand only to have something latch onto it, “Gah!”

“ O, Tiberie, nolle ludere vehementer cum nostro amico.” Luna says softly.

Tim looks at the bundle of fur in the process of climbing his arm to his  shoulder. The dark fur with the white face and naked tail. “It’s a possum.”

“Yes, and his name is Tiberius.”

Tim looks at the  possum sitting on his shoulder, “Hello, Tiberius.” He says gently, offering a finger. Tiberius sniffs his finger, chitters for a moment, and then he hops back onto Luna’s back. He skitters around her neck and ends up lying on her horn, his tail wrapped around the base. Tim’s  eyebrows rise. “He doesn’t talk?”

Luna giggles, “No, he does not; not everything talks in our world, young Timothy.”

They continue walking, Tim watches her as they continue, her emotions certainly seem to continue to be rather raw. He watches her choke back a sob every so often, and occasionally a tear drops onto the cobblestones as they continue, “Princess...?”

She flinches, and Tiberius leaps from her horn onto her back, she clicks her tongue, “I’m sorry, I was not expecting company tonight. I’m…” She pauses as she continues to walk, but finally she stops and sits on her haunches. “I find myself thinking of the past.”

“From before you were banished to the moon?” Tim asks gently, getting a sniffle and a nod from her.

“Everypony I knew, everypony that meant something to me, with the exception of my dear sister, is dead.”

Tim looks down, “Well, a thousand years is a very long time, Princess.”

“There were some that were very dear to me.” A few tears leak down her cheeks. “Some were very special,” she says, choking back a sob, “I never got to tell them I was sorry for what I did -- how I nearly destroyed  everything in my thirst for power. I was so wrong, so greedy.”

“From what you’ve told me, the magic of that nightmare was overwhelming.”

She nods. “The power was seductive. But what was causing me to feel so strongly about that this night was you.”

“Me, Princess?”

She nods again, “Yes, and when you weren’t among the stars of dreams, I decided to walk the city.” She smiles, “It is by happy coincidence that you find me. I did not expect to have you to come upon me tonight.”

Tim furrows his brow. “But why me?”

She looks intently at him, “Because if a way to send you home is not found,  those you grew up with, those who defined your life until happenstance  brought you to Equestria will live out their lives…” She looks down,  “without you in them, just like those who were important to me lived out the rest of their lives, missing me as much as I miss them now.”

Tim blinks a few times, he opens his mouth, then shuts it. Karen, his mom and dad, his sister. He had never had all that many friends, but the ones he had, he was really close with. He’s been gone for over a year. Have they moved on? Does Karen have a new boyfriend? Have they moved on?

A  light touch of a feather on his cheek brings him back to the present, Princess Luna leans closer. “I know what you are feeling right now, Tim.” She touches his cheek with her wing, “I have shed many tears in the time since I’ve come home.”

Tim scrubs his face with a sleeve; he wasn’t even aware of the tears. “Sorry, Princess.”

She nuzzles his cheek for a moment, though this is different. He can feel she’s simply trying to be a supportive friend. He takes a chance and throws his arms around her, she stands stock still for several seconds, then her wings fold gently around him, after a few moments, he pulls away and offers her a small smile.

She cocks her head to the side, “What was that for?”

“You seemed to need a hug.”

She smiles for a moment, “I have not gotten a hug from somepony other than my sister in over a thousand years. The ponies see that I am a Princess; they don’t hug me.”

Tim nods, “Well, you looked like you needed it.”

She looks down, “I…” words fail her, and after a few moments, she comes up and wraps her wings around him, bringing him into a hug, “I think I do.” She murmurs softly.

Finally he pulls away as she folds her wings, “Thank you Tim.” She says quietly.

“You are very welcome, Princess,” Tim says as they start walking again.

They finally get to Tim’s building, she looks at the door, “Well, I shall let you get back to your herd.”

He smiles, she continues, “We are still working on getting you home.”

Tim stops for a moment, “Princess?”

She looks at him expectantly, he sighs, “A part of me wants to go home,” He looks up at the top floor of the building, “But…”

She smiles and again nuzzles him softly, “You don’t want to lose Citrus and Cayenne?”

He shakes his head, “I don’t want to lose them, but I miss home.” He looks up then back at her, “I don’t know, Princess... perhaps not permanently, I...”

“Tim, the research will continue, and we will leave the decision up to you if it comes to that.”

He nods and turns back to the door, he can hear Princess Luna behind him as he walks inside. “Sleep well, young human.”
> Chapter 11.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citrus Blush and North Point snuggle together in their booth at The Spitfire Grill. Tim sits across from them, watching North Point’s horn glow softly as she stares at the blank sheet of paper. A divider compass is sitting next to the sheet of paper on the table.

Tim takes a sip of his tea. It didn’t take much coaxing to get Cayenne to add American southern style sweet tea to the drink menu. One taste had hooked the mare, though Tim is still trying to figure out how to create a Long Island Iced Tea with the liquors available in the bar. Even familiar styles of alcohol are still different enough -- the flavor never comes out just right. He sets the glass down on the table and takes a bite of the fettuccine alfredo on his plate, relishing as the heat and flavor spreads across his tongue. Finally he swallows. “Nothing?”

North shakes her head, “I’m just so used to working on buildings, this feels…” She runs a hoof along the paper, “it’s hard to explain... I just don’t know how to start.” She sighs, “I guess I don’t have inspiration.”

Tim smiles, “Perhaps this will help.” He pulls out what he had purchased on his way to the restaurant before work. He takes a moment to unfold the paper, “I found a pretty detailed map of Canterlot.” What Tim doesn’t mention is the snort of surprise from the stallion selling the map, though he did take Tim’s bits without qualms.

North Point brightens on seeing the map, “It’s beautiful!” She touches the thick paper gingerly, “This had to be expensive.”

Tim shrugs, “It’s worth it to see the look on your face.” He glances at Citrus, who’s beaming smile that warms his heart, “And I’ve got a job, earning my own bits. I’m happy to use it for something nice for somepony nice.”

North glances at Citrus, then at Tim. “Are you inviting me to join your herd?”

Tim thinks for a moment, and the look on Citrus’ face tells him all he needs to know, “If you want to join, we would be happy to have you.”

North blushes deeply and nuzzles Citrus. “Thank you, Tim.” She looks down, “I’ve tried to join another herd a while back…” Her ears flick back for a moment, “But their stallion said I wasn’t good enough in bed.” She sniffles a bit.

Citrus nuzzles North Point back. “You just hadn’t found the right stallion, then.”

Tim smiles at the two mares. He says, “You don’t have to decide right now, but dinner service is starting soon, so I’ve got to get busy.” He stands up and glances around. The restaurant is pretty quiet at the moment, though that will be changing before too long. Tim collects a kiss from each mare and whistles a happy tune as he makes his way into the kitchen. It may be the height of summer, but he’s got a fun job, and mares who love him fiercely; he has no worries.

He starts on the dishes, listening to the general din of the kitchen as he can tell more and more patrons are making their way into the restaurant. He smiles at a pegasus stallion that drops off a load of pots and pans for him to work on. He grabs a big pot and gets to work, taking the stiffly bristled brush to the encrusted crud on the sides.

“Hiya!” comes a voice. Tim looks around, puzzled.

“Up here, silly.” Comes the voice again, and he follows the directions, to see a white griffon with gray wings and tail sitting on top of the dishwasher.

Tim looks at her for a long moment, then he smiles, “Galileah!”

She grins, “You remembered my name, I don't need to charge you a mind it fee!" She says with a giggle. He sputters for a moment as she hops down and walks around him, “So you’ve got a job now. You like it?”

He nods. “How did you…?”

She shrugs her wings, replying, “Daddy was hosting some ponies for some business deal back home. I really don’t care about that. I was just about to tell him I was gonna bail when I watched a pony go through the kitchen door and I saw you.”

His eyebrows rise as he glances back at the door quickly, then he focuses back on the griffon. “So, why are you coming back here? I think Apple Stars will be upset if she finds you…” Tim lets a bit of a warning hint into his voice, hoping the little lady gets it before they both do.

The griffon sticks out her tongue and raises her wings for a moment. “Oh, what will she do? Fire me? I don’t work here. If you can’t visit with me here, I’ll have Daddy pull some strings and have Princess Celestia send you to our embassy.”

Tim shakes his head. “But…” he searches for a long time for the word, but finally, “Why me?”

"I don't know," she shrugs, "primarily because you’re not a pony, I guess. I don't have to worry about you breaking out into a song and dance number on me.” She rolls her eyes, “especially since I don't have any Songbird in me.” She stops and looks intently at him, “The truth is, there aren't a lot of griffins to hang around with here in Canterlot. Basically just the embassy staff, and they are boring.” She clicks her beak a couple of times. “The yaks just want to break things, the minotaurs are just too aloof and showy for my tastes.” She looks down and grumbles, “some of the ponies seem to like them a lot.” She looks up at him, “But you.” Words seem to fail her for a moment, she opens her beak a couple of times, and her cheeks blossom with a blush, “Well...” She draws on the tile of the floor with a foreclaw, “You’re different.” She looks up at him, “Strange... new... So, when do you get out of work?" she finishes with a hesitant smile.

Tim stammers a few times, “Umm, I’m closing tonight, so around three in the morning.”

She shakes her head, “Oh, that’s far too late.” She glances at Apple Stars, who is working with some of the sous chef’s at the moment, “I could get you fired, make you spend time with me right now…” She muses, tapping her beak with a talon, then she shrugs, “but you like the job, so I can wait.” She jumps into the air, “I’ll see ya around, k?”

She tosses off a salute to Tim before she streaks off. She deftly flies through air above the ponies working in the kitchen. She even stops and clings to the ceiling for a moment as Apple Stars trots from one station to another, then she flies through the door out of the kitchen. Tim sighs and shakes his head. “what was that all about?”

***

Ahh, a Sunday, a nice, quiet day to lay around together. Cayenne typically takes Sundays off to spend more time with the herd. Citrus takes the day off from her shop and the hospital for the same reason. Normally, the mares are so busy during the week, without a day set aside for a quiet time in bed, they wouldn’t really be spending all that much time together. It’s one thing to climb into bed with the other two mares already sleeping, or having one of them join Tim in the middle of the night. But it’s so much better to lie in bed and enjoy the time together. Over a month of working at the restaurant has been wonderful for Tim. In fact, both the mares have mentioned that he’s been happier than they’ve ever seen him.

“So, she just flew off like that?” Cayenne says with a growl, “And she was in the kitchen of my restaurant and none of the ponies noticed her?”

Tim nods, “And the craziest thing about that, I think she’s interested in me. She asked me when I would get off work. And when I told her that it was going to be the middle of the night, she said she should get me fired so I’d have to spend time with her.” He can feel Citrus and Cayenne both tense in response. He squeezes them closer. “It’s alright, she decided that I should keep my job.” He frowns, “Though I wouldn’t put it past her to show up randomly.”

Citrus nuzzles his cheek, “Well, Tim, if she wants to join the herd, and you like her…”

“Whoa, hold on a moment, I wasn’t trying to bring her into the herd – I-I barely know her! North Point did say yes to joining us, she’s got her lease at her place to deal with, but she’ll be moving in before too long.  I’m not looking to expand our herd already. Three mares with just me is kinda intense already, and the prospect of another added.” He huffs, “I don’t know if I can handle all of you.”

That gets twin giggles, though Cayenne stops for a moment, a sour look on her face. “You do know that griffins tend to be more monogamous than ponies, right?”

Citrus giggles, “I would like to meet her sometime. Perhaps one of those times she shows up, you can bring her here, let her meet us.”

Tim nods. “At least you girls can get to know her.” He glances at the sound of a knock on the entry door. He extracts himself from the mares, “I’ll get it.” He says as he pulls on pajama pants. He pads down the stairs and through the entryway, “Coming,” he calls as the knock is repeated yet again. Finally, he opens the door. “Oh, good morning, Princess.”

Twilight’s ears are down and her tail is tucked under her rear. “Good morning, Tim.”

He gestures for the young alicorn to enter and closes the door behind her. “I didn’t know when you would show up again, but it’s good to see you.”

She nods as she hops on the couch. “I had to deal with some…” she blushes a bit, “personal issues,” she sighs for a moment, her tail twitching beneath her, “I’m sorry for missing so many appointments with you, and then the deer…” she looks up at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears, “I’m sorry, I’m a horrible teacher.”

Tim moves over and gives Twilight a hug, she tenses for a long moment, then finally her wings fold around him, hugging him back, after a long moment, he pulls away, she tilts her head to the side, one ear up, one ear down, “What was that for?”

Tim shrugs. “You looked down, so I’m trying to cheer you up.”

That gets a wan smile from Twilight, “Thank you, Tim. Though I think there’s been a breakthrough on how you got here.”

“A breakthrough?”

She nods. “Princess Celestia got a note from the deer of the Everfree forest, they were complaining about the ponies leaving trash in their forest. Princess Celestia assured them in her note back that ponies don’t send our trash to the Everfree, around here, most trash is treated magically.” She shakes her head, “Well, long story short, she sent some guards to where the deer had indicated. And they did find something.” She flicks her ears for a long moment as she falls silent.

Tim shrugs. “What did they find?”

“Well, I think I should show you. Could you please let your herd know that you’ll be gone for a day or so?”

Tim blanches, “Well, I have to work tomorrow. Apple Stars…”

She looks up at him sharply, “You have a job now?” She looks down. “Geez, have to deal with things for a couple of weeks and everything changes.” She grumbles quietly, then apparently she realizes that she spoke aloud, she flinches and looks up at him, her face turning red, “I’m sure I’ll have you back by tomorrow afternoon. Is that okay?”

Tim nods, “I’ll tell the girls, and let them know about that. I don’t have to go in until late afternoon anyway,” he says. He heads upstairs and in a matter of minutes, the two of them are in the elevator.

He listens to the hum of the elevator as it swiftly descends. “So, what did they find?”

She shakes her head, “We had to excavate some of it, but we aren’t exactly certain what it is. Though we do know it’s metal, and I think it’s from your world.”

Tim’s eyebrows rise as the door opens, he follows her through the lobby and when they get outside, Tim stops and stares, “A chariot?” Tim asks, looking at the golden pony drawn vehicle sitting on the street. Two large pegasus stallions in royal regalia are harnessed to the large chariot.

Twilight giggles as she clambers aboard, “Since my last attempt to teleport you was such a failure, I simply had a chariot brought so we can go there.”

“Right now?”

She nods, “Right now.” She watches him climb aboard and calls out, “Ready.” The two stallions unfurl their wings and start to pull the chariot, quickly they are in the air, Tim looks over the side as they continue to gain altitude, and the city of Canterlot expands before his eyes. He glances at the Royal Palace, then looks down at the streets, teeming with multi-colored ponies going about their lives. Pegasi wing their way above the cityscape, as unicorns and Earth ponies walk the streets.

“Beautiful,” Tim breathes as he picks out other landmarks of Canterlot, restaurant row, the mercantile district where Apple Stars has gone with him on purchasing expeditions. Fresh fish and other protein sources, along with the best Canterlot has to offer of fruits and vegetables line several street vendors. A shift of his head shows him the airship docks. After a moment, a lavender wing folds over his shoulders.

“Yes, the capital city has its own beauty,” Twilight says softly. Tim looks at her, she’s standing with her forehooves on the railing of the chariot, her tail is swishing slowly as they fly, she leans back towards him, “You would be surprised at how much of Equestria is that beautiful.”

Tim nods as the pegasi pulling the cart bring it over the edge of the city walls and start to descend. At first, he thinks their destination is Ponyville, but they actually continue over a large section of forest. Before too long, the city on the mountain is barely visible, and the town of Ponyville is completely hidden from view. Twilight looks down, “This is the Everfree Forest. This is a very dangerous area, and with you not having magic, it could very likely be fatal. If you have to go, make sure I’m with you. Understood?”

Tim gulps and nods as the pegasi head towards the ground, a large cleared area has been cordoned off, ponies are working all over the place, along with quite a few royal guards. When they land, Twilight leads him off the chariot. Tim is quite content to simply follow the alicorn as she makes her way towards the destination. Before long, she stops and gestures for him to come up beside her. “This.”

Tim’s jaw drops, half buried in the ground is an enormous metal cylinder.  It had impacted at an angle sucking debris into it as it hit the ground digging a partial trench. Even in this condition, it’s easily recognizable. “It’s a jet engine.”

He breathes softly, stepping forward putting his hand gently against the cowling.  It’s heavily damaged, apparently it had been traveling at a high speed when it hit.  The front end is crumpled but it is still attached to its pylon with parts of the wing is still affixed, though torn as if hit by some great force.  Tim looks back at Twilight. “Well, this certainly looks like it’s from my world, but how did you figure that out?”

Twilight unfolds her wings and takes to the air, she flies around to the other side of the engine, Tim follows and looks at where she is pointing. The blue color of the engine cowling was enough, but emblazoned on the side of the engine is the website for them, jetblue.com. He glances up, a good portion of the wing is still connected, "That... That could be from the plane I was on.... But how did it get here?" Then he gasps, he looks at Twilight, whose ears are down.

She nods. “You’ve described how your airplanes fly.” She points up, “The metal was sliced, I’m guessing by some sort of portal or dimensional rift.” She sighs softly, “The edges of it would likely make a razor seem dull. And it sliced off the wing with this engine, along with a bit of the body of the plane.”

Tim looks down, “The part with me in it.” He stops, looking at the other debris around, “No way. You are saying this was my plane?”

She nods, “You must have slipped out of your seat as you fell.” She points, “You were found by Rainbow Dash in Ghastly gorge, that’s about five miles that way.” She looks up at him. “Could the plane have survived that kind of damage?”

Tim looks up at the wing, he’s already certain of the answer, but for a moment, he wants to believe it’s possible. After a long time he sighs and shakes his head. She nods, “That’s what I thought.” She says softly. A few tears escape, and she looks up at him, “How many were aboard?”

Tim sighs, “it was an early morning flight. I would guess it was about half full.”

“So, over a hundred humans?”

He nods, he would like to confirm closer to two hundred, but the number is high enough already. She looks down, “Do you know what was happening that day?”

Tim shakes his head, Twilight emits a heavy sigh, “Rainbow Dash was practicing for a special performance, she had done three or four sonic rainbooms that day.” Her ears flick back, “I think she may have inadvertently created a rift with the magical explosion.”

He had seen the sonic rainboom before, some celebration a few months after he had arrived in Equestria, it was truly a sight to behold.

She turns away, her wings, ears and tail all signaling exactly how defeated she looks, Tim moves up next to her, “There is no way you could have known, Twilight.”

She stops and looks at him, her eyes bright with even more tears, “Tim, I had persuaded Rainbow to practice that day. She had been procrastinating, she needed to be in tip-top shape for the summer sun celebration. She was doing it that day at my behest.” She sobs softly, “I’m not only the reason over a hundred humans are dead, but I’m also the reason you are here.”

Tim sits down heavily, everyone on that plane was probably dead. He shakes his head, that’s not possible. He looks back at the ruined engine, then back at Twilight. The alicorn is hugging herself with her wings, trying to suppress her sobs. The other ponies working the site seem to be keeping their distance. Finally, Tim moves over and gives her a hug. That opens the floodgates as Twilight latches onto him as she cries. Great sobs rack her body as he holds her tightly. His shoulder is soaked as she mourns, and all he can do is hold her tightly and let her cry.

Finally, she sniffles and pulls away, “You should hate me.”

Tim shakes his head, “Why? There was no way you could ever have known this would happen.” He looks back at the engine, “the chances of this happening has to be so tiny that there would be absolutely no way to predict that her doing a sonic rainboom could ever cause this.” He shrugs, “This isn’t your fault, Twilight. This is a freak accident.” He finds himself holding back tears, “Yes, humans died in the accident, but how do you foresee a rift like this?”

“I knew that the sonic rainboom is more than just a colorful display. It has some really powerful and ancient magic behind it. It’s very rare that a pegasus has the ability to create one. The pegasus can’t just be fast, but also has to have a strong magical component to their flight. Rainbow Dash is the first in decades to have that ability. I know of only two pegasi who have the necessary magic components in the world right now.” She sighs, “I’m sorry, Tim.”

Tim sits there for a long time, looking back at the engine as more ponies continue their work, “What is going to be done with it?”

Twilight sighs and finally sits on her haunches next to him, “It will be taken back to Canterlot, we will disassemble it, try to figure out how it works.” She looks at him sideways, “Unless you know how jet engines work?”

Tim shakes his head. “Just the basics, that engine will tell you a lot more than I ever could. I can work on piston engines, not those.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Well, one of them requires a bunch of pistons around a crankshaft, but these are turbofans, which is kinda like having a fan use you to burn a bunch of air and fuel together to make it go.”

She nods, albeit more in a placating than understanding manner. Both of them sit and watch as a group of unicorns work their magic together to lift the engine on to a wooden sled. As the ponies are lashing it down, Twilight turns to Tim, “You know, what you had in your pockets is in Ponyville.”

Tim furrows his brow, “I didn’t have much in my pockets, my phone, my wallet, some cash, my keys.” His eyes dart side to side as he tries to remember, “I might have had my charge cord, too,” he smiles, “my laptop case was under my seat, don’t guess you have that.”

“I’ll have some guards scour the area between here and Ghastly Gorge, but I doubt it will be found. I’ve been able to repair the glass of the phone.” She giggles softly, “I learned a few things about them with my time on the other side of the mirror, though I couldn’t use my magic on them in that form.” She shrugs, “Though I’ve been unable to power it up, I hesitate to try to charge it, applying voltage in the wrong part of it could fry it, and it would be dead.” She stands up, “Let’s go take a look at it.” She glances up at the sky, “It’s getting late; I can have you as a guest in my castle tonight.”

Tim stands up and follows Twilight back to the chariot, and it doesn’t take long for the pegasi to bring them to Ponyville. Twilight brings Tim through the castle and down several flights of stairs to her lab. He glances at the mirror as she leads him to a work bench. Her horn alights and a large crystalline box floats off a shelf and lands in front of her. She gestures for Tim to open the box, he does so and he looks inside. He smiles as he brings out his old cell phone, the glass is pristine on it. He rubs his fingers along the surface for a moment, and pushes the power button on the side. The screen remains dark.

He chuckles, “Well, it keeping power this whole time would be too much to ask for.” He reaches into the box, a small crystal bowl has the change that was in his pocket.

“This is money from my world.” He says as he also brings out his wallet. Opening it up he brings out a bill, “This is worth twenty dollars in America.”

Twilight’s eyebrows rise. “I think I’ve been there! Dollars, right?”

He nods as he flips through the change, identifying the denominations as he shows each one to Twilight. Per usual, her horn is alight and a quill is rapidly scratching across the parchment. “These don’t look like any money I recall from your world. Where’s the old human mare? Where’s the birds on the dollar coins?”

Tim laughs, “Oh, I see, you were in Canada.”

“Canada? A what?”

“Never mind,” grins the human, pulling out his jeans, they aren’t exactly shredded, but they will never be worn again. The ponies had apparently cut him out of them. He reaches in again and pulls out his charge cord, “Yeah, this is the charge cord for the phone.” He looks at Twilight, “You know about electricity?”

She nods, “We use magic for most things requiring power, but we know of it.”

He looks at the small power brick, reading the information on it, “It takes one hundred twenty volts of AC power.”

She scrunches her face a little, “AC?”

He nods, “It means alternating current. The voltage switches between positive and negative sixty times per second back home. It’s so we can transmit power long distances. The phone itself uses direct current, and very low voltage.” He sighs, “I couldn’t tell you which pins inside here that you could apply voltage to when it comes to charging.” He touches the charge cord, “But I don’t know how you would get power to this.”

Twilight smiles, “I knew that the cord was for the phone, but I could never figure out what it actually did.” She rears back and clops her hooves, “You’ve reduced the potential from twenty-four pins, down to two. And you said the voltage alternates between one twenty positive and one twenty negative volts sixty times per second?”

He nods, “Well, it actually makes it up to about one sixty, but it averages out to one twenty.”

“And by voltage, you mean one volt through one ohm gives you one ampere?”

He closes his eyes and thinks for a moment, “That sounds about right.”

She giggles, “Math, it’s not only a universal constant, but a multiversal constant. Thank you, Tim, that tells me a lot more than I knew before.” She points at the text imprinted onto the plastic of the charger, “Remember, you haven’t finished teaching me your written language. So I couldn’t read all of this.” She gestures, “I’ll get you set up in a room. I’m going to perform some experiments based on what you told me.”

Before long, Tim is settling into a bed in Twilight’s castle. He suspects that the lavender mare will be up all night.

***

The air lacks humidity, the low hum of fans forcing and recycling air doesn’t help with Tim’s mouth and tongue feeling dry. Smacking his lips, he tries to move, but the belt across his lap holds him in place. The clanking of the drink cart, the sound of a pop can being opened encourages Tim to seek a respite from the dryness.

Tim gasps himself awake, he looks around. The low thrum of the jet engines are what lulled him to sleep. He takes a moment to smile at the flight attendant as she moves the cart past him offering a bag of blue potato chips to another passenger. He shakes his head; his mouth was still dry but he wasn’t sure what he wanted.  Why is he in a center seat in the middle set of rows? He was in the left window seat over the wing when he fell asleep. He glances around, the seat he was in is now empty, a dark wet stain on the seat. Did someone spill a drink?

He shakes his head; he’s still foggy. What’s going on? With a loud bang, the lights flicker out. The sound is deafening as an eighteen-foot section of the wall, as well as the seat beside him, is ripped out of the plane. The air screams out of the airplane as the oxygen masks drop, but they are blown back by the airstream. Everything loose in the cabin becomes airborne. Tim screams with the rest of the passengers as the plane flips on its side with the loss of the wing. A moment later the plane drops into a steep dive as parts of the aircraft start being ripped off due to the speed and structural failure. As the plane falls, he can see the ground getting closer as the plane flips over and over.

Beside him a little girl grabs his arm, crying for her mama. The stewardess is thrown to the back of the plane, followed by the cart as it bounces off several seats on its trip. Tim can hear someone behind him praying to God, begging for forgiveness, pleading not to die.  Tim gathers in a large breath and screams, “Ohhhh, shit!”

Tim gasps himself awake as he coughs, rubs his eyes, and looks around. Everything on the plane looks normal again. He moans and stretches for a moment, what’s going on? He’s in a different seat, an aisle seat in the back of the plane, what happened here? He leans forward, there’s his seat, but a little pony is sitting there.  A pegasus with light blue fur and darker blue mane and tail.  On her hip, a dark purple potato chip with a pair of wings sprouting from it.  Beside her in the aisle seat on that row is six-year-old girl holding the pony. Tim shakes his head, this is different, what’s going on?

A loud bang is followed by the rending of metal, the side of the plane disappears as though some great force ripped it apart, the chair with the pegasus is sucked out a look of horror and sadness on her face as she mouths ‘help me’. Tim stares at the aisle seat of the row he had been in. It’s now empty and cut in half. Tim’s voice is added to the general din as the plane starts to tumble to the ground.  Fire engulfs the far side of the cabin, burning bodies crying for help.

Without warning, everything stops moving, complete silence reigns for long moments, and then a voice calls out gently, “Well, that’s enough of that.”

“Princess Luna?” Tim calls out.

He looks down, he’s still buckled in. Though all the debris is still in the air, it’s just not moving. He glances around, looking for the voice. After a moment, a pony appears, walking slowly down the aisle. She stops at one seat, the drink cart had collided with a man’s head, blood is splattering everywhere. The vivid red droplets shimmer as they hang in the air. She closes her eyes and disappears from that aisle and reappears in the other aisle. “So gruesome.” She murmurs softly, looking at a middle aged woman, her skin flayed by the fireball, her mouth open in a rictus of a scream. She shakes her head before she continues walking and comes up before Tim to sit on her haunches next to him, "Wow humans really do think dark," She says in a gentle voice, "I'm sorry, I was drawn to the pain and suffering of this dream, but, I didn't expect this. I've heard about you, though I just wish I could have met you in a more peaceful setting."

Tim rubs his eyes, looking at the dark gray pony sitting there with the sea blue mane and tail. Her cutie mark is a crescent moon with a purple star on the top of the crescent. “My name is Moon Shadow; I am a dreamer.” Her ears flick a bit, “I’m also Princess Luna’s apprentice.”

“Where is Princess Luna?”

She smiles, “She has decided to have a quite night with another pony tonight, she left me to look over the dreams of our little ponies.” She cocks her head to the side, “Even Princess Luna deserves a break once in a while.”

Tim looks all around, “This is a dream?”

She nods, “You were having a nightmare, so I came to help.”

Tim shakes his head and puts a hand to his forehead, “That was a dream?”

She nods and he flops back onto his back, “That felt so real.”

“Dreams have a tendency to do that.” She moves over and sits next to him, “You seem to have strong fears.”

Tim huffs softly, “I just found out how I got to Equestria, the plane I was on was destroyed by magic.”

That gets a snort from her, “What?”

He nods, “Apparently the sonic rainboom opened some kind of rift between our two worlds, and I was the lucky one to survive.”

She cocks her head to the side, “I would call it luck, you did survive.”

“But everyone else probably died!” He huffs, “It was pure random chance -- what gives me the right to survive while all the other people on that plane died!?” He sits up and cradles his head in his hands.

“It was something outside of your control. You are the only human here in Equestria, I’m pretty sure that you are counted among the casualties of that crash. Though you had it pretty bad yourself. You were in a coma for months, you very nearly died yourself.” She leans against him, “If you truly feel guilty about their loss, just remember that you are still alive, live your life as best as you can.” She sighs softly, “That’s all you can do.”

Both are silent for a long time, finally she shifts a bit, “Do you regret your time here?”

Tim shakes his head, “No, I love Citrus and Cayenne. Hell, even North Point is growing on me. I wouldn’t change my time here for the world.”

She leans her head against his shoulder, “Then live, continue on. Remember the people you’ve never really met, but have lost their lives. They are lost, but you are here. Still alive, continue on and be the man you are. Show love to your mares, and be the man you can be. That’s the best you can do.”

He reaches an arm and hugs her tightly for a moment, “Thank you, Moon Shadow.”

She smiles and suddenly she’s away from him, and both are on their feet. She looks around, “I cannot control what you dream, but if you have another nightmare, I’ll be here for you. Now that you know you are in the dream, you can control your feelings better. Pleasant dreams young Timothy.” With that she disappears.

***

Tim finds he more than a bit warm as he finally wakes. The dreams of the night take their time dissipating as he shakes his head. He goes to move his hand and discovers there’s someone in bed with him. He lifts his head. “Twilight?”

The face that greets him is pink, a pink horn juts up from a tri-colored mane, purple, hot pink, and cream stripes, he can feel a wing folded over his body, the source of the excess heat he’s feeling. The alicorn’s eyes open and purple eyes greet him. She smiles, “Good morning.”

“Ummmm.”

Tim’s trying to figure out how to get out from under her wing as the door to the room slams open, a white unicorn is standing there, his multi-hued blue mane is bristling as he stalks into the room.

“What the buck are you doing with my wife?”
> Chapter 12.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim looks at the pony with her wing wrapped around him, then over at the unicorn stalking slowly towards the bed.

“I’m asking you again, what the buck are you doing with my wife!?”

“Wife?” Tim shrieks, “I don’t even know her!”

She pouts, “You don’t remember last night? I’m so disappointed.”

Tim is able to keep from releasing the contents of his bladder, he pushes hard on the wing, and slides out of the bed and stands up, backing away from the white unicorn, “I don’t know what the fuck is going on! I went to sleep, and woke up this morning with that pony in my bed.” He looks down, “And somehow my underwear is gone!”

“You aren’t helping your case here!” The unicorn growls, his horn lighting up.

“Oh, Shining, can’t you see you are scaring him?” The pink pony says as she stands up. She takes a moment to fold her long wings at her side, Tim takes a moment to really look at this pony. After his time in Equestria, he’s able to judge, somewhat, what comprises beauty among ponies. This one is at the top of every scale. She smiles, and even Tim’s heart skips a beat, “Shining, that’s enough now, we’ve had enough fun with Twilight’s guest.” She flutters her eyes, “For now.”

The unicorn immediately stops, and grins, “Gotcha.”

Tim shakes his head. “What the fuck?”

The pink alicorn walks slowly over to him. She is taller than Citrus or Twilight, but still markedly smaller than Princess Luna or Celestia. She unfolds her wings and takes to the air, hovering eye level with him, “Twilight told us about your visit here, so Shining and I decided to have a little fun with you.” She runs a fetlock across his cheek gently. “I can see what she likes about you.” Her horn glows for a moment, then she flinches away, “But she’s also told me about your herd.” Her wings slow down, bringing her to the floor, “I was asked to come because she was having a rough time with her…” She trails off, glancing over at the unicorn, “time.”

“Time?”

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, I forget you’re not from here. You see, we ponies breed in an estrus or heat cycle, and not even we alicorns aren’t exempt…” Cadance turns and nuzzles the unicorn, “This is my husband, Shining Armor.” She glances back, a roguish grin on her muzzle, “Twilight’s big brother best friend forever.”

Shining nuzzles his wife back and then looks at Tim. “You should have seen the look on your face -- we got you good!” He laughs loudly, getting a flinch from Tim.

“I’m still wondering where my underwear is.”

Her horn glows cornflower blue, and his boxers float over slowly, “Had to have the joke be convincing, but no worries.” Her tail flicks from side to side momentarily, “I am not into non-ponies myself.” She nuzzles Shining lovingly, “It’s just the three of us.”

Tim watches them for a moment, “Three?”

She turns back and nods, “Shining, myself, and our little Flurry Heart.”

“Flurry Heart?”

“Yes, our little filly.” She smiles at him. “We are quite the scandal up in the Crystal Empire.”

Tim moves over and sits on the bed, taking a moment to actually pull on his boxers, “This is too much. What’s a Crystal Empire?”

Shining Armor sits down on his haunches, “Let me clear things up for you then.” He flicks an ear towards the pink alicorn. “My wife, Princess Cadance, right here, is the leader of the Crystal Empire. We are just down in Ponyville visiting my sister for the last couple of weeks.”

Tim reaches for his pants and pulls them on, “Okay, I understand better, but what about scandal?”

Shining barks a laugh, “Oh, our herd is just the two of us, Cadance is very picky on who she wants to join our herd.” He shrugs, “we are taking our time deciding whether or not to expand our herd.”

“My tops candidates are Inyur and Dreams, follow by Manah and Gamy.”

“The papers back home run at least a story a week about the Royal Couple.” He rolls his eyes, “We will add to our herd when we are good and ready.”

Tim pulls his shirt over his frame, “So…”

“Shining, Cadance, what are you two doing here?” Twilight inquires as she walks slowly into the room.

Cadance moves over next to Twilight and nuzzles her. “Don’t fret, we didn’t do anything to hurt him, just scared him a bit.” She glances over at her husband. “Shining can be rather intimidating when he chooses to be.”

Twilight huffs and shakes her head.

Shining Armor moves over to sit next to his sister, “Awww, no worries, little sis.” He glances over at Tim, “I approve of him.”

That gets a furious blush from Twilight, “He’s got his own herd, Shining.” She grumbles. She swallows a couple of times and finally stands up, moving over to Tim, “Want to see what I’ve been doing?”

Tim looks around cautiously, “With what?”

“Your phone, silly. I was able to power it up, but it’s got some kind of protection system, I don’t know what numbers to enter.”

That gets his eyebrows to rise. “You were able to get my phone to work?”

She nods. “Come on!” She turns and walks quickly from the room, her tail swishing from side to side, Shining and Cadance both follow, though Tim notices that Cadance’s tail is also flicking back and forth. He gets a definite eyeful of her intimate parts, causing him to blush and lower his eyes to the floor.

“Damn, now I’m looking at all of them,” Tim whispers to himself, shaking his head.

As they walk through the castle, Shining Armor and Twilight walk next to each other, talking animatedly and nearly constantly touching. After a bit, Cadance hangs back to walk next to Tim. Tim glances at her as they walk but he remains silent.

That doesn’t seem to be good enough for her, she leans over. “Eyeful?”

Tim nearly trips over his own feet, but he’s able to mutter, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“She’s attracted to you, you do know that, right?”

Tim looks down, “I thought she was, but Citrus, and Cayenne, and North Point.”

Cadance giggles softly, “Your herd would be instantly elevated having her join you.” She glances to watch the siblings walking ahead of them, then back at Tim, “She has a line of stallions and other herds a mile long, but she likes the crazy looking alien.” She rolls her eyes. “I tell her to go on a date or two, but she says she’s not interested in social climbers and gold diggers.”

Tim huffs, “I’m still trying to understand this all. She’s my teacher; I’ve got a herd back in Canterlot.”

She flicks out a wing and pushes him on the shoulder. “Tim, look at my cutie mark.”

Tim glances back at the crystal heart on her flank, then up at her face, “Okay?”

“Tim, I’m the princess of love, do you know what that means?” She glances at the siblings, who are continuing their talking. Tim shakes his head. She huffs, “I can see how she feels about you.” She moves over and hip checks him. “And while I know you love the mares in your own herd, you cannot deny there is some attraction there.”

Tim rubs the back of his head, “But…” Only to get cut off by the pretty pink pony princess.

“Tim, I know you don’t know much about our society in general, but she needs a good herd. She needs a stallion that will comfort her, and herd-sisters that will support her. She’s got her friends here in Ponyville, and they’ve kept her from being a complete introvert. But she needs more. There is a literal hole in between her legs that needs to be filled.” Tim looks down, after a few moments she comes closer and puts her wing along the small of his back, “Think about it, okay?”

He nods as they walk through the doorway into Twilight’s lab. She bounces ahead of them over to the work bench, the phone is sitting there, sitting on a small crystal that seems to be plugged into the USB port on the bottom of the phone.

“Tim, take a look!” Twilight says, nearly vibrating, I was able to apply voltage to the charge cord, and that put a charge on the pins in the connector. That told me the pins I needed to use. And I didn’t trust a power crystal being able to use that funky AC power, but with that information I was able to make a crystal to power your phone!” Her magic brings the phone to him. “Can you open it?”

Tim presses the button and the lock screen appears along with the number pad. At the bottom, a little bit of text reads out that a fingerprint is needed. He types in the pin code and the main screen pops up. The face in the background of the phone gets Tim to stop. He remembered taking this photo. The icons on the screen are cluttering up everything, so he taps the icon for the photo gallery, bringing up the whole thing. Karen is sitting on the curb, dressed in short shorts along with a bright red tank top. Her smile sticks in his head. Tim stares at the picture, everything else fades out, the only thing in his life at that moment is that picture. “Oh, God.” Tim murmurs, tears falling from his face.

“Tim, what’s wrong?” Tim barely recognizes her voice as he swipes through the gallery, a selfie with the both of them at some bar. Her just waking up and giving him a dirty look noticing his phone pointed at her, another selfie of them at the county fair, the next is her taking a bite of a funnel cake. Another is her on one of the rides, the blur of the photo showing how fast it was going.

He finds himself on his knees as he continues through the pictures. “Oh, dear God, Karen,” he sobs as he continues to swipe. A picture she had sent him when he was on the road, she had dressed up in blue jean bib overall shorts with a green tank top. The look on her face just so sexy to him. Another swipe stops him in his tracks. He stares at the picture, they had been working on his old beat up truck. They had been upgrading his exhaust system. He had pulled out the phone to take the picture because they had been talking and laughing as they worked, and he had noticed she had gotten a bit of grease on the tip of her nose, and he had told her she was cute right before snapping the picture. The look on her face in that picture, the love evident on her face. The phone slides from his grip to smack onto the floor. Both hands cover his face as he sobs, “I miss you so much!”

A body presses against him, enfolding him as he continues to cry. Twilight’s voice is in his ear as he sits there, whispering soothing words that he really doesn’t hear. Soon another body is holding him as he tries to start putting himself together. Both of the alicorns hold him as he continues to cry.

“I’m so sorry.” He’s able to gasp, remembering the picture, remembering her smell, the feel of her, “Oh Karen.” He shudders in the grasp of the two ponies, “I can’t even let her know I’m okay.”

“I’m so sorry, Tim.” Twilight says as his sobs begin to ebb. “I know you miss your home.” She glances at the phone. “And the people there, maybe if you get back, you can be together again.” She says, her ears flicking back for a moment. “Tim, I really want to help you.”

After a long time, he shrugs the alicorns away from him. He sits there for a long time, arms wrapped around his knees. He looks up at Twilight, “You know what magic brought me here, do you think you can replicate that to where I could go back?”

Twilight looks down, “I don’t know. Finding out it was the rainboom that did it.” Her ears flick for a long time, “It tells me the direction to look when it comes to the magic.” She shakes her head, “But the amount of power it would take…” She looks at him, her own eyes watery, “I don’t even think linking with Celestia and Luna would be enough.” She sighs, “I’m not going to say it definitively, but the odds of me being able to send you back home have gotten a lot smaller.”

Cadence’s horn lights and a tissue is brought to him, allowing him to blow his nose. Twilight nuzzles his cheek, “I had no idea that this would get such a response from you.” Her magic brings the phone off the floor.

“That’s easily fixed.” She says gently, gesturing to the cracks running along the screen. The magic runs over the glass and suddenly it’s pristine again. Tim reaches out and takes the phone once again.

He runs his finger over the glass, “You would be able to make a killing back at home, fixing glass that easily.” He’s able to smile a little bit.

She laughs, then her face turns somber, “Well, I can tell you were in love with her.” She gestures to the home screen picture, “That is what Karen looks like?” Tim nods and she runs a hoof along the glass, though it doesn’t respond to her touch, “How are you able to use this thing?”

That gets a laugh from Tim. “It’s a touch screen, I don’t think the engineers had hooves in mind when they designed it.” He runs a finger along the screen. “I don’t think there’s all that much I can show you, other than the pictures.” He presses a few icons, getting error messages. “I’m guessing you don’t have LTE service here.” He glances at the top of the screen. Sure enough, no bars. “I used Spotify for my music, and Netflix and youtube for videos.” He glances at another icon. “And Facebook wouldn’t be of much use here.”

“Facebook?” Twilight says, scrunching up her face, she glances at a book on the work table, “How would…” she trails off. After a moment, she flops her ears back and forth, “Well, whatever information I can glean from this would be helpful.” Her magic enfolds the device and he can see shimmering movement over the touch screen. He glances at Twilight as she seems to be concentrating, her tongue poked slightly out the side of her mouth as she works with it, finally the screen responds and she smiles, “Ahh!” She says triumphantly. The gallery comes up, and she starts swiping through the photos on the device. “The picture clarity is really vivid.”

“We will leave you too this; we need to check on Flurry Heart.” Comes Cadance’s voice.

Tim looks up to smile at her as she walks from the room with Shining Armor. Then he looks down at the phone, “Um Twilight, I think you’ve seen enough there.”

She is still going through the photos. “There’s hundreds of these on this little thing, this is remarkable…” then she stops, her cheeks glowing.

Tim groans as her magic presses the triangle play icon in the middle of the screen. The phone loads the video file and starts to play, Tim reaches out and tries to grab the phone, only to have her whip it away from him. The slapping sounds of two bodies in passion pours from the speakers. He recognizes his own moans, and well as Karen’s squeaks and moans. The sound continues, “Twilight, please, stop it.” She ignores him as she whirls away from him. Her blush is from her chest to the tips of her ears, though her wings are up and quivering slightly as she stares at the device suspended in her magic.

“Fascinating,” Twilight murmurs as she moves the phone away from Tim trying to grab it again.

He remembers that day very well, that video was taken about a month before he had accepted the new job. Karen had asked him to take video as they had sex, and he had agreed, but now… “I should have deleted that.”

Twilight stops and looks at him, she floats the phone over to the work bench and sets it down gently, “Tim, it’s just fine.” She clears her throat, “I am, first and foremost, a scientist.” Her cheeks glow again, “I can observe such things as necessary. And while seeing how humans have sex is not specifically helpful in determining how to get you home, it is valuable information on your interpersonal relationships. And that is important.”

“Just kill me now.” Tim murmurs as video reaches its climax, both in the action and file length.

Twilight hums softly as the video finally completes, she looks up at him, “You had something over your penis, why?”

He groans for a moment, trying to avoid the question. He glances over at Twilight, who is looking at him expectantly, “We didn’t want kids yet; that was a condom. It captures the semen so she doesn’t get pregnant.”

Twilight’s eyebrows rise, “Fascinating, since you don’t have spells to prevent pregnancy, you use physical barriers.”

“Unlike you, we’re fertile year round.”

She swipes to another picture, Karen sitting on the bed, cradling her breasts, “Your physiology is very different.” She looks up at Tim, turning the phone so he can see the picture displayed there. “There are quite a few pictures here showing these. Why do you focus on them?”

“Her breasts?” Twilight nods. He continues, “I’m a bit of a breast man; I really like them, a lot.”

That gets a blush from Twilight, “Something ponies lack.” She steps closer, “Are you sexually satisfied in your herd?”

Tim whirls away from her, he can feel his face is positively glowing. “That’s not an appropriate question, Twilight.”

He folds his arms, hugging himself. He can hear Twilight’s hooves shifting on the crystalline flooring of the lab, finally he hears her wings unfold. He doesn’t have any time to react when she wraps all four legs around him, and finally her wings complete the hug. She holds him for a long time, just being close. But finally, “Tim, I am personally responsible for you ending up here. I can’t change the past, I can’t change what happened. The strongest time travel spell I know how to use can only send me back seven days. I can’t change how you got here. But what I can do, is do everything in my power to make your life here as pleasant as possible.” She squeezes harder, “I had to deal with some truths that I had denied the last few weeks. I have feelings for you, more than just as a teacher or mentor.” She pauses for a moment, “But I know you have your herd, and you are happy with them. But you are an alien here, you are very different, and I need to know you are satisfied with everything. Tim, I have wronged you in ways I can never right” her voice cracks, “but I will do anything within my power to make amends, since I can never settle that debt with you.”

Tim looks down, “Twilight, you have no debt to me. I was caught up in the craziest of freak accidents, you had no malice or intent to harm me. I am satisfied with my herd, sexually and emotionally. Citrus and Cayenne would do anything at all for me.” He sniffles, “And I would do anything for them. Right now, all I want to do is go home.”

Her body stiffens a bit, and her wings bring her away from him. “Very well,” she says, her voice small. “I had the chariot prepared before I came to get you. All you have to do is head outside, and the guards will take care of you.” A soft clop announces her landing and he can hear her hooves as she moves to the work bench, “I can have your phone returned to you, along with a couple of extra power crystals configured to power your phone, but it will take a few days.”

“Keep it, it doesn’t have service, and you can likely find out a lot more about it by studying it. Oh, and thank you, Twilight.”

She’s sitting on a stool before her work bench, her horn alight and the phone suspended in her magical field. Though what stops him for a moment is the tears slowly running down her face, he sighs as he walks away, he’s already told her that she wasn’t at fault. He can’t make her understand. She’s going to have to work through that herself. He glances from side to side noting the guardspony there, an enormous midnight blue mare with a predominantly sky blue mane that is streaked with several other colors. That’s actually different to Tim. Spending most of his time in Canterlot Castle, the guards had magic in their armor to have each tribe with its own specific look. Here, the ponies in Twilight’s unique armor seem to retain their natural coloring. Things are just so different here. The big mare glances at him as he walks through the corridor. After a bit, he stops, glancing at the door to Twilight’s lab. He shakes his head and finally makes his way outside, where a chariot is sitting, waiting for him. The pegasi stallions from the previous day get into their harnesses and quickly he’s in the air, heading back to Canterlot.

***

Tim closes the door behind him, the latch engaging echoing through the entry foyer. He walks slowly through to the kitchen, no breakfast plate is sitting there, waiting for him. Tim turns and takes the stairs up to the bedroom. The neatly made bed greets him, he strongly considers just lying in bed and waiting for the girls to come home. He looks at the empty bed for a long time, then he turns to the bathroom. Stripping out of his clothes is a simple affair, and soon the hot water of the shower is playing over his body. That gets an involuntary groan from him as he enjoys the warmth. He relishes the feeling of the water as he scrubs his body; getting clean in Equestria is usually a very pleasant experience.

The shower finished, he pulls on the underwear and jeans, he fingers the light orange shirt, on the breast pocket is now three cutie marks. Those three girls make his life in this world very happy. Does he want to add a purple star to it? How would that white mare react with him asking to add another mark? She is one of Twilight Sparkle’s best friends. He shakes his head, he doesn’t want to think about her right now. He pulls on the shirt and is quickly ready for work. The elevator takes him quickly to the ground floor, and he nods at the doorpony as he heads for work.

 “So, are ya banging her?”

That gets Tim to stop dead, he looks over at the griffin standing next to him, “Wh-what!?”

She unlimbers her wings to take to the air and hovers close to him, “When a pony mare shows off herself that much, she’s only doing that with a mate.” She elbows him. “So, have you been pounding the purple plot?”

Tim pushes her away. “No! What do you care, anyway?”

She rolls her eyes, “Oh come on, dude. you turned down the chance to mount the pony princess of friendship? What’s wrong with you? She’s the hottest lay in town.” She clicks her beak a few times, “What next, turning down the princess of lust?” She giggles, “Or would it be love? Lust, love, whatever.” She leans closer. “I know she’s just got her husband, I’m pretty sure you’d be able to join him in some fun romps together. That’s the way those ponies like it, the more the merrier.”

“Actually, I did meet her, and her husband. No, I didn’t mount her either.” Tim says in an aggrieved tone.

She giggles, “Oh, come on! It’s been a whole week since I saw you last. You could at least smile when you see me.”

He isn’t very expressive. “I’ve got a lot on my mind…”

“So, the Princess of Friendship is pretty much throwing herself at you, and you got to meet her sister-in-law, and yet you haven’t gone after either? I don’t get it.”

Tim rolls his eyes, “I’ve got to get to work, Leah.” He starts walking, only to have her claw close around his upper arm, whirling him to face her.

“I get it, you aren’t interested in what’s under a pony’s tail. But are you completely xenophobic?”

“What? No! I never said I wasn’t interested. I….” he finds his face getting hot, “I don’t think such topics are for polite conversation.”

She rolls her eyes, “So, you aren’t into the pony princess, your loss.” He shrugs off her claw and starts walking towards the Spitfire Grill, after a few moments, she catches up with him, “Why are you so dodgy today?”

He looks at her from the corner of his eye. “Why won’t you take a hint?”

“Well, duh, I wanna know you. You don’t seem to have any ambition to reach for higher status, which is not normal for a pony living in Canterlot.”

“Well, I’m not a pony,” Tim growls, his shortened fuse starting to catch him by surprise. This gormless griffon would be a very nice target to go off, guilt free, for being a pest.

“As if I didn’t know that, but I know how many of those pony herds are salivating at getting her into their bed. The newest pony princess in a thousand years has ponies from all over Equestria vying for her attention. Scuttlebutt says she’s got her eyes on a non-pony. But most of the nobility have no clue who that non-pony is. I saw yesterday that it’s you, yet you are not interested. You don’t make sense, Tim.”

Tim turns onto Restaurant Row. “If she’s such a hot lay and if she seems interested in non-ponies, why don’t you try?”

“Me? I told you why I’m not all that much into ponies. I want something different.” She stops and taps her beak with a claw thoughtfully, “But that is something her and I have in common. Maybe I should talk with her about it.” She smiles evilly, “I know, her and I could team up, get you really interested.” She laughs and takes off, straight up. She does a loop in the air and heads towards the castle.

Tim watches as she disappears around one of the taller buildings, then he shakes his head. “Dear fucking Christ… Everyone in this world is crazy!” He catches himself, caught off guard at his own vehemence. Tim opens the door to the restaurant and greets Orange Swirl quickly before heading back into the kitchen to start work.

***

Tim turns the key in the lock, and is satisfied with the thunk of the dead bolt moving into place. He puts the key in his pocket and waves at the bartender as she walks towards her home. Tim turns in the opposite direction, pleasant thoughts of sleep already clouding his mind. Though he keeps an eye out for that griffin. Since she informed him of what she was planning four days ago, he’s been waiting for her to appear randomly. A quick scan of the sky shows three thestrals winging their way along the quiet streets, but no griffins. He quickly makes it home, not really interacting with the few pedestrians on the streets. There is no doorpony that late at night, but he makes it into the elevator without a problem. The door to his apartment is only a matter of a few steps from the elevator. As he opens the door, he notices that more lights than usual are lit this time of night.

“Tim!” Citrus squeals as she bounces over to see him. She leaps into his arms, and he kisses her. Knowing with that kiss that means everything in the world is right. The kiss goes on, but finally they pull away, both of them a bit breathless. Tim glances around. “You should be in bed, love. It’s late.”

She smiles coyly, “Come into the kitchen, we need to talk.”

Tim finds himself shuddering, “No scarier words in any language than that phrase.”

That gets a giggle from her, and he carries her into the kitchen, with two other ponies sitting on stools. Tim deposits Citrus onto one stool as he collects kisses from the other two mares. Though Cayenne takes a moment to run a hoof gently along his inner thigh, and she slaps his rear with her tail as he moves to sit down, a lustful smile on her face. He finds his own seat, “So, what do we need to talk about?”

Cayenne’s horn lights, and a rich cream colored envelope with golden script floats to him. Tim glances at his name and address on the front. He furrows his brow, “What is this?”

“I think I know what this is, but you need to open it.”

Tim looks at the wax seal on the envelope, it’s Princess Celestia’s cutie mark, a rayed sun. He breaks the seal and pulls out a thick piece of parchment. A quick scan has him looking up at his girls, then down at the parchment. “It’s an invitation.” That gets squeals from each of the girls. He clears his throat, 

“Mares and Gentlecolts,

You are hereby cordially invited to this year’s Grand Galloping Gala, held in the ball room of Canterlot Castle. Enclosed you will find sufficient Gold tickets to grant you full entry and access to all Gala Events including food, drink, and access to the VIP lounge. This year’s entertainment will be provided by The Rock and Beats, with an airshow performed by Equestria's Own Wonderbolts.   If you require more tickets, please contact Raven for additional bookings.” 



Again, the girls squeal as Tim checks in envelope, there are the tickets. He inspects the first one, “This is a sheet of gold.” Tim says softly. He looks at the tickets, “What’s going on here?” That gets all three girls attention, he fans out the tickets, “There are five tickets here, and only four of us.”   
> Chapter 13.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim rubs his eyes, then glances at the approaching sunrise. “It’s far too early to be up,” he grumbles.

Apple Stars hip checks him, “Oh come on, how long have you lived in Equestria? Count yourself lucky you are not in some of the smaller towns like Ponyville or Trottingham; by this time of day they would already be singing or having parades. Honestly, how could humans survive if they only wake up at noon?”

He glances down at her. “I’m not a morning person.”

She giggles, “The early pony catches the apple, my family always says.  You knew we were going to take this trip this morning; this isn’t the first time you’ve joined me here, either.”

He shakes his head. “Back home, it’s the early bird catches the worm.”

She looks up at him. “Really?  Normally it’s like that here, too, just our family doesn't get along well with worms, so we changed it,” she says with a perky look on her face. She smiles at his nod. “If humans use that statement too, though, that means there are wise humans as well. That’s a good thing.”

One of the other sous chefs for the Spitfire Grill is walking behind them, pulling a high sided wagon. The earth pony shakes his mane as he placidly follows them. The Canterlot Market is just opening this morning. Early workers are already calling their wares. Though Apple Stars has been very busy as they’ve worked their way through the vegetation for sale here, the cart is about a third full with all sorts of lovely vegetables. The business acumen of the purple mare impresses Tim.

She stops before a stall filled with root vegetables. Apple Stars starts haggling with the earth pony mare, and very quickly several bunches of carrots, along with beets, artichokes, turnips, and potatoes end up in the cart. Apple Stars brings out her bit bag, and a generous stack of coins are passed over to the mare. They end up hoof bumping as Apple Stars turns away, a satisfied smile on her face, “I love getting good deals,” she says with a giggle as she brings out a scroll and makes several check marks.

A new source of light gets Tim’s attention, causing him to glance over at Canterlot Castle, where he sees Princess Celestia is on a parapet. Princess Luna stands beside her, both of their horns glowing brightly as the moon finally sets and the sun peeks over the horizon. Tim looks around, most of the ponies have stopped what they are doing to watch. As the Princesses let their horns quiet, many of the ponies stamp their hooves approvingly, including Apple Stars. She looks up at Tim. “Can you believe how much power that takes?”

Tim shrugs, “Back home, the sun doesn’t need any help, our planet revolves around the sun, and rotates itself.”

She looks sad for a moment. “Your people are certainly missing out, Tim.” She looks up at the parapet as the Princesses withdraw back into the castle proper. “Magic is something very important in our world.”

Tim sighs, “I know. There are times I wonder what my world would be like with magic like you have here.” He smiles. “It would certainly be different.”

“Tim!” Comes a stallion’s voice. Tim brightens, the few times he’s been shopping with Apple Stars he’s gotten to meet some of the vendors.

Tim smiles at the silver-gray pegasus with the yellow-blonde mane, “Hi-ho, Silver, how are sales today?”

The stallion chuckles, “Better now that you are here. The usual?”

Tim glances back at Apple Stars, who nods. “I’m guessing the answer is yes.” The pegasus unfolds his wings and zips back into the shop. Apple Stars steps up next to Tim and he takes a moment to look around, watching the other ponies haggle with each other for the fresh wares displayed everywhere. Though a lot of the ponies do eat quite a bit of hay, it’s not really that prominent around the marketplace, simply because you can get hay pretty much anywhere.

Apple Stars giggles, “He’s a cute stallion.”

Tim looks at her, “Really?”

She nods, “Oh yes, nice coloring, and,” her face colors a bit, “pretty nice haunches to look at too.”

Tim shakes his head, Apple Stars isn’t in a herd at the moment, and she tends to keep an eye out for the single stallions around. And since he’s with Cayenne, Citrus, and North Point, she seems to find it just fine to confide in him some of the stallions she finds attractive. “I’m not much for determining how good a stallion looks, Apple.”

She tsks, “Oh Tim, even you can see the stallion, you’ve been here long enough to tell.”

He rolls his eyes as Silver bounces out, “You are going to like the selection today.” He turns his head and grabs the wooden box full of fruit. Setting it on the table, he smiles, “I’ve got strawberries, chokecherries, cherries, and mangos.”

Apple Stars moves closer, inspecting the produce, her horn lights and she picks up a strawberry. She looks at it critically, then she moves over and hip checks Silver, “That all ya got for me?”

“W-what?”

She ducks her head under his chin, running her mane along it, getting his wings to perk up a bit, and a blush to appear on his face, she comes close, “I heard there might be some bananas today.” She coos softly.

His blush intensifies, “I-I-I-I think…” He huffs for a moment, obviously trying to get control of his wings, “I might, just a second.” He hops into the air and zips back into the shop.

Apple Stars giggles, “Oh, he’s a fun one.”

Tim shakes his head, ponies certainly have different ideas on how to deal with each other. He stands there for a few minutes when Silver pops back, bringing three big bunches of bananas to add to the order. All flirting seems to fall by the wayside as they haggle over the price, but soon Apple Stars is counting out more bits for the silver pegasus. As they turn away, Silver calls out, “Hey, Tim.” When Tim looks back, he gestures with a wing. Tim glances at Apple Stars, “I’ll catch up in a minute.”

She rolls her eyes, “Stallions and their gossip, go ahead.” She nods to the sous chef and they both head off.

Tim moves over to Silver, who comically looks side to side, “So, what about Cayenne?”

Tim cocks his head to the side, Silver has said he’s gone out with Cayenne a couple of times several months ago when he first got to Canterlot. But trying to make a living in the crown city has occupied too much of his time and he hasn’t really had much time to worry about anything but that. Apparently, most of those problems are now resolved, “She’s doing good. The restaurant is making good money, she showed me how much recently, and I’m actually surprised. But she’s saving up the bits to open a second and maybe a third location. Provided that she can find a good enough chef who has her passion for spice.”

Silver’s wings snap out for a moment, he takes a moment to deliberately fold them to be comfortable at his sides, “So, do you think she’d be interested? I know you, her and Citrus are a herd, but…” he looks down, tracing a hoof along the cobblestones, “Would you be looking for…possibly…” his face flushes and he flinches back, “Sorry, forget I asked.”

Tim takes a moment to suppress a jealous impulse. He’s never been particularly jealous, and having this stallion seeming absolutely smitten with Cayenne is actually quite endearing. Though with North Point moving in, along with that griffon who’s been acting very weird. And Tim tries hard to ignore the fact that Princess Twilight seems to be interested too. Overall, he’s not completely opposed to some assistance in keeping the girls happy. He’s watched a few herd with multiple stallions, and they seem to be pretty happy. In the end, he smiles, “I’ll talk to her.” He stops, “No, how about this, I’m off work after this purchasing trip, and I do have some plans for the afternoon, but this evening, near sundown, come on by.”

The stallion perks up, “Really?” He laughs happily at Tim’s nod, “Oh, that will be so awesome! I’ll be there!” He offers Tim a hoof, and Tim gives him a fist bump.  Tim turns and walks in the direction Apple Stars had gone. He knows where she was planning to go next. A few minutes walking has him next to Apple Stars, she looks up at him and smiles tremulously.

“I’m not a fan of our next stop, you know. It’s the main reason I asked you to come with me.”

Tim smiles, “I know.”

She floats out the bag of bits, now significantly lighter. “Don’t let them fleece ya.”

He laughs, “I know, ponies are pretty good at bargaining.” He grabs the bag, along with the scroll and turns towards the shop. In deference to the diet of most ponies, the advertising of the shop is rather muted. He pushes the door opening, getting a small bell to ring. A pegasus pops his head up from behind the counter.

“Hi, Tim.” Tim takes a moment to inhale deeply, he always liked going to the butcher shop as a kid, and as an adult, he likes it even more. Sausages are quite prominently on display, along with plenty of other meats ready to be packaged for the customers. The pegasus trots over, “So, what does Cayenne need today?” Tim opens the scroll and starts reading aloud. The pegasus listens intently as Tim reads off the orders for andouille sausage, whole and partial chickens, along with quite a few other meats for the various dishes. Finally, Tim winds down, and the pegasus brightens, “Wow, that’s an order.” He looks thoughtful, “Cayenne bumping up her meat friendly menu?”

Tim nods, “The griffin delegation has been coming in more often, and our pegasus hoof traffic has gone up.”

The pegasus smiles, “I’ve been in a couple of times; some really good food there.”

“Yeah, I like eating there.”

The pegasus uses a wing to bump him on the hip, “Yeah, and it helps to be sleeping with the owner, right?”

Tim flushes, “Yeah, she’s great.”

The pegasus rears back a bit, “No need to get all bothered.” He rolls his eyes, “I’ll go get your order.” Tim moves over to look in the various chilled cases as he waits. After the first couple of trips, the merchants here have gotten used to him. And now some of the stallions working around have gotten rather pushy when it comes to finding out about his herd. And some of the graphic language has been rather shocking to him. While ponies may be rather reserved in public when it comes to physical acts of love, they talk a better game than most. Time passes quickly as he watches one of the other employees of the butcher shop, a young griffon male, deftly handling a knife as he slices what seems to be the carcass of a pig. The griffon smiles as he works, humming softly to himself.

“Okay, I’ve got your order.” Tim turns around, and a large wooden box is on the table, each cut is wrapped in white paper, just like back at home. The pegasus comes up, “That will be a hundred fifty-seven bits.”

Tim frowns, “I’ve been paying attention to the market price, I’ll pay a hundred.”

That gets wings to flare, a snort, and a stamp of a hoof on the tile of the shop, “Do you wanna bankrupt me? I’ve gotta pay my employees as well as all the other bills here. One fifty.”

Tim grins, the griffons tend to be rather greedy, but not much for haggling, the ponies do enjoy their system -- no price is fixed. They go back and forth for a few minutes, and finally they settle with him fist bumping the pegasus’ hoof. Tim counts out the coins and the pegasus helps him load the meat into the back of the cart.

As the pegasus retreats back into his shop, Apple Stars comes up. “Thank you, Tim. That was really good.” She looks up at him, “I’ll see ya day after tomorrow. Chef seems to be softening on the idea of letting you cook a meal or two. That might just happen,” she giggles, “I never thought I’d see the day when it comes to that. We will get everything back to the restaurant and put away.”

Tim turns and walks back towards his home, offering a wave to the purple mare and he whistles as he walks, his hands in his pockets as he moves among the ponies. After the first few times of him walking through the city, the clear circle around him as he moves has shrunk. Now he has ponies greeting him by name as he walks through the city. While most of the mares will smile in a distant friendly way, many of the stallions will walk with him, chatting from time to time. He’s been in big human cities, and this is nearly the exact opposite. Rather than studious indifference to those around, the ponies engage with each other as they walk. Ponies that have never met, chat about meaningful thoughts as they walk where they are going. Knots of ponies continuing a conversation have to be navigated around, but all in all, Tim really likes the way ponies work.

Tim greets the doormare at his building takes the elevator up. He finally is able to close the door behind him. The empty apartment echoes with every step he makes. Though kicking off his boots is a welcome action on his part. He glances at the clock. There is enough time to fix a quick early lunch.

***

He slides the cooked chicken patties onto the bun, he places the thick cheese on top and puts the top on the bun, a knock at the door gets his attention, she’s always punctual, that mare. “Come on in!” He calls out as he places a second grilled patty on another bun. He glances at the deep fryer, the fries are ready. He reaches for the spider and starts to sift and drain the fries.

“Oh, it smells good in here.”

Tim puts the fries on the paper towel lined plate, a quick shake of salt has the fries ready. “Hi, Twilight.”

He turns around and stops, there are two mares there. The second is a pink mare, with a purple mane with a teal streak in it. Twilight smiles tremulously, “I brought a friend with me today.”

The other mare steps forward. “I am Starlight Glimmer.” She offers a hoof.

Tim shakes it as he looks at Twilight questioningly, she shrugs her wings with a blush. “I was made aware of how inappropriate I was around you before. And, um, Starlight is here to help me in that respect.”

Tim looks at both ponies, then down at the food, “Umm…” he trails off for a moment, before shaking his head, “It really didn’t bother me all that much. I don’t really know much about pony body language, I guess. I muddle through when it comes to my herd.” He shrugs, “But it’s nice to meet you, I made chicken sandwiches. Want one?” He says, looking at the new mare.

Starlight looks at the food on the plate, “Chicken? As in the bird?”

Tim nods, glancing at Twilight. “Yeah, the little orange ones that can’t fly.”

The alicorn smiles, “I would love one, Tim. Rainbow Dash has been showing me some of the different pegasus meals since I became an alicorn. Though even as a unicorn I could eat the food, it just wasn’t very appealing. It’s a lot different now.” He pushes a plate to her, and Starlight’s horn lights, picking up the rest of the fries, which she deposits on a new plate.

She brings a fry up and nibbles some, she smacks her lips. “Wow, these are really good.”

Twilight takes a big bite of her sandwich, her eyes widen as she chews, Tim pushes a glass of iced tea towards her, and pours a third glass for Starlight. Twilight takes a sip, “Wow, Tim. That’s better than at the restaurant Rainbow Dash took me to.” She looks over at Starlight, “I think you should try it.”

Starlight flinches a bit, “I’m not trying to be rude, but this time, I’ll pass.”

Tim takes a bite of his sandwich, after he swallows. “Don’t know what you are missing.”

She shudders a bit. “I know pegasi and some non-pony races enjoy it, but, it’s not for me. Thank you, though.” She finishes with a little bit of a smile. Her horn lights, bringing a fry up for her to eat. “I do like the fries, though.”

Lunch disappears quickly, and soon Tim is putting the plates in the sink to be taken care of later. He finishes his work as the two mares walk into the living room. He washes his hands, and walks into the living room, using a towel to dry his hands.

Twilight and Starlight are standing together, talking quietly, Twilight’s tail is tucked securely between her rear legs, he clears his throat and both of them look at him, Twilight turns and trots up to him. She smiles, “I’ve been reviewing the information on your phone. That is a fascinating device. It took some serious magic to be able to disassemble it without destroying it. Strong adhesives keeping it together, and a ton of tiny little screws. I would love to see the processes on how some of that is made.” She looks at him seriously, “Are you sure your species has no magic at all? Because I don’t see how some of that could be made without magic. There’s something on the board inside, it’s covered in a type of plastic I’ve never seen before, but it’s got literally billions of tiny little switches. I’m talking tiny, something like ten nanometers!”

“Does it still work? I’ve never taken one apart.”

She giggles, “With the right magical knowledge, it was easy.”

He sits down, “Well, my knowledge on the electronics is not very extensive, but what you are talking about is called the system on a chip. They are made in a factory, in big clean rooms, but that’s about all I can tell you. Those are usually called chips, silicon with traces for the transistors, those are the switches you were talking about. I do remember a website saying something about a ten-nanometer process for building the newest chips.”

“How old was the device when you got it?” She says, her excitement growing.

“Oh, I got it in celebration on getting the new job, and it was the newest from the company.”

She giggles, “Now I need to learn how to read your language.”

Tim shrugs, “I guess we should start with the full alphabet.”

She squees. Her horn lights and a parchment along with a feather quill floats to him. He looks at the quill, she brings out her portable desk. It’s floated onto his lap and the small ink bottle is opened. He dips the quill in the ink, “I’ve never used this to write before.”

She smiles and gestures to the parchment, “It’s all right, Tim. I can clean up any mess you can make with it. For the alphabet, I need the letters, and how they sound, okay?” Her tail starts to wave back and forth as she hops up on the couch next to him.

“Okay.” He takes a moment to write out the alphabet, “Where I’m from, we have thousands of languages throughout the world, but in America, we mainly use English.” She moves closer to him, looking over his shoulder as he writes. He starts to describe the sounds of the letters, but a hoof on his shoulder stops him.

“There’s a problem here, Tim. You are saying it in our language.” She clicks her tongue, “The translation matrix in you might be interfering.” She looks over at Starlight, then back at Tim, “This is going to feel pretty odd.” Her horn shines.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

She nuzzles him, then glances back when Starlight clears her throat, “Uh, sorry.” She shakes her head, “I’m going to temporarily disable the translation matrix in you. So you can talk how you would back at home.” The quill is pulled gently from his hand, “If you are uncomfortable and are unable to understand what we are saying, just tap this word.” She writes a word in the incomprehensible pony script on the top of the page, “And I’ll reestablish the spell so we can understand each other.”

“You said it took all three princesses to make it.”

She nods, “It did, I’m not dissipating the spell, I’m simply disconnecting it. It will still be there.” She hops off the couch and her horn lights again, “Ready?” At his nod her horn brightens, she closes her eyes and concentrates. A loud pop sounds to his ears, he watches as her horn quiets.

She smiles at him, “Kalapap pacha shab we?”

He stops for a moment, he never expected the voice that just came out of her mouth. Far higher pitched than he would have thought, almost a squeaky voice. He smiles, this is exactly what she wanted he guesses. He points to the letter A, and sounds it out. He completes the entire alphabet, her watching him intently, another quill working furiously on another sheet of parchment. When he finally winds down, she clops her hooves together, “Tupopsh hyi” The second word almost sounds like a whinny to him.

In response, he taps the word on the top of the sheet, she nods and her horn lights again. She brings the brightly shining appendage close and gently touches his forehead. As it touches, the world becomes bright lights inside his skull for several very long seconds. Another loud pop nearly has his ear drums feeling as though they met in the middle.

“Can you understand me?” Twilight asks softly.

Tim nods, putting a hand to his head, “That’s one hell of a spell.”

She stands up, her tail waving side to side, “I was able to get a recording of all of that.” She brings out a small crystal, “working your phonetic language is going to be fascinating. Ours is verb initial – VSO, to be exact, head initial, and heavy in bilabial stops and fricatives.”

“I have no idea what you just said.”

“We start our sentences with action words. The most important information goes last. Our species doesn’t like to wait for the big information to be conveyed. And most of our sounds, to you, are made with our lips and the forward areas of out mouths. Lots of popping, snorting, and maybe a bit of stuff that sounds like clopping.”

“I get it,” said Tim, not really grasping it at all.

“And how does yours work?”

“Uhhh, well… we do subject-verb-object, descriptions before nouns, and we have I guess a pretty normal number of consonants, though my drunk linguist friend told me we had a buttload of vowels. I don’t really know more."

“Fascinating.” She frowns, “Though there is something odd there.” She glances back at Starlight, then looks at Tim, “May I scan you?” Tim shrugs and nods a she lights her horn again, this time not touching him with it, but he feels a chill run through his body. “That’s totally odd.” She says softly when her horn quiets.

“What?”

Her tail starts moving even faster, “You know that magical resistance? It’s fading, at an accelerated rate too.”

He furrows his brow. “How?”

She shakes her head. “I have no idea at the moment, I’ll have to compare measurements, but I think I could teleport with you right now. And probably in a couple of months, you won’t have that resistance anymore.”

He glances at Starlight, who shrugs, then back at Twilight, “Why?”

Her eyes cloud for several seconds, her tail stills as she thinks furiously. He reaches over and grabs his tea and takes a sip, sometimes she will go into this kind of state for several minutes when thinking things over. Her eyes move and she focuses on the tea glass, “Aha!” She crows, her horn lighting and the glass is enveloped in her aura, “Yeah, I thought so. Magic in our world is infecting you, Tim.”

He shakes his head. “Huh?”

She smiles, her tail wagging faster. “I’m beginning to understand further how little magic is in your world. But you are living here, you are eating the food, breathing the air, drinking the water. Everything in our world is imbued with magic, from every blade of grass, to the sun itself. Your body metabolizes the food, absorbs the oxygen from the air, and absorbs that water. Elements of our world are becoming part of you. And so, your lack of magic is becoming less and less.” She looks down for a moment, “I’m surprised that would have taken so long. You’ve been here for over a year.” Her ears flick back and forth, “But the point is, before long, your whole body would be part of Equestria like all of us.”

He shudders, “Does that mean I’m going to be doing magic like you?”

She shakes her head, “Oh, probably not, but it means magic is going to be a part of you for as long as you are here. Ouch!” She flinches and glances back at Starlight, who’s horn quiets and she gives Twilight a warning look. She looks back at Tim, her face red. “Oh, sorry.”

Tim looks at Starlight, then at Twilight, then he shakes his head. “It’s just fine, Twilight.” He glances at Starlight, “No need to be so hard on her.”

Starlight sniffs and glances at Twilight, who blushes, “No, it’s okay. I’m not always aware of when I’m inappropriate, so she’s here to help me.” She looks down, “I hope you can forgive the way I’ve acted towards you.”

Tim reaches out and grabs her cheeks, looking deep into her eyes, “Twilight, I know I have a herd, and I do like you, and think you’re cute.” She gasps and flushes, “I am dedicated to Citrus and Cayenne, but that does not mean you cannot be my friend.”

Her eyes water. “Really?”

He nods, bringing her closer for a hug. She wraps her wings around him, holding him tightly. “Thank you, Tim. I had thought you were rejecting me completely.” She lets go and bounces on her hooves, “Well, either way, we’ve got a great deal of information. There is quite a bit of text data on your phone, so I will be working on that as well. Next time, I’ll work on getting you more up to speed on our written language.” She smiles brightly, “I’ll see you next week?” She heads towards the front door, opening it for Starlight. The other mare smiles politely and heads out the door, Twilight hangs back for a moment, “Tim, there’s been a griffon, she’s been trying to get an audience with me for the last week or so. I’ve had Spike delay her, but I don’t know.”

Tim suppresses a groan, “That’s Galileah, she’s been pestering me a bit, I think she likes me.” He thinks of the last thing she had said to him, Twilight perks a bit as she sees him blush, he waves a hand, “See her if you want, but I have a feeling that she wants you and her to team up to get me.”

“Get?”

Tim smiles, “I think she’s got romantic ideas when it comes to me, and she might be wanting to recruit you.”

Twilight scrunches up her face, “I would never…”  She stops for a moment, her wings starting to rise, “You mean she wants you and I…” She blushes hard at Tim’s nod.
 
“Tim, don’t worry, I’ll let her know you are happy in your herd, and I won’t be trying to steal you.” She giggles, “After I make her wait a decent time, Spike can say that the Princess is exceedingly busy and she will just have to be patient.” She stops, folding her wings at her sides, “Tim, thank you for this, I…” words fail her for a moment, then she awkwardly smiles and leaps up, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She turns and gallops away.

Tim touches his cheek where her lips had just touched. “I hope she doesn’t think that means friends with benefits…”

***

Tim grabs the stack of plates, he pulls out some forks and spoons -- the girls are going all out today. Since pegasi don’t have magic, they have a couple of extra flatware that has a strap, so non-unicorns can use them. With Silver visiting today, he will probably appreciate the special equipment. All three girls seemed to be really happy when Tim had said that Silver was going to join them for dinner. He sets out the plates, his family had a formal dining table when he was young, so setting out the service is actually pretty easy for him. Cayenne is humming softly in the kitchen, since both her stallions like meat, she’s making a meat dish, a sour cream chicken enchilada dish that he had showed her a while back. Her horn lights and she opens the oven, looking at the two glass pans with the cheese bubbling on the top. She closes the oven and turns back, “About ten minutes -- when is he supposed to show up?”

“Around sundown.” Tim calls back, getting a happy squee from the light pink unicorn. Tim glances into the living room, where North Point and Citrus are curled up together, reading a book. Tim smiles, watching the two unicorns snuggle together. A knock at the door gets his attention, he moves over to the front door and opens it, “Hi ho, Silver!”

Silver is all dressed up, in somewhat formal clothing, even with a small tie. He looks pretty good even to Tim’s eye. “Hi Tim, I brought some flowers for Cayenne and the girls.” He extends a wing with a big bouquet of flowers.

Tim takes them and looks at them, “Well, that’s a first for me.” He smiles, “Thank you Silverwing, they are very nice.”

“I thought they were pretty; I hope you all like.”

Tim turns around, a vase is sitting in the middle of the table, and Citrus trots into the kitchen, tossing a smile over her shoulder as she disappears into the other room. Tim smiles as he puts the flowers into the vase. He stops and looks at the multi-colored display. The colors seem to remind him of the colors of the girls coats. There is a vivid yellow for Citrus, a faint pink for Cayenne, and a very light blue for North Point. Then there is a fourth color, a dark brown. Tim reaches up and feels his hair, looking at Silver, who blushes. “It took me a while to decide on a color for you, Tim. I don’t know your favorite, so I guessed with your mane color.”

Tim finds himself chuckling, stammering, “That’s very thoughtful Silver.” He goes over to the stallion, kneeling down for a hug. The stallion enthusiastically hugs him back. Citrus and Cayenne have been teaching him some of the norms for the ponies for multiple stallion herds, mainly so he doesn’t get shocked. Stallions here in Equestria act somewhat different than men on Earth, as he had almost most certainly noticed. By earth standards, he was pretty normal. By Equestria standards, he was nearly hyper masculine. Silver Wing was pretty normal, though, by local standards.

Happy humming and the chime of magic gets Tim to turn around. Two heavy glass pans are suspended in Cayenne’s magic as she walks into the room. She sets down the pans and moves over to Tim. She uses her magic again and gently pulls him down towards her. She brings her lips to his, and quickly opens them, her tongue invading his mouth strongly. Tim enjoys the kiss, though when he pulls away, more than a little breathless, North Point is there, a hungry look on her face as she looks at him. Tim quickly moves over and gives North Point a kiss, knowing that Citrus will be wanting attention as well.

“Oh, I smell chicken.” Come’s Silver’s voice.

Cayenne giggles, “Well, since Tim is a big fan of it, and you are a pegasus, I thought both you boys would enjoy a meat meal today.” She whaps Tim with her tail as he finally disengages from North Point, continuing, “In fact, the recipe came from him. He’s a veritable fountain of foodstuffs for us.”

Tim rubs his rear surreptitiously; Cayenne’s tail slaps can be pretty energetic at times. “I just tell you about them, you make them into meals -- some pretty good meals,” he adds, smiling at Silver.

Silver hops up into his chair and he fits the strap for the fork over his hoof as Cayenne’s magic deposits a serving of the enchiladas onto his plate. He inhales deeply as Citrus hops up into Tim’s lap as he sits down. She doesn’t demand a kiss from him, but she slides her plate over to be next to his. She glances back. “Is this okay, love?”

Tim reaches around and holds her tightly. “Fine with me.” He says as their plates also gain food via Cayenne’s magic. Tim is glad he can use his left hand to eat as his right hand is busy holding Citrus close to him on his lap. She brings up a bite of her food, and without hesitation, she takes a bite, humming appreciatively as she does so.

Silver looks up from his half finished meal. “Most unicorns are a bit skittish when it comes to meat in their meals.”

Tim nods, answering, “I know. I was at lunch with one earlier.”

“Who,” Silver asks.

“Starlight Glimmer.”

The table goes silent, but then, just before it gets awkward, Cayenne giggles, glancing at Tim, “Living with Tim for the last few months has been eye opening. And palate expanding as well.” She looks back at Silver, “I’ve always had a few pegasus and griffon friendly dishes at the restaurant. And I always taste new menu items, so, it’s no big deal to me.”

North Point puts down her fork, “It was surprising the first few times, but I’ve found I like a lot of Cayenne’s recipes from the restaurant. So, it’s nice to try new foods.”

They eat in silence for a while, though Silver seems to be powering through his meal, he smiles a lot at the girls, and at Tim. Finally, all of their plates are empty, Silver sits back, enjoying the full feeling, “So, what else are we planning on this evening.”

Cayenne giggles, “Oh, I’ve got a couple of ideas.” She hops off her chair, her horn lighting and all of the plates fly through the air into the kitchen, “We can handle dishes later. But I wanted to finish what we had started a few months ago.” She wraps her forelegs around Silver and kisses him. Citrus leans back into Tim as the kiss goes on. And Tim watches as Silver’s wings slowly start to rise. By the time she pulls away, his wings are stiff as boards, and standing straight up.

“Girl, you don’t waste any time, do you?” Silver says.

Citrus giggles, “Cayenne is pretty good about getting to the point.” She glances as Cayenne makes her way up the stairs, her tail waving from side to side. Tim watches her marehood flex in an extended wink. It’s a promise of delights.

He hugs Citrus close. “I’m guessing bedroom?”

Citrus turns on his lap and puts her forelegs on his shoulder, her face inches from his. “Tim, I know your culture is far different, and you’ve told me how there are some cultural issues when it comes to having another stallion here. I just want to know if you are really okay with all of this?” She glances as Silver pauses on the stairs, glancing back. North Point comes up behind him, nudging him gently. Both disappear upstairs as she turns back to Tim.

Tim smiles and boops her snoot. “I had an idea that tonight would end up in bed; you’ve said It’s normal for ponies. But where I come from, earth, it just doesn’t happen.  I don’t live there anymore. I want to know more about what is normal for ponies.” He kisses her, running a finger along the edge of her ear, getting her to shudder as he holds her. He also notices his right thigh is getting rather damp, which gets a bigger smile from him when she pulls away for air.

She smiles at him. “Have I told you how much I loved you?”

He grins as she hops off his lap, allowing him to stand and follow. “Not in the last hour, love.”

“Tim, I love you with all of my soul.”

“Citrus, I love you with everything in me.”

“And Cayenne? And North?”

“Them too.”

Citrus smirks. “Are you ready for some very intense lessons in cultural… sensitivity…?”

“As ready now as I’ll ever be.”

The mare kisses his neck, challenging him, “Then follow me and enjoy the show…” She starts up the stairs, her tail deliberately held scandalously to one side. Tim follows, eager and apprehensive in equal measure.
> Chapter 14.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usually the act of climbing the stairs up to the bedroom is a quick thing for Tim. Since North has moved in, he’s had three mares hungering, fawning over him. They do everything they can to make sure he knows that he is the most important person in their world at that moment. Citrus walks next to him up the stairs, keeping in constant contact with him, making sure his hand is either on her flank or touching her mane. He looks down at her and smiles. He has a feeling that no matter how many stallions are in the herd, Citrus isn’t going to have Tim be second to anyone in her book. The door is already open as they enter their expansive bedroom. Silver is looking at the pictures on the bedside table, then he flits over to a few hung pictures on the wall.

“Oh, Tim, you have such a wonderful herd!” Silver chirps happily, his wings are still pretty much useless, being up and stiff the way they are, though he seems to be fighting with them from time to time. Tim’s ears catch the flushing of the toilet and the sound of the bidet. Looks like Cayenne is freshening up. Though one thing gets Tim’s attention when it comes to Silverwing, the stallion most certainly is at half mast, his penis hanging down and moving from side to side as he looks around the room. He looks over at Tim and smiles, “I expected a nice dinner and maybe spend some time together after.” He flushes, “I didn’t expect us to end up in bed so quickly.”

Citrus explains, “By the time all the herd meets up for an introductory session with a new prospect, everything before the bedroom is pretty much a formality.”

“Is this one of those lessons you told me about?”

“You betcha.” Citrus taps her flank against his leg. She points to a chair. “Sit down; the show’s about to start.”

He quickly complies, “Show?”

“Silver here is auditioning to be in our herd full time. We like him personally, we all get along, but a herd is more than just friends who hang out and split rent; we’re a polyamorous species, Tim, and with us as the alpha couple in this whole thing, we have to judge who gets to join. We’re playing director, Silver is the aspiring actor, and North and Cayenne are a couple of our trusted veterans we’re graciously allowing to volunteer to see if he can find a role to play.”

Tim smiles and nods, giving Citrus a kiss on the neck and a grope on the hip. He feels North Point rubs up against him on the other side. He looks down at the light blue unicorn, she sits down on Tim’s side, Citrus is on the other side, both sitting quietly. The bathroom door opens, revealing Cayenne, her tail is waving back and forth, and she’s got a lustful look in her eye, though she’s looking at Tim. She saunters over to the human, though through the corner of his eye, Tim can see that Silver’s attention is one hundred percent on her. As she gets close, she rears up and puts her forelegs around his neck, kissing him deeply. The kiss goes on and Tim’s nose flares a bit, smelling her arousal, he finds his own pants getting rather tight as she plays with his tongue with her own. Finally, she pulls away and smacks her lips appreciatively, that hunger in her eyes glowing even brighter. She turns and looks at Silver, and Tim gets a good view of her marehood. She’s as ready to be rutted into oblivion right fucking now.

Cayenne sashays her hips as she stalks closer towards Silver. The pegasus’s nose is flaring as well, there is no way he couldn’t smell Cayenne’s arousal at this point. He’s gone from half-mast to mostly engorged. Tim finds himself fascinated. Silver has more length than he does in that department, but the stallion’s penis is rather narrow by his estimation, at least compared to other ponies – he naturally would be the envy of all but the most wondrously endowed humans.

Cayenne hops up on the bed, gesturing for Silver to join her. He leaps up, grinning ear to ear, an undeniable sway in his own hips, his wings sticking out like his swollen member. Though instead of letting him mount her, she brings him close for a kiss. His wings actually relax as the kiss goes on, pretty soon he’s using his wings to bring her closer, touching her all over her body with them. One wings seems to be getting Cayenne to shudder by running gently up and down her horn, getting it to spark softly. Silver’s eyes are closed as she maneuvers him on to his back, still locking lips with him.

Tim notices the chime of magic and suddenly his body is much cooler. With a shock, he realizes that somepony’s magically stripped him naked. He looks down, Citrus giving him a wicked grin. She pops up to whisper in his ear, “Relax and enjoy.” He pats her head affectionately, ruffling her fur. She brings her head down, running her tongue up and along the shaft of his penis -- she’d apparently perfected the clothes removal spell she had been working on. Though where they went to, he has no idea, nor much care as she finally fully brings his manhood into her mouth, sucking strongly and looking up at him with a smile.

North Point moves over to the bed, her own marehood is glistening wet as well. She points her pretty plot at him and winks. She looks back at him and smiles seductively. The smell of sex is permeating the room. She stands there at the edge, watching Cayenne administer to Silver with authority, running her tongue up and down his penis as the stallion’s eyes are rolling back, enjoying what the light pink mare is doing to him. “Cayenne, Cayenne, Cayenne, I want you.” Cayenne looks back at Citrus, a questioning look on her face. Citrus pulls away from Tim for a moment, her horn lit softly keeping the pleasure up on him as she turns towards Citrus and nods. Cayenne smiles as she sucks strongly on the stallion, getting him to gasp.

Tim looks down at Citrus, an eyebrow raised in confusion. “It’s a ritual, Tim,” she reassures.

“Anything I need to do?” Tim is suddenly self-conscious, having failed to realize this is not just some spontaneous game.

“Tell you what – ask me later when I’m not sending you to heaven.” Her horn brightens, and so does the aura around his cock, getting his eyes to cross for a moment.

“No complaints there.”

“Yeah, shut up and receive the pleasure I’m giving you.”

“You’re talking like you’re dominant.”

“Am I not the one in charge? I ply you with pleasure. I don’t have to do this; I choose to. Without me, you’d be sitting here hard with nopony to relieve your poor erection.”

“I guess that makes sense,” he groans as Citrus engulfs his cock again with her marvelous mouth, her tongue working up and down his length. The first tingles arise just south of his head as his balls begin to tighten. He pats her mane, stroking it lovingly, letting her know how grateful he is for her care and love. He’s watching her, savoring how her soft lips flow over his dick, her tongue licking all the way around, the suction creating sensation and slurping noises both.

 “Oh Cayenne,” Silver moans, getting Tim’s attention. He’s utterly fascinated as Cayenne stands and moves to where Tim has a good view. She turns her head and smiles at Tim.

Cayenne faces the head pair. “Tim and Citrus Blush,” she announces, “I believe he is ready.” She giggles, caressing the stallion gently, who yelps a bit and squirms under her ministrations.

Citrus pulls away from Tim, giving him a look. She turns her head, “Go ahead.” She moves to sit next to him, though her horn stays dimly lit, continuing to play with his manhood like it’s her favorite toy.

She squeezes his manhood magically and looks at him, “Uh, yes,” stammers Tim, doing his best to go along with it.

Citrus stands up, her tail lashing back and forth, “You two may begin.” She says solemnly, she looks up at Tim, “This is an important part for the head stallion in a herd, listen carefully.” She clears her throat, “Do you, Tim, vouch for Silver’s permission to share in your mares?”

“I-I do.” Tim can see Silver’s cock is practically throbbing, and it’s all the poor stallion can do to not throw down Cayenne and rut her brains into a puddle of jelly.

“Very well,” says Citrus. The mares seem to know exactly what they are going to do. North Point mounts the bed, laying on her side with her rear hooves by Cayenne’s head and vice versa. Silver moves over, putting his snout under Cayenne’s tail. The stallion whickers a bit, and he’s undeniably ready at this point. “Cayenne, welcome him to our herd with your body. Silver, show us what you can do for your future mares.”

Before Tim can wrap his head or ask a question, in a smooth motion, the stallion rears up onto Cayenne’s back, reaching forward with his teeth to grab very base of Cayenne’s mane, right at the bottom of the neck. Tim finds his eyes locked on Cayenne’s marehood as it winks furiously, Silvers cock comes up and he fumbles for a moment, seeming to poke her a few times, on the lips, on her thigh, he almost enters her rear for a moment before he corrects himself. Silver shudders as his cockhead finally broaches her correctly. That gets a sympathy moan from Tim, remembering every time he had penetrated that pink mare.

“You having fun, love?” Citrus whispers as she moves a hoof down to begin stroking his length. Tim’s able to gasp an affirmative as he looks back over at the action happening on the bed. He doesn’t need to say a word – his hard cock and reflexive clenching of his fingers into her flank tell her everything she needs to know.

Silver is slowly shuffling his hooves forward as he slowly enters Cayenne further. Soon, the stallion is hilted all the way in. His balls slap against his mate’s underside as he engages in her ritual rutting. “Cayenne, please accept my body,” he shudders, fighting for breath with his pleasured reflex.

“Silver, I accept you,” Cayenne answers, lifting her ass even further. “Become my stallion.”

Tim is transfixed, two thoughts running through his head: wow, watching others have sex is really interesting to watch, and, they really aren’t fucking around. Amazingly, once he’s fully inside her, both of them turn to look at Citrus and Tim. He looks down at Citrus, who nods with a big smile on her face.

Apparently that’s what they needed, instantly, Silver is pumping into Cayenne with everything he’s got. It doesn’t even take a solid half minute before Silver is snorting and panting, his motions becoming jerky, almost pulling out before slamming home deep into the silky heat of Cayenne’s pussy. His balls are swollen and his cock is hard as granite. “I’m ready.” The stallion pants.

“Cum inside me.”

 “Cum inside my mare,” says Citrus, also playing with herself. “Tell him, Tim.”

“Fill her,” says Tim plainly.

With a loud whinny, the stallion pumps into the mare, then he starts bucking wildly, his wings flaring and he shudders, fully hilted in Cayenne, whose head is thrown back in pleasure as the stallion empties his load into her. “I’m cumming. Cayenne! I’m cumming!” Her horn sparks brightly, multi-colored sparks explode throughout the room as Cayenne stands there, hilted by the stallion. He grunts, moans, “Incredible. Cayenne! Cayenne! I love you.”

He writhes, wracked with pleasure, thrusting still as North Point moves closer, her muzzle inches away from their bodily union. “Cum inside her. Fill her.” The light blue mare says huskily.

Citrus challenges, “Make her yours. Good boy. Give yourself to my mare.”

Eventually, Silver stumbles back a bit, his cock flopping out of her, leaking white fluid. Her pussy flexes in another wink, dripping the stallion’s cum. Silver flops over on his side, breathing heavily. Cayenne moves over and nuzzles North Point a bit, getting her to move so she can inspect her oozing pussy, still lifted high into the air.

“He has filled her,” announces North, almost inarticulate with lust. She’s also breathing pretty heavily. She waits for a moment before lifting her face to Cayenne’s sopping slit. Then, to Tim’s astonishment, she plants a kiss and sucks. Cayenne quivers involuntarily, still sensitive from her rutting. Then, North announces, “Yes, we’ve got a good one here.”

“The first joining is complete. Welcome to the herd, Silver Wing.” Citrus says formally.

“Congrats,” says Tim. Citrus elbows him.

“Thank you. It is an honor,” wheezes the winded pleasured pegasus.

Citrus gestures for Tim to follow her to the bed, as he sits down, “It seems rather formal.”

Citrus scoffs, “Of course, we are Canterlot unicorns. Anypony can just let another stallion rut them, but in a herd, there must be ceremony, there must be rituals to have everypony understand how the herd is organized.” She moves and pushes Tim to lie on his back, “Now that the acceptance of a new stallion is done, only Cayenne has had the pleasure. I want some myself.” She leans forward and kisses him deeply.

The kiss goes on, his hands running all over Citrus’ body. Tim enjoys getting the yellow mare to shudder as his fingertips run along her spine, and playing with her hips and her flank. He can feel somepony straddle him, and he looks down as light blue forehooves press gently onto his chest, just at the bottom of his rib cage. He glances up, North Point is shuddering as her magic holds his cock steady for him to penetrate North as she slowly lowers herself onto him. As their hips meet, she opens her eyes and looks down at him, starting to move up and down slowly. Citrus’s voice purrs in his ear, “Fuck her silly, love, but save your cum for me. This is the part where you assert that the newcomer can’t share in all the mares, yet…”

 Tim nods as North starts to really get into the bouncing. She’s not a loud one, not like Citrus – she’s a screamer, that one, but she makes some very cute squeaks and moans as she continues bouncing up and down, her horn starting to light as her pleasure builds. Cayenne moves away from the apparently exhausted pegasus and lies down next to Tim, putting her head on his chest, her mane tickling his nose gently as she lies there, a satisfied smile on her face. Tim holds one hand on Cayenne as he uses the other to hold onto North’s hip as she bounces up and down on him. Her pussy feels fantastic – hot and tight. Electricity begins to build in his cock. He clenches his fingers. He kisses her deep, finding her tongue only all too eager to return the favor. He moans a little into her mouth, his hips bucking upwards. His breath begins to go from measured cycles to the first hinds of panting. She is wet and only getting wetter by the thrust. She squirms around him, her hips giving little twitches of their own to accent her bobbing motion.

Tim finds his own eyes rolling back as North finally slams down, clenching her rear legs around his hips as she whinnies, “T-Tim, you feel so good…” Her horn sparks and Tim is nearly driven over the edge by the mare convulsing around his cock. She guides his hand down to her cleft. He begins to play with her parts, eliciting pleased peals from her. He brings her down onto his chest with a warm embrace right next to Cayenne’s head as she continues to ride him. Her internal heat is immense. So pleasant…

Finally, she pushes herself back to a sitting position, still fully hilted on him, squealing, smiling lewdly as she lifts up and pushes down again. North runs a hoof along his chest and down his belly, smiling softly as she occasionally squeezes him with her cunt. Citrus stands up and nuzzles the light blue mare, who nuzzles Citrus back, rocking her hips gently, doing her best to tantalize Tim, teasing without bringing him over the edge. He gasps a few times as she gets him closer and closer. Tim and Citrus kiss deeply, making muffled noises of passion. Then, Citrus reaches up and bites the other mare’s ear, hard. North squeals a bit, her marehood thrashing around him.

“My turn. My stallion. Off.”

Citrus moves to replace a crestfallen North in the same position, but Tim moves to the side, Cayenne giving him a dirty look as he slides from under her head.

She gasps, “Oh? What do you want to do now?”

“I want to taste you.” He says, kissing her hungrily.

She squeals happily, then she puts a hoof on his chest, her face turning serious, “Dominate me, now.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Tim says as he grabs Citrus, bringing her back close for a kiss. He places her on her back and starts to run kisses down her barrel, provoking happy sounds from Citrus as he moves further south on the yellow mare. Finally, he brings a nipple into his mouth, getting a loud gasp from her. The mare is sopping wet – her excitement is plain from both sets of lips. Tim settles onto the bed as he finally dives into Citrus’ hot wetness, his tongue darting along her lips before she winks hard, allowing him to clamp his lips onto her clit. Citrus squeals loudly as he escalates her enjoyment.

A set of lips run along the small of his back, getting his body to shudder. It kinda tickles. A second set starts on the middle of his back. He enjoys the feeling as he runs his tongue along her lips, enjoying her taste and the sounds she makes as he continues on her. He jerks as teeth are applied to his right butt cheek, then again as his left receives a bite, not enough to really hurt, but enough to get his attention. He knows that Silver and Cayenne are watching him.

“Come on, Tim, fuck her.” North huffs in his ear, “You know you want to.” Tim pulls away from Citrus and licks her nose, getting it to scrunch cutely as he dives back in, he knows what he wants before he enters Citrus.

“Oh, dear Celestia!” Citrus calls as her fluids leak down his chin and neck. Her rear legs clamp down on his head as her horn lights up the room brightly, multi-colored motes flying all over as he continues to play with her clit with his tongue. Finally, she flops to the bed, panting.

Tim pulls up and moves to where he’s straddling her on her back, he looks into her eyes “You want some more?” She nods with a big smile as he looks down, he uses his hand to guide himself as he uses the tip to tease her lips, running along her slit and getting more mewling moans from Citrus.

“Just fuck me now!” She demands, though he continues teasing her, finally he slowly presses his cockhead on her entrance, just slowly giving himself to her. The heat radiating off her vulva is terrific. She reaches her rear legs around his hips and brings her lower half up, engulfing him fully inside. “Now fuck me, and don’t you date stop until you’ve shown Silver how the top stallion around here takes a mare. Set an example for your herd.”

He smiles, “Your wish is my command, love.” He pulls out until only the tip remains inside, then he slams all the way in, getting a whinny and a groan from Citrus, he does it again, and again, each time faster, letting the feeling of being inside her, of fucking her hard, just take over. Finally, he’s got her on the bed, and is fucking her hard and fast. The slapping of his balls on her ass gets her moaning even louder. It’s been worth the wait. He kisses her, lending her his lips. He engages with his tongue, mimicking his actions lower down. As below, she is only too happy to take him above. He hears the pleasured moans of North touching herself, entranced at the erotic display before her. Love and passion, dominance and submission, male and female, lust and grace all in one place. A poet may call it captivating. Tim could only call it hot.

Tim fucks his love hard, hearing her squeal, wanting to make her sing. Her lips open to sing him love songs, lust songs, and primal ballads, wordless wails of instincts given life upon the wind from her lungs. She wraps her legs around him and arches her back, inviting him deeper. Tim grunts in gratification, feeling her truly all the way inside, joined as intimately as possible at the hip. His balls are tightening. North sounds like she’s about to lose control of her body. Everyone’s musk is getting to him.

Tim leans down and holds Citrus close. He pumps into her. She shudders, calling his name. “Tim! Yes yes yes, oh my, you’re making me… AaaeeehhHhaaa!” She doesn’t need to say it; she rocks like a boiling kettle and he feels the immediate surge in heat and wetness. His balls tighted. Her open mouth, moist lips beckon him. He kisses them, absorbing her cries into himself, moaning back at her on pure animal instinct.

His mate’s arousal is beckoning his own. Lust overpowers everything else. His surges forward, fucking her even harder, sprinting. His cock feels like it’s going to explode deep inside that amazing pussy. His body needs the release – so wet, so hot, so tight, so soft. Heaven’s gates are opening…

He hugs her one last time, trying desperately to say something. They lock eyes. She understands, crying out, throwing herself around him, kissing him desperately. His cock feels like it’s going to explode. Citrus writhes and he feels the pleasure crash to a crescendo of carnality. Body aflame, he hilts in her, holding himself to her tightly as his balls empty themselves into her. His entire body shudders as he rides out his orgasm with her. Her marehood is milking him as strongly as possible as she gasps, her eyes rolling as her horn continues to shoot motes of lights everywhere. He’s cumming inside her, his mate, his love, and his neurons are overwhelmed with pleasurable signals. Cum spews from his cock, flooding her insides. This is pure bliss.

Finally, he collapses on top of her, trying to catch his breath. He rolls to the side, bringing the yellow mare to his chest as both of them pant. She looks up at him. “Woooooooow… Celestia… Tim…”

Tim wants to laugh, but he can’t get the breath to. He simply squeezes her harder to his chest, peppering her with more kisses. North Point crawls up behind him and puts her head over his shoulder. “That looked intense.” She says softly, at his nod, she licks the tip of his ear, “can you do that with me next time?”

Tim nods as he reaches up a hand to touch her head, she snuggles closer to him. He glances back, Cayenne had moved over and was snuggling with Silver, though the stallion’s eyes are wide. He snorts, “Sure, maybe next century, when my balls aren’t so empty.”

Cayenne nuzzles Silver’s neck, “There are a lot of reasons we love the big guy here, and being great in bed is one of those.” She giggles, looking back at Tim for a moment, she blows him a kiss and then lays her head back down on the stallion, “I love the sound of your heartbeat.” She says softly, getting a blush from the silver colored stallion.

All of them lay there for some time in a big post coital cuddle pile while everyone tries to just catch their breath. Tim smacks his lips, a glass of water would be a good thing at that moment. He shifts to get up, “Tim, don’t leave me,” North Point says drowsily, pulling him back down with her hooves. Tim holds the light blue mare closer. Who is he to deny her?

Silver pokes his head up over the side over the curled-up Cayenne – not sleeping, just drowsily enjoying that the radiant afterglow. He looks over at Tim. “Why did you want to get up? You thirsty?”

Tim croask, “Yeah.”

“Oh, me too. I can fix that,” Silver says, he spreads his wings, but then stops sheepishly. “I don’t think flying is a good idea right now.” He folds them at his sides and picks his way among the ponies to end up hopping on the floor. He stumbles a bit, his hooves not wanting to really work correctly. He looks down, his eyes narrowed.

“What?” Tim asks as the stallion takes another tentative wobbly step.

Silver giggles, “Well I’m guessing a lot was taken out of me; Cayenne is amazing with both sets of lips.

Cayenne chortles from the bed, “Don’t you know it, Tim.” This earns her a blush and a nod from the hapless human. Silver Wing takes a few more steps, getting more stable on his hooves. Finally, he smiles and walks through the door. As far as anyone can hear, he’s surprisingly good at navigating the stairs despite just having had his brains fucked out beyond the orbit of Luna’s moon and being turned into an incoherent mass of pleasured jelly. Tim reaches over and brings Citrus closer to him, and pretty quickly, he’s got North Point on one side with her forehooves wrapped securely around his bicep, and Citrus on his other side, her head on his chest, her eyes half lidded and a soft smile on her face. They lie there as noises from the kitchen make their way to them. Surely this is the peak of mortal happiness.

Tim snorts, opening his eyes. He must have nodded off for a few minutes. He glances over to see Silver returning with a serving platter across his back, bearing several large cups all filled to the brim. He is using his wings, which seem nearly as dexterous as hands, to give drinks to everypony. Silver’s smile widens when he gives Tim his cup, “I did the dishes really quickly, so we don’t have too much of a mess to take care of when we get up in the morning.”

Tim glances over at the clock, it’s coming up on ten at night. Still somewhat early, but he knows that all the girls have work tomorrow. He drinks deeply from his cup, enjoying the water as he watches some of the girls take delicate sips. After a few moments, North Point squeezes Tim’s arm tighter, “So, who’s up for round two?”

Silver smiles brightly as he hops up on the bed. North giggles a bit as she moves over and kisses him. Cayenne crawls over and nips Tim’s ear. “I haven’t felt you inside me yet, tonight. It’s no fair -- you haven’t paid me back yet for bringing you this naughty night.” She’s play pouting at him.

Tim looks at Cayenne. She’s certainly lustful at the moment. He brings her close and kisses her. She melts into the kiss, wrapping her forelegs around his neck as her tongue invades his mouth to engage with its counterpart. He’s quite used to the tongue sparring that is a kiss with Cayenne Pepper. He reaches his arm around and holds Citrus tighter, the yellow mare seems to be content to watch at this point, but she pushes him towards Cayenne with a bright smile. It’s just the two lovers with everypony else spectating.

Cayenne seems to be intent on getting impaled immediately. She pushes him down and advances on him. She’s still wet. She breaks the kiss quickly and her horn lights, guiding it into her as she gasps happily as he finally enters her fully. Wet, soaking actually, but tightened from the break in stimulation. He puts out his hands and she puts her forehooves in his palms, letting him steady her as she starts to move up and down, a look of pure excitement on her face as she starts to bounce up and down.

Tim lays back and smiles as she continues to ride him. He caresses her, dreamily smiling at her, gently sighing at her, “I love you, Cayenne. You feel great… So beautiful… Soft, wet, deep…” He strokes her face, rounding her slightly open lips with his thumb. She kisses his fingers with a subdued giggle and a noticeable blush.

The girls were amused at the name of this position, the cowgirl. They had all laughed when they found out what cowboys and cowgirls were, riding horses to tame cattle. In this case, Tim is their mount, and they all love it. Tim glances over at North Point. The light blue mare has Silver pinned to the bed, doing her best to force his tongue into submission. They continue to kiss as Silver’s cock seems ready to go. North’s horn lights, and her aura takes hold on Silver’s cock as they continue tongue wrestling.  She plants herself on him facing away from the stallion but face to face with the other mare. They kiss. Tim finds himself staring up at North’s body. He sees her teats and plays with them, enjoying the supple softness.

The stallion moans louder as he penetrates North Point. She pulls herself vertical having Silver’s forehooves help steady her as she starts to bounce on him. Cayenne looks at them approvingly as both girls synchronize their bouncing, watching each other.

Then Citrus surprises Tim by leaning over, still keeping her rhythmic bouncing going, and meeting Cayenne’s nethers with an intense kiss. Tim can feel Cayenne’s marehood flexing as they keep going while the new, hot lips and tongue work on the both of them. He shivers in pleasure. It’s rather short lived those as Silver starts bucking madly, whinnying loudly as he pours another load into North Point, holding onto her hips for dear life lest he be swept away in climax. The blue mare’s horn lights as his orgasm ignites one in her. She arches her back, crying out before finally collapsing backwards onto Silver’s chest, both of them definitely done for and done well.

Cayenne giggles as she turns her attention to Tim, she brings herself down and reaches forward to kiss him, letting him wrap his arms around her as he takes over in the thrusting. He thrusts up into her. It’s a bit awkward for him, but the sensations from rocking her tight body just so more than make up for it. Now she’s properly aroused and he can feel it with the way her body welcomes his ministrations, now so much looser and yielding. The slick walls of her pussy cause scintillating tingles of pleasure wherever they brush, and Tim answers his instincts by hilting in Cayenne and rocking, feeling her all the way from the inside. She murmurs and squirms, encouraging him to not let up.

He gets a hand free and runs a finger along her softly glowing horn. “T-Tim,” she shudders, letting him know just from her tone how wild he is driving her, her eyes squinting closed as he continues playing with her horn, running his finger through the magic playing across the surface. He caresses it like how she would his cock – go all over, up and down, front and back, plenty of pressure at the top, but going lighter yet faster around the base, and focusing on the spots that make her squeal the most. Her body gave him the cues, and he knew just how to read them. Of the three girls, Cayenne likes her horn played with the most.

She leans down to kiss him. Their tongues duel. He takes advantage to use both hands on her horn. The immediate increase in wetness amplifies the already considerable pleasure he is feeling. Hot, silky, amazing… She is quaking now for him. “Please,” Cayenne moans, “fuck me hard.”

He glances at North Point, who watches with rapt fascination. She smiles at him as he picks up Cayenne and deposits her on her back. He knows what she meant, and he positions himself at her winking entrance. He doesn’t tease her, he simply plunges in, her body accepts him instantly, her rear legs wrapping around his hips. With just a few thrusts she’s moaning, her horn lighting brightly and sparking motes of light all over.  Her pussy is pleasurably searing hot and soaking wet. Tim continues his assault on her horn. He’s not even at it for a full minute before her tremors become full spasms. A single high note escapes her lips as orgasm overtakes her, her entire body clenching as she mewls softly. The sensation is magnificent, her pussy writhing wildly around his dick, clenched tight, begging for his release into her. He feels his balls tightening. The pleasure is almost unbearable. As her orgasm fades she reaches all four legs to hold onto Tim tightly, bringing him close to her.

“Enough…that’s enough,” she pants. Tim pulls out and kisses her deeply, she runs her hooves gently across his face as they kiss. Finally, she pulls back, a smile on her face. “Thank you, love.”

“Wow, you are still ready to go?” Silver says in awe, a lewd smile on his face. North Point stands up, wobbling on her hooves and she turns to point her plot at him, her tail flags and her marehood winks, she looks back at him with an inviting smile.

Tim moves up and puts his hands on her withers, his throbbing erection is begging for release, he shudders as he enters North Point, he starts slowly, but he quickly gets into the rhythm, she gasps every time he slams fully into her, his balls slapping on her clit. She’s squirming quickly as an orgasm overtakes her, as her marehood convulses, he pushes harder. She turns her head back, “Kiss me, love.” She says, he leans forward, kissing North as he keeps up the pounding.

“Tim,” Silver says, pull on her mane right there, pointing at the base of her mane. Tim reaches out a hand and grabs the hair, pulling gently. Silver giggles, “No, Tim, do it with some authority.” Tim pulls a little harder, getting a squeak and a loud moan from North Point. Silver gets shakily to his hooves and smirks at Tim. “Tim, trust me on this.”

“Yank it like you own it!” Citrus shouts. To illustrate, Silver reaches and takes North’s mane in his teeth and yanks, hard.

With a loud scream, North’s horn flashes like a flare and her marehood clamps down on him. Her already appreciable wetness turns to a monsoon – her body is inviting him unlike anything else! He puts both hands on her hips and uses the leverage to slam into the mare as hard as he can, giving up on anything else! “Unbelievable!” Tim gasps in delighted shock. He watches as Citrus moves closer. She runs her tongue along North’s horn, getting an unsteady gasp from her and her body reacts even more strongly.

Tim is pounding her relentlessly. He is not rutting her; he is fucking her like a beast. His balls are tight. His cock is rock hard. His heart is hammering fit to burst. Pleasure is sparking up and down his dick. He is panting like a wolf. He shuts his eyes, just basking in the pleasure. He squeezes North’s plot as hard as he can, ramming her wildly. He couldn’t stop himself if he tried. He was so close, so close… Pleasure building, pressure in his cock… fuck!

“Oh, I’m gonna…” Tim gasps as her marehood starts to milk him in earnest. He feels paralyzed as his body jerks. White hot ecstasy consumed him as he hilts in her, his cock twitching, spilling and spewing, filling up the mare with his own seed. His balls empty once more, releasing everything he had left. Lips find his own and he kisses back blindly, all rational thought far gone in the heat of his instincts, his pleasure. North milks him for everything he has, making him quake in carnal bliss. Nothing matters except giving her cunt everything he has. His breathing is raggered as everything becomes the pleasure radiating from his union with North Point. White and black flash across his vision. He’s finding his hips moving without thought as he heaves into her, desperate to fill her as deeply as possible, claiming her with his seed. He’s hunched over, alternating stroking her fur and yanking her mane, relishing in her moans of pure abandon.

Finally it’s over, he breathes deeply, and doesn’t so much pull out as he flops to the side, slipping out coincidentally, his cock slick, shrunken, and spent. He watches as she gradually brings herself to recline, legs still twitching out of her control. “That was amazing. I love you!” She can’t say anything else – only a passionate kiss from her expresses her gale of emotions. Citrus moves up to be the little spoon to his big spoon, as he wraps his arms around her. Her warm body is so welcome. He is in heaven, as is she. Pure happiness abounds all around the spent ponies and human.

She squirms a bit to be closer with him, and another body crawls up behind him, Cayenne sighs softly as she puts her hooves over his arm. North struggles to finally lie on her side, being held by Citrus. And Silver crawls to spoon Cayenne behind Tim. Somepony’s horn lights the room softly, and the covers float off the floor and settle on all of them. Citrus murmurs softly as she closes her eyes, “That was perfect.”

Tim tightens his arm around the yellow mare. “Yeaaahh…” Consciousness escapes him and he falls asleep in the loving embrace of his herd.
> Chapter 15.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Waking up in a nice warm bed is always a good thing in Tim’s book. Autumn is coming soon, and he knows that winter in Equestria can get quite cold, with snow staying on the ground for months at a time. Which is funny, since the ponies control the weather. Tim snuggles against the pony, drawing the warmth closer to his body. The pony, in response, snuggles up against him, eliciting a smile from Tim’s face. Time passes without notice from the human and the pony on the bed, but soon, the brightness of the sun finally impinges on Tim’s consciousness. The girls had work today. Tim’s breathing stops as he takes more notice of the pony he currently has his arm around. The pony is sleeping, their barrel rising and falling with deep, easy breaths. He moves his hand gently, and is greeted with feathers. He opens his eyes, and a yellow-blonde mass of mane is very nearly touching his face.

With a yelp, he scrambles back, before he knows it he finds the end of the bed, and another short scream punctuates his crash to the floor. The noise seems to wake the owner, who stretches and yawns, “Good morning, Tim.”

Tim startles, “Silver!?”

“Who else? Our mares are already up.”

“Listen, about last night, I didn’t know what the girls were planning! I thought dinner, I I- I don’t really know what else, okay. I didn’t mean to drag you into an orgy.”

“Sorry? Last night went great! Cayenne was magnificent, wasn’t she?”

Tim shakes his head, “Well, she was, she always is. But I wasn’t trying to make any moves on you this morning.”

Silver snorts softly, “Oh, cuddling for warmth is the best thing ever! Well, after last night.”

Tim finds his own face heating up. “Does it usually go this quickly?”

Silver looks at him sideways, “Huh? Accepting a new stallion into the herd, things can get going pretty quickly. A herd without sex is no herd at all.”

“Wish I’d known that in advance…” Tim grumbles softly. The stallion’s ears flick back and forth a bit.

“When an established stallion brings in a potential addition, it’s usually pretty quick. It takes longer when one of the mares wants to bring a new stallion into the herd. Sometimes the stallions will fight.” He finishes with a smile.

“Fight?” Tim yelps.

Silver nods, “Oh, never to actually hurt each other, and never the lead stallion. I would never have to fight you, Tim – you were first so you’ll always be master smith around here. It’s a sort of a ritual to establish the pecking order with multiple junior stallions. Nopony ever gets really hurt. It’s not like how Griffons will do sabers at dawn.”

“That’s a surprise; back home, most guys would contemplate murder for another man trying to come in on his lady.”

“Really?” Silver squeaks. His eyes going wide and his ears flattening to the sides.

“Yeah.”

“You’re not joking?”

“Not. One Bit.” Tim stop for a moment, thinking. Then he sighs, “Honestly, Equestria’s been rubbing off on me; when I first got here, herds, let alone another male, forget it. Now.” He stops for a moment, trying to figure out how he wants to say it. He shakes his head, “Now, it’s different. The girls are really intense in bed. I love it, don’t get me wrong. But I want to make them happy, and I think some help will accomplish that.”

“And you are okay with that?”

Tim shrugs, “I think so?” He looks at Silver’s reaction, the stallion has stopped with the kicked puppy dog look, his ears perk forward and a smile forms on his face, Tim finds the smile infectious, “I guess I’m coming around to it. It’s very different from my home.”

“Tim, you shouldn’t feel as though I’m trying to horn in on your relationship. I’m adding to the whole, you are in charge on the stallion side of things. Of course, I will follow what Citrus, Cayenne, and North want, but I am also going to follow what you want.”

Tim thinks for a long moment, “And you are okay with being second banana to me?”

Silver shrugs. “It’s how it is.”

The pegasus stretches again, extending his wings for a long moment, then he folds them to his sides and sits on his haunches on the bed. Tim watches the pegasus as he brings a wing forward, running his teeth through the feathers. Though after a few moments, the human ends up getting fascinated by how fastidious the pegasus is, preening his feathers, pulling a few small down feathers, and straightening the longer primary and secondary feathers. Every so often, Silver glances at him as he works. Finally, the pegasus stops, “Did I do something wrong?”

Tim shakes his head. “No, I’ve just never seen this before.”

Silver looks at his wing for a moment, then up at Tim. “You’ve never seen a pegasum preen?”

Tim shakes his head and gets a smile from Silver, “Well, we have to keep our wings in tip top shape. You neglect your wings, you are vulnerable, though pegasi are rarely in danger in Equestria. We pegasos are proud; we used to be the primary protectors of the ponies, you know.”

Tim cocks his head to the side. “What?”

Silver nods, “Oh yeah, before the princesses, the earth ponies grew the food, the unicorns made the night and day, and the pegasi made the weather. But since there were threats to ancient Equestria, we had the army. We protected the Earth pony settlements, in return for food for our cloud cities.”

“Why are you saying pegasus, but also sometimes pegasum and pegasos, too?”

“A holdover from the old language. My family was originally Old Cloudsdale clans, so we hang onto some of that old caste stuff from thousands of years ago, even though I grew up in Los Pegasus” Silver yawns, and Tim feels him brush low.

Tim looks down and suddenly remembers he’s still naked from the night before. With a yelp he grabs a pillow and covers himself, getting a bemused expression from the pegasus. “Tim, what’s going on?”

Tim backs slowly towards the bathroom. “I think I need a shower after last night.” He flees into the bathroom quickly. He drops the pillow and opens the door into the shower. Ponies know how to get clean. The multiple shower heads are instantly the temperature he wants. He lets the water play over his body for several moments, the hot water releasing the tension in his muscles.

The door opens and hoofsteps approach the shower, but the human pays it no mind, instead grabbing the soap. The shower door opens, and Silver pokes his head in. “Get out!” Tim screams reflexively on seeing the stallion.

Silverwing flinches back at Tim’s scream, looking like a kicked puppy.

“Don’t do that! Don’t sneak up on my while I’m showering!”

“But I just wante-“

“Out!”

And like that, Silver scuttles back. The stallion’s ears flatten back. “I’m sorry.” He looks down, his eyes big, “I thought you had accepted me into the herd last night…” he trails off, sniffling a little bit as the shower door closes behind him.

Tim breathes heavily as the adrenaline starts to pass. He closes his eyes, controlling himself. Finally he turns back and opens the shower door, “Silver…wait.”

Silver’s pulling open the bathroom door, he stops and looks back at Tim. “No, it’s okay Tim, you don’t have to.”

“Silver!” Tim barks, getting the stallion to stop and look at him. He softens his tone. “Where I come from, men don’t typically share showers like that, unless they are lovers.”

Silver’s eyebrows rise, “You thought I was coming in here to continue last night with you?”

“Well…uhh….”

“Tim, I’m not into stallions, I’m into mares. So, why are you freaking out, Tim?” The stallion asks earnestly.

Tim’s hands flutter a bit, partially trying to cover himself, partially not really knowing what to do, “Well, I’m naked. With another guy.”

Silver cocks his head to the side, “I’m naked all the time, ponies don’t usually wear clothes. Your mares don’t. I don’t.”

“Yeah, well, I do.”

Silver giggles, “Okay, does being naked together mean that we are going to have sex?” Tim shakes his head quickly, Silver continues, “We are just two males, trying to get clean after a wonderful night with some beautiful mares. I don’t see a problem with it.”

Tim sighs, “I guess I see your point.”

Silver stretches out a wing and grabs a bottle of soap, “Okay, can you get my back?”

“Sorry, I’m not comfortable with that. Where I’m from, men just don’t do that.”

“Tim, I’m going to have to teach you how to stallion.”

“Probably. I’m in your land, I should learn your ways.”

Silver laughs, “Okay, lesson one: it’s only gay if both of you get hard. Now get over here and get my back, dude to dude. And I promise, no funny stuff.”

***

Tim listens to the stallion whistle in the bedroom while he takes his time in the closet, deciding what to wear. He’s got the day off, so he doesn’t really have much to deal with today. He’s been asked by Twilight to spend some of his free time working on a dictionary for her. Any word that pops into his head that he knows the definition for, he’s going to write it down for her. She is working on learning his language, so learning more words are always good. He finally decides and pulls on some white shorts over his boxers, a light blue shirt is pulled on quickly. He fingers the three cutie marks, how would he add Silver’s? Would he? He pulls the shirt on and pulls on his sandals. The mare at the Canterlot Boutique, Sassy Saddles, seemed amused when he wanted something other than boots or canvas topped shoes. She had drawn up a couple of ideas before Tim had selected the sandals he was wearing now. But they are comfortable, and worth every bit he handed to her. He walks to the door and opens it.

“Oh, Silver.” The stallion had more than cleaned up from last night. The room was looking very nearly pristine. The curtains had been thrown back to let natural light into the room, the bed had been stripped and remade with new sheets and another comforter. The dozen or so pillows they have seem to have had new pillowcases put on them, and are arranged on the bed. The stallion is hovering, a duster in his mouth as he runs it along the edge of the ceiling and walls.

Silver stops and drops to the floor, setting down the duster, “Did I do something wrong, Tim? Did you want to do all of this? I just thought I would help...” the pegasus stumbles to a stop as Tim puts out a finger. He looks up at Tim questioningly.

“Silver, I wasn’t complaining, I was surprised.” He gestures to the room, “I’ve never been much for house work, but this looks amazing.” He looks down at Silver, who is now beaming.

Silver prances in place for a moment. “I’m so happy to hear that. I like cleaning up, it’s relaxing to me to make the home look the best it can. I was planning on working on the rest of the house during the day today. Give you a day off.”

Tim frowns, “I don’t usually do all that much, I pull my weight, but the girls and I share the job.” He looks at the shocked look on Silver’s face. “What?”

Silver works his jaw a little bit, as though he’s trying to remember how to use it again, he finally brings it shut with a click, then he shakes his head, “You get the girls to help you with the cleaning?”

“Yeah. So?”

“Lesson two: A stallion’s job in the house is to make it lovely for his lovelies.”

Tim shrugs. “The girls and I are happy with how things have been working.”

Silver trots up to him and stomps a hoof. “Well, that stops now. I’m not going to demand you help, you have a job, so you can keep doing that. But I will keep this home clean and running well.” He wilts visibly, “Though I’m not the best of cooks, so if you want to help with the cooking here?” His ears flick a bit.

Tim laughs, “Of course I’ll help with cooking, but Cayenne likes cooking, too, so there will be times we might be fighting over who gets to cook a meal.”

Silver looks down, “No, I won’t fight on that; I can’t cook to save my life. I was actually told I’d never get a mare because I couldn’t cook for her.” He looks up, his eyes round. “I was really happy that Cayenne and I had hit it off so well at the party. At first, I thought I was going to sink it when she asked about what I can bring to a herd, but turns out she’s a chef, so that’s solved and she’s been looking for a housecolt.” Silver didn’t notice Tim frown slightly. The human took a mental note to catch up with her on things before he found himself blindsided again.

Tim glances at the clock. “Don’t you have to get to work?”

Silver shakes his head, “I told Pickle Spice that if I didn’t show up today, I’d have been accepted into the herd, she’ll understand.”

 “She’ll understand? Why would she understand something like that?”

Silver giggles again, he hops up on the bed and sits down, patting on the bed for Tim to sit next to him. After a moment of hesitation, Tim complies, sinking into the soft mattress of the large bed, Silver leans up against him and puts a wing over his shoulder, “Tim, I don’t know how things are where you come from, but in Equestria, if a stallion lives in a herd, the mares are supposed to support him, a stallion is usually bigger and stronger than most of the mares, especially an Earth pony stallion. We have roles in our society other than to provide seed for the mares. We are protectors of the mares when they are vulnerable, we are the protectors of the fillies and colts, and we make sure the mares are happy.”

Tim was about to open his mouth, Silver was actually slightly smaller than Citrus, Cayenne, or North Point. “I hope you can fight, because I can’t.”

“I don’t look it, but I was educated in the Academia Ala Armarum Pegasorem – translated loosely, Pegasus Wing Weapons Academy. I know my way around rapier, broadsword, and melee. If you would like, I could give you lesson three: basic training for defense of the herd.”

“Maybe someday. I have to say, you’re one strange guy.”

“Really? I’m actually really normal.”

“On Earth, you’d be weird. You’re a feminine, chatty guy who loves to clean, thinks of his place as the home, loves snuggle and tummy rubs, and is somehow a sword master. You’re one weird pony.”

“I could say the same about you,” grins back Silver to match Tim’s own. “To ponies, you are quite mare-like, assertive, dominant, and you want to work to support your family. But you don’t know anything about fighting. It’s almost as the girls treat you as one of their own.”

Tim reaches an arm and brings the stallion close for a hug, Silverwing enthusiastically returns the hug for a long moment, then Tim stands up, “Breakfast?”

The stallion shrugs his wings. “I’m not in the mood for anything big, we have any hay?”

Tim shudders a bit, ponies and their hay, “I think we have some. I think I’ll have some oatmeal.”

“Oh, I love oats!”

That gets a chuckle from Tim as he heads into the kitchen. Once again, he stops, Silver had done more than a quick load of dishes last night, he had completely cleaned the kitchen. The fixtures gleam in the light from the open windows. Tim shakes his head as he goes about preparing breakfast. Oatmeal is a rather easy meal to make. Though he doesn’t leave it plain. The ponies have a definite sweet tooth. Baked goods are quite prominent, along with other candies and sweets. When he had mentioned diabetes and described it, the girls had been confused. Ponies don’t typically have that problem. Personally, he is just glad that he doesn’t have that specific problem in his family tree.  Brown sugar and cinnamon are both added to the oatmeal, as well as a generous helping of raisins. Tim grabs a mini hay bale, usually sold as individual meals for the ponies and sets it next to the bowl for Silver. Silver whickers happily as he digs in. Tim enjoys the breakfast himself, thinking about everything.

Tim thinks about things for a long time as both of them eat, but finally, he looks at Silver. The stallion looks at him expectantly, “Silver, have you ever been to the Grand Galloping Gala?”

Silver nearly gags on his mouthful, but he’s able to get it down, he coughs a couple of times, “The gala? That’s the place to be in the fall.”

Tim nods. “I know, well, Princess Celestia sent us five tickets. But before last night, there were just four of us.”

Silver’s eyes widen. “Are you asking me to join your herd going to the Gala?”

Tim knows what the girls’ reactions would be. “Yeah, I think I am.”

Silver squees loudly, “Oh, Tim. That would be so awesome!”

Tim stands up and moves over to where he had stashed the envelope from the castle, he upends the envelope, letting the golden tickets land in his hand. He fingers through them, confirming that there are indeed five tickets. He turns back to the kitchen table and sets them down, “I don’t think Princess Celestia was thinking of you when she gave them to me. But I really don’t care, I want you to join us, Silver.”

Silver looks at the sheet of gold he’s holding, he looks up at Tim, then back down at the engraved invitation. His eyes well with tears. “Tim, you are the nicest stallion I’ve ever met.” He leaps over the table and lands on Tim, his weight starts tilting Tim’s chair fit to topple. Though with amazing speed, the pegasus spreads his wings as his forelegs tighten around Tim, flapping furiously he brings Tim onto his back gently, ending up lying partially on his chest. He hugs the human tightly, though Tim is certain just a tiny bit more would break bones on his part, Tim hugs the stallion back.

“Now those are some reflexes, Silver.” Tim’s able to say after a few moments of contemplating his new position on the floor rather than sitting on his chair.

Silver giggles, “I’m not a speedster pegasus, but I’m pretty good in the air.” He flexes a wing, “I like flying.”

“Speedster?”

“Specially adapted to be a fast flyer. I’m a Hurricanian.”

“What’s that?”

“A descendant of Commander Hurricane, the greatest warrior and philanderer in our history. It gives me a leg up on fighting stuff, but compared to professionals, ponies with purer blood, and ponies with it as their special talent, I’d still get wiped because I don’t practice more than a few times a year. Do humans have special talents?”

“No.”

“You know, Tim.” Silver shakes his head hard, “Your species gets more and more confusing.”

Tim laughs and shakes his head as Silver finally pulls away, he takes a moment to roll off of his chair and put it upright before he sits back down. Silver gets back in his own seat, fitting the strap for his spoon over his hoof and digging back into his breakfast. Though the accurate term for the meal would be a late brunch, judging by the time. Tim is soon scraping his bowl for the last dregs of his meal when a sparkling sound gains his attention. He looks up as magic coalesces above the table. He holds out a hand and a scroll lands in it. It’s not sealed, so he’s pretty sure of who it’s from.

“So, what does it say?” Silver asks.

Tim reads it a second time, then he looks at Silver. “I guess we need to go to the Canterlot Boutique. The girls are getting fitted for their gala dresses and they want our opinion.”

Silver drops his spoon and clops his hooves together. “Oh, Tim, that will be so fun!”

***

Tim looks at himself in the mirror. Sassy Saddles fusses around him, her magic adjusting the fabric around his shoulders, then she pulls on it, straightening the back, she hums as she works. Tim looks back at the girls of his herd, all three have chosen their own dresses for the gala. In fact, they had chosen them before Tim had arrived. The reason Silver and him had been asked to come was so they could get fitted for their own gala outfits. Citrus had read his mind, and Silver admittedly looked quite dashing in his own tuxedo, with the tails running back and hanging over his rump. He’s wearing a top hat to go with the tails. And a larger hat is sitting on a table, part of Tim’s own setup. He looks at the three girls, all three are sitting on their haunches, their eyes fastened on him as the light blue mare continues with her work. Her horn continually lit, she pulls here, stretches there. A threaded needle flashes in and works quickly. The hat is enfolded in her magic and it is placed gently on his head. Finally she steps back, a happy smile on her face. “What do you think?”

The question wasn’t directed at Tim, but at the girls. All three of them nod, getting a big smile from the taller mare. She whaps him on the rear with her tail. “Go ahead and get changed, sweetie,” she says softly as she trots over to the rest of his herd. Tim takes a moment to pull the hat off. He glances at Silver, who is hanging his outfit on a hangar. Tim heads over to the privacy screen that he had insisted that he use when changing. Which got a few laughs from the tall mare when he requested a bit of privacy to change. He shakes his head as he pulls the jacket off and hangs it on the screen. He attacks the buttons on the shirt, at least Citrus won’t be pulling the shirt and scattering the buttons everywhere. Though he has a feeling that’s going to happen after the gala. Citrus has ruined more dress shirts of his than he likes to think about. Hanging up the shirt and putting the jacket over it takes only a few moments. He glances over the screen for a moment, watching the girls as they converse with Sassy. It would be just like them to pull the screen aside to talk to him at an inopportune moment. His jeans are on in moments and he pulls his t-shirt over his frame quickly.

Finally dressed, he moves from behind the screen and walks up to the girls. He glances at Citrus then taps Sassy on the shoulder. “I’ve got a little request.”

She turns to look at him expectantly, he smiles, “Well, Silverwing here, has joined our herd. I was thinking we need something to add to the marks you’ve been putting on my shirts.”

She smiles. “So you want to add your stallion’s mark to your shirt?”

He nods, glancing at Silver when the stallion gasps softly. “We are a family now, a herd, and I think that might be a good thing.”

The light blue mare rears up, squeezing her cheeks together. “Oooooooo, that’s so romantic!” She glances back at Citrus and the other mares as she regains four hooves, “You chose a real romantic one, didn’t you!”

At his request, she floats over a piece of paper and a pencil, he starts to draw, “Well, what I was thinking was…” He trails off as he continues drawing, then finally he turns the paper to the other mare, getting a girly squeal from her. “That’s beautiful.” She stops for a moment, “What is that?”

“Family crest, it’s old. That’s about all I know.”

Citrus comes up, her horn alight. She taps the pencil on it, “That’s your family’s?” At his nod she frowns, “You have a pegasus on one side, and a gryphon on the other. Where’s the unicorn? Or the Earth pony?”

Tim smiles, “This was made a few centuries ago, Citrus. And remember, our world has never met yours. I do know that the unicorn is the official animal of Scotland.”

“Scotland?”

“Yeah, one of the nations on my world.” He shrugs, “My dad’s family is from another nation, not Scotland, though.”

“Ideeeeaaaaa!” Sassy Saddle’s sings out. Her magic enfolds the pencil and paper again, she starts drawing, she draws the coat of arms again, then Silverwings cutie mark of the punch awl with a pegasus wing on one side right next to it, then she draws the three marks of the mares around them, with Citrus’ compact at the top. She flourishes the paper at Tim\., “I so love this kind of romantic inspiration. Two strong, stalwart stallions as the core of your herd.” She points to the mares’ cutie marks arrayed around, “And the mares arrayed around, to show the strength of your herd.” She giggles, “I can even make up some saddle bags, or other accoutrements for you to wear, showing your herd!” She turns away, her tail waving from side to side as she continues, “Oh, this is so exciting!” She stops and turns to look at Citrus expectantly, “The Gala will be here just before winter, but I can have shirts for your human stallion ready quickly! But no worries, we will have everything ready on time before the Gala!”

Citrus comes over to Tim, forcing her head under his hand, he rubs behind her ear affectionally, “Thank you Sassy, we’ve always loved the work done here.” Citrus says with a giggle as she moves against him, getting Tim to start walking, she looks back. “I can’t wait to see the results!”

“Ta ta!” Sassy calls out as they leave the shop. Tim is content to walk with them as they wind their way through the streets of Canterlot.

***

Tim exits the Ponyville express. Some of the testing that Twilight has been doing has been in her laboratory in the castle, so she’s had him come to Ponyville twice a week now for the last several weeks. Between that and work, his free time has dropped down to virtually nil. He now carries his papers with him in a ruck through the streets of Ponyville. Compared to Canterlot, Ponyville is almost backward. The roads are either cobblestone or hard packed dirt, the buildings are bright and colorful, yet seem out of a different era. The ponies around here are starting to get used to him walking among them. Though having the Princess of Friendship walk with him the first couple of times has really cut down on the skittish phase that he had to deal with in Canterlot.

A glance shows that pink pony bouncing along, a pie in a carrier clutched in her jaws, another look as a bunch of foals tumbling around, playing. Another glance has a yellow pegasus mare walking slowly, leading a line of ducks through the town. He shakes his head. These ponies are always really busy it seems like. The path eventually leads him up to Twilight’s castle. Unlike Canterlot Castle, Twilights castle doesn’t have armed and armored guards at the gates. Twilight’s guard contingent is actually very small. She has her main bodyguard, a heavy bodied earth pony who looks like she could eat Tim for lunch, and perhaps a dozen other mares that rotate throughout the castle, but they don’t even seem to be armed.

One of the guards nods at him as he walks through the entryway, he knows where to go to find the stairs heading down towards Twilight’s laboratory. He heads in that direction, when a voice impinges on his consciousness, “Tim!”

He turns and looks, “Hi, Cadance, I thought you were back at home.”

She smiles, “I’m jumping between here and Canterlot, helping Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna with getting ready for the Gala, and spending time with my sister-in-law, I’m glad Shining is back home with Flurry.”

“A lot of work going on?”

She nods and moves closer to him, guiding him as he walks. At first, she seems content to merely walk, then she moves over and hip checks him, “So, have you given any thought? She could really use a herd.”

Tim scrubs the back of his neck. “Princess, I like her. Twilight is a wonderful friend. She’s cute, funny, and absolutely brilliant. But I don’t see Cayenne giving up her restaurant, and Citrus giving up her shop to move to Ponyville to be near her. And I certainly don’t see her giving up this.” He gestures at the walls of the castle. “Also, Citrus still hasn’t forgotten how her magic nearly permanently messed me up.”

She giggles, “Long distance relationships require more work. You already see her twice a week, perhaps you should show exactly how much you like her?”

 “Princess, I’m not looking to add to my herd. We just got Silver a few weeks ago, and I’m still trying to adjust to having another male in with my girls.”

“She talks about you all the time, you know that? She’s told me a lot about your culture, are you adjusting to having another male after your culture is so based on monogamy?”

He nods, “Silver is just too sweet; he wants to be so helpful. And he helps keep the girls happy.”

“Sexually?”

“In the bedroom too. Though he has no stamina.” He laughs, “The moment he starts, he’s pretty much done, though the girls seem to like it.”

That gets Cadance to stop. “How long does it usually last for you?”

Boy, this conversation has gotten intimate quickly, though with her being the princess of love, she’s probably heard worse, “Well, I like using more than one part to pleasure them, I try to make sure all of their horns spark before I finish.”

“And who do you usually finish in?”

Tim finds himself blushing, “Citrus. She insists, though she’s also insisted I do in North, and Cayenne occasionally, but most of the time, it’s her.”

Cadance smiles, “She’s got good lead mare instincts.” She again hip checks him, “It’s normal for stallions to be rather energetic in bed, and with hair triggers. It took a couple of years to get Shining to settle down. But I’ll remind you, when a mare is in heat, and it’s a lot worse for an alicorn mare. We can go a little crazy there. But the pheromones we put out will get just random stallions walking by end up five legged.”

“Even Princess Celestia and Luna?”

She nods, “Oh, it’s bad for them, though they have stallions they can call upon, there are privileges to being royalty.”

Tim stops walking, “Royal privileges?”

She turns to look at him, “Well, not as pronounced as a thousand years ago, where stallions were pretty much property of their mares. The Princess could simply come up to the lead mare of a herd and demand her stallion to service her. The lead mare didn’t have any choice, and the stallion less so.” She smiles, “We are a lot different than back then, Tim. But there is a bit of a cultural norm, if a Princess asks, she gets. It’s less compulsory, but the ponies do desire to help their Princesses where they are needed. That includes in the bedroom.”

“Have you used those privileges?”

She snorts, “No, I’ve got my Shiny, and he keeps me happy.”

“Has Twilight?”

She shakes her head, “That mare is so frustrating. Before she ascended, she had one or two stallions that she was serious about. She’s not a virgin anymore, but she didn’t seem to be all that satisfied with them, and ended the relationships quickly. I’m pretty sure she is waiting for the right stallion. That makes her heat harder than it needs to be. We had to use artificial means to help relieve her last time.”

“Poor girl.”

“You can help with that. She wants you. You would be good for her.”

“But Citrus and Cayenne, North Point, and Silver?”

She snorts and stamps a hoof, “Wouldn’t they be honored, a stallion in their herd servicing a princess in need?”

“I just told you Citrus and Cayenne, Citrus especially, don’t like her. I’ve never seen them mad at anyone or anything since.”

“They’ll get used to the idea. Nopony would be able to deny the perks of bedding royalty, either. And you know you want my dear little Twilight.” Does he want Twilight in a sexual way? He has to admit, watching her wave her tail at him and showing off her winking plot has been at least somewhat tempting. But actually going all the way with her, even as a princess, it would feel like cheating without talking to Citrus first. But asking Citrus about that? Would he be signaling to her that they aren’t enough? Hell, they are almost too much for him. Finally, he shakes his head, “I’m sorry, Princess…”

“Sorry for what?” Comes a new voice. Tim turns to see the purple pony princess sitting a respectful distance away, her tail waiving back and forth, a small smile on her face as her eyes latch on him. She giggles, “I’ve been a busy pony!” She tilts her head to the side and smiles brightly.

Cadance uses a wing to tap Tim’s shoulder, “Think on what I’ve said.” She says softly and then moves and gives Twilight a hug. Soon Twilight is leading Tim into the lab, chattering happily as she bounces around. He smiles a greeting at Starlight, who is reading a book comfortably near the portal mirror.

Finally, she has Tim sit down, “Okay, I’m going to temporarily disable the translation matrix.”

He nods, used to it now. Part of his learning her language. He watches as she brings her horn close, and the familiar pop rings in his ears. As she sighs and sits down, the spell is always draining for her. She tilts her head again, “Kalapap pacha shab we?”

He nods, “Fuwa-mo” Meaning that he does understand what she’s saying. Their language is quite different, and getting used to it requires some immersion. Though actually reproducing their language is getting easier, as his magic resistance has lessened, and him actually talking to them in their language via the translation spell, he’s finding their words to not be as much a mouthful. His lips still ache when he does it, needing to form them for some very forceful pops and trills. Their p, for example, has two forms, one similar to English, but also one that’s more like popping out air without breathing, almost a kind of click. And all their b’s are half snorted half trilled. Vowels are easy, because English has thirteen of them, but the nasal accent gets him every time.

She looks like she’s concentrating, “Can you understand this?” Her voice is heavily accented, but he can pick out the words with little difficulty.

“Wow, Twilight, you’ve been working hard on learning!”

She squees, then she brings up a parchment. “Bufsh”

“Parchment! That means parchment.”

He repeats the word back at her, getting her to clop her hooves together with a whinny like laugh. He reaches into his back pack and pulls out the sheet he’s been working on since their last meeting.

She clops her hooves together as her magic brings it to her, her face again takes a look of concentration, “New words?”

He nods, and she squeals happily. She uses her magic to produce illustrations. “Peshkabsh?”

“Dagger”

“Hweenoree”

“Love”

“Fucolcp.”

“Anger.”

“Babra”

“Gallop”

“Kakfash”

“Day”

“Popfash”

“Night”

“Shk” Tim shook his head, expressing confusion. “Kakfash popfash shk.”

“Day and night? And!” Tim realized. “That’s weird – the conjunction goes between in English.”

“Osh!” Twilight popped back into English. “It means agree. “Wosh means disagree. Initial w sounds express negation at the beginning of verbs. Shpopo means I see. Wshpopo means I do not see.”

“And does fash mean time by any chance?”

“Yes, Tim! You’re catching on.”

 More than an hour passes before she finally restores the translation fully. She crawls up on the couch, glancing at Starlight, who seems immersed in her book. She leans up against him, putting a wing over his back and snuggling closer, “Tell me more about your world.”

“What do you want to know?”

She snorts, “I’m tired of the politics that I’ve asked you about before. Your entire system seems to be very chaotic. You’ve told me about where you grew up. How about telling me about your job. What was it like driving those big trucks?”

Tim leans against her, in response, her wing tightens around him. He finds it very comforting, “Well, it was kinda boring at times. To be honest, the job requires a lot of concentration on everything around me, but long trips. The straight roads that just seem to never end, and after doing the same route, over and over, even on long hauls, there are some very beautiful sights in my world, but after seeing them for the hundredth time, it loses a bit of the appeal. Then you have the paperwork.”

She snorts, “Paperwork, to drive a truck?”

He nods, “There are rules in the industry, called hours of service. I have to keep track of when I’m driving, when I’m bunked out in the sleeper berth, when I’m working on loading and unloading. Though most of my freight was drop off a trailer and pick up the next one. But all of that had to be accounted for.”

“Why?”

“Well, the reason they said was to prevent drivers from driving tired. The trouble is, with the work-loads, the push to get as many miles as possible, many times those forms are called swindle sheets, because we are rarely honest on writing when we are supposed to be driving and not. Though I think the best part was the people you see while driving, and the people you meet when you are stopped.”

“Oh?”

He nods, “The state patrol, mainly, will stop a truck to check the paperwork, and many times, a driver will be frantically filling out their form before the officer gets up there. And the fines apply to the drivers, not the companies pushing them harder,” e huffs, “Then there are the people. You stop at the same place, you get to know the people working there. Some become friends, some think they are your friends. It’s interesting. Though I really liked what I did.”

She leans up against him, her wing bringing him closer. Tim glanced at Starlight, her eyes flick toward the human sitting with the pony and she frowns a bit, though she keeps mute, “What is that on your shirt?”

“You mean besides the cutie marks of my herd?” He can feel her nod, “Well, it’s my family crest, humans don’t get cutie marks like ponies do.”

Her horn lights, and he can hear movement behind him, in moments his old wallet is hanging before him, “I thought this was your cutie mark. Since the humans on the other side of the portal tend to put their cutie marks on their clothes, I thought you put it there unconsciously as a fulfillment of your destiny to drive trucks.”

He reaches out a hand and grabs the wallet. Running his thumb along the logo, “One of my favorite trucks I drove, it’s built by a company called Western Star. This is their logo.” He looks at her, then recoils a bit, his nose is nearly touching hers, he looks back at the leather, “It’s a nice wallet. Had plenty of room for cards and cash. It worked well for me.”

“So that’s not your talent?”

“Not driving trucks, it was fun, but it was a job.”

She sighs, resting her chin on his shoulder, “Tell me more about Karen.”

He shudders, and that gets her to squeeze him tighter, “What do you want to know? I’ve told you pretty much everything.”

“How did she make you feel?”

Tim takes a moment to put down the wallet and put an arm around Twilight, she sighs softly, “Well, it’s hard to describe, Twilight. She made me happy to make my way home after a long trip, she was smart. She was stubborn.”

“Tim, you are being silly, I want to know how she made you feel. Not what she did.”

He hadn’t really stopped and thought about it before. Karen and him had just clicked so well. He doesn’t even notice the tears starting, “She made my life what it was. She was my other half. We had our rough patches, but I was seriously planning on marrying her. Once we got our finances together.”

“Like how your herd makes you feel?”

He stops for a long moment, finally, “Yeah, like that. My life wouldn’t be right without them.”

“And having three mares, you find you are connected to all of them the same way?”

He nods, “I never knew, adding more didn’t divide my love for them, it added.”

She snuggles closer, nuzzling his neck softly, she looks up at a cleared throat from Starlight. “I’m comforting him.” She goes back to nuzzling. “Tim, you know, having more mares to love, means there is more love to go around.” She snorts softly, “And having a new stallion, is he loving?”

Tim shrugs, “I kinda like Silver. He’s super friendly, and he is so eager to please. It’s hard to not enjoy having him around.”

“Can you love him, like your mares?”

Tim stops dead, “Are you talking sexually?”

She leans back, laughing softly, “Not everything is about sex, Tim. It’s a vital component to a strong herd, but it’s not the only thing. It’s the connection you all have together. Let me ask you this.” She looks down, “Do you think you have enough mares in your herd? Are you all happy together?”

Tim nods, “I don’t see us adding any more any time soon. We are quite happy together. When we are all home, it’s nice to just spend time together.”

She seems to wilt a bit. She’s silent for a long time, then finally she sniffs a bit, “Mind if some time I were to come in and observe your herd? To see how well you’ve integrated in with them?”

Tim shrugs, “I don’t see a problem with that, though I’d clear it with Citrus first.”

She hugs him tighter, “I hope she says yes. I really like you.”

“Me too.”
> Chapter 16.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citrus stamps her forehoof on the floor. “No!” she growls.

“But…” Tim’s able to start before Citrus steps forward a bit.

“Her recklessness is what got you turned into a pony against your will. She’s been a source of a lot of stress for you. In case you didn’t remember how you felt after she got your old phone working.” She tosses her mane. “She didn’t have to hold you at night when you had nightmares. I know Princess Luna helps you with those, but she can’t be there all the time.” She stops for a moment, composing herself, “I know your language lessons and Equestrian history lessons are important. But there is a reason why I requested that you have your lessons in Ponyville at her castle. She doesn’t belong in our home.”

Tim sighs, “Okay, I understand, love.”

She smiles prettily. “Now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, it’s time to get ready for work.”

“But I don’t work today.”

“Not your work, silly. Mine!” She tilts her head to the side and smiles.

Tim kneels down and puts a hand on her cheek, which causes her to lean her head into his hand with a smile and a sigh, “Have I told you I love you enough?”

She sighs, “I always love hearing it, love.” She turns away, using her tail to whap him on the hip gently, “Come on. If you join me in the shower, I guarantee you are going to get lucky.” She waves her hips as she walks, her tail moving to give him an eyeful along with an extended wink, he reaches out with a finger and grabs the very tip of her clit with a thumb and forefinger, getting her to stop in her tracks. She shudders for a long moment, the turns her head back, “Wait for the shower, love.” She says as she ascends the stairs with him tickling her hips and playing with her tail the whole way up. He loves the sound of her throaty giggle.

As happy as he is, his smile doesn’t quite go all the way up his cheeks. As much as she loves him, she’s very much an Equestrian mare, and something about that has him unsettled. Not helping matters is the simple fact that Twilight is becoming very pushy with him, and to his almost shame, he is finding himself both dreading, and awaiting, her. There is something very human about her -- how she makes a point of treating him like an equal, wanting to know about his background and his opinions. Out of everypony in Equestria, it is with her alone that he can express how he truly feels about his predicament. Being the only one of his kind weighs on him more than he wants to really consider, and only Twilight will listen to it without trying to immediately drown him in cheer to keep the harmony going. He enjoys her company a lot, and for that, he cannot help but feel at least a little bit like he is somehow a little bit of a traitor to his herd. He hasn’t told his mares just how much he misses Earth, but he has told her. They don’t know his reservations about their culture, but Twilight does, taking notice in that academic way of hers. Even though he knows he is likely never going home, with that little bookhorse right there almost as a surrogate human, it doesn’t seem quite so bad.

And this troubling, growing mote of affection for a mare outside of his herd makes him feel guilty.

***

Tim walks next to Citrus Blush, the yellow mare is happily prancing along through the streets of Canterlot. Tim finds his footfalls fairly heavy, Citrus may not have worn him out this morning, but he’s certainly feeling the effects of the exercise. Years of sitting while herding the trucks around had given him a little bit of a gut. Perhaps twenty or thirty extra pounds. Though with coming to Equestria, spending time outside, and the exercise he gets from walking everywhere with his herd, and the not inconsiderable amount of exercise he gets in the bedroom, he’s found he has abs now. Even though he still has the scars from the surgeries the ponies had to perform to save his life, his muscle definition and tone are much better than at any other time in his life. And the ponies don’t even have a concept of the TV dinner. There is no microwave that he’s seen in Canterlot. So, he’s certainly eating better than at any other time in his life.

He glances around and watches that pink pony, one of Twilight’s friends from Ponyville, lead dozens of ponies down the street, singing a merry song as they bounce along. Citrus stops with him as they watch the impromptu parade make it past them. The bouncy Earth pony waves at him with a happy smile as she pronks by, other ponies bouncing with her.

Citrus giggles, “Always gotta love when Pinkie Pie is around.”

Tim glances at his love. “Why?”

“She carried the Element of Laughter, it’s just her nature to make the ponies around her happy. She lives to make ponies around her smile.”

The pony parade continues down the street, though the song seems to be reaching a climax, judging by the increase in energy from the ponies as they follow her. Tim shakes his head, “I still don’t understand how there is music all around, yet nopony is playing anything.”

Citrus giggles, “Tim, the magic of harmony has been explained to you, right?” At his nod, she continues, “That magic is all around us, infusing every pony with the harmony of our world.” She nudges his hip. “Even you, when you told me that Princess Twilight had said that your magical resistance was dropping. Who knows, you might just get caught up in a Pinkie Pie song someday.”

“Have you?”

She nods. His eyebrows rise. “How was it?”

Citrus Blush traces a hoof on the sidewalk, “It was like being infused with happiness, with joy. You feel the magical connection that’s always present between the ponies far more acutely. You don’t need to practice, you simply know what to do, and your hooves move on their own, your voice raises with the others. And you add your own energy to the magic of harmony. The only way I’ve heard of it being a stronger feeling is in the Crystal Empire.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“The Crystal Heart, it’s what spreads light and love throughout Equestria. When the crystal ponies energize the Heart. It can be felt all throughout Equestria. All throughout the world, actually. Perhaps we can take a trip up north, to the Crystal Empire, and you can see what that magic means. Once you are able to feel the full effect of Equestrian magic, you’ll see why it’s so important to us.”

He nods as she continues leading him through the streets. She spends some work days continuing her work at the hospital, helping ponies that have been injured gain back their confidence. But the rest of the time is spent working at the cosmetic shop her mom had built years before. After her herd broke up with the departure of Rotten Apple, her mom had moved out to the coast. That left the shop in Citrus Blush’s hooves. She makes most of the cosmetics sold there, and they are highly sought after by the Canterlot elite. Citrus points ahead, a tall unicorn mare is exiting the shop, she notices Citrus and Tim and smiles brightly. “Hi, Citrus!” She comes over to Citrus for a hug.

“Hi, Fleur!” Citrus chirps.

Fleur looks up at the taller human. “Hello, Tim.” She says, offering a hesitant smile. She offers a hoof, which he bumps with a fist gently.

“Hi, Fleur,” Tim says brightly. Fleur dis Lee has only met him a couple of times, and is still a bit shy towards him, though with him being there with Citrus does help the taller mare’s confidence.

Fleur focuses on Citrus. “Why didn’t you tell me Tropical Dream was going to be here? Was she delivering some of that wonderful sunscreen she makes?”

“Mom is here?” Citrus stops and looks at Tim. “Tim, I think we should head home.”

Tim cocks his head to the side. “Why? I’ve met your sire. What’s wrong with meeting your mom?”

Citrus Blush blushes deeply, even her ears turning red, “Well, I haven’t exactly told her about joining a herd.”

Fleur gasps, “You haven’t told her the happy news? Oh Citrus, you should have her meet your coltfriend then.”

Citrus’s ears flatten and her tail tucks up under her rear legs. “I was planning on talking to her privately before I had Tim meet her.” She glances over at Tim.  “I’m sorry, love, but she doesn’t even know humans exist, and she will likely not really understand that I’ve added a human to my herd.”

Tim smiles, “Well, wouldn’t be the first time meeting the mom was not ideal. I can head home if you really want me to.”

Citrus stands there for a long time, her ears flicking back and forth, finally she looks up, “Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Let’s go in.”

Tim follows Citrus as she bids good day to Fleur and trots happily towards the shop. Her tail waving happily as she turns and pushes through the door. “Hi, Mom! I thought you weren’t gonna be in town until the Gala.”

Tim looks at the other pony. Her back is to them as she sits on her haunches behind the counter. Her horn is alight and she seems to be unpacking a box sitting next to her, "Oh there's my little filly."

"Moooom!"

"Now now, Citrus, you'll always be my little filly and nothing you can say will change that. Just give me a moment, please. I was able to get a fabulous deal on some sunscreen ingredients locally. I have one batch that finished early, so I made time."

"Don't be a workaholic, mom."

"Oh, like you, little one?  The main reason I'm here is to see you. You know how much I miss you. So what’s been keeping you so busy?”

Citrus sits at her ease, next to Tim as the older mare continues working. Tim opens his mouth to announce himself, but a soft whap from Citrus’s tail keeps him silent. He glances down at her and she gestures for him to wait. The older mare floats a second box closer to her, magic flips the cardboard open and some larger vials float onto the shelf. The only sounds in the shop are the chime of her magic and the soft clink of the glass vials as she places them on the shelving. Before too long she’s done. She takes a moment to fold the box flat and float it onto the counter. Tim can’t help but notice her similar coloring to Citrus. Nearly identical coat color with a two tone mane that is maybe a shade lighter than her daughter’s. She turns around and looks at Citrus and Tim. Her smile slowly slips off her face as she moves one hind leg backwards. Trembling a little, she stands there for a long time, her eyes going wide as her pupils shrink to the size of peas.

“Mom?” Citrus asks, “What’s the matter?”

Tropical Dream's breathing picks up as she starts to pant softly, her legs trembling as she backs slowly away. The confines of the store, however, limit her movement and her rear comes into contact with a display case. Looking side to side frantically, she appears to be searching for a way to escape. Unfortunately, the bump loosens one of the shelves and the bottles start to fall to the floor. Citrus quickly grabs the bottles with her magic before they hit the ground, but the older unicorn starts to shriek. “MONSTER!” Tropical Dream darts down the line of display cases and disappears through the door to the back room.

Citrus stands there for a moment, her magic fixing the shelf and balancing the stack of bottles. She finally lets her horn quiet as she shouts out, “Mom!” She darts down the aisle and slips through the door the other mare had dashed through, leaving Tim in the front of the shop, alone.  Citrus’s mom seemed terrified, so he’d better not follow her. He shrugs and moves over to pick up the boxes Tropical Dream had brought in and emptied. He takes a moment to clean up the trash. He moves over and looks at the jars the older unicorn had brought. He lets out a low whistle looking at the price printed on a little tag on the bottom of the bottle. He picks up another bottle and quickly puts it down upon seeing its price. Everything here is very high end. He knows that Citrus makes most of what is sold here herself, and with these kind of prices, he can see how they live so well. The quality must be top notch to attract ponies with the kind of bits necessary to shop here.

A soft hoofstep gets his attention. “Tim,” come’s Citrus voice softly. “Could you come here?”

Tim smiles and heads over to the door to the back room. He ducks through and is greeted by Citrus’ work space, along with the storage and office areas. Tropical Dream is standing there, trembling a bit. Citrus moves over and leans against her mom. She rubs her cheek along her mom’s cheek and snorts softly nose to nose with her. “Mom, this is Tim. He’s my coltfriend.”

Tropical Dream gulps, “It’s… a.” She stops and looks at Citrus, then back up at Tim. “A pleasure.”

Quite often, when dealing with fearful ponies, Tim has found that sitting down and getting closer to their level allays many fears. He reaches over and grabs Citrus’ work stool and slides it under him as he sits down, “Hi.”

Strangely, even lowering his height doesn’t really seem to allay her fears, in fact, she shrinks back even more. Citrus puts a forehoof around her mother, drawing the larger mare closer to her. “Mom, he’s a human. He’s from another world. He’s the only one in Equestria, if not the entire world.”

Tropical looks at her daughter, then back at Tim. “He’s not related to the Diamond Dogs?” Her voice continues to quake tremulously.

Citrus gasps, “Oh, now I understand, he’s got the long arms and the hands, they remind you of the Diamond Dogs?” At Tropical’s nod she squeezes her mom even closer. “No, mom, he’s no Diamond Dog, he is gentle and loving. And he’s more like a pony than a dog.”

Tropical trembles, looking up at Tim. “You are big and scary,” she says softly.

Tim smiles, “I got that a lot when I first went around Canterlot.” He looks at Citrus. “But going around with Citrus and Cayenne, and later North Point, has shown the ponies around here that I’m not all that bad.”

She shivers for a moment, then she looks at her daughter, “How long have you been together?”

“Since the middle of spring. I had been talking Cayenne’s ears off about him. She knew it before I did. She told me later that it was about as obvious to her as Celestia’s sun rising. With how much I talked about Tim, how physical therapy was going so well, how his scars were healing.”

Tropical’s eyes narrow, looking at Citrus then at Tim. “Citrus, what are you talking about? Physical therapy? Scars?”

“Tim got to our world from a magical mishap -- Rainbow Dash did a sonic rainboom, and somehow that momentarily opened a portal up high in the sky. Pure dumb luck had him on an…” she stops, looking at Tim. “Airship?”

He shrugs. “It was actually called an airplane, but it’s similar.”

She giggles, “Okay, an airplane. Well, he fell and hit something, then he fell some more and landed on the ground. Rainbow Dash actually saw him finally land, and got him to the hospital in Ponyville, where they got him to Canterlot for the healers there. I started helping him soon after he woke up. That’s how I got to know him. How gentle he was.” Her voice softens as she continues to speak, “How nice he was, how well he worked with the healers. I did what I could to help him, too.”

She seems to not be quaking anymore. “And you are mounting my daughter?”

“MOM!”

Tropical Dream winks at her daughter, then looks at Tim seriously. “So, heat around here is usually in the spring, can I expect some grandfoals from that?”

“MOM! REALLY?!”

Tim rubs the back of his neck, “Well, while I’m not opposed to the idea, I don’t think it’s possible.” He looks at Citrus, “Princess Twilight has gone over the genes between ponies and humans, and she says that the chances of a successful foal are not high. She’s even doubtful that if I’m turned pony, the genetics would be stable enough for foals. But she’s less certain of the last. There is another stallion in the herd, though, so it’s not all bleak news for somepony wanting a grandfoal.”

“Is he mounting her, too?”

He looks at the venomous glare from Citrus and reaches out to run a finger along her cheek. Tropical’s eyes are glued onto his finger, but she relaxes when Citrus hums softly and leans into the touch. “No, mom, just Tim right now. Silver is new to the herd, so he’s going to have to earn the right to mount me; it’s only been a month.”

“I see. I’ve taught you well to keep your junior stallions keen, make them grateful to finally have you. If you let them just mount like any jack donkey to a jenny, that’ll undermine you as head mare faster than even playing favorites.” Tim frowns a bit. Citrus is smiling, looking quite pleased with herself, basking in the praise. Tropical stands up, “So, where is that salesmare you have? I sent her off for coffee when I got here, and she’s not back yet.”

Citrus giggles, “I’ll see what’s holding her up. I was going to help her today, and restock some. But with you here, I’m gonna have you meet the herd!”

Tropical Dreams smiles brightly, “I’d like that. See what mares have joined my little filly to make a family.” Her eyes dart to Tim, then back to Citrus a couple of times. Getting a soft sigh from Tim.

***

The sun is low in the western sky when North Point finally joins the rest of the herd in the living room after a long day working. Cayenne is humming happily in the kitchen while Silver is flitting around, making sure that Tropical Dream’s needs are met. He’s gotten her coffee, water, and even small snacks while Citrus and Tim spend the majority of the evening entertaining the older mare.

She still shivers once in a while looking at Tim, though the other ponies completely at ease with Tim there does have a good positive impact on her. “Citrus, dear, does this mean you're dating a... a... a... predator?"

"Moom... he's not a predator, he doesn hunt." Citrus moans, her ears flicking back and forth.

"Does he eat meat?" Tropical says seriously.

That gets rolled eyes from Citrus, "Not everypony is a vegetarian. Silver is a pegasus and likes meat too."

"How do we know where he comes from they don't eat ponies? Has anyone thought to ask that? Who knows, there may be stores back where he's from that sell meat balls made from ponies." She starts to tense up. Tim thinks to tease her with how some human societies really do eat horse meat, but stops himself.

"Mom you're overreacting."

Tim clears his throat, “I can honestly tell you, in my entire life, I’ve never eaten anything equine.”

“Well, you do like eating Citrus." The silver pegasus chortles.

"Not helping, Silver."

Tropical Dream subsides a bit, watching the herd sitting together. Cayenne comes in and sits down, floating bowls of her famous jambalaya. This version is meatless, but still amazingly tasty. Tropical Dream takes a bite, thinking. Then she smiles, “Oh, I know!” She chirps, her horn lights and a binder floats from her saddlebags. “You all need to see some of Citrus when she was younger.”

“Mom!”

“Oh, I wanna see!” Cayenne says, bouncing a bit in her seat. She crowds in to sit between Tropical and Tim, gathering a quick kiss from the human before she focuses on the photo album as it’s opened. She pulls a picture from the paper. “Here she is, trying on my makeup for the first time.”

“Mom!”

“Oh, hush, Citrus.” She turns to look at Tim, North, Cayenne, and Silver. “Well, she’s lucky I didn't name her Citrus Lipstick...” She brings up a second photo, a filly Citrus mugging for the camera. “She was so proud... even though she did look like a rodeo clown.”

“Mom, seriously? I was four!”

"Oh wait till you see the picture of her dressed up for nightmare night as a foal...."

"MOM!  Why would you keep those!?!?!"

Tropical puts the two pictures back in the album, she looks at her daughter seriously. "As a mother, I had to carry you. I had give birth to you and raise you through nights of crying. I had to deal with your temper tantrums..."

"And?!??!"

"And though all of this, a mother takes pictures, which we can use as leverage, or to embarrass you in front of your friends when you’re grown up."

“Revenge? Seriously, mom?”

“Yup,” Tropical says with a gleam in her eyes, “that’s exactly why.”

“And you keep these pictures with you all the time? In your saddlebags?”

Tropical Dream’s smile widens. “This is my small album that keeps most keepsake memories. Wait till I come next time, I’m going to have stacks of pictures. You, your siblings, everypony...”

Citrus’ head lowers and she ends up lying on the couch. “Mom..!” is all she can moan.

Cayenne, who until now has been unable to talk due to laughing so hard, finally comes up for air, “Don’t worry, Citrus.” She breaks down into peals of giggles, when they subside. “I like your mom, she can visit any time.”

“You aren’t helping,” Citrus says acidly.

“Wasn’t trying to.”

Silver pounds the couch cushion, trying to get enough breath, finally he’s able to croak, “Citrus, you were so cute as a filly.” Getting a glare from the yellow mare.

Tim reaches out, trying to stop his laughing, for the most part. Even though occasional chuckles do break through. “It’s okay, love. I guarantee your mom and my mom would have been the best of friends.”

“Oh, when do I get to meet her?” Tropic looks eagerly at him for the first time.

That kills nearly all laughter for a long moment. Tropical blinks and looks around, confused. “Did I say something wrong?”

Tim stands up and kneels down in front of Tropical Dream, his hands parted about shoulder width apart, but the gesture is obvious. She nods and they hug. He holds her tightly, “It was such a freak chance accident that brought me here. It’s pretty likely that not only will I never be able to go home, it’s doubtful that it will be impossible to let my mother know what happened to me.”

She convulsively holds him tighter. “I’m so sorry, Timothy.” Finally, the hug ends, and she holds his hands in her hooves when he pulls back, “You are still too big and scary for my taste, Timothy. But I am glad that you are in my dear little filly’s life. I’m quite pleased with your entire herd, Citrus.”

Tim stretches and yawns as he stands up. “I think I’m going to turn in early.” He offers Silver a hoof bump and kisses Tropical Dream on the cheek before heading up stairs. His steps are plodding, slightly heavy. The last thing he’d wanted to think about was home home, not Equestria home.

North Point’s hooves clatter up the stairs with him as he heads into the master bedroom. North smiles as she closes the bedroom door, “So, Tim. You ready for some action to tire you out before you go to sleep?”

Tim nods as he finds himself yawning again. North’s horn lights as he pulls off his shirt, her magic already working on his jeans. Soon, he’s crawling into bed, with North kissing him enthusiastically as he settles onto the bed, she breaks the kiss and starts working down his body, “Tonight, love. You won’t have to do much.” She says softly as she follows up a kiss on his pectoral with a light bite.

Tim smiles as he folds his arms behind his head. For the next hour, he’d have this distraction from his loneliness, being a stranger in a strange land. He feels North rocking atop him. He reaches around and holds her, clenching her tighter than usual.

***

Tim feels his cock surrounded by something hot and wet. It’s riding him up and down, making pleasured, little gasps. “Tim…” the voice says.

He almost startles. “Karen! How are-?”

She shushes him. “Just relax, love.” Tim lays back, not moving, just soaking up this feeling. It’s not like the pussy of any of his mares. It’s familiar, tighter, and dare he say perhaps a little wetter. The pleasure is building in his cock, the pressure rising. Karen’s body feels so good. He longs to touch her, but he can’t make his arms comply.

It feels so good. His balls are tightening. Electricity is beginning to run along his dick. He lets out a small grunt. Karen giggles and goes faster. “Good stallion. I want you to cum for me.”

“I’m gonna…” He finally gets his arms under control. He touches her it’s almost like skin.

“Cum for me. Cum hard.” This is it…

He awakens just as he crosses into orgasm, his dick twitching in the woman’s warm hole. He opens his eyes. “Ka-… Citrus!” The mare licks up and down, letting him spew all over with an excited grin before cleaning him off with a carpeting of kisses along his shaft and balls.

She smiles, purring, “Morning, Tim! Must say I haven’t seen you spew that much in a long time.” He cuddles her, enjoying the feeling of the short fur, but somehow it leaves him feeling a bit incomplete. “It’s a bit late, but how about a little Citrus so you don’t get scurvy on your voyage?” He complies, but he more nibbles this time rather than devouring her.

Once again, it’s time for his twice weekly trip to Ponyville. The trip actually doesn’t take too long, and the chip that Twilight had given him, letting him access the royal coach, makes the trip quite comfortable. A bit over an hour each way isn’t that bad of a commute.

A frown is on the human’s face. He’s almost berating himself. He has a harem of lovely mares, but last night, he had dreamt of Karen and her decidedly human body riding him.  And when he woke up, Citrus remarked how much more than usual he had ejaculated. Great, he’d rather dream about loves lost forever than be with his current loves for real. They’re great but… they aren’t human… they aren’t really like him. Though mares have teats, he can’t deny missing seeing what a proper pair of boobs look like, bouncing with every thrust of their bodies, their squishy yet yielding texture, and how infinitely he could kiss them, caress them, hold them, tease them... And while doing that, clap a hand to a pert ass and squeeze, hearing the satisfying slap of skin on skin. Plus, their bodies pressed together, feeling the softness and heat radiating from another just like him. It would also be nice to have a mate he could more properly cuddle with side to side without having to content with legs, manes, and tails at all kinds of odd angles. And as much as he appreciates touches and nuzzles, he really wishes that someone could hold him with soft hands instead of hard hooves, and the dexterity of fingers. He stops for a moment, shaking his head.

The streets of Ponyville are quite busy this beautiful, warm day, one of the last gasps of summer before they have to switch it out to autumn. Back home, he was lucky to get a couple of weeks of fall before winter weather clamped down on the city. Here, in Equestria, the ponies take their times with the weather change. And they celebrate every changing of the season. Though the ponies tend to find reason to celebrate anything and everything. Tim, again, walks through the bustling town. The white mare from the boutique smiles and waves as Tim passes. She seems to be watching three foals. One is white, like her. The other two are bright yellow with a red mane and a tangerine colored pegasus with a purple mane. Tim walks on, enjoying the bright sun as he finally draws closer to the castle. One of the guards comes up to him. “You here to see Princess Twilight?”

Tim nods and the mare’s horn lights, opening the front door. “She’s waiting for you, that’s for certain. Go get em, wyvern,” she says with a wink and a slap on his rear from her tail. As the door closes behind him, he rubs his rear for a moment, looking back at the closed door.

“What was that all about?” He muses as he adjusts is ruck on his shoulder and makes his way down stairs.

He gets to her lab and pokes his head in. The lights are dim and the equipment seems to be off. Tim turns around and heads back up the stairs. He knows where the throne room with that ginormous circular table is. Though upon reaching the room, he finds it empty as well. His eyebrows rise as he turns around, usually Spike would have caught up with him by now. He shakes his head, even calling out a few times hasn’t produced the young dragon. Tim thinks for a moment, she just might be in her office. He climbs the steps again, heading further and higher into the large castle.

He finally gets to the right door. He’s only been in her office once before. The door squeaks softly as he enters, though the room is empty as well. He briefly considers opening the interior door, but that one is to her bedroom. And he’s not about to invade her bedroom without permission.

Apparently, the squeak of the office door got her attention. “Cadance? Is that you?” Tim opens his mouth to answer through the door when she pipes up again, opening the door with her magic. “That cooler you gave me last night just wasn’t enough. I think I broke it…” Tim sees her. She makes eye contact, and her pupils shrink to pinpricks. “Tim! What’re you doing here?”

He finds himself looking around. “Um, yeah? It’s Friday, I was here Tuesday.”

She frowns, her wings are saluting the sky, though she’s fighting with them. “I know I had Cadance send you a letter. I watched her write it and send it, I had to cancel today. I was expecting Cadance to be back here.”

He shrugs, “Oh, I never got a letter. If this is a bad time, Twilight, I’ll go.”

“DON’T GO!” She very nearly shrieks, getting him to turn around, she’s standing there. Her tail is waving back and forth, she clears her throat. “I mean…don’t go yet. Since you’ve already made the trip, better not waste it,” she laughs nervously as she gestures for him to follow her into the bedroom. He sheds the ruck and starts to follow her. Her tail is continually flagging as her horn lights and the bedroom lights up. Given the size of the castle, he expected her bedroom to be rather large, though this is beyond even his thoughts. The bed is enormous, bigger even than his bed at Canterlot Castle. There is a sitting area, and everything is lit softly with floor lamps and table lamps spread throughout the room. As he crosses the threshold he finds his nose flaring. That smell is familiar. After a few seconds, he realizes it’s the same smell of arousal from Citrus and the girls, but it’s also somehow different. Could she be? He looks at the bed. He’s seen things similar on earth, but can’t help but ask, “What’s that?”

She yelps and her horn brightens, the black rubber whatever it is glows briefly and disappears, “Nothing, nothing. Just something to take the edge off. I’m sorry, I really wasn’t expecting you today. Not that I don’t welcome you here, you could come here anytime, day or night. I’d be happy to have you up here with me.” Her face flushes, “Well, not just here, anywhere in the castle, I’d find room to ride you…” Her blush intensifies, “I mean to have you ride me…” She yelps softly, “I mean join me for your education.” Her normally lavender face is closer to blood red at the moment as Tim sniffs again. “I’m sorry about the smell, I think I should open a window to air the place out,” the princess blurts.

Tim shrugs, his thinking getting a bit fuzzy, “It’s okay, it’s actually quite pleasant.” He tries to think of where he’s smelled that before. Nothing comes to mind. He smiles as he sits down on a chair in the sitting area, “I’ve gotten some new words to work on.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” She says absently, she’s running her hooves over her bed, smoothing out a few wrinkles in the sheet before her magic brings the comforter over to settle onto the bed itself. With her back to him he gets an eyeful of her marehood, which is clearly ready for action. The smell intensifies, and he shakes his head. The feelings are quite pleasant, though he finds himself shifting a bit as his pants are getting rather tight. He looks at his erection seemingly trying to burst from his pants. His little buddy is not helping.

His thinking slows even further as he looks up at Twilight. “I think there might be a problem, Twilight.”

She ignores him as she puts a hoof to her chest and breathes in, then pushes the breath slowly out as she moves her forehoof away. She repeats the action again, then she smiles at Tim, “What were you saying?”

Tim frowns, looking inward, “I said something?” He shakes his head, “I don’t know. My thinking seems a bit fuzzy.”

She cocks her head to the side. “Really? Pony pheromones affect you that much? I should write that down.” She concentrates for a moment, then she shrugs, “Or I’ll worry about that later.” She hops up to him, sitting down with her tail wagging from side to side along the crystal floor of the bedroom. “I have been working on a spell, wanna see?”

“Sure.”

“Alright, close your eyes,” she instructs. He dutifully closes his eyes, though his ears register the sound of her hooves as she clops to another room. “Let me just get something on here,” she mutters as the chime of her magic starts, then it intensifies for several long seconds before a pop announces a loud silence. He perks his ears, but he doesn’t really hear anything for long moments.  Then he hears soft motions coming back towards him.

“Okay, you can open your eyes,” comes Twilight’s voice from right next to his ear. He opens his eyes and looks up. A human woman is standing there. She has a slim build with very tan, nearly swarthy skin. She’s wearing a sheer white wrap that’s very nearly see through. She has long black hair with a violet streak going down to her hips. Her breasts are a bit bigger than her frame would suggest -- he would guess D cups. Her frame narrows to her waist, then widens with feminine hips, just a few shades wider than boyishly narrow. He looks back up at her face to be greeted by still purple eyes, and to his amazement, a long, purple horn still extends from the top of her forehead. She smiles brightly, “You have no idea how much work it was to get this form right. Figuring out all the differences between human males and females with only a male’s DNA along with very few pictures of human females.” She reaches up and touches her horn, “My first attempts omitted the horn, then I had to find another unicorn to reverse it. So, I made sure to keep my magic.”

“Twilight…”

She drops her hands and the front of the wrap opens, exposing her chest. “You said you like breasts, and a few attempts had breasts that were comically large or not much more than mosquito bites, but I like this size the best. They are even bigger than when I go through the portal, though there my skin is purple, and I still have some equine qualities. And I don’t have magic there, because it takes away my horn, and my wings, too.”

She smiles and pulls the wrap open the rest of the way, pointing to her navel. “You humans have all sorts of different body types in your genome! I like this one, but your genes for hair are crazy! Some attempts had hair from the belly to the knees, others had none at all! Even on the head! This is the closest I could make -- does it work?” She has a small strip of pubic hair, but her lips are bare. Tim gulps at the view as she tilts her hips to show a bit more of herself, she uses her fingers to pull apart the labia, “Does it look human enough to you, Tim?” She moves a bit closer, “You can touch it, does it feel human enough? Does it smell right?”

“Um, Twilight, I appreciate your interest, but you really don’t have to do this.” He’s making a point of not staring at her anatomy, and keeping his hands far away. His face could ignite the atmosphere.

She sits down on his legs, her crotch less than an inch from his now straining erection through his pants, she puts her arms on his shoulders, “Tim, I know you liked me as a pony, but I don’t want you to just like me.”

Tim feels like he’s about to wriggle free of his skin. “I mean my herd isn’t here, this is wrong, Twi.”

Twilight runs a finger along his chin then puts a single finger over his mouth, shushing him, “Tim, it’s just you and me. Two friends. Both of us in need, and the other able to provide for that need.”

“But...”

She leans forward, pressing her entire front against his body, she rolls her shoulders back, letting the wrap fall to the floor then she wraps her arms around him. He reflexively puts his arms around her,  All Tim can say is, "We shouldn't be doing this, Twilight." 

She shifts to where they are nose to nose, “Why not? We are just two humans right now.” She leans forward and hugs him tightly. He feels her breasts press against his chest. He tenses, almost shaking. She strokes his back and he relaxes. He puts his hands on her shoulders and looks her straight in the eye.

“Because I have a herd. Citrus, Cayenne, North, even Silver… I can’t betray them; we make each other so happy.”

“But are they really, Tim? Luna tells me you dream of your own women. That’s a need they just can’t meet. Tell me, do you miss your earth?”

“I do, Twilight, more than you or they know. We have talked about it quite a bit.”

“What do you miss about it?”

Tim is downcast, slowly listing, “I miss fellow people, I miss having beef, or pork, or lamb. I miss not being on the receiving end of casual sexism and xenophobia from near everyone – I met Citrus’s mom; she reacted to me like I was a monster, and then she told Citrus she was proud of how her stallions were tamed, and Citrus beamed at that. I’m not Silver; I don’t like mares condescending to me. I miss the skin to skin contact that I had as a human with other humans.

Twilight interrupts, “So you miss this?” She sticks her hand up his shirt and rubs his chest.

Tim stiffens but answers, “Y-yes.” He touches her hand back, retrieving it. He grasps it, intertwining with her fingers. “Soft and warm – not like hooves. I miss the feeling of skin.” He looks at their hands, intertwined, “I never knew how much I missed that until now.”

Twilight Sparkle smirks. “How about this?” Her horn flashes, and Tim’s shirt vanishes. She hugs him again. He feels her breasts press against his chest. He sighs, and Twilight can read the beatific expression on his face. Next, she leans back and lifts her chest up, taking his hands in hers. “Touch them.”

Tim shakes his head. “Twilight, please, you’re really nice and I like you, but this is going a bit far, don’t you think?”

“This is our secret, and we’re just a couple of humans, the only woman and man in Equestria, and don’t lie; you’re liking this a lot.” She places as single finger on the tip of his erection, throbbing in his pants. Then she smiles as she wrests his hands onto her tits. “There you go,” she smiles, her horn pulsing as a violet aura compels them to squeeze, the fingers sinking pleasantly into the flesh. If he’d not known her true form, Tim would have sworn these were as real as the air in his lungs. Tim kneads her, feeling guilty, but not able to stop himself. Before he knows it, he’s kissing them, inhaling her scent. His hands are shaking, he’s practically drinking them in like a parched man in the desert thirsting for water. “Do you like my body?”

“Yes.” He’s able to pant.

“Is it everything you’ve missed.”

“Yes.”

“Good,” she says. She straddles his legs, her hot sex so close to his straining erection, she reaches down and runs a finger along the edge over his jeans, “Do you want me?”

“Twilight…” Tim is pleading with his eyes, glancing for an exit.

“Yes or no: do you like my body?”

He gulps. “Yeah.”

“I like your body. I’ve dreamed about this for so long. Oh…” She touches him all over, rubbing against him. The smell of her sweat and sex are getting to him.

Lust and longing are coming to a broil. He makes one last saving throw. “Twilight, please, I can’t do this, not to Citrus, Cayenne, North, Silver…”

Twilight kisses him, foiling his attempt at a dodge with her magic. Her tongue invades his mouth and soon get a small moan back from him. “Please, Tim, don’t deny yourself this. We’re friends, right? And friends make each other happy. I’m the princess of friendship… let me make you happy in a way only I can. And you’ll be making me happy, too.”

“Twilight, I-“

She shoves her breasts in his face. “Please, Tim, just this once. It’ll make me happy, it’ll make you happy, and it’s not like anypony else can do this for you…”

“You won’t take no for an answer, will you?”

Twilight giggles, her hand reaching down to his pants. “Why would anyone be mad about a princess’s affections? I want this… honor your princess… you know you want this…” She didn’t wait for his response, striking before he could object. She kisses his chin, then wraps her hands around his shoulders as she brings him closer as she presses her body along his, “No more. I want this. Let me have you. Your body agrees.” Her tongue invades his mouth in a passionate kiss.
> Chapter 17.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim finds his arms pulling Twilight closer as she pushes her tongue into his mouth. Her hands rub along his back, then up along his shoulders. She grinds her crotch into his, and he shudders. He invades her mouth with his tongue as he runs his hands along her body, her smooth skin, the gentle bumps of the bones of her spine, the softness of her hair. Just everything reminds him so much of home. His heart blazes with longing like he has ever known. If he weren’t so turned on and absorbed, he’d be crying. All other thought leaves him as she breaks the kiss, breathing heavily. Her horn lights.

“Let me see you." She stands up and crouches down, grabbing his jeans with her hand as her horn lights, and instantly, his jeans and boxers join his shirt on the floor. She stops for a moment, contemplating his erection. She smiles and looks up at him. She reaches out a hand and touches it gingerly, running her fingers up the side. She giggles softly when running a finger along the edge of the glans gets a moan and a twitch from Tim. Without another word, she brings her face close, her hot breath washing over his cock, getting his eyes to roll back in pleasure.

Her tongue darts out, tickling the tip. His moans give her more confidence, and she wraps her hand around the shaft, tilting his erection to point directly at her. He spasms when her lips close around the head, she shifts her hand to cup his balls as she brings all of his hardness into her mouth. He is barely able to open his eyes to watch her head bob up and down on his cock, his breathing starts to get stuttered as she starts to suck strongly as she continues to bring him nearly out of her mouth, then dives all the way back in. Her mouth feels perfect, warm and short, with teeth and gums all in the right place. 

“Twi…” Tim gasps something more, but his objection dies in his larynx. His body is betraying him. Every instinct is firing on all cylinders. At his longing and loneliness is combusting into a coup against his better judgement. Her horn is lit up like a firework, sending indescribable tingles up and down his cock. His entire body spasms as his balls contract. He shudders and shakes as his seed bursts forth into her mouth. This feels just so right. She moans, using her magic to hold him in place, helpless to stop the onslaught of pleasure. He spasms wildly, moaning her name.

She releases him with a loud pop. She licks her lips, swallowing. “You. Me. Bed. Now.”

He grins and looks down. His hand cups her hip. He smiles back at her, his fingers digging into a very human hip instead of a pony flank. His other hand goes to her breasts, practically drinking them in with touch. She looks down and giggles. She touches his cock, horn lighting and her magic chiming. He can feels pressure on his manhood like an invisible sleeve. It rises again to prod the princess.

“What did you do?”

She giggles, “I see you’re enjoying a perk of being with a magical mare." With him being on his feet, the top of her head is just above shoulder level for him. She reaches up and kisses him on the neck, then moves and bites him gently on the chin. Tim’s arms rise and he grabs her cheeks, fixing her right in the eye. He kisses her, moaning softly into her embrace. She’s not a great kisser, not enough tongue, not enough lip, but he could care less. Hearing human moans, feeling human skin, feeling the texture of human tongue just teasing at the front instead of mare invading his throat… The faint smell of her sweat inspires him to drink her up like water in the desert.

Tim lets her guide him to the bed. Her form has him completely captivated, as they get to the bed, he reaches down and pulls her towards him, she squeals happily and leaps up, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms go around his shoulders. She reaches forward and bites the tip of his ear. “I’ve waited so long for this. Don’t stop.”

Tim leans down and lets her weight bring them both onto the bed, his lips lock onto her neck, running his tongue along the sensitive and thin skin along the neck. He can feel he’s rock hard, and it takes nearly everything he has in him to not simply enter her. He brings his hands up, her gasp as his fingers find her nipples gets a smile from him as he runs his tongue down her neck. He uses his teeth on her shoulder, gently nipping as he moves his mouth to her chest. As he gets his head level with her chest, he pulls back so he can appreciate those glorious breasts again. The nipples are roughly the size of pencil erasers, with dark areolae around covering the size of a half dollar piece. On her back, they splay invitingly to the sides. Tim grins, placing his hands on them and squeezing. He’s transfixed, fascinated. He rubs them with his face, kissing them around the whole of the breast. Then he’s resting his face on her hairless chest. Twilight giggles, letting him play with her like a toy, mentally taking notes on everything he’s doing. Best field experiment ever!

“I’ve missed these…” Tim sighs, just letting his fingers enjoy the squishy, resistant texture. He kneads his fingers into them, pressing the nipples with his palms.

“You like?”

“I could do this for hours.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Sucking strongly on the nipple gets a gasp and a moan from Twilight, “Oh, wooooow…” She squirms into his touch as uses his hand on her other breast, rolling the nipple in the tips of his fingers as he lets his tongue dart out and play with the very tip of the one in his mouth. Her gasps and moans are music to his ears as Twilight’s entire body flexes in pleasure, the room brightens as her horn lights, throwing off motes of lights even before she orgasms. Her breathing accelerates as he runs a hand down her belly, enjoying the feeling of skin underneath his fingertips as he finds her hot wetness. Her gasps increase as he parts her lips with his fingers, finding her clit, he runs his finger all along it. After a few seconds her entire body is bucking as her breathing becomes stuttered. He looks up, her horn is even brighter now, bright balls of light fly in every direction as she cums, a few even hit him, leaving warmth on his skin as the unfocused magic infuses into him. He moves with her, moving between each breast as her orgasm continues silently. Then, with a huge sigh, her body completely relaxes.  He looks up at her, she’s staring into space, breathing heavily as her horn quiets. She glances down at him, “Please, Tim, please fuck me.”

That gets a smile from him. “Please, I haven’t had this in so long. Let me remember the taste and scent of a woman first. I miss it. I just want to experience it again, just this once.” He shakes a little bit, as if afraid that he’ll lose this nostalgia without warning.

Her brow furrows, then he starts raining kisses down her belly, enjoying the feeling and taste of her soft skin. He moves his body down, her legs have spread for him, and he smiles as he contemplates her hot lips before him. He turns his head a bit and kisses her upper thigh, running his tongue up then moving to the other thigh. The he plants a small kiss on her lips, not teasing them open yet, just letting her feel his hot breath on her most intimate parts. She reaches out and grabs his hair, pulling his face into her crotch.

He lovingly places his lips on hers, letting his tongue dart out, parting the folds. Her wetness starts to drip down his chin as he runs his tongue up and down her slit. She moans loudly as he finds her clit with his tongue. Not as big as a pony’s clitoris, but he knows what to do with it. Using the flat of his tongue he runs its entire length along her clit, getting louder moans from Twilight. Finally, he runs his tongue along her entrance, as he does so, he snakes his hands under her rear, reaching up and finding her breasts, her body bucks and he rides her bucking as she starts another orgasm, his eyes are closed, but he can feel the soft impacts of the magic as her wetness gushes further. Pinching her nipples and running his tongue all around her sopping wet entrance gets a high keening note from the pony princess turned human as her orgasm continues. Finally, her body collapses to the bed.

Still shuddering, he grabs him by the chin and licks her lips. He crawls along her body, carpeting it with kisses on the way up, savoring the breasts like a fine meal. His face meets hers. Her tongue invades his mouth as she wraps her arms around his shoulders, bringing him as close to her body as she can. Her legs are spread wide, he can feel her wetness with the tip of his manhood. He moves a little bit and he pushes forward, he’s gratified feeling her lips part for him. She gasps and breaks the kiss as he inches forward into her. “Don’t stop – take me!” He lifts up so he can look at her body as he fully enters her. He looks down, watching as his pelvis is connected with hers. He stops for a long moment, just enjoying the feeling of her tight wetness. She starts making those same mewling noises, which get louder as he starts to pull out, then he pushes back in, fascinated at the view of him fucking her. Finally, he leans forward, putting his hands right next to those glorious breasts as he starts to piston into her, frantically pushing for the orgasm he can feel coming. Faster than he could ever believe, his balls tighten as he feels he’s going to explode.

Oh how he has missed this, a mate of his own kind! Soft skin, two legs, two hands, breasts, no muzzle, no nickering, no whinnying.

Twilight, for her part is riding through another orgasm, her horn is brighter still as she squirms in place as Tim pistons into her, pinning her down with his cock. She reaches up, stroking his chest.

“Twilight, I need you.”

“I love you.”

“I’m going to cum, soon.”

“Don’t stop, Tim. Cum inside me. Make me feel like a woman.”

“Twilight, I-” His eyes lock on hers as his entire body tightens as he starts to pump into her. She reaches out and pulls his body onto hers as she is driven over the edge once again. For a few seconds, the entire room is lit bright as day in purple.

His cock goes wild, twitching as he spews into her. The familiarity of form and novelty of partner drive him wild, and with a cry and a lunge, he hilts into her, moaning and thrashing, overwhelmed by pleasure, letting her have everything he has. He kisses her neck and sucks it, hard. He digs his fingers hard enough into her skin for the nails to leave marks. The touch of another human intoxicates like heroin.

Both of them breathing heavily, she holds him tightly as he slips from her wetness. With a last burst of energy, he tumbles to her side, snaking his arms around her. She places her head on his chest, hearing his heart’s hammering gradually slow, humming softly as she wraps her arms around him and snuggles into his side.

She runs her fingers along his chest, playing with a nipple, “That was amazing.” She smacks her lips. “I’ve never tasted myself like this, do you like?”

Tim nods, “Yeah.”

“Does it taste human? Like girls you’ve had sex with before coming here?”

Tim stops and thinks, finally he nods, getting a squeal and a tighter squeeze from Twilight. “That’s amazing! Your genome is so interesting. Not as complex as ours, obviously, but it’s still got a lot of interesting parts to it. Did you know the percentage of your genes that do absolutely nothing?”

Tim shakes his head. “I’ve not learned much about genetics.”

She snuggles close. “Thanks for the phone; it’s taught me a lot about how body parts on human mares move, how the breasts hang, which tells me a lot on how they are put together, combined with the genetic information from your X chromosome from your mother, which I used to get the genes to make this…” Tim squirms a bit. “Tim, I know, we have those taboos, too. But remember, I didn’t need the information just so I could turn myself human for you. But it’s so I could learn as much as I could about your species.”

Tim sighs as she runs her hands along his body, “I love the feeling with these fingers. They are so sensitive.” She reaches down and cups his balls, running her fingers along the smooth skin. “I could touch you all over…”

“Touch me then. No talk, no science, just touch me.”

Twilight obliges, rubbing Tim up and down. He’s different than her woman shape. He’s hairier, harder, and a little bit fattier. His muscles are more developed, especially on his chest and arms. She feels a little thrill unfamiliar to her – a stronger stallion, that’s a concept she never imagined going for. Perhaps her magic transformation is making her think more like a human, too?

She can’t help but marvel at skin. It’s warm, soft, and smooth, yet also slightly oily and a bit hairy. Tim has closed his eyes, breathing in and out deeply, steadily. He looks relaxed, nearly angelic. “Karen…” he murmurs softly. She frowns, but doesn’t say anything, instead planting a gentle kiss on his forehead. “I’ve missed this… girls are nice…” He brushes her body, gently caressing her stomach. “Thank you, Twilight…”

“I love you,” Twilight barely breathes, kissing him.

“Twilight, I ca-”

“Shhhhhsshh, we’re just two humans here. Let me do something no pony mare can…”

Twilight straddles him. Her horn lights, hardening him again with that warm sleeve. He opens his eyes as she guides his throbbing cock to her entrance. He watches the concentration on her face as she lowers herself ever so slowly, impaling herself with his manhood. Finally, she is hilted, she runs her hands along his chest as she starts to move. Tim finds himself fascinated by her breasts as they bounce with her gentle motions. They bounce beautifully, and he reaches out first one hand, then the other, to touch them. He starts cupping them, feeling the smooth skin on his whole hand, then he moves to the tight nipples, playing with them and watching the magic start to form on her horn as her arousal grows. Tim starts to run his hands all over her body, tracing along her hips, moving up her sides, tracing the outline of her breasts and then her shoulders and neck. Enjoying the feeling of her squeezing down on him as she speeds up, she reaches out her hands and he grabs her hands in his as she really starts to bounce on him. Her eyes roll back as her horn lights brightly, again sending unfocused magic all over.

“Oh, Tim. Dear Tim, please, fill me again, I need it.” She moans. Her fingers interlock with his as she pushes herself over the line and she stops bouncing for a long moment as her body writhes on his, her breathing becoming stuttered as the magic lights up the room brightly once again. As her orgasm subsides, she looks down, “Please Tim, I need you to cum, please, I need your seed.”

In a haze he brings her body closer to him, he starts to piston into her, it’s a little awkward to do so being on the bottom, but her arms wrap around him as she quivers and vibrates, “Please, Tim. I need you so badly.” She moans as he speeds up, he’s going to cum quickly like this, he can feel his body trembling as he gets closer. He runs his hands along her back, running the very tips of his fingers along the small of her back, feeling the soft curve of the spine, she shivers in pleasure, moaning softly as he finally goes over the edge, he hilts himself inside her as he pumps his seed into her, he can feel his cum spurting out and into her. Her entire body convulses as her horn lights again, the magic is even stronger this time as the room lights bright as day for several seconds, several floor lamps crash to the floor and a table turns over as she lays there, her eyes closed tightly as she vibrates in pleasure. Tim can feel the heat from her magic spread all over as her horn finally quiets. She lies there for a long time, panting hard, trying to get her breath.

“Oh, that was amazing…”

Tim pants, “That was really good for me, too, Twilight.”

Tim looks down as Twilight freezes on his chest. She runs her hands along his body, then she lifts her head. “Oh, no!” She sits up quickly, reaching down, feeling him still inside her. “No, I didn’t do that, no!”

Tim’s brow furrows. “What’s going on, Twilight?”

She lifts herself off him. “What did I do! You’re not supposed to...we’re not supposed to....   I'm so sorry.... I didn't....” She shrieks, her horn lights and with a loud pop, she’s back to her pony self. “I’m so sorry!”

Tim frowns, “What is there for you to be sorry about? I'm the one who fucked up here.”

She whirls away, her tail covering her marehood and her wings covering her face. “Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!” Her voice rising in pitch and volume throughout. She gallops a few steps away then whirls back around, “I took advantage of you! How could I....  Cadance warned me, talked to me about it, she said it was ten times worse as an alicorn... but I wasn't expecting...and you...and we...I'm sorry.”

Tim shakes his head, then he looks down. “I’m going to have to explain this to my herd when I get home.”

“EXPLAIN?” Twilight shrieks even louder, “How do you explain that the Princess of Friendship pretty much raped you!”

“Rape? I didn’t say no, I didn’t fight you. I was in the wrong. I’m the one who betrayed my relationship.”

She sits down, wincing a bit. “Tim, I let my feelings get the better of me, using my heat as an excuse -- I seduced you! I turned myself human and showed off that body to you. I don’t know what I thought I was doing there! I should have sent you away.” She buries her face in her forehooves, sobbing.

Tim lifts himself out of bed, his legs don’t want to work right at the moment. In fact, his entire body doesn’t want to work right. He gets down on the floor and crawls to her, “Twilight, I’m just as culpable here.” He sighs, “I hope I don’t lose Citrus and the girls over this...” He reaches out and touches her withers. With a shriek, her horn lights and she teleports away.

Tim moves to a sitting position, his bare rear on the cold hard crystal floor. He glances around. “Twilight?” After a long moment with no response, he moves over and grabs his clothes. She’s gone for real, not just into the next room, but somewhere else entirely. As he looks down, her arousal is all over him. He can’t go home smelling like this. He takes a look around, there should be a bathroom up here. He stumbles to his feet and staggers over to a door. Opening it gets a smile as he crawls into the shower stall. The controls are the same as at home, soon hot water is running down his body. He scrubs quickly and presses the pad for the quick air dry. He steps into the bedroom and pads across the floor, his steps are quite a bit steadier after the shower.

He slips from the room after getting dressed, his rucksack on his back, he heads through the castle and doesn’t see anypony as he heads down the stairs and into the night. The clock on the town hall tolls ten at night. How had ten hours passed already?

Showing his little medallion to the conductor gets him escorted into a waiting room. Though a bit over half an hour remains until the next train will be coming in, it actually passes rather quickly. The whistle of the train has him mechanically getting to his feet. He enters the train and collapses onto the seat. For once, he barely notices the plush opulence of the royal coach as the train takes him into Canterlot.

The walk from the station to his apartment building doesn’t take very much time, his feet have trod that ground many times now. The elevator quickly takes him to the top floor and he exits and gets to the door. Putting his hand on the door gets him to pause for a moment, finally he opens the door and slips inside.

“Tim!” Come’s Citrus’ voice. She gallops towards him, though the look on his face gets her to slide to a stop.“Tim, is something wrong?”

Tim sighs, the tears already starting, “Citrus, please don’t hate me, but I have something to tell you.”
> Chapter 18. (Revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citrus Blush walks slowly through the town of Ponyville. Her steps are sure as she moves towards her destination. A quick glance ahead reveals to her the mystifying castle created by the Tree of Harmony. She finds her steps slowing as she gets closer. “That mare, that damned mare. That fucking mare…” She shakes her head and speeds her steps. She stops at the enormous doors to the home of the Princess of Friendship. She takes a moment to compose herself, and finally knocks on the door.

After a few moments the door opens, and a small purple dragon blinks up at her “May I help you?”

She nods. “Yes, I need to speak to Princess Twilight.”

“Who are you?”

“Citrus Blush.”

The dragon flinches. “Hoooh, boy,” he sighs, “Twilight’s been expecting you. She’s in the throne room; do you need me to guide you there?” Citrus nods and the little dragon turns on his heel. He pads quickly through the castle with the yellow mare in tow. Citrus is in awe at the amazing architecture of the castle. It’s half tree and half crystal. It’s something surreal, even in the fantasia that is Equestria. She can’t help but be reminded of storybooks her mother had once upon a time read to her with tales of Sir Falchion the Fearless, Yellow Kettle Saffron, the adventures shared by Allabasta of Unicornia and Cyclos of Pegasoplis in the preclassical era, and more. And quickly she’s standing before the door into the throne room. He holds the door open. “Good luck,” he murmurs softly as she enters.

“Citrus,” comes Twilight’s voice. The lights in the room are off, the only illumination is from a few candelabras arrayed around the room.

Citrus approached and bows. Unlike their other encounters, the is a formal meeting. “Princess.”

“I know why you are here.”

Citrus paws the floor, her unshod hooves scraping loudly. “You tried to poach my stallion.”

“I wasn’t trying to take him away from you; I would never steal him.”

“You turned yourself into one of his species? How was it possible for him to resist that?” The purple princess wilts in response, then she steps forward. “We knew you were interested in him. You should have come to us. We would have been able to work something out.”

Twilight scoffs, “I can’t move to Canterlot, do you honestly think all five of you would be happy in Ponyville?”

Citrus pauses there. Twilight is obliquely suggesting joining the herd. Does she want that? Her ears flick back and forth. “I…” words fail her as she watches the purple alicorn shift on her throne. Her wings are moving nearly constantly, she is shifting her rear from time to time on the throne, her tail flagging. She gulps, “My princess, you are still in…”

Twilight nods, she look away from Citrus. “What I did two days ago, was not wrong, legally. I am a Princess of Equestria.”

“That doesn’t make it right!” Citrus shouts, getting the other mare to flinch.

“Alicorn heat is intense. I am consumed nonstop with an unending desire to mate. It is so much worse than when I was a regular old unicorn. Tell me, when you are in heat, can you think of things other than sex? Are there touches which do not arouse you?”

“Yes.”

“For me, my mind is consumed by sex. I am persistently on edge. It’s taking a lot of restraint to not toy on this throne right now. If you were a stallion right now, my guards would have to be ready to intervene for your safety. Forgive me, I am not myself.” Citrus’s lip opens slightly in dismay. She steps back just a little, eye wide in understanding. “Whether it was right or not is irrelevant, Citrus Blush. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that my actions hurt you and your herd.”

Citrus growls, “That doesn’t help anything! My stallion strayed from his herd. My Tim -- he is mine, not yours.”

Twilight turns her head to fact Citrus, her eyes bright with tears. “If he were completely yours, he would have talked to you about this, and gotten your blessing. Or even brought you in. He chose to come in, to stay with me.” She looks down, “It looks like he’s not as yours as you thought he was.”

“Now, Twilight, that isn’t fair.” Citrus turns to see another alicorn step into the room. A unicorn stallion hangs back, whickering softly at the pervasive smell in the room, going, as they would say, five-legged. The pink alicorn comes closer. “Tim is not a pony.” Due to the formality, Citrus bows.

Twilight whirls on the other alicorn. “Cadance, I know more than anypony that he’s not a pony, that he is completely alien to our ways. But we have discussed sexual ethics among his species,” she huffs, looking back at Citrus. “There has been no official marriage ceremony, so by his ethics, you are a girlfriend, not a wife.”

Cadance moves up and nuzzles Twilight fondly, her horn lighting and her aura folding around Twilight for several long seconds. The smaller mare shudders for a few seconds, then her body relaxes, Cadance whispers in her ear for a few seconds, then Cadance turns to Citrus, “Princess Twilight is dealing with an effect of being a Princess. She is not fully in control of herself at the moment. I strongly suggest that you wait until the current events have run their course.”

“That’s not good enough, damn it! I don’t really care that Twilight was in heat. She shouldn’t have tried to poach Tim from me. He doesn’t belong to her.”

Cadance’s horn lights. “He doesn’t belong to you, either. The days of owning stallions as property is long past. He is free to determine his own life.”

Citrus lights her own horn, though she steps back, “That’s not what I meant, I don’t own Tim. But…”

“But nothing!” Cadance growls, advancing aggressively, “He is free to do as he wishes, and if he doesn’t feel your herd is good enough for him, let him choose his own.”

Citrus stops for a long moment, tears starting to fall. “You are defending this lift-tail. Tim told me, and now I see it. You didn’t actually send the letter to cancel the appointment, you must have done something to not have that other mare around to watch Twilight.” She paws the floor again, her horn getting brighter. “You arranged this. You pushed for this to happen. You call yourself the princess of love. Yet what you are is a herd-wrecker. You have turned your sister-in-law into nothing but a common whorse. You push for your own agenda even at the expense of other pony’s happiness.”

Cadance rolls her eyes, “I won’t deny I had a hoof in the situation. My sister-in-law was in need. She wanted Tim. She was willing to do anything in her power to show her love for him. The situation needed a push. She would never have come to you. She’s too shy about such things.”

“Hey!” Twilight shouts.

“You know it’s true, Twilight Sparkle. You are too shy when it comes to your feelings for Tim.” She turns back to Citrus. “Right now, your emotions are overpowering everything. You need to go home, and work things out with your herd. As the lead mare of your herd, you need to evaluate what is best for your herd. Even if that means losing Tim. You have to think about more than yourself. You have to think of what Tim means to you, and the other two mares in your herd. If he stays, then you must understand that his being an alien means he has needs and desires that you cannot fulfill, ways you cannot understand. Twilight proved that two days ago.” She turns back to Twilight. “Twilight, give us a second, please," Cadance shoes, shoving her longtime friend into an adjoining room. She gives Shining Armor a long glance, and the stallion moves to the door, standing before it protectively, a radically curved sword with a three bar hilt hanging at his side. Then she turns to Citrus, sighing, her shoulders sagging. "I'm sorry, but there is a more pleasant way to have this conversation... Citrus Blush, right?"

"Yes." She paws at the ground harder than needed.

"Come, walk with me."

Citrus stands there for a long moment, unable to speak, the larger alicorn noses her a bit forcefully, pushing her out the door into the corridor. Spike looks up from a comic book, “"Would you like some coffee?  Tea?  nachos?  I make a great nacho....” he stumbles to a stop, noticing the looks on the two mare’s faces. “Ummm, I'll be leaving now. I think I hear…"

Cadance watches the young dragon scramble down the hall as she guides Citrus down the corridor. “My hooves are tied, Citrus. What do you want me to do?”

Citrus looks down, “Something, Princess. There has to be something.”

Cadance huffs, “Should I, at swordpoint, force Twilight to put on a pageant about how sorry she is?” She looks at Citrus, “Should I order you and your herd branded so nopony else gets bright ideas? Or should I simply order you to stop being upset?  Should I demand that Princess Celestia revoke royal privilege? I will talk to you and help you if you want me to.” She leans her head down and nuzzles Citrus for a moment. “She's still in heat, but this isn't like her. I am only here because she teleported into my bedroom, crying that she had just made the biggest, worst mistake of her life.”

“Really, Princesss.”

“Yes. Remember, helping with love problems is my domain, and I wish I could do more in this situation. I did maneuver things to make the situation, and I am sorry for that. – I really didn’t think Twilight would be this impulsive. She’s the kind of pony who could be invited to an orgy, find an excuse to turn it down, and then complain about lack of sex.”

“That sounds like her, from what Tim’s told me.”

“But I cannot force a fix to this situation. Without going to extreme measures, there is really not all that much that I can do, and I'm sorry. I’ve been there myse-” Princess Mi Amore Cadenza never finished her sentence.

“Stop talking. If you can’t help me, I just want to go home.” Citrus allows herself to be guided from the castle, and she stops as the door is firmly closed behind her, standing there in impotent rage. Tears take over as she gallops into the town of Ponyville proper, heading back to the train station.

***

Citrus charges at Tim, her face a mask of rage. "You do know there is only one punishment for stallions like this...."

Tim scrambles back away from Citrus, turning around to run, Cayenne is there, two knives floating in her magical grip. “Unfaithful.”

He glances to the side, North Point is there, her horn alight. “Disloyal.”

He turns away from North, Silverwing is there, holding a wicked looking sword. “Selfish.”

Tim leaps over North and runs for the door, their voices following him. Tropical Dreams comes through the front door, her tail swaying. “Oh, is it my turn now to be serviced?”

Tim skids to a stop. “NO!”

She pouts, “You service any mare, right?”

“I…No, not just any.”

She turns her rear towards him, “You mean, I’m not worth it?”

“T-tropical, you’re beautiful…“

Citrus shouts, “My mother? You would even consider servicing my mother? Who next? Princess Cadance?”

Silver is next to Citrus. “Unfaithful Stallion! All he wants is a harem of mares to be his sex slaves!”

Cayenne paws at the floor. “Is this what all humans are like?”

“Chase him out!”

“Punish him!”

“There’s only one punishment for stallions like that!” Citrus lowers her head, her horn lighting brighter. “Geld him.”

“Eunuch! Eunuch! Eunuch!”

Tim looks around, there’s no place to go! He folds to the floor, trying to cover his head with his arms.

“Well, that’s enough of that.” Comes a familiar voice. Getting Tim to jerkily look up. Princess Luna steps through the wall, looking at the ponies arrayed around him. She smiles softly, “Been having a rough time, Timothy?”

He stammers, “N-n-n-o. Princess.”

She laughs, “Oh, little human, don’t try to fool me.” She walks up next to him, nuzzling his cheek, “You don’t have nearly enough experience to be able to fool me.” She glances behind her, “Or my apprentice.”

Tim looks over to see Moon Shadow is standing there. “Hello again, Tim.”

Tim looks back at Princess Luna. “I know this is a dream since you are here, but what is going on?”

She looks at him for a long moment, then she shifts to look back at the other dream walker. “Moon, I can tell this will take some time to sort out, would you please continue to watch the dream world while I help this young human?”

Moon Shadow bows her head. “Of course, your majesty.” She disappears without any fanfare.

Luna turns back to Tim. “This is not what you experienced when you got home from Princess Twilight’s home, is it?” She concentrates for a moment, and they are sitting in the kitchen. Just the two of them, steaming cups of tea sit before the human and the alicorn.

“What do you know about what happened?”

Princess Luna sniffs, “To start, your dream form still has that bulge. I am a dreamwalker, I know what happened between you and Princess Twilight. I also know who was behind the events of that night.”

“Behind, princess?”

She cocks her head to the side. “You coming upon Princess Twilight in the depths of heat was a misguided attempt by somepony to bring two together that she knows are compatible on an emotional level. She felt that forcing the situation would get you to see what could be possible. Yet she failed to account for two things: the fact that you are an alien to us in more than just your form, and that Twilight was absolutely not herself in the grips of heat.”

Tim looks down. “I don’t understand.”

Luna takes a sip of her tea, gesturing for him to have some of his. “Tim… We have norms for our culture. A stallion, whether or not a member of a herd would recognize the smell immediately, and would know she was in heat. If he was interested in the mare in question, he would talk to the lead mare and gain her consent for either solo time for him with her, or would invite the lead mare to join in. You did neither.”

“Princess…”

She holds up a hoof, causing him to stumble to a stop. “Please, listen, Tim. You continued into a situation that ended up hurting your mares, and seriously hurt your herd’s honor. Said nameless matchmaker should have taken into account that you are alien to us. You don’t react as a pony stallion would in certain situations.”

“You don’t have to hide who it is; I’m certain it was Cadance.”

She cocks her head to the side, “Why do you think her? There are quite a few mares that want Princess Twilight to be in a happy relationship. All of her Ponyville friends, her dam back at home, even Princess Celestia, and they shared a truly hilarious correspondence over it once, ‘Dear Twilight Sparkle, get fucked’, or so I remember. Celestia and I both know what it means for an alicorn mare to go through heat without a harem of stallions to help.”

“A harem of stallions?”

She nods. “There are things about alicorns that are not widely known. And the strength of our heat is one of them.” Her face colors, a real feat considering how dark her natural coloration is. “Can you imagine Princess Celestia, who moves the sun itself, being so distracted by the heat of her nether regions that she would be unable to do her job? What that would mean to Equestria? To the world at large? She has stallions that are able to comfort her when her body insists on nature’s call. Never fewer than two dozen.”

“Two dozen, wow. But if she’s having that much sex, and I know pony estrous is when you are fertile, doesn’t she have a lot of foals running around?”

Princess Luna shakes her head. “She has children when she chooses to. There are spells to cast on the mare to make her infertile during estrous. The side effect of that spell is it makes the heat last longer and for some mares, makes it more intense. Like her body feels robbed of what it wants desperately to do, and punishes her for that.”

“And she does that?”

“And wears out even more stallions, yes.”

“And you too?”

She buries her face in the tea, her face coloring all the way down her chest. “Twelve. They rotate out – our body, experience, and passion make us exceedingly difficult mates to cope with for the abundance of pleasure we can bestow. And the sheer volume of magic we leak can prove deleterious to the mind and body of lesser ponies. Being in a royal harem, while almost a sinecure for much of the year, turns into a month long or longer endurance test of almost nonstop round the clock sex during our estrus. Yes, ponies have died on her majesty’s secret service.”

Tim is stunned, but he fights to get out more words to keep on the original top. “And Twilight, too?”

“She has no harem, she refused one. She wants the act to be for love, like with Cadance and Shining Armor. She really doesn’t understand exactly how much distraction those times of the year can be for an alicorn. Cadance has been using magic to comfort her through those rough times. And yes, with the use of mechanical replacements when needed. It is not easy for Twilight. She has had to face some uncomfortable truths, including her attraction to you with her spring and autumn heats.”

“But the girls went through heat just before I moved in. It’s usually once a year, they said.”

“For most mares, that is true. One big one during the spring, and maybe a much weaker one at the beginning of autumn. Yet for us alicorns, however, the autumn one is sometimes stronger than the spring one.” She sighs, “It’s the biggest drawback of being a princess at times. Please don’t hate Twilight Sparkle. She was quite out of her mind at the time. And I’ve had a talk with Cadance about her actions in this. Our little purple princess is getting seen to, both comforted and confronted.”

“I don’t hate Twilight. She is so nice to me all the time, she doesn’t try to push happiness and harmony onto me when I’m sad about losing my home. She listens to me better than anypony. She is important to me.”

“As a friend? Or maybe more?”

Tim stops, looking at Princess Luna for a long moment, “I don’t know. Two weeks ago, that was amazing, but now it feels like I was drunk at the time. I don’t object to the idea, but…”

“Citrus and the other mares of your herd?”

He nods. “I never expected that kind of reaction. My parents did the, ‘We aren’t mad, just disappointed’ routine when I was younger. And they don’t hold a candle to Citrus. Though I know she’s mad. Furious is the word, I think. But she never acts it out towards me explicitly. But I can tell.”

Princess Luna smiles. “Of course she doesn’t. She isn’t really angry at you; her anger is at the mare who tried to poach her stallion. And she feels powerless to do anything about it.”

“Powerless?”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle is a princess of Equestria, not a common pony mare. Obviously, Citrus would have no chance against her. In a unicorn wizards’ duel, she would lose, as Princess Twilight is a magical prodigy, from even before she be ascended. And socially, Twilight can easily claim royal privilege, and there can be no legal repercussions for her actions. We are not a rule of law society as you had back home, Tim.”

“That’s fucked up.”

“But it is.”

“So, how do I help?”

Princess Luna barks a laugh. “Help? Young human, this is between mares. Pony stallions would know to butt out and keep their noses whole. From Citrus’ point of view, her herd’s honor has been sullied by two alicorn mares. One tried to poach one of their stallions, and the other facilitated that. There will be a confrontation, I believe. But to know the result, I couldn’t say.”

“What could happen?”

She shrugs her wings. “There are a few options, the stallion could be cut loose to go with the new mare. After that mare shows proper respect and deference to the lead mare of the herd. That occasionally happens.”

“I don’t see Citrus Blush agreeing to that. I wouldn’t either.”

She smiles. “As if you have a choice there. But no worries, I don’t think so either, the poaching mare could be fought by the lead mare. Those can get bloody, or deadly. But Citrus is smart enough to know she wouldn’t really stand a chance challenging Princess Twilight.” She stops and looks thoughtful. “There are other options, but I really don’t know how things will go. Time will tell.”

Tim groans as he sits back, “I know I’m being punished for what I did. But how it’s done is crazy to me.”

She looks up from her tea, “Oh?”

“Well…” He stumbles to a stop, looking up at Princess Luna. “Well... Um, I don’t sleep upstairs with the herd right now; I’m stuck on the couch. Though Silver is now sleeping on the floor with me. He’s been booted out of the bedroom as well.”

She nods. “That’s normal.”

“How in bloody hell is that normal?” Tim nearly shouts. “Silver’s being punished even worse than I am. North Point comes down every night, even when I work until late, and she asks to have sex. She says I can answer either way, but it puts me on the spot. I mean, I like sex, but it just doesn’t feel quite right. It’s like she’s asking out of obligation. Sometimes I say yes, sometimes, I say no, and she respects it. I don’t like refusing her, and I can’t help but notice she seems disappointed if I’m not up for it. She’s milking me empty every single time, though – I can have trouble getting it up on subsequent days. The weirdest thing is she’s not interested in me pleasuring her back. But no matter what, Silver doesn’t even get sucked off or anything. He just turns away and grumbled the whole time, nursing a massive erection. As if he wasn’t mad at me enough before… you should hear the nicknames he has for me.”

“Yes, Tim, that is human weird but pony normal. Even when it comes to your herd’s junior stallion.” She gestures and some cupcakes are on the table. Her horn lights and the wrapper stripped from one. She takes a delicate bite. She chews thoughtfully for a long moment, then she glances off into the distance and purple mists reach out, enveloping the wall. Slowly the wall melts away, revealing a moonlit field with trees in the distance, the sky full of stars as the just raised full moon shines down brightly.  In the field, a few ponies lay sleeping in the grass, a stallion standing guard looking up at the moon as three mares sleep. Beside one of the mares, a pair of foals lay curled tightly in a ball with each other for warmth. Luna’s voice is somber. “Tim, we are ponies, and from the time we ran the plains before we had civilization, herds kept us safe from predators." A large, wolfish creature appears, silhouetted against the moon low in the sky. Upon sighting it, the stallion gives a quick cry, waking everyone and he moves up, getting them to move away from the threat. "Herds were our first society, but every society needs its rules. Our family units were several stallions with many more mares. If a young mare from another herd, or one cut off from her herd when she was mature and ready for foals, were to try to poach a stallion from the herd…” In the field, a young mare appears in the night before a much larger herd. Three stallions along with over a dozen mares and nearly as many foals are arrayed around. The young mare trots over to the stallion, waving her tail as she gets close to him. Anger appears in Luna’s voice, “She would be driven off.” Three mares charge at the interloper, “violently if necessary.” The new mare tries to fight, but is pushed and attacked before, finally she gallops away.

“And if the stallion did mount her, even one of the junior stallions, he, and any more junior stallions, would be punished for breaking the predication of that most basic system.” Three stallions stand in the pasture, away from the mares. “But one mare, usually the most junior, would be there to keep an eye on the stallions, and to keep them in line.” One of the mares of the herd stands with those stallions, away from the mares and foals. One of the stallions tries to walk towards the other mares, and is confronted by the mare. “These early rules, though, were not written down. They were passed down, dam to filly, though generation after generation, ingrained in us for survival. They were our original herding instincts." The purple mist appears again, clouding the scene she had shown. She looks at Tim seriously. “That has evolved as we’ve made cities, made lives in one place and learned to grow crops, and build the civilization we thrive in today. Those instincts remain -- North is ensuring you do not stray from the herd. And Silver has to deal with your transgressions as well, to teach him the same lesson. North Point is doing her duty with regards to you so as to keep an eye on you. You may think it some strange thing, but to her, it would be no different than if she were pregnant and you were helping her with pain or cravings – it’s just something ponies in a herd do for each other. Until you are back in the lead mare’s good graces, that will be how things are for you.”

“But how do I do that?”

She smiles softly, “You are in a very unusual situation, Tim. Not only are you an alien to us, but you also had a princess try to poach you without a word to Citrus. It will take time to figure out a way to satisfy her pain.”

Tim looks down. “Thank you, Princess Luna. But this is all very confusing to me.”

She cocks her head to the side. “I know your cultural customs are very different, but how is this confusing?”

He sighs, “Back home, a man is responsible for what he does. I know that Twilight affected me, I should have turned away when I smelled how she was, but something in me, wanted her. When she turned human, the smell of her, the taste, the feel. It just got to me on such a deep level.” He looks up at her. “I enjoyed it, and that was wrong. I was wrong for wanting her, but I did. Does that make me a bad person?”

She shakes her head. “No, dear Timothy. Most certainly not. You are a stranger to our world. You are not a pony. You should have handled things very differently. But that doesn’t make you a bad person.” She stops, chewing her lips for a moment, “How does your culture handle such things?”

“Well, sometimes if a partner strays, they simply break up. It can be a big fight, and very hurtful to both. But sometimes, they will find it in themselves to forgive the other. It’s not always easy. But it does happen.”

“Interesting.” She stops for a long moment. “Why was she able to get to you so much?”

Tim opens his mouth to respond, but no words emerge. Princess Luna smiles sadly. “You have issues with your mares?”

Tim shrugs. “Not really.”

She arches an eyebrow. “If you had no issues, you wouldn’t have continued into Twilight Sparkle’s bedroom. We are here in the dream; nopony other than my apprentice can possibly know what goes on in here, and she’s not learning this because it contains state secrets. Pray tell me.”

Tim looks down, “They are different. It’s taking some adjustment, and then having Twilight turn herself like that.”

“She turned herself into something familiar to you?”

He nods, a few tears sliding down his cheeks, “I don’t know why!” He wails, “I love sex with my herd, they do everything they can to give me pleasure, but they are so different.”

“Have you talked with them about that?”

Tim flinches, “No.”

“Why not?”

Tim sits there, silently, looking at the tea in his hands. Princess Luna watches him for a long time, finally she leans down, forcing her muzzle into his field of vision. “Tim, you need to tell them.”

He looks up, anger flaring. “How am I supposed to tell a mare, that I love more than anything, that sex with her is different, and that I miss what I was used to? How I notice the feel of fur every time I touch her, how she smells and tastes different? How sex with her is mind blowing, but…”

She snorts softly. “But it’s not the same.”

He nods.

“I know the feeling. Once upon a very long time ago, I was a long term wedded grand duchess of a predecessor state to Griffiya – adjusting to another species in bed takes time. She reaches over and nuzzles his cheek. “Oh, dear Tim. You are afraid that if you tell her, you’ll lose her?”

He looks up, “Why would she want to stay with someone like me? I wouldn’t give up her for anything. But just something deep down, wants…” He sighs, “more.”

“Tim, I cannot magically solve all of your problems, but I will tell you this, she feels even more inadequate right now than ever. She thinks you went in there with Twilight, not because of her turning herself human, but because Twilight is a fantastically powerful alicorn. She is afraid that Twilight is better than her – not only better, but in direct competition in a contest she cannot hope to win. We still have a mindset to some degree that stallions are property and practice hypergamy by their nature, that is aiming for the best mate they can hope to find. In her mind, if she’s just good, and Twilight is better, if Twilight competes with her over you, you’ll go with Twilight.”

Tim flinches, “No, never. I’d never leave her.”

“Even to go back home? Back to other humans? Human women?”

“Leave Citrus forever?”

She nods, “You going home will very likely be a one way trip, you won’t be able to come back.”

“You and I both know the odds of me going home are slimmer than those of Yakyakistan joining the Greater Harmony.” Tim shakes his head violently as he knocks his chair back getting to his feet, “No. It’s not worth it. I love Citrus, I love Cayenne, I love North, hell, I even love Silver for what he is. I wouldn’t want to lose them, not even for that.”

Luna is suddenly standing next to him. “Perhaps you should let your herd know that, too, but you must tell them the entire story, not just that you don’t want to lose them, but there are things you feel, that must be addressed with them. For the harmony of your herd, the love of your family, for their honor, you need to help them understand.”

“But how can they understand that I miss humans?”

She snorts, “Your species is social?”

“Very much so, Princess. We have global networks dedicated to just socializing and communicating with others.”

She nods. “Ponies are easily as social as you humans. You and your herd have to find a happy medium. You need to remember, your needs are just as important as the needs of your herd. And as an alien, you have needs that they really can’t understand without them being explained to them. You need to tell them. Let them know you love them, but Twilight was able to finds a void that you didn’t realize was such a source of pain for you.” She taps her chin with a hoof, “Perhaps by finding this relatively early in your relationship, you can make allowances for it, and make your entire relationship stronger for this.” She spreads her wings. “Sleep well, young human. And remember what I have told you. Communication is important, most especially when it’s painful to do.” With that, she’s gone.

Tim looks around for a long moment, then he closes his eyes, fading from the dream and into his body, he throws the covers off the couch. He sits there for a long moment, looking at the silver pegasus sleeping on the floor, curled up into a tight ball even though the room is very comfortable. He stands up and stretches his back, the sun is rising slowly, he can see via the edges of the curtains. He hears noises from the dining room. He goes in.

There around the table is his herd. They are talking and laughing like normal. Cayenne is even nuzzling Silver. When he walks in, they immediately go quiet. A shadow descends. “Hi, Tim,” Cayenne says.

“Hey,” he echoes, taking his seat. They’ve prepared an omelet for him. At least they aren’t yelling. “So, Citrus, how’s business?”

“Good. Thanks for asking.” Nothing more from her.

Several minutes pass in silence.

Silver asks, ‘So, Sir Fucksalot, do you have work today?”

“Yeah. Long shift today.”

They try to talk a bit more, but it doesn’t work. Tim soon finds himself heading out the door accompanied by Citrus. She walks further from him than usual. He can’t blame her when he thinks about how much he has hurt her. He tries to touch her, but she doesn’t let him. The walk is quiet and awkward. The cobblestone streets of Canterlot sing their quiet babble with their steps. There is so much he wants to tell her. If only he knew how.

“Luna visited me last night.”

That gets a pause from her. “Oh?”

“She explained to me that is going on.”

“Do you understand us better?”

“I think so. She thinks it had to do with cultural disconnects and miscommunication.”

“Do tell.” She is cold but trying to listen. Tim is thrilled; this is the most he has gotten out of her in more than a week. Usually she’s been avoiding him lately.

“She told me that if I were genuinely happy with you, then I wouldn’t’ve done it.”

Citrus snorts. This is extremely dangerous territory. “We aren’t enough? You desire her, too?”

“I thought we were going to handle this like mature adults. Anyway, when trying to talk this out with her, I realized that I am gaining a better understanding of you, but you aren’t understanding me. She thinks I went for Twilight because she offered me something familiar and hit all my buttons.”

“Of course, Luna would say that; all the princesses cover each other.”

“You’re proving my point right now, Love. You’re treating me like a pony, but I’m not a pony.”

“You’re in Equestria!” She snaps.

Tim overtakes her to look the mare in the eyes. “I’m sorry I’m not one of you! Luna told me that you’re far madder at Twilight than me, right?”

“Right,” Citrus agrees, brushing past him, adding, “I don’t mean I’m not furious with you. My rage towards the princess right now burns with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. Did you know I talked to her and Cadance recently?”

“No. Why, what happened?”

 “Twilight didn’t apologize. She claimed royal privilege to lie with any stallion of her choosing.”

“That’s fucked up.”

“But it is the pony way.”

“But still, to me…”

“Are you going to let me finish? I am trying to be reasonable with you, Tim, but you make it hard sometimes!” Citrus growls, her temper flaring for a moment before she looks at him sheepishly to silently apologize with her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to get angry. “As I was saying, no luck getting amends from Twilight, and Cadance was there, covering her dear fellow princess’s promiscuous flank.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“It means, Tim, some great offense has been given. I am going to ask Cayenne to go later to make another attempt to get satisfaction from her. If it doesn’t work, we’re going to escalate.”

“How?”

“You’ll see.”

They are at the restaurant. “Anything else you want to say?” She is standing closer now than she was.

Tim pauses. “Citrus, I never wanted to betray you girls. I never imagined myself as a cheater. I have never cheated before, it was a moment of weakness, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make things right.”

She stares hard into his eyes. She leaps up at him deftly, and before he can even register it, she’s planted the tiniest ghost of a kiss on his cheek. “I want to believe you. We’ll see.”
> Chapter 19. (Revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim emerges from the front door of the restaurant sweaty and tired.

“Hello, Tim.” He hears a female voice greet him. He turns to see a tall, orange mare looking at him with forced levity as she leans against the sign.

He swallows, answering, “Hello, Tropical Dream.”

“How are you?”

“Tired. I just got off shift.”

“Want to go get coffee with me? And nothing else.” The way she icily emphasizes the word nothing chills him to the bone, forming a knot in his stomach.

“No thanks, my herd is expecting me, and I’m on thin ice as it is.”

The older mare looks him in the eye and says, “Oh I know. That’s why I need to have a serious talk with you, dam to stallion.” Tim flinches as he imagines what this is going to entail. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to scream at you, but if you give the least bit fucking care about your herd and my Citrus, you’ll come nice and quiet with me and we’ll talk. Now.”

"Okay."

"Splendid!" Tropical smiles, prancing down the street with purposefully exaggerated cheer. She turns and she doesn’t even need to light her horn for Tim to get the idea. He follows her from the light of the restaurant into the dark of the street. As they turn onto the expansive sidewalk, Tim shivers a bit as a cold bluster of wind impacts him. She moves up to walk next to him, her larger stature has her nearly at shoulder level for him. He glances over at her, “Tropical Dream, I’m s…”

She interrupts, “Oh I know how sorry you are, Tim, but what you did is somewhat to be expected.”

“Whaa-”

“Stallions are usually quickly forgiven when their extra leg takes over their brains.” She glances down pointedly. “It’s not completely unusual, a stallion being tempted by a mare in heat. Most stallions will back away from such a situation. But you, my dear human, decided to wade right in.” She glares at him as he opens his mouth to object. “I understand that you are of a different culture, a different world completely. Well, remember, young MALE, you are in Equestria, and I know that Princess Twilight has been trying to teach you how to live in our world, but we see how that’s ended up.” They turn the corner, continuing at a slow walk. “Your mares will deal with their anger at Twilight in due course.”

“So, why did you want to talk to me, except to tell me what I already know?”

“Would you shush!?” Tim flinches. Dream leans forward. “Sorry, I do find myself treating you as if you were a typical Equestrian stallion,” she tsks a bit, shaking her head, “but you aren’t, so I need to tell you something here.” She nudges for him to cross the street. “Back when Citrus Blush was a little foal, her sire and I, along with Inky Rose… We were a happy little herd. I had my Citrus, and Inky was planning on having her own once Citrus had reached school age.” She stops talking, her ears flicking back and forth. Finally, she looks up at him. “Citrus mentioned you were there one time when her father came up to see her?”

Tim nods. “Rotten Apple, yeah, I remember him.”

Her ears splay back. “He was never a bad stallion,” she sighs, “although he had a recurring battle with wanderingeyeitis…” She looks up at him. “I was the lead mare, and it seems like every month or two, Rotten would be coming up, and saying there was a mare in heat, and he was asked to service her. Or one of the mares at his office was coming on to him, and could he play with her, too? Some of that is just fine. He never failed to perform with us, and he was always a loving stallion. With his job, and social status from his part of the Apple family, we did really well. I was able to build my little boutique into one of the premier sources for makeup in Canterlot. My own line of sunscreen was doing fabulously.” She again stops talking, her ears flicking back and forth. “Little did I know that he was more interested in climbing socially than making a lasting, loving relationship work.”

Tim waits for a few moments, watching Tropical Dream. “And what happened?”

She sighs, “He left us, he wanted to pry another mare away from another herd, but Fancy Pants would have none of that. He left two mares who would have done anything for him, for a mare who not only didn’t really know he existed, but whose stallion nearly killed him in a duel for his lead mare.”

“Stallions duel over lead mares?”

She looks at him sideways. “Stallions find reason to fight for plenty of reasons, usually love or money. But you know quite well that mares will fight other mares over the stallions. Well, stallions will fight for their mares as well. It’s exceedingly rare for a stallion and mare to fight. We think of it as beating on those we should be caring for, as backwards as that is to you.”

She turns and noses him through a door. He recognizes the interior. “Cookie’s place?”

“I thought you could use a pick me up. I am furious but not insensitive. I saw the look on your face when you came out from there. You have some serious talking to do, but you need to organize your thoughts first, and I need to make you understand before you finish digging your own grave. And don’t you dare bullshit me; I’ve seen it all; I can spot check bullshit at seven miles. Go sit a table; I’m ordering. Will your coffee be strong or strong?”

“Strong,” Tim answers with a weak smile. He sits down at a table. He puts his head in his hands. This just keeps getting better and better!

Tropical Dream comes a few minutes later with two large coffees strong enough to wake the dead. She sets one before him and says, “Drink and listen. You need to understand what the breaking of a herd’s sanctity means to my little Citrus.”

“Because of what happened with you?” She nods. Tim growls, “I’m not looking to leave Citrus; I love her.”

“Just her?”

Tim sputters for a moment, “I love my entire herd!”

Tropical looks at him seriously. “You and I both know I’m not talking about your herd. How do you feel about that other mare? Princess Twilight Sparkle, or so I’m told.”

She sits and tastes her drink, smacking her lips appreciatively. Tim looks at the coffee “Tropical… I know what I did with Twilight was wrong, and if I could take it back, I would.”

“Neither Citrus, nor I, are asking…or even wishing for you to take it back.” She sets her drink down, looking at him. “The problem isn’t that you strayed. As I’ve said before, there are real reasons for you to be seriously tempted by a mare lifting her tail for you. What the problem is, Citrus may have been very young when it happened, but our herd was devastated when the only stallion of our herd decided to run off and be a social climber with a mare who wouldn’t give him the time of day. He was stupid when it came to Fleur. He left Inky and me – everypony, and he never looked back. He didn’t have anything to do with Citrus until she became an adult. And all she is to his is his status symbol, and only because you, my little alien, are currently mounting her. The inclusion of a second stallion so quickly, and one so conservative as Silver, is yet another bulwark against a repeat of her fillyhood. You are, unfortunately, proving her worst fears correct.” She looks down at her drink. “She had an underlying idea that stallions fundamentally disloyal opportunists. Citrus isn’t exactly upset that you mounted Princess Twilight Sparkle; she’s upset that Twilight wanted you specifically to mount her. But most of all, she’s terrified that you are going to run away from your herd, like her sire ran away from her dam and away from her.”

Tim sits there for a long time. “Tropical, I would never leave her.”

She rolls her eyes. “Is there hay in my tail?”

“What?”

“Pony idiom – it means ‘as if I haven’t heard that before.’”

“No, I’m serious.” Tim stops, looking at the table for a long time, finally he takes a quick sip of his coffee. “I didn’t have those problems; my parents stayed together until my dad died. I had a few friends where their families fell apart, but mine didn’t. I never cheated on any girl before more.” He sets his drink down, looking intently at Tropical Dream. “I’m not leaving Citrus for as long as she’ll have me -- the same with anypony else in my herd. Twilight can’t pry me away, nor can anypony else.”

She looks at Tim calmly for what seems like forever, then her ears flick. “What if Twilight is brought into the herd? Would you favor her over Citrus? You do know now that your herd is getting larger. If it does happen, it’s very likely it will be a while before Twilight would be allowed to be with the lead stallion. Would you be itching to mount her?”

Tim shakes his head. “I don’t think Citrus will ever allow Twilight to join the herd.”

“That’s not what I asked. If she did, would you defer to Citrus and her decisions regarding her herd?”

Tim nods. “She is the head of our household, of our herd. If she makes a decision, I’m behind it.”

Tropical brightens considerably, she offers a beaming smile. “You are still too tall and scary for my taste, but you certainly have captured my little filly’s heart.” She fixes him with a look. “Don’t you dare break it, or I will break you. Chivalry be damned, I shall show you the business end of the family’s crescent sabre. Understood?”

Something about the older mare gets a gulp from Tim. “Yes, ma’am.”

She again is all happiness and cheer. “Okay, I trust you’ve been able to compose your mind well enough? Ready to talk to the rest of your herd?”

Tim nods as Tropical stands up. He quickly follows her from the shop.

***

Once again, Tim is back in the bedroom, with his herd, including Silver Wing. Tropical is puttering around in the kitchen. As Tim looks around, he’s quite aware of the lead weight in his middle. Trying to talk to them after the last couple of weeks has been more than a bit difficult.

“I know that I’ve told you I’m sorry for what I did,” he confesses to Citrus, “but talking to your mom has really let me know why you feel the way you do, love.”

Citrus’ ears flick back and forth, but nothing else betrays how she feels. Tim looks at her intently. “Citrus, I want you to know that I’m not like your sire. I’m not some stupid social climber that simply wants to make myself greater. You aren’t a status symbol to me. You are what I never knew I needed in my life.” He glances at the others. “Back on my Earth, I had one woman I really loved. She was what made me happy when I woke up in the morning, made me happy when I was pulling her to me to go to sleep at night, and what made sleep sometimes impossible when I was out on the road, working. I lost all of that, I lost her. I lose what made my life complete, when I came to Equestria. After I had to deal with the pain of what your doctors did to save my life. After I spent months learning how to walk, how to pick things up again, all the things I had taken for granted back home, I still felt… I felt hollow.”

Tim is silent for a long moment, finally he looks up. “Citrus, you had been my friend through all of it, encouraging me when I was down, giving me a hug when I would have much rather cried, making me laugh when all I wanted to do at that point was just die. I know why I fell in love with you. And having you tell me, just crystalized everything in my mind. I love you, Citrus Blush, with all of my heart.” He finds he’s able to smile. “And, Cayenne, I met you on joining Citrus as a herd on day one. You are different, you have a passion for cooking that the greatest of chefs back at home can’t match. And you have the skills to match that passion. But you are passionate in other ways, too. You are fiercely loyal. You push me, at work, and here, to be the best I can be. I know that I’ve earned your love, and you most definitely have earned mine.”

“North Point, you were confusing at first, you had been interested in joining the herd for sex.” He smiles, “And boy, you didn’t disappoint.” Her ears flick in response, and she offers a small smile. “But it’s become more than that. Our conversations, sometimes late into the night, have been quite interesting. I love your mind, how you can come up with different solutions to a problem. You are offered two solutions, and you choose option three, somehow making it work.” He turns to Silver, whose ears are perked forward. Though the scowl he has worn on his face from the minute that Tim confessed is still present, he does seem to be paying attention. “I was dubious at the idea of adding another male to our herd. The girls had told me how things were normal here in Equestria, and I knew they did want somepony to help with time in the bedroom, as well as somepony to be close to. So, once I got to know you at your job, my reservations evaporated. Even though bringing you into the herd was a bit different than I imagined.” Tim glances at the other girls, then back to Silver. “I am most sorry for what my actions have meant to you. I never knew that all the stallions in our herd would be punished for my transgressions. So, having this come down on you has been horrible. Because…” Tim stops, looking down, “I love you too. I don’t know how, and I’ll tell you right now, I don’t plan on mounting you any time, ever, but I actually like having you around, and I love how you are.” Silver’s mouth quirks in a half smile for a moment, before the scowl returns. Tim sighs and takes a step back, “I don’t want to lose a single one of you, for any reason.” Tim stops, this is what he’s been having the most trouble to organize in his head. Finally, he can open his mouth. “I need to tell you why Princess Twilight got to me so easily.”

“By changing herself into a human, I know,” Citrus growls.

Tim holds out a hand. “Yes, but just by being human wasn’t it. You all know that she’s been lifting her tail, and showing herself to me all the time. Almost the entire time I’ve known her. And yet, it’s been this long until anything has actually happened. And yes, her turning human was the catalyst for this. But the reason that had an effect on me, is…” He frowns, not really knowing how to proceed.

Citrus glances at the other mares, and at Silver, then back to Tim. “is…what?”

Tim sighs, “I miss soft skin, I miss breasts, I miss fingers touching me. I miss the human smells that I had never known even made an impression on me. I miss a tongue as short as mine instead of one trying to lick my lungs every time we kiss.” He glances at Cayenne, who flushes in response. “I miss arms around me, I miss bringing a human body to mine. I miss so much about being human, and the kicker is, I didn’t know how badly I missed all of that, until Twilight showed me what I missed about loving one of my own species.”

“Your species has no problem with rape?”

“What? Rape? No!”

Cayenne shifts a bit, “Tim, what Twilight did, was rape, pure and simple, you didn’t have the power to say no.”

Tim stops and shakes his head, “Twilight didn’t explicitly say that I could or couldn’t say no. Her head was too clouded by her heat to say that. But remember, she’s been showing her attraction to me for a long time now, even though I’ve only recently understood what her actions meant.” He looks up at all of them, “I was put on the spot and it was tough. I saw she was in heat, but I willfully ignored all the signs; I think deep down I wanted her to seduce me. I really like her and think she's a beautiful mare. Even without all that leverage, odds are, sooner or later, we would have had sex anyway, if you had consented. I wanted her. Remember, I asked to have her come around here. I wanted her around. I'm not some weak, giddy prettycolt who swoons at the first nuzzle of the movie's heroine. I knew it was going to come to a head at some point. I hesitated not because I didn't want to have sex with her, but because I felt guilty about betraying you."

“But Twilight is a princess. Her station…” Citrus starts, only to be overrode by Tim.

"If things had been slightly different, yes, I would call it rape. I understand why you may think I was raped; even she said it right afterwards. But once we started touching each other, I got so turned on, my conscience deserted me and then I touched her back once, and again, and again..."

“So, do you like sex with her more than with your herd?” Citrus says, eyes filling with tears.

Cayenne nudges her hard. “Citrus, we are all angry with him, but if we spit in his face when he approaches us. This herd, this family, is not going to work. Your mother spoke with him this evening at your behest, now let him do his part. However angry you are now, restrain yourself! It is all we can do to heal these wounds. Lambasting a stallion coming clean will only serve to drive him into the embrace of another mare.”

Tim shakes his head violently. “No, Citrus, I love sex with my herd. I wouldn’t give it up for anything. All three of you are amazing in bed, and you girls know exactly how to drive my passion right over the edge.” He glances at Silver. “I even enjoy having you in bed with us as well, Silver. Even though I’m not going to be mounting you anytime soon, or having you mount me.”

“I’m into mares, you slut.”

“I know, Silver.” He looks at the girls. “I wasn’t aware of how much I missed what I had lost until that afternoon. I couldn’t tell you that before, because I didn’t really understand it until right then and there. I didn’t know why I was so hollow, I didn’t understand what I missed so much. How seeing the pictures on my phone hit me so hard. It was like being punched in the gut, seeing someone who was essentially dead to me, someone I could never talk to again, even in picture form, just tore me up. Even though I know how much I love you all.”

Citrus nods. “So, we are good enough for you, Tim?”

Tim sputters for a moment. “Absolutely, Citrus!” He moves over towards her, only to be greeted by a lit horn bringing up a shield barrier stopping him in his tracks.

“Please don’t touch me yet – I don’t trust myself with you.”

“I know what the problem is now. And by knowing what was able to get under my skin so thoroughly, I can deal with that. I don’t have to let it affect me the same way anymore.”

Cayenne’s horn quiets as Tim moves back and sits down, Citrus looks at her, then over at North and Silver. Then she seems to look inward for a long time. “We understood, but had to make sure you really meant it and could say it. Thank you, Tim. I’m glad you have come clean with us. You have told us what happened, and why it happened.” She glances at the others. “And I’m pretty certain we believe you on that.” Then her expression turns serious, “You are showing that you feel you should be trusted, and thank you for having the courage to tell us how you feel able it when you could have hidden behind our biases to shield yourself, but you violated our trust in you. We will have a bone to pick with Twilight Sparkle. Even if you don't feel like she raped you, poaching is a serious offense against a herd, and we will get satisfaction. We're mares; it's our nature to think of stallions as victims, and in this way we're still treating you as the victim of a mare who exploited your vulnerabilities. We also need to prove that we won't take this lying down.”

Citrus continues, “That doesn’t mean you are out of the dog house, but this talk is helping to start the healing process. That is a good thing. I’d much rather you be in bed with me rather than stuck down stairs.” She glances over as Silver perks up. “But that time has yet to arrive.” Silver visibly wilts. “You still must have your lessons with Princess Twilight, but you aren’t going alone. She should be done with her heat. So, you will have to go back to Ponyville with one of us mares. And mind your manners with her.” She glances around at the others. “And the Gala will be here in a matter of weeks. Perhaps you find yourself able to control yourself around Princess Twilight… we might be able to resolve everything.”

Cayenne adds, “Tim, you betrayed us. I knew of what happened to Citrus’ birth herd for years now. What her sire did,” she grimaces and continues with a growl, “Mister Apple was not the best of fathers. And he hurt Citrus very deeply. I know stallions will be stallions, but you really made her think she wasn’t good enough. I mean, you had to mount a Princess of Equestria! I suppose at least she wasn’t a diarch! Cayenne huffs and then sighs, “But I heard what you are saying, and I trust that you are telling the truth on this. I believe your next scheduled appointment is tomorrow?”

Tim nods. “I wasn’t planning on going.”

Cayenne glares at him. “Not going?” Tim nods, she stamps a hoof and rolls her eyes, “Are so afraid you can’t control yourself around her, then you don’t belong in our herd. You would belong with her.” She stops for a moment, glancing at Citrus, then at North. “Do you want to leave us, to be with her?”

Tim shakes his head, “No. I don’t. I love you, I just explained that.”

That gets a small smile from Cayenne. “I’m glad to hear that, but now we need to see proof of that. I’m not going to force you to go, but part of regaining our trust would be us seeing how you act around her.”

"Besides, Fuckey Mcfuckerton," growled Silver, "we want to know how she behaves around you."

Tim frowns at Silver as North Point leans forward. “I don’t have much to say, Tim, love. I know how this has been hurting you.” She glances at Silver. “Both of you, but this will take time for everything to go back to normal. But your candor is very much appreciated. And, Silver, just because we must not share a bed now doesn’t mean we love you any less.” She approaches the pegasus, rubbing up against him deliberately from haunch to head, peppering him with kisses, culminating with one square on the lips with far too much tongue to be chaste. She strokes him from mane to wings, petting him lovingly. He nearly purrs, seeming to melt into her embrace. Her smile is genuine. “I’m glad to have joined this herd, even though this happened, but I’m glad to have all of you with me.” She accepts a quick nuzzle from Cayenne as she falls silent.

Tim glances at Silver. Silver glares right back. “You know how I feel, Tim; I’m barely in the herd a month before you fuck it all up.” He glances at the mares, then at Tim. “But you need to gain your mares’ trust back. You need to help bring back the honor of your herd as lead stallion, and you need to work hard at it. If, on your account, I’m not mounting our mares again soon, I’ll mount you.”

Tim flinches. North Point looks over at Silver. The stallion is blushing faintly. “I know sex isn’t everything in a herd, but it is important, and getting cut off because of the lead stallion in the herd doing a major fuckup isn’t helpful. I won’t pretend to understand what you are saying. When it comes to wanting your own species, ponies and other species herd all the time. I’ve heard some funny rumors about one of the element bearers being with a minotaur. I’ve read the papers; Princess Luna has a stallion admirer apparently as well, and our history books teach she once bedded a griffon prince for all his life.” He looks up at Tim. “But I do have some sympathy for what you did. I can’t help but blame myself a little here; I’ve been trying to teach you how to stallion, and I can’t believe I would have to teach you what to do when a mare in heat that’s not of your herd comes up to you. Now you know, right?” Tim nods. Silver flops down to lie on the floor. “Good.”

Citrus offers him a smile as he stands up and moves to the door, Citrus’ voice gets him to stop. “Tim, please remember that with all of this, we all love you.”

“I love you, too.” Tim nods as he closes the door behind him.

***

Princess Twilight Sparkle paces in the throne room of her castle. Her ears are splayed back, and her tail is lashing angrily. The other pony in the room sits comfortably, watching the young alicorn continue her pacing.

“I won’t. I simply won’t!”

The pink alicorn shakes her head. “Twilight, you stepped over the line with Tim’s herd. What are you going to do if Tim, or even Silver Wing, decide to duel you for their herd’s honor?”

Twilight stops in her tracks. “Males -- a pegasus stallion? A human? Do you think they would have a chance?”

Cadance flinches. “Would you honestly allow a stallion to fight you?”

Twilight wilts. “No, of course not. I don’t hit stallions.”

Cadance smiles, “Of course not, but that means it would fall on a male proxy for you.” Her eyes flick to the door. Shining Armor is playing with Flurry Heart in the other room. “You know who would be stepping up in that case.”

Twilight sighs, “I know. But I don’t think they would do that.”

“Well think again! That is MY HUSBAND and OUR CHILD in there! Don’t make me a widow because you thought with your cunt!” Twilight flinches. “Everything with Tim right from the beginning has been one unthinkable thing after another. We didn’t think he could exist. Then we didn’t think he’d live! Then we didn’t think he’d be able to go out in public. Then we didn’t think he would find love. Then we didn’t think he’d get a herd. Then we most definitely didn’t think you’d incite him to adultery! It’s time to stop playing the odds, Twilight – if anything else goes wrong, it’ll be not just your brother on the line, but also my husband. I would very much like him with all his blood and guts still on the inside, thank you. Flurry Heart, when she’s old enough to understand, is going to be very sad if she grows up without a father, and I’ll let her know it’s your fault!!”

Twilight stands up, continuing her pacing. “Legally, I did nothing wrong. Royal privilege is quite clear on that. I do not have to inform the lead mare of the herd in advance.”

“But it is common courtesy.”

Twilight huffs, “Of course it is. And of course, the stallion is usually asked first.” She whirls to face Cadance, “This wouldn’t have happened if you haven’t shipped Tim with me!” She punctuates the last word with a hard hoof to the floor.

Cadance’s wings flutter for a moment, the purple alicorn’s wings are out to the side, and quivering a bit, showing her temper. Twilight looks back at her wings, and takes a moment to deliberately fold them at her sides. “I was trying to help you, but you’re making it all backfire in my face! Don’t you think I’m fully aware just how badly I fucked this up? I know, Twilight, I messed up with this. I failed to take into account that his nose isn’t as sensitive as a pony’s, that he doesn’t understand the rules of our culture dealing with a mare in heat. And more so, an alicorn mare in heat. And then I failed to calculate that you’re enough of a whore to make Changeling Queen Ember blush! A prostitute changeling of an enchanter hive hath not half your reckless lust! For what it’s worth, I’m truly sorry, but sorry doesn’t mend wounded hearts, or assuage wounded pride, or pay debts of honor. I am trying to stabilize the patient, but her every move only makes her circle the drain ever faster.”

That gets a snort from Twilight as she continues pacing, “It’s been a week since my heat ended. Tim should have come back. I’m not going to jump his bones again.” She stops and shudders, her wings twitching. “As much as I want to,” she murmurs almost too softly to hear. She stands there for a moment, then continues her pacing. “He’s so different from the ponies. He acknowledges that I am a princess, but he treats me as an equal. He’s not a social climber, wanting to get behind me to help his own situation. He tells me what is on his mind, not what he thinks I want to hear. He’s so beautiful, too!” She looks back, her wings are stiffly pointing up, “Argh! Why can’t I get that time out of my head? It was so wonderful, yet I was so wrong to do it!”

Cadance ducks her head. “You know, if you apologize to Citrus, you might be able to get another chance.”

“Yeah, sure,” Twilight scoffs, “I pretty much raped your stallion for hours. When you came, I took the olive branch you were offering and threw it in your face. But now I’m sorry and want to see if I can have your stallion to myself when I’m horny?” She sinks to the floor, her wings covering her face. “She hates me, Tim probably hates me, the whole herd hates me now.”

“Can’t hurt to try.”

Twilight snorts, “I can’t apologize, I can’t show weakness here.” She stands up, her wings unfurling. “I’m a princess of Equestria. I have the right to use Royal Privilege when it comes to stallions for the purposes of dealing with heat. I can’t back down and you know why. They think we’re goddesses – goddesses can’t be wrong. If we’re wrong and they find out, they’ll think we’re unfit to lead them when they realizes our horseshoes get muddy, too. I have to be unrepentant for the good of Equestria.” She sighs, “I guess I will have to talk to Princess Celestia and see about setting up a few stallions to help me when spring comes. I’d want to start interviewing them as soon as possible, so I’ll have several ready to go. Since they can get me pregnant, necessitating the no-foals spell, that’ll make it even worse. What am I going to do?”

Cadance taps her chin with a hoof, then she looks down at Twilight. “What went through your mind when you saw Tim? You could have simply teleported away. I know you were feeling the heat strongly, but your mind wasn’t that clouded, was it?”

Twilight shakes her head. “I could have. Part of me really wanted to. I’m no blushing virgin. I was a part of a small herd in Canterlot before I came to Ponyville. And I dated a few times while here. I knew I wanted eventually to have foals. Then this crazy creature falls from the sky. I had to spend weeks researching every bit of anatomy I could find to deal with his physiology. Then Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had to help develop the translation matrix spell for him. Then we had to figure out how to implant it within him, just so we could communicate. I remember when he first woke up in the hospital, when he was actually lucid, and the spell had learned enough to start being able to talk to him. He was so kind; he said I was pretty. Since I had ascended, the only stallions to call me pretty were those wanting to bed me. I can look back, now, and see where I started to have feelings for him. I know why Citrus Blush fell for him, he is a bit feminine – not really like most stallions. Add to that my curiosity about his people, that curiosity about his culture and life, got me talking to him. Where I started teaching him about life in Equestria…” She sighs, “He has such a desire to learn.” She looks up at Cadance. “I think even if he were a human mare, I might have fallen just as hard. Not that I have a chance anymore…”

Cadance steps down from the chair and nuzzles Twilight, putting a wing around the younger alicorn. “I understand what you are talking about.” She uses her other wing to get Twilight to look into her eyes, “Do you want to know why Shining and I are staying with just the two of us? No other stallions or mares?”

Twilight nuzzles Cadance back. “You haven’t told me much about that. From before you got together?”

“Actually, before we got married.” Cadance stops for a long moment. Then she looks at Twilight. “Do you know when Queen Chrysalis was able to abduct me?”

Twilight shakes her head. “No, I believe it’s in the official record from the investigators.”

Cadance smirks. “I didn’t tell them everything, like how you tried to kill me in the caverns under Canterlot.”

Twilight flushes. “Oh, yeah, that…” Her head droops and her ears flatten to the sides. “I did apologize after the wedding.”

Cadance nuzzles her lovingly. “Oh, Twilight, you had no idea. I don’t blame you.” She uses a wing to get Twilight to look at her. “It was nearly three months I was stuck down there. That miserable creature would teleport food down there, maybe once a week. I was starving, not nearly enough water, and every time I got close to escaping, some of her children would corral me back into the caverns, and seal up every exit point I found. But that wasn’t the worst. She would taunt me, I think she was trying to get information from me on how to deal with Shining. I didn’t talk to her much; didn’t want to help her with that.” She sighs, a few tears leaking out. “She always said, if Shining truly loved you, he would break the illusion and be searching for you.” Or she would say that Shining was excellent in bed, that he hit just the right spot, don’t I wish it were me he were mounting? That he professed how the sex had gotten even better, how much he had cum, how hard he had made her cum, how he had yelled her name, kissed her, held her, confessed his undying love! She would go into great detail on how Shining did this, or he did that. That he made breakfast for her that morning. That he sneaked a kiss on her cheek just out of nowhere.” The tears are falling in earnest now. “She took joy in how Shining would show the love he has for me to her. And that I would never feel his touch again, how I would live the rest of my days in the cavern, that she would stop giving me food once the marriage ceremony was over with, and would laugh with glee when I finally succumbed.” She stops for a long time, controlling her emotions.

Finally, her tears cease. “After months of that, then she changed, saying we should bring in other mares and other stallions into our herd. Some would be her children, and would be able to feed off of all the love that my stallion would be able to provide. She would drain him dry, and perhaps send him down to me for my last few minutes of life, completely under her control. And maybe she would let him realize what happened, before she had one of her children copy him and let him lose his mind down in the caves.” She sits silently, but finally she turns to Twilight, her eyes bright with more tears. “She would have him waste away in the caverns as well, knowing that he had loved a fake, and got to watch the real love of his life die before him.” She shudders. “And it was all my fault, letting myself be captured by her.”

Twilight moves up, nuzzling her sister-in-law. “It wasn’t your fault!”

“But it was!” Cadance shouts, her hoof impacting the crystalline floor. “If I had been more careful, if I hadn’t followed what I thought was Shining that night, hoping for a quick rutting, I wouldn’t have been captured by her, I wouldn’t have been away from my guards. I was hoping for some private time with my future husband, and I ended up being tortured for months.”

Twilight nuzzles more aggressively. “You couldn’t have known.”

She finally nuzzles Twilight back. “Yeah, well, after that, we’ve had some mares and a couple of stallions join us, to play around, and see if we could find somepony compatible. And every time, I’d freeze up, thinking they might get replaced with a changeling. Or worse yet, that they weren’t real, that they were changelings in disguise. You have no idea how may ponies I scared away from our bedchambers.”

“But, Cadance, the changelings have been defeated, they don’t do that anymore.”

“One hive is reformed, and you think the danger from them is gone?”

“But Thorax has been working to reform all the rest.”

“Chrysalis is out there, Twilight. Until she’s brought to justice or reformed, I can’t risk that. I can’t risk changelings feeding on Shining, or on Flurry Heart. I simply cannot risk it.” She moves and starts to pace like a caged animal, her eyes wild. “Oh, in public, I’m dismissive of herding with a new mare. But now you know, I don’t want a new mare or a new stallion because I’m afraid.” She stops and hangs her head low, her ears splayed to the side, “I’m afraid of losing the love of my life again, to those damned bugs. Chrysalis is unknown. Intel from both our own sources as well as Griffiyan Razvedka and mercenaries doesn’t know where most marauder changelings are. There are a couple okay hives, nice hives elsewhere doing experiments in equitable cohabitation like in Respite, but nowhere near our borders. The nearest ‘nice’ changelings are on Isla Fantasha, outside our territory, and they have a penchant for whisking away tourists to pamper eternally for love.”

Twilight moves up and nuzzles Cadance. “We will figure it out. Thorax will get the other hives to understand that they can make the love they need, and be a force for harmony.”

“I hope you are right, Twilight. I also hope that Tim’s herd does get to see what a fantastic mare you are. You need a herd, one that will love you as much as you deserve.”

Twilight snorts, “I have burned that bridge, Cadance. I had better work on other solutions before heat hits me again.”

Cadance smiles. “Yeah, make sure you have enough, don’t want a stallion dying from dehydration.” That gets a hoof to her shoulder. “Hey, it’s happened before.”

Twilight stops for a moment. “You have heat as badly as any princess, how was Shining enough for you.”

Cadance smirks, “Well, the severity of alicorn heat is tied to age and power. For you, it’s way above the upper end of normal range for ponies. You are consumed with desire, but you can keep some small corner of your mind clear enough to think clearly. For me, it’s pretty bad too. For Luna, it’s a nightmare. For Celestia, it’s enough to put the country on hold at times. Your brother is better in bed than most stallions. I could tell you the tricks we use to make sure he can do it, but don’t think you want all the details of that, do you?”

Twilight shudders. “No, I think I will be happy not having those details pinned in my skull.”

Cadance stands up, her horn lighting and bringing a tissue to clean her face. After a few moments, she glances into the mirror. “I’m going to have to go to Citrus’s makeup shop for some more supplies.” She flushes, “I’ll have to disguise myself so she doesn’t chase me out the moment I step inside.” She shakes her head as she brings another tissue forth. She sits down and starts to clean Twilight’s face with it.

“Hey, you aren’t my babysitter anymore,” Twilight says, trying to bat the tissue away.

“Maybe not, but I’m still gonna take care of you, little sister in law.”

***

Tim is laying on the couch, Silver on the floor. It’s dark. He could sleep, but he’d have to wake soon to cook breakfast for his lovelies. The bastard is laying on the couch. Soon enough, there will be two people on that couch.

The stairs creak. Here comes the mare. He looks away, not wanting to be any more taunted than he already is by what he’ll hear.

North Point doesn’t say anything as she climbs onto the couch. “Tim, you awake?”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna do it?” Silver hears her kissing his neck, her lips making smooching noises on his hairless skin. She is brushing against him. Her hoof rustles as it brushes against his pants. She is provoking him to arousal. Silver’s ears flatten, he knows what’s coming next.

Doesn’t she care if he hears? Of course not. This is all meant to keep Tim in line by depleting his libido as it is to make him want to keep Tim in line. “North…” He’s kissing her back. Silver feels himself get hard. He’s so sensitive – horny enough to fuck a goat. That damn royal mare, and all he had to do was talk with Citrus, hell, Silver might have been able to play with Twilight as well. If only Tim had kept his head about him.

He hears as she climbs on top. Tim pushes her down to mate with him, dominant, face to face. Tim sighs happily. He’s telling North how much he loves her, how deep he is, how good she feels. Fucker! He’s in her. She’s shuffling. This must feel good for him, but the slight grunts from North indicate it may truly be less pleasant for her.

Tim has said no to her. She has respected it. Still, Silver knows that every rejection by Tim hurts his case. He’s watched North Point walk back upstairs, head down, defeated. Silver can’t help but feel a bit of perverse pride for the human in how he realizes the needs of his mares. At least he understands the highly physical nature of pony love. A herd without sex is no herd at all.

Their tempo gradually hastens. Silver begins to touch himself, wishing for the warm embrace of a mare, to feel himself inside one of them again. North’s moans now sound distinctly aroused, he closes his eyes so he doesn’t have to see her horn brighten in arousal. She is powering on, fucking him as much as he is fucking her.

Silver speeds up his ministrations. How he longs to feel those intimate touches again… Tim is making those little grunts of his. “North, I’m gonna cum.”

“Don’t stop, Tim. Cum inside me.”

“North! I’m… AAAAAHhhhh…!” North leans up and kisses him. Tim grunts and kisses into her as he spills his seed. North beckons him with her noises and hips. “I love you. I love you!” With each great lurch of her hips, she milks another large pulse of sperm from the human’s undeserving cock.

Eventually Tim pulls out. North snickers, “Is that all?” She sucks and slurps along the length. Silver hears gasps and moans from Tim. He could just buck the bastard fit to break his spine! But this is his place. The gala is coming up soon. All debts will be paid in full by then at the absolute latest. This too shall pass. Although a human mind would never get it, he is an equestrian stallion and understands the values of patience and perseverance. If he has to have a dry dick for a while for the sake of his herd, it isn’t even a question in his mind. He knows his loyalty is much appreciated by his mares. They brush and kiss him, just they won’t fuck him for now. There is no doubt in his mind they love him and appreciate this. In time they will pay him back in full and more. He hears Tim grunt. North giggles, “Hard again, Love? Let me help you...” Silver hears her begin to suck on the human’s cock. He touches himself in earnest, seeking his sole relief. Soon, he tells himself, they will again be in one big warm bed, and his cock will know a mare’s touch too.

Once they’re done, North Point climbs off Tim. To his surprise she lies down next to Silver and embraces him. He holds her too, legs and wings. He kisses her, and she kisses him back, wrapping her legs around him. “I love you too, Silver. Don’t forget that.” She doesn’t do this every night, but when she does, his heart soars.

“I won’t.”

“Be strong, Love. As soon as I can, I’m going to fuck you until you see lights.”

“Can’t wait.”

“I know you can’t. We can all smell your musk, and I know you’re touching yourself to me on Tim.”

He flushes hot. “I can’t help it.”

“I know you can’t. And that’s fucking hot.” She whispers hoarsely into his ear. “As much as I love human dick, there’s no cock like horse cock.”

Silver grins. “How are Cayenne and Citrus taking this, sleep cold and all?” A glance shows the human’s eyes have closed. North has gotten really good at putting Tim out for the night.

“They’re enduring, as they must. They can’t wait for this to be over, too.”

“That makes four of us.”

“Five,” North Point corrects.

“Sorry.”

“Do you resent him?”

“No fucking shit.”

“You shouldn’t, but I don’t blame you.”

“Yeaaah.”

“You’re a good stallion, Silver.”

 “Wow, that’s, that’s… Great…”

“Yeah.” North Point kisses him on the lips. He kisses her back, moaning with a bit of happiness into her. “Anyway, love, I have a bit of a talk to have with our other two lovelies.”

“Oh?”

“See you in the morning, Silver. Sleep tight. I love you.”

“I love you too, North. Good night.”
> Chapter 20 (revised)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The door swings open on the dark bedroom. Click! The lights come on and the door slams shut. The two mares on the bed sit up, looking at the figure of North Point. North Point fixes them with a very businesslike expression. “We can’t keep doing this to Tim.”

Citrus tries to move up to comfort her, but Cayenne holds her back, even as North steps away. Cayenne says, “North, honey, this is the way of herds, how it has always been.”

“This is what would be done when it comes to any stallion,” say Citrus and Cayenne.

“But he isn’t just any stallion. He’s not a pony, he is a man. Ma-N MAN! And I may not know much about his culture, but whatever we’re doing, it isn’t working. Look, I am trying to tell you that after all is said and done, we are going to have to make some huge changes.”

Cayenne growls, “Tim’s in our world, not his world. If we were on Earth with him, we’d abide by his ways.”

North asks, “Cayenne, do you know anything about Griffon mating practices?”

“I know they don’t herd.”

“Yes. And what else.”

Cayenne scratches her head. “I… don’t know, North.”

“In Griffiyan culture, an adulterer is publicly shamed and the wronged griffon is entitled to slash their face with claws, leaving permanent maiming, leading to ostracism. Tell me, would YOU want to be on the receiving end of that? What if you’d gotten involved without knowing that was a risk.”

Cayenne falters, her ears laying flat against her head. “I would like that at all… I’m not a griffon… I’m a pony…”

Citrus ponders aloud, “Do you think, maybe we’ve gone too far, girls?”

North stamps a hoof on the mattress. “Yes! We have the nicest, most wonderful, accepting, open-minded lead stallion a herd could ask for, and he’s down below us at this very moment, feeling like the lowest piece of shit in the world right now. I know he messed up bad, but, Citrus, be honest with me, you’re taking a lot out on him because you can’t get satisfaction from Twilight and Cadance, aren’t you?”

Citrus opens her mouth to answer, then she stops, her mouth open. Her eyes flick back and forth, and finally she hangs her head. “It’s true.”

“And you, Cayenne, did you ever stop to think about how this justice of ours would seem to him?”

The other mare shakes her head. “But shouldn’t Silver?”

“Silver’s young and this is his first herd! He’s just as new to this as Tim is. We are the mares of the herd, and mares take care of their stallions, even when things get tough, even when they’re not happy. Tim and Silver are doing their best for us, even though we haven’t been deserving it of late. Let’s face it, if we are trying to keep our herd happy and together, we are failing.”

Citrus tries to speak. “What do you want me to do, North, I-” Citrus stops talking, the words dying in her throat.

“The princesses did that to you when you went to speak with them, didn’t they?” The chief mare’s expression is all North Point needs to look disappointed. “Not nice when it happens to you, is it?”

“No, it’s not.”

“But, we can’t just let his misdeeds go-“

Citrus lifts up a hoof and growls, “Cayenne, I swear to Celestia’s shiny white ass...” She sees North leaving. “North, where are you going?”

“To remember the very first thing all mares in a herd swear to their stallions.” She storms out, panting, “Love.”

***

Tim’s eyes pop open. For a moment, he’s not certain why, then he glances around. The sun is rising on a weekend day, so the girls will be upstairs for most of the day, only emerging to eat. He doesn’t have much time. He rotates off the couch and pulls his boxers from his pants. He is dressed in yesterday’s clothes pretty quickly. North is gone.

Silver slinks his head up. “Have fun last night?”

Tim ignores the barb; the stallion has been thoroughly irritated, and doing everything he can to pass that irritation off on Tim at every opportunity. He moves over and pulls on his boots, stomping his feet gently into them to make sure they fit right. He puts his hand on the doorknob, only to hear Silver. “Better stay away from Ponyville…” Tim rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t slow down opening the door. He’s spent the last few days deciding what to do about this. And he’s seen the store he wanted to visit a few days ago. Just had to wait until he had the bits. Within half an hour, he’s back in the elevator, riding it up to the top floor. He opens his apartment door with a big smile, only widening as his ears gather in the activities in the house. The girls are eating breakfast downstairs. He trots up the stairs quickly and grabs the rest from his part of the closet. He comes back down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Here ya go, love,” he chirps, setting a small bag before Citrus. As Citrus looks at the bag, he puts other bags in front of Cayenne and North Point, even bearing something for Silver, knowing what the stallion has gone through.

“What is this?” Citrus asks curiously.

“Just a little present.”

Citrus glances at the small packages before each of his herdmates. “And why are we getting presents?”

Tim stops for a moment, the look on her face is turning his insides to jelly; not even a smile from her. Her horn lights, opening the package he had purchased this very morning, inside the bag is a small hinged box, she opens the box and pulls out the small pieces of gold. “earrings?”

“You had mentioned you wanted to get your ears pierced to wear some nice earrings, so I thought to give you some nice ones to start.”

Citrus looks at them for a long time, then glances at the other two mares. Then she puts them back into the box and rewraps it quickly. North Point is standing beside her, giving the mare a hard look. “Tim, sweetie,” she says, "I, we, I- we’re sorry!” Tim is overwhelmed as, suddenly, his personal space is filled with mare glomping him, hug tackling him to the floor.

He finds himself surprisingly slow in returning the embrace. He wants to hold her, but something is giving him a certain hesitancy. He returns the hug the best he can. “What are you sorry for, Citrus?”

She doesn’t say much. Instead, he hears Cayenne’s voice wheedle out, “Well, uh, last night, we had a little um chat with North, and we realized that we’ve been kinda too hard on you, and we’re really sorry about that. I swear we’ll make it up to you.”

“A-hem!” North point fake coughs.

“And Silver, too.”

“Better. Now how to start?”

Citrus gets off Tim, grinning devilishly. “I know.” She walks up to the pegasus stallion and kisses him full on the lips, causing his eyes to widen in surprise and his wings to pomf outward. Cayenne nickers, looking down below his barrel. Citrus finally breaks the kiss and turns. “Silver is a good boy, and from now on, we’re going to make sure he knows it. We can’t welcome you back into our bed yet, but we won’t be so distant anymore, just for a little while.” Tim stops, looking at the other two mares, they are both looking at the gifts he had bought them, then they both look up at him in unison. “It was a very nice thought,” Cayenne says softly, brushing her whole body against him.

“But perhaps we should wait on gifts for the time being,” North says, shifting a bit on her seat.

Citrus smiles. “Thank you anyway, Tim, but you have work this evening, and the Gala is approaching fast. Perhaps you should take a shower, or even get a nap before work? We were planning on a shopping day today, so you can sleep on the bed while we’re out.”

“Thank you. Hey, mind if I cook breakfast?”

“Not at all, best stallion in the world.” She reaches up kisses him on the lips.
***

Cayenne Pepper walks sedately with her errant stallion through the streets of Ponyville. This is actually her first time ever in the small hamlet in the shadow of Canterlot. She glances up at Tim, the tightness of his face betrays his otherwise calm demeanor. In the months she’s known him, she’s found his emotions primarily register on his face, even though his ears are immobile, and he has no tail; his face tells her a lot of what he’s thinking, almost all, in fact. Her ears flick back and forth as she walks. She hasn’t talked to Twilight Sparkle in months, and then finding out she tried to poach Tim... Cayenne is looking forward to confronting that herd-wrecker, and more so, her sister-in-law. The approach to the castle gives her an idea of how enormous the vaguely tree-shaped castle is. Of course, it does stand out even all the way from Canterlot.

Cayenne is paying close attention to Tim, trying to gauge his mood. She has been near shunning him for so long that just walking side by side with him feels weird, like something she had half remembered from a dream or a previous life. She tries to rub up against him, but he isn’t reciprocating with anything more than weak pets and small assurances that he loves her. She frowns, knowing that this isn’t how he’s meant to respond. North’s words about their treatment leaving marks come to the forefront of her thoughts again. Had things really gotten that bad? Had they gone too far? Was he actually hurt? She tries to shake them away to instead focus on a far more immediate trial lurking just beyond the ornate doors before him.

They don’t even have to knock; the guard at the main entrance opens the door without comment. Cayenne is content to let Tim lead the way. He guides her down a set of stairs into one of the sub-basements of the castle, and soon Tim is knocking on the door. Cayenne looks at the enormous blue mare standing silently next to the door. If Princes Twilight Sparke has need for a personal bodyguard, this minotaur of a muscular mare definitely fits the bill there. Cayenne smiles politely at the guard, who ignores her completely.

“Come in!” comes that damned mare’s voice. Cayenne forces the smile to stay on her face as the door opens. Princess Twilight Sparkle is wearing a white lab coat of all things as she sits at her bench.Cayenne feels her blood pressure rise. A sideways glance from Tim to Twilight and she can imagine him mounting her, heated in passion and calling her name… No! Cayenne stops herself from saying something acidic to her stallion. She bites her tongue, remembering her words with North and Cayenne last night. This trip isn’t about marching further down the war path. They are instead here to seek peace.

She glances back. “Oh, we have an extra visitor,” she says too loud. Then a small form bounces up, a young yellow mare with a red mane and an impossibly huge bow in her mane drips something from a test tube into a beaker. As the single drop hits the green liquid, it turns a cloudy yellow and starts to fizzle.

“Good job, Apple Bloom, and that’s enough for today. The reaction will take two days to complete.”

“You sure this is gonna work, Twilight?”

Twilight smiles fondly at the young mare, “Oh, your Granny is gonna love this potion on the zap apple trees. Don’t you worry.”

“Thanks, Twilight!” The young mare bounces from the room, Tim and Cayenne watching her all the way.

Cayenne turns back to look at Twilight. “Good afternoon, Princess,” she says stiffly.

Twilight is standing there, her eyes fixed on Tim, though her wings are folded at her sides, she flinches for a moment and looks at Cayenne. “Good afternoon, Cayenne.” She pushes back the goggles from her eyes, blinking a few times.

Cayenne stands there, watching as Twilight’s emotions war across her. Her wings flick back and forth, her ears flatten, then perk forward, then back. Her tail lashes. Finally, she turns and her horn lights, picking up the now smoking beaker and trotting to a fume hood. She places the beaker in the hood and closes the front. Her coat is enveloped in her magic and suddenly ends up hanging on a rack, along with the goggles. “Well, I won’t be needing those for today’s lesson, won’t I?”

Cayenne ticks her head to the side. “You might want to keep covered up in this circumstance.”

Twilight flushes but she stays firm. “Ponies don’t generally wear clothes.”

Cayenne fails to suppress the urge to growl, “Ponies don’t generally poach another herd’s stallion, even if they do have royal privilege.” Twilight stands there for a long moment, her mouth open to respond, but nothing emerges. Cayenne smirks. “It’s not so easy with others of the herd here, is it?”

Twilight sniffs, then she finally wilts. “I’m sorry.”

Cayenne stops. “What was that?”

“I was wrong, I should have come to you before I went into heat -- I should have made a case with you, Citrus, and North.” She sits down, her tail lashing across the floor. “I was wrong with what I did. I won’t apologize for desiring Tim, but I was wrong for how I went about it. I wish I had approached you first.”

Cayenne takes a few steps forward. “That’s a big admission, Twilight. What would you have done if we had refused?”

Twilight sits there for a long time, struggling with her emotions. “I would have shut down all contact with Tim.” She shudders, tears leaking from her eyes. “Anything I specifically needed to communicate with him about would have to be handled with others as intermediaries. And his continuing education would likely have fallen on Princess Luna.”

Cayenne looks back at Tim for a moment, “And if I asked you to do that now?”

Twilight’s eyes bulge. “After what we did, you would cut me off completely from him?”

Cayenne paws the floor. “Answer the question, Princess.”

Twilight looks at Cayenne for a long moment, though her eyes flick between Cayenne and Tim several times. “If that is what you will, I will do so… I guess that means I’ll have to talk to Princess Luna about continuing your education, Tim.”

Cayenne smiles slightly. “I’m not saying you need to right now. I want to talk to Citrus first.” She steps backwards and leans up against Tim. “The big guy here does need more education when it comes to pony norms.”

“I’ve already learned,” Tim says softly.

“Not enough!” Cayenne says sharply. Tim flinches. “Sorry, love; I’m trying to you’re not, well, us…” She glances up at Tim then over at Twilight, “Though I have a few questions.”

“I’ll answer anything within my power.”

Cayenne smiles. “Good.” She shuffles awkwardly. “Are you pregnant now?”

That gets a flinch from the lavender mare, she even takes a few steps back, “Why would you ask that?”

“Cayenne...” Tim starts, only to be stopped by a glare.

“Princess, you poached our stallion, you turned yourself human. And you had his DNA to be able to turn into one of his species. You were in heat, and you know the reason for being in heat is that you are fertile. So, I ask you, again, are you pregnant, with my stallion’s foal?”

Princess Twilight Sparkle stands there, her wings partially out in surprise, she swallows several times, glancing up at Tim, then down at Cayenne. She glances back and notices her wings, which she deliberately folds at her sides. “No,” she says faintly.

“Pardon, Princess?”

“No.” Twilight says a little louder. “I researched the DNA to see if there was a possibility, and even if such an embryo would survive changing back to my natural form. But you have to understand, Cayenne, I only had his DNA to actually work with. More than ninety percent of what I turned into when I cast that spell was identical to his. I mean, genetically, I was closer to being a fraternal twin to him than just some random human. I had to tweak the genes via trial and error to be able to make the form I did. It took a lot of work to make a viable female form to start with. And then to make the form pleasing to his eyes. I had to…” Her eyes flick to him, then back to Cayenne, “guess.”

“Well, your guesses seemed to have worked out pretty well, for you. Princess.”

Twilight flushes even darker, “Well, the chances of there being double recessive genes involved, I couldn’t risk that chance, so I had to make the new form infertile. All the hormones, everything required to make the body work correctly, but no eggs.”

Cayenne smiles, “Well, I must say, I am glad to hear that. It would be a lot worse had you gotten pregnant from Tim.”

Twilight seems to fold in on herself, “I don’t see how it’s possible.”

That gets a sniff from Cayenne, “Where there is magic, you never know, Princess.”

She looks up at Tim, “Okay, time for your lesson with the Princess.” She glances around, “I’ll get comfortable over here.” She glares at Twilight, “You are okay with me sitting in, right?”

Twilight flinches again, “Yes, I’m just fine with you being here.”

Cayenne moves over to a couch in the lab and lies down comfortably, Tim stands there for a few moments, it’s obvious to Cayenne that he’s rather torn on what to do. His eyes are darting between her and Twilight. When he looks at her, she smiles and flicks her ears at the pony princess. Tim gets the message and sits next to her. She keeps her ears perked forward, listening intently to what is being said.

“What did she mean about you not getting pregnant?”

Twilight’s ears flick back and forth, she glances back at Cayenne, then at Tim, “It’s rather complicated, Tim. But a foal born outside a herd structure would be…” She stops for a long time, then looks up at him, “I guess the term would be undesirable.”

He tilts his head to the side, “How so?”

“Well, it’s pretty much the hardest way to grow up for the foal and for it’s dam. A herd is seen as necessary, even if it’s just a single mare and stallion. That’s one reason why sometimes a stallion is cut loose from a herd if he strays.”

“So, to create a new herd for the foal’s benefit?”

She nods, he runs a finger along the lab bench, “So, were you hoping I would be cut loose from Citrus and Cayenne?”

“No! I told them I’d never try to poach you.” She stops, her face again flushed dark, “I wouldn’t even try to convince them to leave you to me.” She shudders for a moment, “I won’t deny that I want you.” She glances back at Cayenne, “Tim, I can’t deny to myself, or to you, that I have feelings for you.”

Tim sits there, staring at his hands on the table, “I don’t know what to say, Twilight.”

“I know, Tim. You love your herd, you wouldn’t do anything to leave them. I know that, Cayenne knows that, Citrus and North know that.” She stops, breathing heavily, “But is there any possibility that you could include me in that list?”

Tim glances back at Cayenne, searching her face. She keeps her face carefully neutral. Wanting his honest reaction. He looks down, “I’m sorry, Twilight, I would like to answer, but…”

Twilight huffs, glancing back at Cayenne, then at Tim, “I think we have a cultural issue here, Tim.” At his questioning look, “You are afraid of hurting me if you say no, and afraid of hurting Cayenne and the rest of the herd if you say yes?”

Tim’s eyes shine brightly with unshed tears as he nods, that gets a loving nuzzle from Twilight and she raises her voice, “This is a common problem we’ve had to deal with, Tim. I’m teaching you our cultural norms, but I don’t know yours well enough. Cayenne, would you come here and join us more directly?”

Cayenne frowns, but she gets up and walks slowly towards the two. She hops up on a seat next to Tim, “Okay?”

Twilight clears her throat, “I’ve encountered this dilemma a few times when it comes to teaching Tim about our culture and ideals, Cayenne. Though this is the most difficult so far.” She leans her head on Tim’s shoulder. Cayenne giggles at Tim’s flinch, “He thinks that if he admits that there is even a possibility that he would be interested in me that it will upset you. Making you think that he loves you less.” She sighs, “I believe it has to do with his cultural monogamy and the idea of one love diminishing another.”

Cayenne blinks. “Is this true, Tim?” Tim, for his part, has gotten very still. Twilight isn’t making any overt moves, other than the fact she’s got her head leaned on his shoulder. His eyes flick from looking towards Twilight, to looking at Cayenne. Cayenne watches him for long moments, finally she moves forward and nuzzles him at the crook of his neck. “Tim, just answer by either shaking your head no, or nodding in yes.” She stops to look into his eyes, “I told you before I came with you here that I was evaluating how you acted around Twilight, and how Twilight acts around you. Did you think that meant if I saw any affection for either of you, that means I would get angry at you?”

Tim’s eyes widen, but after a few seconds he nods.

She smile., “Okay, fair enough. So, would it surprise you that I am not at all jealous of you having affection for Twilight Sparkle here? And that said affection is actually a good thing to us?”

Tim’s eyes narrow as his brow furrows. “How is that possible? I cheated on you with her, and I know how angry you were at her. But you are saying if I have feelings for her, that’s a good thing? I’ve been trying to deny that I’m attracted to her since it happened.” That gets Twilight’s wings to pomf a bit out, and her breathing increases.

Cayenne leans forward and nuzzles Tim. “Could you explain monogmany? We don’t get it.”

“Monogamy is wanting one other for yourself. It’s wanting them alone, and them wanting you alone. Nobody else to love, kiss, hold, or have sex with. Hopefully forever.”

Cayenne says, “I don’t understand. I know what it is, but I don’t get it, just like I know what homosexuality is, but I don’t understand it. You don’t go after other pon- er, people, not even a bit? Not even for fun? What if you get sick of them? Doesn’t just one get lonely?”

“Not even for fun. You don’t need anyone else -- they complete you, and the concept of anyone else being there just brings pain.”

The mares are both intensely curious. “How does your society function with one mare one stallion? Don’t your few breeders have to produce many foals?” Cayenne asks.

“Humans have equal numbers male and females – it all works out, Cayenne,” Twilight explains. “We ponies tend to have a four to five fillies for every colt – monogamy would never work for us. But for them, herds would be unthinkable, perhaps even inhumane. Imagine all those stallions without mates…”

“I see. I’m sorry, Tim, but I genuinely cannot understand it. Can you, Twilight?”

“Not I, but I know somepony who does. When this drama is said and done, I will send her your way.”

“Is it Cadance?” Tim asks.

“Yes.”

He frowns. “Even better – I want to give her a piece of my mind about trying to force her love where it isn’t asked for.” Twilight grimaces.

Cayenne purrs, “You are a sweet stallion, love, but we must be diplomatic. Herds have ways of dealing with things one way or another. I was not looking for you to stiffly ignore her being herself.” She directs a glare at Twilight, “whether anything else happens is something the mares of your herd will discuss.” She looks into Tim’s eyes. “We are quite angry at Twilight for what she did. And you are in trouble because you didn’t react correctly. It’s not fair, but we can’t help it. We also can’t afford to set a weak example. Ponies talk. Doubly at scandal.” She glances at Twilight. “But we don’t hate her, we haven’t decided to freeze her out from any contact with our herd. But you remember a week ago when you spelled out why Twilight was able to get to you so badly?” She directs her smile at Twilight. “She has helped start the healing process.” She nuzzles Tim lovingly, and he leans into it, relishing the contact. Which has been rather sparse as of late. She looks at Twilight. “You know, there is one more pony we have to deal with on that.”

Twilight gulps, “Cadance has said she is sorry for what she did.”

“I understand, Citrus told me what she said, but she also said some other things that Citrus objected to.”

Twilight leans over and nuzzles Cayenne. “I promise, I will make it up to your herd.” She nuzzles Tim as well, “And you, I’m going to stop denying how I feel about you, and you and your herd can come to a decision.”

Cayenne winks at Twilight. “Citrus will make the decision, she is a reasonable mare. And we will see what goes on. The big guy here does need to continue his education though.”

Twilight leans back, shaking her head. “Alright, it’s time to continue your language lessons.” Her horn lights.

***

Tim settles down on the couch, his pants are on the floor. But he has his covers over him. He glances at the pegasus stallion curled up on the floor, he’s offered covers, he’s offered his own pillow to Silver, only to be roundly rejected. The stallion stubbornly has been sleeping on the floor, though a couple of times, Tim has woken up and covered the pegasus with his own blanket in his sleep. He glances at the stairs, North will be down before too long. Tim sighs as he watches the pegasus breathe evenly. He knows Silver is awake. He leans forward. “Hey, Silver.”

The pegasus grunts and turns his head, one baleful eye fixating on him, Tim offers a small smile. “When Citrus was saying that you were taking the punishment uncomplainingly. I almost laughed, because I hear plenty from you on it.”

Silver rolls his eyes, “Well, of course, Couchlord. I don’t complain to them, I complain to the one who fucked up the whole mess.”

Tim flinches, “No amount of apologies can help? I’m trying to fix things.”

That gets a growl, “Well, your horniness, you seem to be taking your time fixing things with our mares.” He smacks a hoof onto the floor, “While you at least get your balls drained, I’m stuck. I get to listen to you and North go at it, and I get…” He stops and sighs. “Bupkiss. It’s more than I’m getting, Fuck for Brains.”

Tim leans back. “You know, I’d rather you stop with that.”

Silver perks a single ear forward, “Oh, because while I’ve had to listen to you and North fuck nearly every night, I’ve had plenty of time to come up with plenty of names for you.” He grins evilly. “Wanna hear?”

Tim shakes his head, Silver huffs, “Oh, too bad. Our lead stallion doesn’t want to hear the natural consequences of his actions.”

“It’s not like that, Silver.” Tim growls.

That gets the pegasus’ head to snap up, “Oh? Really? Are you sure? It’s been nearly two months! I mean the Gala is only a couple of days away. Princess Twilight is out of heat, and apparently apologized to Cayenne enough that she’s prevailing on Citrus to give her a chance.” He stands up, “It looks like most of the problems are being repaired.” His eyes narrow, “Yet I’m still on the floor, not up there where our mares are.” He punctuates the last word with a hard hoof to the floor.

“Trust me, Silver, if I could find out how to fix this, and get the girls to let you back up before me, I would.”

That gets Silver’s wings to extend, “What are you saying, Chiller of Beds? You don’t want to be lead stallion anymore?”

Tim frowns, “I didn’t say that, I just don’t think you should have to endure the punishment like I am having to.”

To Tim’s surprise, Silver steps forward aggressively, “So, you don’t want to uphold your herds honor? You would break the rules, and have the newest stallion in your herd sleep with your mares, just because you feel sorry for him!” He turns his back, his tail lashing, “I don’t want your pity.” He hangs his head. “I just want you to fix this.”

“I don’t know how!” Tim shouts, getting the stallion to whirl back towards him.

“Citrus has explained how, you have damaged your mare’s trust in you! You’ve lost their confidence, and that little play the other day didn’t help! Trying to buy their affections!” He sits down, fighting to bring his extended wings back down, “Herds are built on trust and affection. You destroyed their trust by not communicating with your mares. You were attracted to Princess Twilight, yet you chose not to inform them. If you had, they might have been able to try to bring her into the herd.” He glances up at the stairs. “You are the lead stallion of your herd, they want you to be happy, too. And if pounding the purple plot would help, they would at least consider it. Even though such a fantastically powerful alicorn would produce a power problem among the mares.”

“A power problem?”

“Well, duh, don’t you think that Princess Twilight would be happy not being the lead mare, especially with her fixated on the lead stallion of the herd?”

“I don’t want Twilight as lead mare, I love Citrus where she is.”

“That might be enough, if Citrus wanted to stay lead mare, and you backed her, I doubt the Princess would say no to that.”

“Silver.” Tim stops, massaging the bridge of his nose. “I know I destroyed their trust in me. But I’ve done everything I know of to show them I’m worth their trust.” Tim flops onto the couch, turning away from Silver, “I thought after going to Twilight, and seeing how Cayenne and Twilight were able to get along, things would get better.”

He hears Silver laugh behind him, “Oh, you think because the mares made up, that heals what YOU did?”

Tim flips over, glaring at Silver, “Then how do I fix this?”

“A second part is going to be proving you are a capable lead stallion, and that has three parts. First is never doing it again. Second part is asserting your authority. Thirdly is getting me to back you.” Silver rolls his eyes. “You have to gain their trust back, and that is done in deeds, not in words.” Silver stalks forward slowly. “You know what, I think I should give you the list of wonderful things to call you.”

Tim shakes his head, but Silver ignores him. “Slutfire, Cock Blockington, Whorse, Sir Cheatsalot, Princess Plumber…”

Tim turns away as the stallion continues, but Silver’s voice is stuck in his ears as he continues, getting louder with each insult, “Sir Screwsalot, Chiller of Beds, Second Brainer, Loose Hips.”

“Stop it!”

“Make me, Mounting Man, Antiorgasmo, Duke of Dryspells.”

“Silver, I’m warning you.”

Silver Wing rolls his eyes. “Empty threats mean nothing, Floormaster. You’ll have to show some dominance if you want to get me in line, Pepper Plots. You’ve had lessons in at least some of our customs – what does a lead stallion do when words fail, Pounder Keg.”

“I mean it, Silver, stop!”

“Fuck for Brains, Heat Seeking Moron, Your Horniness…” Silver’s diatribe is cut short by Tim’s fist impacting the side of his head, snapping it to the side. He stops and shakes his head, “Oh, that’s it. You’re learning our ways – good!” He growls as he leaps towards Tim. Tim catches the stallion, planting a foot in his chest and heaving. The stallion flips over him and the couch and lands on his back on the floor. Before he’s able to regain his hooves, Tim leaps on him getting a big whoof of air as Tim punches him right in the middle of his chest. Tim shakes the hand as the stallion wheezes. He sits up, only to be knocked off by a forehoof. Tim lands on his back as the stallion leaps up and lands on him. He grabs Silver’s shoulders and they roll around on the floor, neither really gaining the upper hand, or hoof.

Tim wheezes as Silver’s able to get a good punch to his gut, though he smacks the stallion on the ear, getting a loud yelp as they continue to scuffle. The stallion cocks his back legs and gets under Tim, a hard push throws him back, he ends up half standing against the back of the couch. And with a battle yell, the stallion leaps at him. Tim steps to the side, grabbing an extended wing and flipping Silver to the floor on his side, then he has to scramble back as Silver lurches his head around and nearly bites Tim’s hand off. They end up squaring off, the stallion’s wings extended, and Tim crouching to keep as low a profile as possible.

“You wanna be the lead stallion of this herd.” Silver pants, his teeth bared, “Then act like one!” With that, he leaps at Tim again. Tim lowers his shoulder and the stallion’s hard chest impacts him, causing his bare feet to slide back. Tim reaches underneath and grabs Silver’s tail and a foreleg, flinging the pegasus into the couch back. Silver merely uses his legs to bounce off the couch and rebounds directly at Tim. This time he sidesteps again, grabbing an outstretched wing and slamming him to the ground, Tim extends the wing backwards, using a knee to force the stallion to the ground. Silver frantically flaps his other wing, trying to dislodge Tim, but he twists the wing in his hands, putting more pressure on the stallion’s barrel with his knee, getting a loud howl of pain from Silver.

“This it!?”

“Okay, okay. I give.” Silver shouts, slamming a forehoof into the floor several times, “You can let me up now!”

Tim releases Silver and falls back to the floor, panting. Silver lies there for a long time breathing just as heavily. Tim looks at Silver, the stallion has the first real smile on his face in what seems like forever. “You were holding back, you can fly, you can keep out of my grip,” Tim pants.

Silver rolls onto his side and gets his hooves underneath him, he lies there like that for a moment, continuing to grin at Tim. “I don’t want to be lead stallion, I don’t think Citrus would accept me as one.” He reaches over and punches Tim in the shoulder with a hoof. “You are fast, faster than I expected. But now, you’ve asserted your role in our herd.” He lays his head down, letting his breathing slowly work to normal. Finally, he shifts to look at Tim, “We will fix our herd, and I’m going to help. Just now you won my backing. I’ll avenge our honor.”

“Avenge our honor?”

Silver explains, “When mares fail, a stallion can still succeed. Citrus and Cayenne have failed to secure proper restitution from princesses Twilight and Cadance. Therefore, it is my duty to avenge us.”

“How? They’re princesses – you’ll be arrested or worse.”

“Mares against mares and stallions against stallions is our rule. They’ll have to have a male representative dispute with me, to cross swords.”

“A duel? Silver, are you crazy?”

“Not at all, Tim, in fact, I’m frightfully sane. I wasn’t finished yet. It sounds to me like your people no longer duel over things, but for us, here’s how it goes. If there is a herd conflict and mares can’t resolve it, it goes to us stallions. But here’s the thing: the stallion over whom the dispute hangs cannot fight. This stops a stallion from wrecking herd after herd, secure in his own strength. By making him depend on either a senior stallion for protection or a junior stallion for support, it mandates that he keep his herd happy, lest he find himself exposed without any kind of herd to shield him from the consequences of his actions. And, like as a princess can never be wrong herself, her representative can still be.”

Tim stutters, “I-I can’t let you do that, Silver. It wouldn’t be right.”

“Tim, if you insist on fighting him yourself, it’ll look very bad. It will say that you don’t care if you give offense by bulldozing through our customs and culture. We are herd animals; we cannot be without a herd so much that it is encoded into our psyches. This whole thing is going to cause a stir, but there will be a full scandal if you do something so damn reckless. It could push the princesses into having to expel you or strip you so ponies don’t worry about the state of our sacred traditions.”

“So you have to duel Cadance’s husband?”

“Yes. I have to give the challenge and match him in combat, even if only for a brief time. Not to the death, but to first blood. To satisfy honor, all it takes is that we both bravely play our parts to the end.”

“As you would say: We ponies are crazy,” a feminine voice says, “and our Silver is a very brave pony, don’t you think?”

Tim levers himself to his feet, glancing down, he’s relieved he at least still had his boxers on. He moves over to the couch and then stops dead in his tracks, North Point is sitting on the couch, a soft smile on her face.

To his surprise, she simply leans up against him, reflexively he puts an arm around her, and she snuggles close. She sits like that for a long time, humming softly as she just enjoys the loving touch. Soft hoofsteps announce Silver walking back to his usual spot, he glances at North and snorts in surprise as she pats the couch next to her. With a great leap, he’s on the couch, leaning up against North and Tim. They sit there for a long time, none speaking, just enjoying the feelings of being close.

Even the best of things have to come to an end, North squirms a little bit, Silver moves over and curls up on the floor, a much happier smile on his face. North turns to Tim, “I watched most of that. You weren’t trying to hurt him.”

Tim looks down. “I just wanted him to stop.”

North reaches up and kisses his cheek, letting her lips linger on his flesh, then she reaches over and runs her tongue on the edge of his ear. “You are learning how to lead your herd. You did good Tim.” She hops off the couch, sashaying her hips as she heads to the stairs. She stops at the threshold and looks back at him, “We will be made whole, love. Cayenne told Citrus and I some of what transpired between you are Twilight today. It was very enlightening, so promise me this.”

“What?”

“Cayenne told me that you have some very alien ideas and morals. Please, to help us understand you, once this is all settled, tell us how to be not just your mares, but your women.”

“I will.”

“You better, Tim,” Silver says, snuggling up against North’s mare.

Tim leans back, bringing his covers over his body as he settles onto the couch. Things aren’t back to normal, but they are on the highway to health.
> Chapter 21.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

North Point luxuriates in the large bed. She opens her eyes to see the cranberry colored mane of Cayenne Pepper. She shakes her head softly, taking a moment to hug the other unicorn closer for a moment. That gets a sleepy moan and Cayenne snuggles closer to her. North sits there for a long moment, wanting to get up, but holding Cayenne is too snuggly. She mentally takes stock of her situation. She’s lying on her side, Cayenne in her hooves, and behind her is Citrus, who is holding her just as tightly. North huffs softly, how to get out of this? Magically, she’s the weakest of the three, she’s only been able to really master some telekinesis. She can’t teleport, though that ability would be really helpful at the moment.

After thinking for a moment, she starts to wiggle gently down the bed, after a few minutes of diligent work, she’s able to stand up. She glances back, seeing that Citrus has edged forward and is now holding Cayenne just how she had been holding her. That gets a grin from as she first lights her horn to bring her glasses to her. She places them gently and happily trots into the bathroom. A short time later, she emerges from the bathroom with a cloud of steam. She glances at the bed. Citrus and Cayenne are still sleeping peacefully. She giggles softly as she exits the bedroom and canters down the steps quickly. She stops for a moment at the foot of the stairs, watching Tim sleep. The human is on his back, snoring softly. Apparently in the night he had woken and put his covers over Silver. The pegasus stallion is cuddled up in the heavy blanket, snuggling against the man. Walking on her tiphooves, she places a soft kiss on the stallion’s forehead. She moves over and applies the same treatment to her lead stallion’s forehead, though that requires rearing up onto the back of the couch.

Breakfast is quickly started with brewing a pot of strong black coffee. She may not be technically strong when it comes to magic, but her telekinesis is finely honed. She focuses on the knife work before her while she also has two pans going on the stove. A quick glance opens the fridge, and eggs fly out in single file, cracking and depositing their contents into a bowl. She directs the empty shells into a compost bin as she brings milk and salt and pepper out. A quick splash and a few grinds of the pepper, along with a dash of the salt. She glances at the fridge, the boys do like their meats, so some sausage is added to one pan, along with bacon to another. Tim has always said that bacon here in Equestria is different than on his Earth, not like that has never stopped him from devouring it at every opportunity. She hasn’t tried every meat that the boys tend to like, but she’s tried a few. With Cayenne’s help and Tim’s recipes from home, North Point has found that she does have an appreciation for cooked meat. She glances over, the whisk has done its job splendidly. Into the biggest frying pan goes the chopped vegetables. She hums softly as she moves the veggies around on the pan.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Silver! Coffee?”

A mumbled response is all she gets. The stallion seems to live off of coffee. He’s even worse than Cayenne, actually. A glance back shows the silver stallion contemplating the oversize mug steaming before him. She helpfully floats the milk over to him, which he gratefully takes and pours a measured amount into the coffee. His dexterous wings bring the sugar bowl closer and he dumps the sugar in as well. Once he has it to a pleasing color for him, he takes a sip and sighs happily. North smiles. “Going to the gym?”

He nods. “The Gala is this evening; I’m possibly going to be fighting Shining Armor for my herd’s honor.”

North sighs softly as she scrapes out the cooked vegetables. She pours some cooking oil onto the hot metal and pours a thin layer of the beaten eggs. The sausage is ready, so is the bacon, so those pans are emptied and make it into the sink. She focuses on the prepared ingredients around her. Some bell pepper and onions along with the crumbled sausage and bacon. She glances back. “You know, it might end well without a fight.”

Silver snorts, “Fat chance of that.”

North slides the turner, flipping part of the now solidified egg over. She brings some cheese in and sprinkles it liberally over the omelet as it is forming. She finally flips the other side over. I don’t see Cadance or Twilight giving in. They really can’t. But they would have to submit to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna.” She punctuates by sliding the turner underneath the omelet and flipping it over.

“Why would Celestia stop this?”

“We haven’t had a formal challenge make it all the way to the princesses in either of our lifetimes. The princesses encourage the ponies to take care of such matters before they make it to them. I’ve heard Princess Luna is quite extreme in her conflict resolution.” She again slides the turner underneath the omelet and deposits it onto a plate. Her magic brings forth more cheese and some diced tomatoes, which are sprinkled over the completed plate. She sets the plate aside and the egg mixture is brought forth, starting a second omelet. “For example, the ponies that were fighting over a pet dog. Her proposal was to cut the dog in half and give each half to either pony.”

That gets a snort of a laugh from Silver, “So, they found a happy solution pretty quickly?”

North spreads the egg mixture around a bit, letting it start to harden. “Yeah.”

Silver lays his head on the table. “I see what you are saying, but this isn’t two ponies having an argument over property. This is a princess luring an established herd’s stallion astray. We may be back on our way to being happy, but that doesn’t remove your beef with the one behind it all.”

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” she says as she folds the egg over the toppings.

“Yeah. You know, she could apologize at the gala. It doesn’t even have to be in public at the gala, she could bring Citrus aside as we go in, let her know that she wants to truly make amends and prevent a duel.”

Silver looks at North, “Do you honestly think that will happen?”

North flips the omelet, “No, I really don’t. It’s hard for the princesses to admit that they are ponies. That they can make mistakes, or even compound what would be a simple error in judgement and blow it up into something serious. The problem is that princesses are supposed to be above legal reproach, and they also have a policy of a united front. What’s she supposed to do? Apologize to us and chastise her fellow princess when she hasn’t technically done anything wrong? Cadance turning on Twilight to admonish would, however, even if partially her duty as a senior mare, would also be against that united front policy. So, we’re going to have to let our stallions battle it out to do with steel what we mares can’t say with words.”

“All because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.”

“Be nice, Silver.”

“I’ll be salty as I damn well please. Not your flesh on the line.”

“He didn’t know what this all meant. I mean if his teaching of our ways had included such lessons on dealing with mares in heat. Perhaps he would have been able to open up to us on his attraction to Princess Sparkle. Maybe he would have had Citrus’ blessing when the Princess offered herself to him in the depths of heat. Or better yet, upon finding out she was in heat, brought her home and all of us could have had fun together.”

That gets a pained sigh. “It’s pretty rare for a new member of the herd to be mounted by the lead stallion, and you know it was Tim she wanted. The day I mount her is the day I find I’m a goldfish.”

North slides a third omelet onto another plate. “You know as well as I do that exceptions can be made for a mare in heat. A mare in heat is to be protected and supported. They are what makes society continue. That’s why we have herds, to protect and support the ability to have foals.”

“I know, North, I know! We are trying, but how do we help Princess Twilight help teach all the ins and outs of a tens of thousands of years old society in a matter of a year, or ten years? What is second nature to you or I is something he has to be specifically taught. Add in we are learning of his societal mores at the same time. We can’t expect him to become a pony, that would be stupid. But we can help him adapt and learn what his actions mean to us. And we have to learn what his actions mean in his own context.” He lays his head on the table. “Can we teach him to fully function in our society? For all we know, something that is commonplace in his society would constitute a deadly challenge among ponies.”

North Point fixes Silver in a glare, one eyebrow rising. “What kind of offense among ponies would be worth killing over?”

Silver frowns. “Well, honor challenges among herds, which we are embroiled in at the moment. Though he thought it was simply being unfaithful and that the fallout would hit him and him alone.” He sighs. “Humans are so weird! What if there’s something we would think nothing of, and yet it would be a deadly insult among humans?”

“I sincerely doubt there’s much, just like with ponies.” She stops, her ears flicking back and forth, “Though from getting to know him, I wouldn’t mind getting to know other humans.” She focuses on Silver with a smile, “Remember, he’s different. For example, he didn’t initially understand you were trying to goad him into asserting dominance the other day.”

Silver huffs, “I’ve been trying to nudge him into some sort of dominance for months now. He just didn’t get it.” He stops, his eyes wide, “I’m just as guilty of this as everypony else!”

“We all are! Remember, Silver, what is obvious to you or I may not even be within his thoughts. He’s not dominant like most mares are, but he’s also not like most stallions either. Just some kind of mix of both, it’s hard to define by our terms. Hence, he’s an alien.” She glances over at a groan from the living room, her ears perking forward, “But I don’t think all humans are that way. He said he’s easygoing; I have no idea what that means.”

“Well, we can’t expect him to be like us. We have to deal with him as he is.” His ears flick back as Tim stands up. Noises from upstairs let them know that the others are up and moving around.

North Point brightens as Tim shuffles into the kitchen, her horn lighting and her magic floating a glass of orange juice towards Tim as he plops down on the stool. She slides his omelet in front of him. The human blinks slowly at the food, then glances at Silver, who’s chewing on his own meal.

“Ready for the Gala?”

Tim grunts, “Today?”

She nods. “Tonight.”

Tim glances at Silver, then starts to eat.

“Good morning!” Citrus sings, bouncing down the stairs, hopping into her seat. She grins happily at North as she takes a bite. “Cayenne will be down in a few. Happy New Year!”

Tim groans. “Our new year is just after Christmas.”

Citrus perks up, “Your Christmas is like Hearth’s warming, near the winter solstice?”

He nods. “This time of year it’s when fall is starting. We still got a couple of months until the new year.”

“You humans are weird,” North says. “The new year begins when we celebrate the bountiful harvests. Getting ready for a cold winter. The Gala is always held on the first of a new year.”

“Then you have Nightmare Night, then Hearth’s Warming?”

“Yeah.” North says with a nod. She watches as the coffee pot is encased in magic and floats over to where Cayenne usually sits, the mare controlling the coffee hops up on her chair as her mug floats over and is filled. The pot is returned as Cayenne takes a long sip. “Good morning, love.”

Cayenne smiles bleary eyed as she drinks more coffee. She glances at the plate of food slide before her, her horn lights again and a fork is stabbed into her omelet. “Food…” Cayenne mumbles softly. “Ssooooo not a morning ponnnny… I hardly slept a wink and I have to be up early… fuck me.”

North laughs softly as she starts to eat her own food, though hers is positively dripping in cheese.She watches as her family slowly wakes up as breakfast is eaten. After a few minutes of silence, North swallows her food, “So, Citrus, are you gonna do all our makeup today?”

Citrus nods. “Of course.”

“Silver’s and my outfits arrived?”

North answers, “They were delivered a couple of weeks ago while you were at work. You’ve got plenty of time before we have to start getting ready.”

“The boys have some time, but we need to start.” Citrus says as she gulps down the last of her omelet. “I want you two clean as boiled eggs before I start on your makeup.”

North ducks her head. “Already? It’s still morning.”

That gets Citrus to hop over to nuzzle North. “You are pretty already, but the right makeup can make you stunning.”

“But these glasses…” The mare looks down.

“Are cute. Don’t worry, North. I know what I’m doing.”

North glances at Cayenne for a long moment before nuzzling Citrus back. “I’ve never really done much makeup. This is my first Gala.”

Citrus saunters towards the stairs. “My sire has always been one to leverage having a daughter among the Canterlot elites. He’s ensured I’ve gotten tickets every year since I was sixteen. Always wanting me to go in with him.” She sighs, glancing over at Tim. “I think this year it’s because of you, Tim. I do plan on ignoring him the whole night.” She disappears up the stairs. North and Cayenne finish up quickly and follow the yellow mare upstairs in short order.

Silver drains the last of his coffee. “We have a couple of hours. I’m going to the gym.” The stallion stands up.

“I’ll go with you!” Tim says, tipping his cup back and finishing his juice. He grabs a hoodie and pulls it over his frame before opening the door for the pegasus stallion.

The path to the gym is not too long, but the weather is moderately chilly, albeit nothing so bad that it would require a coat. Tim can’t help but envy the ponies and their naturally warm fur. He shoves his own hands deep into his pockets, deep in thought.

When they get to the gym, Silver stands in front of a large wall mirror with his rapier, Tim looking at him. “Listen, Silver, you don’t need to fight for me. I can handle this myself. I’m not a kid.”

Silver just says, “For the last time, Tim, it’s not because we think you’re weak, it’s because we don’t want to have to put you in a coffin.”

“But you said that death duels are almost unheard of, and ponies rarely try to kill each other.”

“I did, but swordfighting is far more dangerous than you think. A lethal strike may happen before you even know it has been launched.”

“But still I want to fight.”

“It’s more than that. The whole point of the duel system is to prevent abuse of the weak by the strong. You aren’t supposed to stand for yourself. Imagine if a wicked pony who was a great fighter could simply duel anypony who took issue with his misdeeds. That would completely break the balance of power in our society, so we make it be herdmates standing for each other, stallions for stallions and mares for mares. The fact that you cannot duel for yourself reinforces the herd – not only does it mean that you must be backed by a member of your herd, but also it discourages transgression by making it that somepony you care deeply for may have to put their life on the line for your wrongdoings. A repeat violator could simply be denied backing in the inevitable challenge, forcing them to decline to their dishonor. And that somepony else in your herd must issue the challenge for you after repeat back and forths with the offender gives chances for cooler heads to prevail and makes it far harder for a devious pony to manipulate others into duels for personal gain or pettiness.

“Well where I come from, a man stands on his own two feet.”

Silver sighs, “Tell you what, my little human, grab a feder from over there.” He points to a collection of nearly straight wooden sabers. “If you can hit me once, I’ll…I don’t know, ask our lovelies about a lawyer, or a kusa, or something.”

“A kusa? What’s that?”

“You don’t have kusas where you’re from, Tim? I thought a people as horny as you would be crawling in them. Think of them as lovers and more for hire.”

Tim gasps, “An escort?”

“Not quite,” says Silver, “a kusa is like that but more – they’re mares and stallions who are professional practitioners of love and harmony. They are companions, counselors, negotiators, therapists, and even peacemakers. Escort, even to us, has some dirty connotations, but a kusa is a revered figure. They bring pleasure, ease pain, mend wounds, close rifts, provoke the mind, and stimulate the senses. They can be any tribe, and I’ve even heard of a few zebras and donkeys as kusa’s. I don’t know about griffons, though.”

“I don’t see how hiring a prostitute is going to fix our problems, though, Silver.”

“Not a prostitute, a kusa. We could use one as an emissary between us and the princesses in question, but…”

“I take it there’s some kind of drawback to this.”

Silver looks at him sideways. “What are you to take now? Oh, drawbacks, well, there are a few, Tim. Firstly, they’re expensive. Secondly, retracting our demand now without at least making some show of a challenge will be held against us by society for failure to value one of our own to stand together. Thirdly, I don’t know if we could find a lawyer or a kusa willing to take our case, especially considering the lawyers are sworn to uphold Royal Law, which hasn’t been broken, and the latter are sworn acolytes of the princess of love. Fourthly, all of us, Tim, want some satisfaction. Fifthly, if we just let this go, what’s to stop this from setting a precedent where they can just cuck a herd without consequences?”

“I see. I guess I’ll have to fight you first, though.”

“You bet. Now are we gonna do it, or are you gonna wait for the dandelions to turn white?”

Tim shakes his head at the odd saying from the stallion, but he runs off to return shortly thereafter with a slightly curved saber with a hook pommel and a simple short crossguard. “Let’s do this,” he says, steadying his breath. He holds the sword out in front of him.

Silver puts the scabbard back onto his rapier. “As you wish, chief.” He lays onto him like a whirlwind. Steel flashes, the weapon blurs, and before Tim even knows what’s going on, Silver has knocked his blade aside and jabbed the point to his chest.

“Again.”

Tim raises his sword once more. He tries to attack first, but the moment he pulls back his sword to swing like a baseball bat, Silver has anticipated his move and put his rapier in the way, even as he thrusts forward towards his throat this time. Tim parries, drawing Silver into a bind of crossed swords. But before he can do anything, Silver has leaned forwards and he can feel something touch his collar. “Gotcha again, Tim.”

“Shit.” The sheathed rapier has met his body at the clavicle. “Again. One more time.”

“Sure thing,” Silver agrees, assuming a position with his own blade parallel. Tim tries thrusting this time, only for Silver to deflect it to zoom past himself, then, before Tim can recover, has brought the edge of the rapier to his throat in the gap.”

“How are you doing this?”

“Simple, Tim. You’re thinking of the sword as a brute club; it’s really a precision engineered piece of technology with its mass, the point of balance, style of grip, and blade meant to guide you in its best use. And here you are bashing at me like a squirrel with a nut. Most criminally, you’re holding it in front of you with your body as broad to mine as possible.And while that guard you’re starting in offers great protection to the chest and head, you can’t attack from it, but it gives me all the room and leverage I need to knock your blade aside and kill you before you can even start to think about doing anything to me.”

Tim sags. “I guess it’s hopeless.”

“Don’t be too down on yourself; your school didn’t subject you to six hours of sword lessons every single week for nine years.”

“I guess that’s true,” says Tim. “Silver, good luck tonight.”

Hoof shakes hand. “Thanks. I’m going to need it. I won’t let you down.” They both smile.

***

Tim steps out of the shower. Towels are for the most part pretty useless for ponies because of all their fur. Though the mares to tend to use them for their manes. Air dryers seem to be the norm here. He glances at himself in the mirror. The downstairs bathroom is a lot smaller than the one upstairs, but it’s still big by his standards from Earth. Hoofsteps get his attention and a blonde tail smacks his rear. He turns and watches as Silver closes the shower. Ever since their fight, Silver’s been solidly in his corner with nearly everything. The insults have dried up, though the stallion continues to be stubborn about sleeping on the floor. Tim shakes his head as he exits the bathroom and pads up the stairs. He taps gently on the bedroom door.

“What?” Comes Cayenne’s voice.

“I need to get dressed.”

The door opens and two bundles float out, as Tim grabs his and Silver’s outfits, the door is closed firmly in front of him. Tim shakes his head as he walks back down the stairs. He turns and heads into the library. The ponies love to read, several bookshelves built into the walls of the living room, and a small library, complete with comfortable seating and a nice large table. Silver has also appropriated a corner of the library as his workshop. All the tools the stallion uses when he works with silver is hung up or placed precisely on the small bench. Works in progress are set up in order, and hanging above where the stallion sits as he works are his various raw materials: silver, gold strips, and even a few trays of precious gems. Tim turns to the hooks on the wall and he hangs up Silver’s outfit and moves over to hang his own. The outfits are covered in soft vinyl, with a long zipper. Silver’s is marked with a pegasus wing, his is marked with a hand print. He smiles a bit as he pulls down the zipper. A brand new pair of boxers is thoughtfully included. That white mare at the Canterlot Boutique thought of everything. He pulls them on, and the trousers. So expertly tailored it doesn’t even include belt loops, yet it fits his waist perfectly. A snow-white shirt goes on next, with ruffles on the chest. The gold cummerbund is next, along with a metallic gold bow tie. He moves over to the mirror and ties the bow tie, grumbling softly as he works to get it tied correctly.

He stops and turns back, all that is left is the jacket, he reaches in and pulls out the jacket, it’s midnight blue, just like the pants, and he fingers the left breast with the same symbols he’s got on his shirts. His family coat of arms, along with Silver’s cutie mark in the middle, with the girls’ cutie marks arrayed around. He smiles and pulls on the jacket. It doesn’t fully close, exposing the ruffles of the shirt prominently, and the long tails of the jacket nearly brush the floor. He reaches into the bottom of the vinyl bag and pulls out the shoes. He feels the material of the shoes, that’s real leather? Really? The black leather has been polished to nearly a mirror shine. He slips them on and ties them up, they fit beautifully. He stops and wonders exactly how much this outfit actually cost, given the materials, and the obvious expertise when it comes to making them. Add in the fact that he’s the only human, so it was made exclusively for him.

“Oh, wow,” comes Silver’s voice. Tim looks over, Silver is standing there, his wings spread wide. “You look amazing in that.” The stallion takes a moment to fold his wings as he moves over to open his own outfit. Silver’s outfit isn’t nearly as body covering as Tim’s is. He pulls on a shirt as snow white and ruffled as Tim’s, though there are no pants. Instead of a cummerbund, he’s got a ceremonial belt that cinches around his barrel just ahead of his hips. It’s made of what seems to be woven gold. The stallion pulls out his own jacket and struggles a bit to get into it, fitting his wings through the holes designed for them. The tails of his jacket go along his back and hang over his rump. Though his jacket does button up, the buttons are on the side, allowing for the same symbols to be prominent on the stallion’s chest, though the shirt and its ruffles spill over the low top of the jacket. Silver finally gets the last button clasped, he turns and smiles at Tim. “Two stallions off to take on the world!” He flaps his wings a couple of times and shrugs his shoulders, getting everything sitting where it’s supposed to. His ears flick, “I think the girls are done. Let’s go see.”

Tim nods as the stallion waits by the door for him to exit first. He can hear something ahead of him as he heads into the kitchen. Then he stops, looking at the mare that’s made it down stairs first. A gold bodice flows to a nearly turquois dress that covers her rump and spills down to barely brush the floor. He glances at the gold cummerbund and then back at her, “Ah, so that’s why all the gold accents.”

Citrus giggles, “Yeah, to compliment the lead mare.” She twirls around, the dress flowing with her. “You like?”

Tim nods. “Beautiful.” He steps forward, looking at her makeup, eyeshadow the exact color of the dress decorates her eyelids, with her eyelashes nearly doubled in length. The rest of her face shows very little makeup, but he’s learned that the less it looks like there is makeup, the more makeup actually is there. Citrus smiles shyly at his inspection. “Did I do a good job?”

“Oh, most certainly!” Tim says, getting a girlish giggle from Citrus.

“I did a lot for North Point,” Citrus says, hanging her hooves around him. He leans forward and kisses her. She doesn’t pull away unlike last time outside his work, but she doesn’t press into him either. She lets him lead, reciprocating with a bit of tongue to his requests to explore her mouth. Her hoof rises to stroke slowly down his chest, and he holds it over his heart.

“Somepony’s feeling good.”

“It’s been so long,” Citrus giggles, jostling her legs a little bit as she leans into him for their first kiss in what feels like forever. Tim hears a sniff and pulls back. “Now look at me, I’ll have to redo my makeup all over again. I look like a crazy raccoon pony.”

“I think you look just fine, Citrus.”

She rests her chin on his shoulder. “Do you remember what I said to you last time we kissed outside your work?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve done it. I can trust myself with you again.” And with that, she lunges onto him, kissing him fully, vigorously on the lips. A familiar smell wafts into the edges of Tim’s awareness. “Sorry,” she says with a blush. It’s been so long. She grinds again him. “I can tell you agree, don’t you?”

“Absolutely.” Tim grins, reaching one hand down to his mare’s hindquarters. His hand grabs her all with a smack and wanders over towards her marehood.

“Tim, stop,” Citrus laughs, “if we start now, we’ll never get to the Gala -- just a few more hours, we’ll be back here again with that stupid custom out of the way. You know what that means…”

“Just a few more hours until justice is ours. And then afterwards…” Citrus purrs, kissing his neck. as more hooves sound from the stairs. She suddenly looks sad.

“Citrus, what’s wrong?”

She says, “I’m sorry about all this. I should have listened to you better. I should have been less of an insecure bitch of a filly when you asked to include Twilight. I should have not taken out my anger at Twilight on you. You’ve been too good for us these past weeks.”

The human holds the pony close, not lasciviously but tenderly. “Thank you, Citrus. It means a lot to me. You’re not still mad at me, are you?”

“Just a little,” she admits sheepishly, “but I feel like I really can trust you again. North Point had a serious talk with Cayenne and I. She opened our eyes and made us realize what stupid cunts we’ve been. Her talking to us from your point of view, telling us that you got into a fight with Silver… I… I never wanted to hurt you, none of us did, but we have. I just wanted to say I’m sorry and I love you.”

“I love you too, Citrus. We’ll talk about this later.”

“Count on it, love.”

Tim gets off her and then turns to look as North Point emerges. She flourishes a bit with the lavender dress covering her, gold stars prominent all throughout the dress, though the bodice has gold and lavender diagonal stripes, and pinned into her mane is small hat with a golden crown at its top, and lace flowing down the side of her face. Her makeup is restrained, and yet ads quite a bit of maturity to her face. She looks more mature rather than her usual teeny bopper look, her beauty enhanced also by the big smile on her face.

“You are beautiful.” Tim says softly.

“I feel beautiful,” North murmurs as she twirls around.

“And let’s not forget Cayenne.”

The mare in question slowly walks down the stairs, her dress shimmers in the light. “You like the Princess Dress?” Tim nods as Cayenne turns to show off the small wings set on the back, she looks back at him. “This night will be one to remember, won’t it?”

Tim nods again as Silver stomps his hooves appreciatively. Citrus starts, “Oh, almost forgot.” Her horn lights and some more objects emerge, encased in her magic. “Can’t go without everything, can we?”

Tim catches his bundle. He carefully unwraps and looks at it. “Wow,” he says softly. He slowly puts on the top hat, and runs his fingers along ornamental cane, he places the tip on the floor, and puts both hands on the head of the cane. “How do I look?”

That gets appreciative stomping from the girls as he looks over at Silver, who is wearing his own top hat, and is in the process of hooking a gold encrusted scabbard to his belt. He looks up at Tim with a big smile. The chime of magic gets his attention as he watches Silver’s sword float from its plain scabbard and slides easily into the one on him. As the sharp blade is fully inserted, Silver adjusts its weight. Getting it where it can flow with his body as he walks without digging his sides with the rapier’s hilt sweepings. He looks back at Citrus. “It’s beautiful.”

“How are you feeling, dear?” Cayenne asks him.

“Pretty good.”

“Scared?” Cayenne approaches and stands by him, nuzzling her favorite pegasus.

“Yeah, Cayenne, I guess I’m scared. It’s not every day you know you’re getting into a fight with the deadliest son of a bitch in Equestria. But you know what else, Cayenne? I’m feeling pretty good about this. I’m just excited for this all to be over. After all this, I don’t care. It’s my herd and my choice to fight for them. I’ll take on anypony.”

“That’s the spirit,” Cayenne cheers with a smile, “and I’d bet money your sword won’t be the only blade you wet tonight.” She kisses him hungrily. Tim can smell that aroma, and Silver’s own parts are doubtlessly responding. He can’t blame the stallion; he can barely wait.

Citrus looks around, breaking her stare from the almost orgy before them. “Who’s hungry?”

That gets murmurs of assent, and a confused look from Tim. “Aren’t we going to eat at the Gala?”

She shakes her head. “No, only light snacks and plenty of booze at the Gala itself. It’s better to have a meal before.”

Cayenne walks towards the door. “And I’ve got that covered.”

***

It’s been months since Tim’s been in the Canterlot castle. Ponies from all over Equestria are converging on the castle this beautiful night. The chill weather doesn’t seem to bother them all that much. Every mare he can see is dressed to the nines. And most of the stallions as well. Tim walks with his herd. Everyone is resplendent in their various gown and other outfits. Though one thing that gets him, the Royal Guard is in full display here. Not just the contingent he’s seen around the Princesses. Heavy bodied, tall stallions. But a lot of mares are present as well, they aren’t as heavy as the stallions. But the guards lining the walkways into the castle have a dangerous look about them. They don’t have the color changing magic of their armor, so the ponies are of every hue. Some with weapons, some without. The crackle and bang of fireworks reaches his ears and he looks up. The Wonderbolts are flying around the castle. Small cannisters on their rear legs are leaving smoke trails as they fly among the explosions.

“That can’t be very safe…” Tim murmurs.

Citrus looks up. “Oh, they do that every year.” She points, “There’s the new one, that’s Twilight Sparkle’s friend.”

He watches as a Wonderbolt with a rainbow mane and tail does aileron rolls through the puff of smoke from a large fire work. “Wow.”

“Yeah, you’ll see her inside, though the Wonderbolts have recently started wearing Gala dresses when they mingle with the Canterlot ponies, so she’ll have to be given some time to get ready. It’s always a big fanfare when the Wonderbolts make it in.” They’ve finally made it to the doors into the grand hall. Standing there at the top of the stairs are the four alicorns of Equestria. Lining the walls are the Royal Guard.

Tim looks around at the heading to be greeted by the Princesses, then down at Citrus. “There’s quite a few wearing weapons.”

Citrus giggles, “I doubt more than one or two of those swords have ever been out of the scabbard, except to see if they are sharp. Likely most of them aren’t.”

Tim shakes his head as the line snakes slowly forward. “Live weapons around your leaders. That would never happen at home.”

Cayenne hip checks him gently. “Your leaders aren’t fantastically powerful alicorns, in fact, the security here is actually very tight. I doubt anypony could actually hurt them, even if they tried. If a thousand years on the moon didn’t bother Luna, I don’t think getting hacked at with a sword could harm a pony like her or Celestia.”

Silver leans closer. “There are detectors in the doors, telling the mages the strength of any magic user stepping through. And look behind the Princesses.”

Tim bobs his head a bit. A half dozen unicorns are in a different kind of armor. It’s almost hard to look at;not the black and dark blue of the lunar guard that is interspersed with the solar guard, but the armor seems almost more dangerous. Over that armor, they have cloaks that seem to be all shifting colors, not staying one hue for any length of time. Almost as though they could blend into the bright hallway, or into a dark forest, at the same time. Tim nods. Silver murmurs softly, “Those are the elite mages. I’m not even certain of the name of their force. They are scary, and know some of the most dangerous magic. They rumored to be strong enough together to take on Discord.”

“Discord?”

“Spirit of chaos and disharmony, trolling incarnate. Ah, speak of the devil,” Silver says, glancing back. A bright white light has resolved into a tall form. Though what kind of form he couldn’t say. He’s taller than Tim, skinny in a serpentine way. He’s wearing what seems to be a black body suit that even covers parts of his head, leaving his vaguely equine face uncovered. Over his shoulders is a long red robe. A long golden chain hanging around his neck. He walks gracefully past the line of ponies.

“That looks familiar,” Tim says softly.

Citrus explains, “It’s Discord; you never know what he’s gonna do.” Citrus leans closer, “A couple of years ago, he brought a creature with him, called Lord Smooze. Long story short, Smooze ate the royal jewels and became huge, leaving his slime everywhere. He even opened a portal to another…” she trails off, her eyes wide.

“Citrus, what is it?”

“I don’t want to say.” She says softly, ducking her head away.

Tim thinks for a long moment. “A portal, and you are afraid. He sent somepony to another dimension?”

Citrus draws in on herself. “He threatened to.”

Tim looks up as the being bows grandly before Princess Celestia before sauntering past her into the ballroom. He looks back at her. “Citrus, I’m not planning on going home. I’m happy with you all here. But I don’t see me asking that creature for help any time soon.”

She forces her head under his hand, wanting the physical closeness. “Really?”

Tim kneels down, “Citrus, I’m not leaving you. I’m not going back unless I know either you can come with me, or if I could return.”

Her horn lights and a small white square of fabric emerges from under her bodice, she dabs at her eyes for a moment before tucking the kerchief back, “I can’t cry, it’ll ruin my makeup.” She sniffs.

He runs a finger along her ear. “No worries, love.”

Finally, they make their way up to the quartet of alicorns. Tim and Silver bow while Citrus and the rest of the mares curtsey before Princes Celestia and Luna, though Cadance is given an icy glare as they walk into the ballroom. As they get through, Citrus rears up and puts a hoof on his shoulder. “You are a diplomat, decreed so by Princess Celestia. The nobles here should know that by now. If you stay with us, you’ll be seen as unsociable. You need to mingle with the ponies here. Understood?”

“I’d prefer to stay with you,” Tim says softly.

Citrus looks up at him with pleading eyes. “Trust me on this, Tim. The nobles here aren’t stupid, they won’t occupy all your time, but you need to be seen talking to them. Go talk to the element bearers, go talk to some of the Canterlot nobles here. This isn’t just you, three quarters of the mares here buy makeup from me, and over half have been in Cayenne’s restaurant. Like it or not, the Gala is important for a lot of reasons. Just mingle, talk to some ponies, then we can spend most of the night at a table quietly. We are going to give Princess Cadance an opportunity to come and talk to us. If she doesn’t, then I will have to stand before the diarchs and present my challenge to her.”

Tim sighs as he turns away from his mares. The other ponies seem to notice him, but don’t seem too keen on talking to a tall bipedal creature at the moment. The alcohol seems to be flowing, so maybe they’ll loosen up. He makes his way around the ponies that are dancing as he heads towards the raised stage. Four ponies are there, though one really captures his attention, a gray mare with midnight black mane and tail. She’s standing on two hooves, a bow in a forehoof and she’s supporting herself with a cello. She nods to the pony at the piano and draws the bow across the strings. The music that emerges gets him swaying softly as he listens.

“Her name is Octavia,” comes a male voice. Tim looks over, a white stallion is standing there. He has a two tone blue mane along with a moustache the same color. He smiles. “I’m Fancy Pants.”

“Tim.”

“Nice to meet you, young Tim. Are you the human that Princess Celestia has talked about?” Tim nods, glancing at the pony playing the cello. “It’s alright, I don’t bite. I’ve heard you have been granted diplomatic status, correct?” Tim sighs, and to his surprise, the stallion snorts, “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not like some of the lesser nobles around here. I’m guessing you’ve been instructed to mingle with the ponies here.”

Tim nods. “I don’t know how to mingle.”

That gets a full laugh from the tall stallion. “Oh, don’t worry, my dear boy. It’s easy, see. You are doing so right now.” Tim looks at him sideways, “Oh no worries, young man. I’ve heard about your herd. I like Citrus Blush, and Fleur absolutely loves her makeup.”

“Nice to hear how word gets around.”

That gets a big smile from the stallion. “Does it now? Come with me, there are some ponies who would die to meet you.”

***

Cayenne is out on the dance floor with Silver. Tmusic is rather energetic, so it’s time to bounce around a little while dancing. Silver is tense, almost unable to move. “Having fun?”

He snorts as he finally looks at her, then up at the dais, where the Royal alicorns are standing and watching. “Loving the dangling sword of Damoclops.”

“Citrus is making her presence known to the Princesses. Cadance can do something.”

“You and I both know that isn’t going to happen.”Cayenne grabs a glass of champagne off a passing server pony and levitates it over to Silver. He drains it like a shot. “Thanks, Anne. Say, you got a mind to try to have some mandated fun?”

Cayenne looks around, the amount of money represented here boggles her mind. She glances over at Tim, who is walking with Fancy Pants, who is introducing the human to several ponies. Good, Fancy Pants is a smart stallion, he knows how to grease the wheels of power. It being public knowledge that Tim is an ambassador will allow more ponies to talk to him and maybe get rid of the lingering fear a lot of ponies have had towards Tim. She glances over. “Wanna talk to Rainbow Dash?”

Silver looks in the same direction. “The Wonderbolts have come in?”

She nods, getting a smile. “I’ve always wanted to meet them.”

“Your dancing could use a lot of improvement, so let’s mingle as well and spare the spectators.” She walks off, swaying her tail. The stallion follows, his eyes glued to the roped off area. The mare in question is standing at her ease, with the other Wonderbolts. Cayenne nods at the pony guarding the area, whose horn lights and lifts the velvet rope for them. At Silver’s questioning look, she winks back at him. “He’s a regular at the restaurant.” She moves up. “Rainbow Dash?”

The rainbow maned pegasus turns to look curiously, “Hello?”

Silver bounces forward. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, I’m so happy to meet you! I’m such a fan.”

Rainbow smiles gently. “You want an autograph?”

Silver shakes his head. “Just the honor of meeting you, ma’am.”

“Aren’t you sweet.” Rainbow looks over Silver’s head. “He finally made it!” She looks at Silver and Cayenne, “Hold on a moment.” She flicks into the air and flies over Silver’s head. He turns around to see her land on the shoulder of an enormous creature. Even taller than Tim, and likely more than double his weight, with a bull’s head on a vaguely human shaped body on top and bull’s hooves on the bottom, the rainbow maned pegasus wraps her forelegs fiercely around his neck, nuzzling his cheek. After a moment, she directs the minotaur to walk towards Cayenne and Silver. “I’d like you to meet my coltfriend, Bucephalus.”

“Pleased to meet you,” the minotaur says in a mellifluous voice, offering a hand. Silver offers his hoof, which is shaken gently by the mountain of muscle. Bucephalus glances over at Cayenne. “Am I a bit big for your taste?”

Cayenne laughs, “No, of course not, we are herding with the only human in Equestria.” She points at Tim, who is now talking with Pinkie Pie.

His eyebrows rise. “Really?” He nuzzles Rainbow Dash, who seems to have taken permanent residence on his broad shoulder, “Love, I’d like to meet this human. Shall we?” At her enthusiastic nod, he smiles politely at Silver and Cayenne.

“Tim will shit himself on meeting that one.”

Cayenne rolls her eyes. “Be nice, Silver.”

“Aw come on, let me have a little bit of fun.” Silver’s smile died on his face when he saw the next pony coming their way. “There, look, the herdwrecker.”

Sure enough, there is Princess Twilight Sparkle looking radiant in imperial gold and purple. Silver’s wings ruffle and pomf just the slightest bit. It’s not the fluffy pomf of a happy cantering or the wooshing pomf of arousal, but a gusty pomf using enough wingpower to make a display for the sake of intimidation. “Now, Silver, be nice, we can’t alienate her. She’s sorry already.”

“I know; can’t help but be mad at her.”

“We both are, but I’ve actually talked to her. She isn’t a bad pony, and like it or not, unless Tim suddenly becomes a total master of our language and customs, we’re going to have to deal with her.”

“Heat visitations?”

“Perhaps.”

“Breeding rights?”

“If it comes to that.”

“Full membership in the herd?”

“That is up to Citrus, but I don’t see it happening.”

The princess stops for a long moment, her face conflicted. Finally, she finishes closing the gap and speaks first. “Cayenne Pepper, pleased to see you again.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Princess,” Cayenne responds.

Then Twilight’s head turns its attention over to Silver Wing. “And who might this stallion be?” Twilight asks.

“You could ask him,” jokes Cayenne.

Twilight blushes. “Oh, sorry. What is your name? I’m Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship.” She leans forward to offer an ear.

“Silver Wing. I know, Princess.” He says, stiff as a bollard.

She puts on one of her legendarily bad feigned smiles.“And you are her friend?”

“Herdmate, Princess” he says back to her. “Cayenne’s and Tim’s herdmate.”

Twilight winces. “I uuhhhh seee... Are you enjoying the gala?”

“We’re fine, Princess,” interrupts Cayenne.

“And uh, how’s the herd?”

Twilight immediately regrets asking that question. Cayenne gives a truly pained grimace while Silver both fixes her with his best silent glare. They answer in unison, “Been better.”

“Oh, sorry…” Twilight is looking around frantically for any excuse to end the conversation. She spies something off in the distance. In seconds, a frazzled server pony is floating over them in her purple aura as more than four glasses of red wine are telepathically proffered. “Oh, look drinks, let’s toast, bye!” Twilight bolts, dropping the server and the tray. Silver catches the server and Cayenne’s levitation saves the drinks.

The two look at each other. Suddenly, they burst out laughing. “The look on her face, Cayenne!”

“I know! That moment when somepony realizes they’re in a world of shit.”

“I bet she won’t forget this!”

“Well duh,” Cayenne agrees, “I’ll drink to that,” she says, taking a gulp of her wine, clinking her glass to Silver’s glasses, and downing half of her volume. “So, what did you think of her royal highness?”

Silver teases, “I can definitely see now why Tim did it...”

Cayenne opens her mouth, but stops herself from shouting. Instead she just asks bluntly, “Silver, how much have you had to drink?”

“A few.”

“How many is that?”

“About three. Five when these are finished.”

She fixes a hard look at him. “You know you can’t afford to have anything impacting you later, right?” She glances around, “I’ll find you some coffee, but lay off the wine, okay?”

“Yeah, I know, I’m just scared as hell.”

Cayenne motions for them to go over to some convenient nearby tables. They sit down. She holds his hoof. “Finish your fourth. Citrus hasn’t come looking for us yet and the night’s young.” She is being purposefully soothing. The stallion finishes the last of his booze. He smiles at her. She responds with a boop on his snoot. “Say, did I ever tell you about the time I got my horn stuck in the chalkboard at school?”

“No,” replies Silver with an amused grin.

“Well, it all started with an argument over a frog…”

***

North Point wanders the gardens. Big parties, loud parties, wild parties, simply are not here idea of a good time. Unlike Citrus Blush, she has no business interests, personal or economic, to pursue. And unlike Cayenne Pepper, keeping up Silver’s spirits leading up to a waltz with weapons on top of the aforementioned business interests, are not on the agenda. And unlike Tim, she is not a kind of minor celebrity, therefore freeing her to do as she wishes with her time at the Gala.

She could not help but swish her hips slightly from side to side with a kind of anticipation. Tonight, she is getting laid and it was going to be great! As much as she has appreciated her time with Tim, she realizes that her loins hold a hunger for horsecock she can only keep in check for so long. Celestia help her if this mess were to somehow spill over into heat season.

She walks around the small pond in the middle of the gardens, just looking up at the sky and enjoying the quiet peace here, the fracas of the Grand Galloping Gala reduced to a dim, roaring clamor off in the distance, thankfully muffled. The mare whistled.

To her surprise, she hears a whistle back. It is a graceful, chirpy thing.

She whistles in response, going low then high.

The bird’s whistle answers hers. It goes low high low low low, before then finishing on a triple staccato high note.

North Point modulates her next whistles from short chirps to long tweets.

Something red, yellow, and orange flies in front of her, singing an appreciative flourish. North Point approaches the firebrand bird. She can only describe it as the most stunning, beautiful bird she has ever seen in her life. “Hello, friend, what’s your name?”

“I see you like Philomena. It’s even more remarkable that Philomena likes you.”

Wheeling around, North Point almost has a heart attack. “P-Princess Celestia! I didn’t kn-know you were here! Is he your bird?”

Celestia chuckles kindly, “My little pony, Philomena is a she, and not merely a bird, but a phoenix.”

“Like in the stories?”

“Yes, exactly like in the old tales. Come, walk with me.”

“Are you enjoying the Gala?”

“Yes, Princess,” North answers with her best respectful enthusiasm. “I was just here getting some fresh air. Big parties aren’t really my thing.”

Celestia leans in, smiling serenely. “Me too,” she whispers conspiratorially as if sharing a sinister secret. Philomena loops in the air before alighting on the white princess’s back, looking at the unicorn. “It’s good to have some sanctuary, don’t you think?”

They are now under a weeping willow tree. “Yes, princess.”

“If it is not too much to ask, how is your herd? You are in a herd with the human Tim and his ponies, are you not?”

North blushes. “I am, princess.”

“What kind of stallion is he, North Point?”

“He’s really kind. He’s actually kinda sorta like a mare; apparently things are a bit opposite on Earth.”

“And how are you treating him?”

North Point freezes. “We’ve uh had some um trouble, but uh, it’s getting better.”

Princess Celestia gives her a knowing smile. “The course of true love ne’er did run smooth.”

“Are he and your lead mare getting along?” North realizes she has a choice here, an opportunity to make things happen.

“Better than they were, princess. The problem isn’t with, the problem isn’t well, it’s not really between the herd, or it was, but it’s more like…”

“Some other pony?”

North nods wordlessly, blushing fit to rival Philomena’s plumage. “If you want to talk about it, Princess, please forgive me, but it’s not my place…”

“I understand, my little pony. I will make note to seek Citrus Blush. Thank you for letting me know, North Point. Well, Philomena and I best be off. Enjoy the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“You too, princess,” replies North, waving at Celestia’s retreating form. In her gut, she knows that the dominos she’s just kicked off aren’t going to stop from this moment forth until all is said and done. She follows Celestia, keeping an eye out for one of the roving servers with wine.
> Chapter 22.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim is nursing his champagne. He doesn’t want to get drunk, but at the moment, a nice buzz sounds good to him. He holds his hand tightly for a moment in a fist, Silver is going to risk his life in a matter of hours, and he should be doing it. But Silver has already explained to him why that’s a bad idea. He still wants to, though. He spies Princess Celestia talking to a pony on the other side of the room. He shifts his head and his heart ends up down in his stomach. She’s talking to Citrus.

“Excuse me,” comes a voice from behind him. He turns and looks up, only to see abs, so he looks up some more. Standing nearly seven feet tall without counting the horns is a creature he’s only read about in ancient mythology. Ponies have mentioned minotaurs before, but having one address him, with a rainbow maned pegasus perched on his shoulder, is something way outside his experience.

“Ummmm.”

The minotaur smiles broadly, offering a hand to Tim. He looks at the hand and after a moment, takes it. The minotaur grips firmly, but not excessively, and he nods. “My name is Bucephalus, this is my marefriend, Rainbow Dash. It’s a pleasure to meet the only human in Equestria.”

Tim looks up at the rainbow maned pegasus in a rainbow themed ball gown, somehow easily perched on the wide shoulders of the minotaur. “I’ve met you before.”

“I saw you land near ghastly gorge. I got you to the Ponyville hospital.”

Tim’s eyes widen. “Then I’ve never been able to properly thank you.”

Bucephalus looks at Rainbow Dash. “Oh, really? You were a first responder when he arrived?”

She nods. “Oh, it’s an awesome story.” She puffs out her chest. “That was a few months before the Summer Sun celebration, where I did that sonic rainboom over Canterlot.”

Bucephalus smiles. “How could I forget that; it was where we first met. You were so beautiful that day, and I got a prelude of what your mane looks like when you get all heated.”

“Shush it!” Rainbow blushes as smacks her lover playfully. “Well, Twi had been hounding me for weeks that I needed to get some practice in. ‘Just being a Wonderbolt doesn’t mean that you are going to be ready to do one right as the Princess raises the sun.’ she kept telling me. Well, she wouldn’t let up, so I got mad and did five sonic rainbooms in a row. And then I heard something. I looked down, and something’s just hit the ground. I streaked down there, and there’s this crazy creature – that’s you, Tim. He was covered in his blood, one arm was at a crazy angle; basically barely alive. I was so amped up from doing the rainbooms, I scooped him up and nearly did another getting him to the hospital.”

“Is she always this juiced?”

“You should see her in the sack,” Bucephalus murmurs.

“Don’t I know it! I was grounded for week after that from advanced magical exhaustion. I could barely get into my house so I could sleep -- it was horrible, but I pushed through.” She looks at Tim. “For months, you’ve been her favorite subject to talk about. First, when you were injured, then while she was teaching you in the hospital and then in Canterlot Castle.” She stops and looks at Tim, “You know how she feels about you?

Tim flushes deeply at her words. He nods. “She’s made it clear.”

Rainbow looks at Bucephalus for a long moment. “You know, her talking about you, how wonderful you were, how well you were doing, how frustrating it was that she couldn’t use magic to help you, your weird, incomprehensible languages and its crazy sounds, it made me think. She has shed many tears over how bad a time you went through when you first got to Equestria. She wanted to help you. I know you have your herd. And from what Twi has told me, they are great mares. But she really needs someone who makes her feel like you make her feel. You should talk to your lead mare.”

“Yup,” echoes her minotaur.

She points. “Check it; he’s blushing.” Her ears flick forward. “Wait a minute.” Her eyes flick toward Twilight, back to Tim, then back at Twilight. She gets an evil grin. “She was in heat a couple of weeks ago. I know Cadance was trying to help, and I know since she’s become an alicorn, heat has been waaaay more intense than as a unicorn. Did you help her?”

Tim's face positively glows as he shakes his head. He turns away a bit, only to hear her raucous laughter, along with a loud thunk. Getting him to turn back around, seeing the pegasus lying on the floor, her wings spread out, pounding a hoof so hard in laughter she can barely breathe. Bucephalus looks down at her, embarrassment plain on his face. After several moments, she stands up and composes herself. “You did, didn’t you? She finally got herself the one she’s been wanting for so long.” She moves up and uses her wings to gain height. “Good for you.”

Tim flinches. Bucephalus reaches down and gently picks Rainbow Dash up, cradling her. He says, “We have taken enough of your time; it was very nice to meet you.” He again offers his hand, which Tim gingerly shakes. Rainbow Dash smirks at him as the minotaur turns away.

Tim smiles as he turns away, glancing at the glass of champagne in his hand, taking a gulp. Rainbow Dash read him like a book, not that she was upset about it; actually, she’s rather happy that her friend had gotten some help during her heat. That pony, Fancy Pants, had been a wonderful ice breaker. Ponies now smile and nod to him as he passes. Being among the upper echelon of the nobility here in Canterlot, Fancy Pants was pretty much welcomed by everypony to talk to him, and by extension, Tim was talked to as well. Tim could tell enough facial expressions of the ponies that some of them were being completely fake with him. But most were genuine in wanting to get to know him. That almost gets a sigh from Tim, given the number of invitations to tea, or other social gatherings, he has a feeling he’s going to be even busier than he had before.

“Well, well, well, the only human here is finally not having his time occupied by the nobles of Canterlot.” Comes a voice. Tim turns around -- nopony seems to be talking to him. He furrows his brow, turning around again. Then he feels pressure around his legs. He looks down, seeing a red cloaked, sinuous form is picking him up. An arm slithers around his shoulders, bringing him higher off the ground. The form resolves into the one he had seen upon entering the Gala.

“Discord.”

“Ahh, yes, the ponies have told you about me. And Twilight certainly has told me a lot about you.”

Tim furrows his brow. “You’re her friend?”

Discord nods, a bright flash of light leaves Tim standing on the floor, Discord standing before him, bowing deeply. “The spirit of chaos, a pleasure to meet you.”

Tim looks on as Discord smiles, he takes in the robe and the bodysuit, along with the gold chain around the chaotic creature’s neck. “That looks familiar.”

That gets loud laughter from Discord. “Oh, I do have a flair for the dramatic, don’t I?” He flourishes the robe. “I exist in many dimensions, even in some you would be familiar with.”

“What?”

“I am chaos, I have many names in many worlds. Here, I am Discord.”

Tim shakes his head, “You know of different worlds?”

"You know do realize there are infinite realities out there, Morty. Every choice every person makes creates a new reality, In this one, I’m Discord.”

“I’ve heard of the theory.”

Discord snorts, “Theory. The multiverse is far more than theory, it is a fact. My little incident with Tree Hugger showed that different realities are easy to access. There’s one where I turned myself into a pickle. There's a reality where I took over the world."Discord snaps his fingers, and the entire world turns white, when it clears, he can see an Equestria under Discord’s control, with Discord chasing Celestia and Luna in circles."A reality where I’m a good guy."He again snaps his fingers, showing an image of Discord in a superhero costume."And even a universe where I shut up!"Snapping his fingers again, Tim sees a Discord wearing a red and black costume, except his mouth is sewn shut and his eyes are red. Making that image vanish quickly, Discord shakes his head, "But we don't like to talk about him...” He moves sinuously forward to where his forehead and Tim’s touch. “EVER."

“That’s really cool, but why?”

“Stop digging for hidden layers and just be impressed. What would you do if you had my powers?”

“I would really like to let my girlfriend know that I’m okay here.”

“You want to go home?”

Tim stops, playing with his fingertips, contemplating. “To lose Citrus and the rest would be worse than losing Karen. While things aren’t perfect here, she would think I’m dead. I want to let her know that I am okay, and that I miss her terribly. But I’ve made a life here, and I’m not willing to abandon it. My return would mean a new bucket of drama.”

Discord smiles. “Well, then I won’t be disappointing you. In those infinite realities, there is one where you chose to do something, and one where you chose something else. To find your exact reality, given the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, the chance of returning you to your exact reality would be impossible, From the moment you left, your reality ceased to exist, and an infinite number of branches were created.” He leans down, smiling. “There are some here you weren't on the plane. Some where you were, but in a different seat. Even some where a pony was in your seat. I COULD return you to a random universe that fits your quantum resonance frequency, but even then it wouldn't be… your reality without time travel to return you to the exact moment you left. And without some pony with an hourglass cutie mark and a pony box, it's impossible. And thus provided that you didn't actually die in the crash, and all of this is some purgatory where you have you come to terms with your death and stop a great spirit of chaos from escaping...”

Discord smiles evilly as he turns and walks away.

***

Citrus Blush sits at a table easily visible from the vacant royal dais. The princesses are scattered, mingling through the ballroom. Tim is looking rather tense. She offers him a smile. He smiles back.

“Citrus Blush.” That voice is unmistakable. The yellow mare turns and bows for Princess Celestia. The solar diarch steps close and pitches her voice low. “I just got back from the gardens, where I had the opportunity to meet a delightful young mare. By the name of North Point.”

Citrus's eyes widen. “So that’s where she went…” she says softly.

“Yes. And we had quite an interesting conversation about your herd's difficulties with two of my fellow princess.”

Citrus looks down. “yeah.”

“I know what Twilight did, and I know what Cadance did to foster it happening. But why don’t you tell me why you want to continue your challenge.”

Citrus gulps, “Princess, I don’t know what to say.”

“Just tell the truth, Citrus Blush.”

Citrus blinks for several long seconds, finally she sighs, “I understand why Tim did that with Princess Twilight. And I don’t…”

“Did what, my little pony?”

Citrus looks at Princess Celestia, aghast. “You know. They…did…” she searches her mind frantically for an appropriate word for this circumstance, talking to the solar Princess herself, unfortunately her search comes up empty. “It.”

“Oh, you mean they had sex.” Citrus blushes furiously under the scrutiny of white alicorn. She nods jerkily. Which gets a laugh from Princess Celestia, “Oh, you are sweet my young pony. Every generation seems to think that they invented sex, and the thought of their elders ever having or enjoying sex is an alien concept to them. I have been bedding since long before the three tribes even considered themselves the same species.”

Citrus ducks her head, quite certain that her face is on fire, though she hears Princess Celestia laugh again, “So, you don’t really blame Tim for what happened, and you really don’t blame Princess Twilight, so, you can see what Tim saw in her.”

Citrus looks up at Celestia, and nods slightly. “True, my Princess.”

“So, what is the point of the challenge?”

“Princess Cadance not only deceived Princess Twilight, but she put Twilight in a situation she was not equipped to handle. I know her intent was to get them together, but she knows just as much as anypony in Tim's herd that he is an alien, he doesn’t react as an Equestrian stallion would. If Twilight was being stubborn about simply not seeing Tim during her heat, and she wanted to force that, she should have come to me, or at least to Tim. And let us know what was going on, and what her desire was. That would have put the responsibility on us. But, no, she decided to usurp my role in our herd and make decisions for everypony without taking any courtesy about what Tim means to me, or Cayenne or North, or Silver Wing. She acted as a herd breaker, and she alone bears responsibility for what happened between Twilight and Tim.”

“I see, and how does a challenge, and a fight with steel between two stallions for your herd's honor help that situation.”

That gets a yellow hoof to slam into the table, getting her drink to jump. She watches the glass teeter for a moment then settle back down, she looks at Princess Celestia. “Because she has something to lose. To the death is nearly unheard of. But even to first blood, she has some of her pelt in the game, via her husband. She has refused to bend, refused to admit her culpability and offer any kind of meaningful restitution. When I went to her, she suggested; among other things, myself and my herd being branded.” She stops for a moment breathing heavily, “or even ordering us to not be upset at her actions.” She pants for several long moments. Finally, she looks up at Princess Celestia, her ears folding back, “I’m sorry, Princess. But her words, and her actions, demand retribution.”

“I see.” Princess Celestia stands up, “When you offer your challenge, I shall allow it to proceed.”

“Really, Princess? You’ll let it, even against a fellow princess?”

“Oh, you are right that we are typically above reproach and we prefer to settle things in private, but you’ll see. Just because something is not a crime does not make it good or just. This will be a first lesson for her. She has abused her power as a princess, and I see no reason why she should not pay the price. Be assured, my little pony, that Luna and I will see to her privately after your duel. Cadance is still very young; she has much to learn about the responsibilities of actually being a princes. We could all do with lessons in power and consequences. But, as I said, all of us, stallion and mare, deserve kindness, for justice without mercy is nothing but petty revenge." She walks away, glancing at Citrus from time to time as the yellow mare watches, her mouth slowly opening in realization. After a few minutes, she decides a little bit of mingling might be in order.

***

It is now three hours into the Grand Galloping Gala, and Tim is enjoying the party. He has a tiny buzz now, carefully nursing down the champagne instead of gulping it like water. As that admirable Fancy Pants said, to just make a slow circuit of the room, looking at those around you, and you will quickly see who wants to talk. He slowly walks through the crowd of ponies. He could point out three different knots of ponies that are talking that would like him to join them, and two that would rather he move on. He doesn’t really want to join another group at the moment, so he smiles and lifts his champagne glass slightly at the silent invitations, declining politely.

“So, you did pound the purple plot,” comes a familiar voice.

Tim groans, turning to see Galileah, the griffon with a smirk on her face. “What makes you say that?”

Leah flicks her wings back and forth. “I hear things, like the princess was in heat, and it was a bad one, and you went in and spent ten hours there.”

“The guards said they wouldn’t tell,” he murmurs, getting a guffaw from the griffon.

“No, you just told me! The guards are fanatically loyal, so is her pet baby dragon. You have no idea how many gems I spent on him to get absolutely bupkiss. What does he do with them? Eat them! What I had to do was pay a pony to watch the castle when her little dragon refused to let her see me. She put me off for months!” Leah stamps a claw on the marble flooring.

Tim rolls his eyes. “Sorry to hear that.”

“Are all humans as dense as you are?” At Tim’s narrowed eyes, she drops to the floor, a look of surprise on her face. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

“You! I. Like. You! Like... like like you!” She stops, her wings spread wide, blushing fit to ignite. She shakes her head softly, “I had to sneak into the Grand Galloping Gala so I could get some face time with Princess Sparkle, and I knew you would be here. When I asked her about you, she turned beet red and refused to answer my questions. And now I know you and her did bang.”

“Wait a moment, you had to sneak in?”

“Yeah, duh. My dad got a ticket, but he was taking some kusa all along. He said my ticket would show up eventually. When it never did, I just set an appointment in the castle this morning, then I hung around all day and waited.” She taps her beak with a claw. “Though the guards didn’t bother me at all... I think Princess Celestia is up to something.”

“Everyone is trying to mess with my future -- Twilight, Celestia, you…!” Tim huffs. Now he looks well at Galileah. She’s dressed up like everypony here -- a golden cape that flows along her flanks, golden fake feathers among her real feathers in her wings, along with what looks like a wreath encircling her head. “You went in dressed like you were coming to the Gala?”

The griffon blows a raspberry. “Oh come on, you can’t be that dense. I stashed my Gala outfit here a couple of days ago. All because my invitation got lost in the mail.”

“Listen, I’ve got to get back to my herd.”

“Herd? You’ve got a herd?” Leah is tapping her beak thoughtfully. “Let me guess, that pretty yellow mare that was with you when I met you?” She smiles as his eyes widen. “Okay, that’s her. Okay…” She floats up on her wings to eye level with him. “You neglect to tell me you’ve got a herd, yet you plowed the purple princess.” She glances up at the dais. “Was it sanctioned by your lead mare?”

At his flush, she smiles.“Reeaaaally? This just gets better and better! I know a little bit about pony herds. You’ve committed adultery in pretty much the only way a pony can. So, are you in the doghouse?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

That get shrill laugh from Leah, “Oh, you definitely are. But that’s not it. Your lead mare has to feel pretty embattled right now, nearly losing her stallion to the purple pony princess of friendship. At least she hasn’t taken a mallet to your mating parts like they would back home.” She stops, looking at him devilishly. “I think I’m gonna challenge her for you.”

“No, wait, Galil don’t!” Tim shouts as the griffon catapults into the air. She flaps her wings gently, hovering. She’s quickly out of shouting distance, but he runs to follow, shoving through the ponies as she hovers high in the room. Her head snaps as she focuses on something ahead of Tim. He glances forward as the griffon folds her wings and dives for the floor. He keeps up a constant string of apologies as he forces though the crowd.

He stops for a moment. There is no screaming nor shouting. The ponies seem to have made a clear circle, though with them several body lengths deep, he can’t really see it. He finally picks his way to the edge of the circle. Tim stops, looking on in shock. Citrus is nowhere to be seen, but the griffon is lying on her back, her wings bound around her sides with ribbons, and all four legs tied together with what looks like a ripped curtain. The ponies are laughing as they go back to what they were doing. Tim waves off the guards as they approach. He takes a few moments to untie the bounds on the griffon. Though muffled shouts quickly get him to focus on the knot tying her mouth shut.He gets her mouth free and starts again on working her claws free.

“Unicorns cheat!” Leah pouts.

“I told you not to,” Tim says as he finally gets her legs free.

She flips onto her legs and uses her beak to quickly free her wings. “Well, that strategy failed.” She glances towards the dais, and Tim stops, breaking into a sweat.

“Now?” He murmurs softly.

***

Citrus Blush storms towards the Princesses. That griffon trying to steal her stallion has pushed her mood off the deep end. Silver is sitting at a table with Cayenne and North. She storms up to him. “You ready, love?” She’s not asking. Some guards are corralling the princess.

Silver nods. “It’s now or never.”

Four princesses’ eyes are now fixed on the herd. She gulps softly but continues to walk. Finally, she’s in a clear area of the floor, standing before the princesses. She clears her throat, projecting her voice. “Princess Cadance, I have sent a formal demand, yet have not received a satisfactory answer.”

Cadance advances, wings extended. “You know I cannot do that.”

Citrus stomps a hoof. “I demand a public apology for the attempted poaching of my lead stallion by your junior bridlemaid, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Cadance ducks her head. Citrus’ ears catch what the other mare murmurs almost too softly to hear. “I’m sorry for what comes next.”

“I have tried to demand a simple private apology for you facilitating her actions. We both know she was in the depths of heat and was not fully able to consider the consequences of her action. You, however, by forcing the situation and not cancelling the planned appointment between her and him, are just as at fault as Princess Sparkle is. I demand justice for the actions you two princesses have perpetrated against my herd. So, I challenge you, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, to a duel.” Her horn lights, she ignores the added tension among the guards near the dais. Steely eyes and blade comes out. Her kerchief floats out and is tossed at the floor at Cadance's hooves.

Princess Cadance looks at the small piece of cloth for a long moment before stepping forward. “You and I both know it is improper for a princess to fight a duel.”

“As expected, you may choose your surrogate. I choose my stallion, Silver Wing, to fight for our herd’s honor.”

Cadance looks down, speaking as though the words are trying to hang back. “I choose my stallion, my husband, Shining Armor, to fight for our herd’s honor.”

“To first blood.”

Cadance allows a tear to fall. “To first blood.”

Celestia implores, “Beligerents, stand to.”

Silver Wing steps forward. “I stand ready.”

Shining Armor steps forward. “I stand ready.”

Both stallions look at Princess Celestia. The solar princess, for her part, stands with her sister, both of their wings spread wide. Celestia glances at her sister, then she fixes Princess Cadance in a glare for several long seconds before nodding.

Celestia says, “Since the path of mares’ peace has failed, the blood of stallions will wash away these sins.”

***

Silver Wing pulls off his top hat and sheds the jacket from his outfit. He then draws his sword. As he does so, he keeps an eye on Shining Armor, who is doing the same. He gets a look at the weapon. That is no ceremonial piece. From the distance between the two, Silver can tell the blade is razor sharp. He suppresses a shudder as Cayenne steps closer.

“I believe in you, Silver,” she says softly while nuzzling him. He glances over at North. Her expression says the exact same thing. He smiles as Tim

“I wish this wasn’t so,” the human growls.

“No worries, Tim. You need to watch and learn from what happens here. I do this for you, and for our mares.” He glances back at Shining, who is speaking softly with Cadance, nuzzling her. Her own makeup is wrecked, tears slowly dripping from her cheeks.

Silver offers a hoof to Tim, who bumps it gently. He turns to Citrus. “I will make you proud.”

Citrus sniffles. “You already have, I should have ended this mess much sooner. I’m sorry, Silver.”

Silver smiles. “I understand why you have been so upset, Citrus. Poaching a stallion, and then being told essentially you should get over it. That is wrong. I will make it right.”

“You know he's nearly undefeated with blades. Nopony has been able to touch him in years.”

“Nopony knows that more than I do, sweetheart. I am not hopeful.”

Citrus leaps toward him, hugging him tightly. She kisses his cheek, something normally reserved for the bedroom, definitely not the middle of the Grand Galloping Gala, then on the lips. “Just live through this, and I will ensure you are rewarded more than you would ever believe, love.”

“I will.” Silver turns away and approaches Shining, who is walking slowly towards him. Tradition says that the stallions have time to talk before fighting to negotiate the finer rules.

Shining looks at Silver. “I’m guessing you are going to say no magic.” At Silver's nod, he adds, “I therefore say no flight.”

That gets Silver’s eyebrows to rise. Often when a pegasus is an opponent to a terrestrial tribe, they will say no wings at all. Some would even insist the wings be bound. Shining had merely said no flight. He nods slowly, though the smirk on the white unicorn stallion settles like a lead weight in Silver’s belly.

The stallions hoof bump quickly, both able to genuinely smile at each other. Princess Celestia steps up, “The matter of Herd Blush against Herd Cadenza is to be decided this night. For the alleged manipulation of a fellow Princess and the attempted poaching of an established herds lead stallion, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has nominated the lead stallion of her herd, Shining Armor. And he shall be crossing blades with Herd Blush's junior stallion Silver Wing. The duel will be to first blood. No magic, no flight.” She looks at Silver. “Petitioners ready?”

Silver nods, rearing up and flourishing his blade.

“Defense ready?”

Shining nods as he twirls his sword. He holds his blade almost casually, offering an apologetic smile to Silver.

Princess Celestia waits a long moment, the tension in the room increasing by the second. She shouts in full Royal Canterlot Voice, “Belligerents, FIGHT!”

The battle begins.

Silver holds his rapier low diagonal across his front, tip down. He’s waiting, baiting. He knows he has a sparrow's chance in a gale. But still he stands. Shining Armor advances, his crescent sabre held high above behind his head, poised like a coiled cobra to strike. He feints; Silver doesn’t react. The larger stallion strikes down, a diagonal slice at Silver's head from right to left! Silver dodges his head back, but keeps his sword down. Again, Shining swings, this time flat in the other way.

TING!

Silver flicks his ankle, twisting his length of steel upwards. The blades clash, stopping Shining's blade with the ricasso of his squire rapier. In a flash, he pulls back, twirling the rapier around with his knee, going for the hacking cut. But Shining is quick, and ripostes upwards with his crescent sabre, closing the distance, forcing Silver to retreat and pull back his sword to stay out of range.

Silver holds back, now poising his blade parallel to the ground. He gives a quick thrust, a mere jab of the foreleg, almost too fast for the eye to track. Shining Armor parries with the part of the blade close to the guard, shoving the deadly point past his face. Silver withdraws to harry him again. He thrusts thrice more, but Shining deflects each strike, happy smile on his face. He does not close the distance, not yet, not until his enemy had made himself vulnerable. They strafe and circle each other. Silver can see the faces of those watching the fight silently. Tim looks like he is going to piss himself. North Point looks frankly annoyed. Cayenne and Citrus offer him mile wide grins, the former blowing him a kiss and a wink. He can’t spare enough concentration to let himself go five-legged, not yet -- he has to survive this first. He had to avenge their honor from the herdwreckers. And speaking of them, Twilight looks fearful, her wings are wide yet her ears are flat back. She winces as he gives point, stopping inches short of Shining's leg. Cadance, a more experienced princess, has that practiced mask of stony serenity, but it was too stony, too serene, for her to be truly calm. And it doesn’t help that her makeup is thoroughly ruined at the moment.

Seconds pass. Shining Armor waits. He is familiar with the rapier -- he knows how to use it and how to defeat it. He goes over the basics again in his head. Rapier, one hooved thrusting sword, slightly heavier than most other onehoovers. Limited cutting power. Excellent hoof protection. Standard blade lengths in the high forties of inches. They are a truly difficult weapon to counter unarmored in a duel. The length provides excellent leverage in a bind, but also plenty of real estate to strike the extremity with a well-placed parry. His opponent is a skilled fencer, not telegraphing much or holding his blade out to engage. However, at the very start, he'd mentally measured the rapier's reach against the floor tiles, coming in at a blade just about three and something tiles long, so provided he stay just shy of four tiles away, his opponent would think he was putting up a really good defense without realizing he was too far to hit properly. His own weapon, the crescent sabre, was far shorter, but lighter, a one-handed straight sword without thrust, but a terrifying cutting ability. Far better for battle than duels, but that is what he has. He'd won sparring sessions like this before. His advantages were a nimble sword that could operate in close, and every cut he launches also doubles as a guard, unlike the everything or nothing nature of thrusting. From here, he is content to wait for his opponent's folly to overtake him, let him overextend, and then punish. Avoid the bind, do not trade blows, let him make the first mistake. He uses the crook of his blade to pull aside a thrust, feigning a dodge of his head to encourage aggression.

Silver smirks. His plan is somehow working. His opponent has to close someday, or one of his hits would eventually land. He moves to a forward guard, holding the blade almost vertical up in front of his face. Shining swings from low, just as expected. A downward cut from Silver stops it cold. Shiny moves his blade up. Shit! Before he could do anything, the unicorn has grabbed him by the ricasso, closing in for the kill! Silver, reacting, leans up to put slack into his sword limb, then he twists and pulls, yanking free and blocking the sabre inches from his nose. Then he leverages up, taking advantage of his opponent being unstable on two legs to close for a pommel strike to end him rightly. But Shining, an experienced fencer, hugs Silver's body close, avoiding the strike and grappling him over the shoulder, into the ground.

The crowd is shushed instantly, expecting blood.

Silver isn't done yet. Before the unicorn can do anything, Silver bucks up with his rear legs, catching Shining by surprise, sending him flying, sliding sprawled across the cold tile with a thud and a clatter.

Twilight gasps. Tim winces. Silver advances, using his wings to bolt forward like a pouncing tiger.

But Shining isn’t captain for weakness! He stands up, feeling a jolt of pain in his ribs. Fuck. When this is over, Cadance is going to kill him for getting his rib so carelessly broken like that. He shifts a bit, noting the jabbing pain, one, possibly two ribs are certainly broken. Nothing loose and he is feeling fine, otherwise -- just a bit of pain never killed anypony. Like a rising gazelle, he springs back up, flashing a defiant smile. He sticks his blade out, hanging it point down to resemble the fang of some voracious predator.

Silver strikes. He parries, then twists the blade around with his ankle to riposte against the counter blow of his opponent. Silver blocks with a sweeping motion and presses forwards, having lured Shining into a bind, counting on the superior flexibility and coverage of his long handled swept hilt vs the tight three bar hilt of his opponent's weapon. Shining delays, letting the long rapier's foible tip meet his base long before using the extremely tight grasp enabled by his confining grip and disk pommel to flick the rapier's whippy blade away, and then lunging to close.

But it was not to be. Having held in reserve for this very thing, Silver drew his blade back, point down, letting the sabre's great drawing cut flounder on his crossguard. Knowing he was in range, he retreated to get out of danger to where he could control the fight with quick thrusts again, having not forgotten the plan, his one forlorn hope of beating this legend in the flesh. These few exchanges had taught him this fight needed to end and soon -- even with all his advantages of reach and leverage, he couldn't crack the captain's guard for anything.

Shining feels that thrilling dread of waltzing with death. He sets up a foxtrot pattern -- one, two, side together, but guard, counter, reposition. He dances the dance of death, his old familiar friend from a hundred fights and a dozen battles. He knows that opponent well, holding no more terror for the experienced stallion. He plays with his sword freely, fully at peace with the chance that this last dance could turn to an elopement, and so he swings freely, rocking with his hips to the tempo of battle.

Though Shining is thankful for his modern sword -- highly curved, so good for unconventional angles and sliding out of binds, three bar hilt which had already saved his hoof more than once, and a big disk pommel to let his strongest muscles do the talking, it limits his options, but he owes a debt of gratitude for the tight grip's parrying power.

Silver's resolve is floundering by the second. He puts a brave face on it, but he knows a conventional fight with more modern swords like these plays right into the Captain's strengths. Though his opponent's grip limits him to circular motions and drawing strokes, those strokes have power and those circles plus the great crook of his blade make it treacherous to engage. He stands back, watching reactions. Nopony moves a muscle. The initial cheering from the assembled has died fairly quickly, morphing into tacit concern. He can't help but flush with pride -- here he is, being the stallion his herd needs, fighting for them on the grandest stage against a great foe. Just that alone more than satisfies honor. The diarchs look at them with approval and a nod to days gone by. But he doesn't just want satisfaction anymore, he wants victory. Any stroke now, he'll have it! If only, if only...

The pegasus tiptoes into range. Silver slashes again, a great stroke from behind his head, deliberately utilizing less length than he can. Shiny takes the bait, drawing up and into a diagonal guard. With the clash of their swords, he feels the rapier hit too light. Too late, he sees it flick around his guard, descending around his wrist! He punches into it, using his guard's bow to deflect.

But Silver isn't done yet. He hurls a series of rapid thrusts at Shining, targeting the stallion from head to toe. For all his skill, Shining can barely keep up -- every deflection he makes only serves to give Silver a new angle to strike from. He needs an opening, and fast!

The pegasus and the unicorn clash, midpoint to midpoint. They are in the bind! Silver leers. Shining blanches. Shining tried to use his other hoof on the blunt back of his blade as Silver exploits his vastly superior leverage. They lock eyes. Everything is on a razor's edge.

Silver tries to pull his sword back to lengthen his lever, but in his eagerness, he makes a fatal error, forgetting that sabres are balanced towards the tip and rapiers towards the hilt.

Crenk! Shining Armor circles on his knee, lowering his sword just a little bit, allowing his opponent to crash first into his strong and then down into his back quillon.

Silver tries to pull back, realizing only too late the terrible truth!

He is trapped.

Giving point, Shining Armor thrusts forward with a push cut, right at Silver Wing's face! The blade goes in with no effort, the nasty steel slicing through fur, skin, and lip, smashing out teeth.

Silver's eyes widen. He’s going to die! Shining has killed him! That thing he barely feels is a sword cleaving through his jaw! There is no pain; he finds himself locked still. Before he even has time to start falling, in that split second, so fast even he can’t believe it in his slowed perception, Shining pulls his sword back to give a classic slash that nips his ear, and then, inside his guard, brings down his hilt’s knucklebow to strike the shoulder blade with all his might. CRUNCH! That really hurts immediately, sending Silver to the floor.

Silver falls just as Shining withdraws with a flourish and turns to bow to the princesses.

Silver's eyes flick towards his herd on the way down. Tim is white. The girls are rearing with shared terror.

Silver hits the ground on his left side, dropping his sword, his hoof rushing up to his wound. He touches it. It doesn’t feel so bad. Then, he tries to say something. Hot and salty with chunks hits his tongue. Then pain. That hurt, that really HURT! He coughs -- to his horror, teeth fall to the floor. He reaches for them with his right hoof, and he feels like his face was stretched apart as his jaw splits open, baring a wicked gash for all to see, blood flowing freely as the true pain, a deep, dull, almost indescribable pain set in.

Time stretches towards eternity as Silver lies there. Somewhere in the far distance he can hear Princess Celestia make her declaration. "In the matter between Herd Cadenza and Herd Blush, I declare honor satisfied. Shining Armor, champion for Herd Cadenza, is the victor. Silver Wing, champion of Herd Blush, has fought bravely and with great skill. Let no pony besmirch his valor or the honor of his herd. The outcome is mutual satisfaction."

He narrows his eyes, taking a few moments to comprehend the words. He'd done it! He'd done it! He'd stood and fought! Through the pain comes a blush of pride and his wings pomf out a bit. Just like the fabled Gale Bluster, he had faced his very own Goldam the Grave and given his utmost. His pride as a pegasus has never been greater than at that very moment. He levers himself to standing, supporting himself with his wings. He turns, wincing, fully aware he must look a mess, his blood flowing onto the floor, yet he bows honorably to the princesses. He stands despite the enormous pain in his shoulder. He can barely make it bend to bow. Then he turns to Shining Armor, hobbles up to him, and offers a hoof to shake.

"Well fought, Captain." He tries to say. The words are garbled, but he’s pretty sure that the intent has come through.

"Well fought, Stallion."

“Tim wanted to fight you.”

“Did you tell him he’s crazy?”

“Yeah.”

“Did I tell you you’re crazy?”

“No.”

“Well you are fucking crazy for fighting me, dude, but good job, you really did almost get me.”

“Next time, Shining.”

“I hope there isn’t.”

“Me too.”

“Sorry I got you thrice – kinda hard to resist training habits under stress in less than a quarter second.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve fought enough to know it; if I’d gotten you, I’d’ve done it too – muscle memory...”

The shake ends with blood streaking Shining's white fur. Before anything else happens, Cadance is upon them. "Silver, are you okay? Did my husband hurt anything vital? Please, let me tend to your wounds." She is frantic.

"I'm okay, Princess Cadance.” He stops for a moment -- that did not sound like what he thought he was saying. He tries to laugh through a gurgle of blood. She winces.

"Really? It's a wonder he didn't kill you. He half cut your ear off and your jaw, too, plus what he did to your shoulder!"

“Just the tip! The rest’ll be easily healed,” Shining interjects.

She glares back at her husband. “Do be serious, dear!”

Silver chuckles at this, trying to talk minimally as the pain seems to find a way to magnify in his head. “A legend,” Silver gurgles, “and here you are fussing over him. He really is your own colt. You love him so much you worry even though there was no real danger he’d get hurt and lose.”

She looked at him quizzically. "You knew and yet you fought anyway?"

He nods, it’s hard to talk -- he realizes that the finishing blow has also carved off a sliver of his tongue, making Eponese's usual clicks and trills nearly impossible to produce.

"Why?" Cadance asks, magicking away the blood by lifting it away and boiling it into nothing.

"My herd. Wouldn’t you?”

She nods, her eyes looking into his deeply. She helps as renewed streams of blood start dripping down his face. Her horn lights and she focuses on the injuries. His tongue is quickly scabbed and teeth regrown He stallion endured the pain and chills of such healing stoically. As she starts on the skin and muscle of his cheek, he leans forward and puts a hoof on her chest. Her magic fades.

“Stop right there, please. The scar from this will be beautiful.”

Her eyes widen as her horn relights. “Got it, leave the surface damage, just make sure you don’t actually suffer from this. She works and the flesh is encased in magic. After a few moments, she leans back, panting slightly at the heavy use of magic. “There, it’s going to be tender for a few weeks, but the function will not be impaired.” She hoofs him in the shoulder gently. “This is good to go, just no running, jumping, or heavy lifting for a while, but be sure to exercise it – no long term damage to ligaments or cartilage. You’ll have an amazing scar from this. Let me know if you want surgery for your ear; I’m sorry I can’t put that tip back on myself, but any micromagisurgeon could do it in her sleep, and I’ll cover it.”

“Thank you.” He smiles then winces as tender flesh moves.

“Silver, is your herd really worth dying for?”

He doesn’t hesitate. "I was afraid I was going to die. I'm not mad at Tim or Shining; definitely at you and Twilight. I didn't want to fight this duel, but there was never any doubt in my mind that I would do anything for them, no matter my fear, no matter how much it might hurt, because we're a herd. We're all in this together, through the good times and the bad times. You don't just quit a herd the moment someone pisses you off or wrongs you. You stick through the storms knowing in the end, the sun will shine through the clouds again. Things can suck, but you'll live. If petty fear, anger, resentment or jealousy are going to dictate your every action, why bother living? Why bother loving? That is what our herding instincts mean to me."

Cadance stops, lost in thought, her eyes looking unfocused into the distance in Shining's direction, her lips moving without making a sound. Then she smiles and takes a deep breath. "Thank you, Silver, I'll remember that."

Silver laughs, "Don't mention it, princess. And also after this, I'm getting LAID!" He struts in place. Cadance chuckles before resuming a serious face, scowling, hissing at him to stay still. She ooh's as she inspects her work on healing him, smiling softly as she finally lets her horn quiet. “Why you want a glorious scar is beyond me, you are pretty good looking without it.” She stops, glancing at her husband and blushing.

"Chicks dig scars! My lovelies'll feel super secure knowing every time they look at me they're protected by one tough dude, princess."

Cadance facehoofs. "It's bad enough Shining's going to have a cracked rib from your buck, but he's going to try playing tough pony, too," the pink princess groans.

"What can I say, princess? We stallions are stallions. And don’t forget this is a pegasus thing."

Cadance shakes her head. "I forgot, and to think a born pegasus like myself… speaking of stallions and herds, here comes yours.” Citrus and the rest of his mares have been allowed to approach after Celestia has allowed Cadance her time to heal him.

"Yes, princess."

"Good." She caresses his mane once. Then she stands and turns. "Citrus Blush, I have honored the custom of tending to the defeated after a duel. I release him into your care. I have healed the structural damage, and repaired teeth, save the tip of his ear. He has lost a little blood, and you’ll be happy to hear that no arteries or tendons were severed; he'll live for sure, though without skilled healing, he will bear scarring for the rest of his days."

"Thank you, Princess. I pray all debts are settled in full."

"Indeed they are, Citrus Blush. And if there is anything else I or my herd can do to help, we shall assist you with our utmost. We are all, I am very sorry for what I took part in. I was wrong and owe you so much more than this apology. Sorry for getting you cucked and escalating things to this level and nearly getting your other stallion killed."

"Thank you, Princess Cadance," replies Citrus with a formal smile. "This will not be our final call upon you."

"I wouldn't dare dream so. I trust your stallion, Silver Wing, will be taken care of?"

"Yes indeed, princess," Citrus almost laughs, seeing Cayenne and North rubbing heavily all over his body, kissing at his neck, watching him blush scarlet as he pomfs his wings with his organ deploying lower down. "The best care."

“Sadly, this matter is not complete as of yet,” comes the regal voice of Princess Celestia trailed by Princess Luna. Cadance flinches as Princess Celestia continues, “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, you are now being called to account for your actions.”

Princess Luna says, “Normally a duel ends in victor’s justice, but due to the circumstances surrounding this one, right to reparative justice shall be granted to the defeated, as while their suit against you was settled, you have disgraced your office and must make amends.”

Princess Cadance walks slowly to the dais. Then she stands before the assembled ponies, her wings spread regally.

Celestia pronounces, “Citrus Blush, your herd has fought valiantly for your honor. And honor is satisfied. Normally by her champion winning, the matter would be settled by the fight. This, however, includes two princesses. Luna and I have consulted. Princess Cadenza stands before you, the evidence of her actions are clear. And you have the capability to pronounce sentence.”

“Sentence, my Princess?” Citrus asks softly.

Celestia nods. “What you decide will be how it is. We must hold the princesses to the highest of standards. So, by challenging and following through with the challenge. You have earned that right.”

“Okay, princess, as you command.” Citrus stands tall, though her eyes move rapidly between Silver and Tim. She turns her head, seeing Princess Twilight, who is sitting off to the side, her wings holding herself as tears drop from her eyes. Citrus sighs, “Princess Celestia, we have had enough hard feelings and pain through this affair. Thanks to your words, I realize that justice must be tempered with mercy. We will be able to forgive Princess Twilight for her actions completely in the fullness of time. Our lead stallion has been able to regain my trust. Our lives are not back to normal, but we are on the path to healing. As well, Silver has upheld our honor among those gathered and throughout Equestria. Princess Cadance needs no more punishment.”

Princess Celestia's eyebrows rise alongside the ghost of a meaningful smile, “You grant her mercy?”

“Not quite, my Princess.”

“Then what do you wish? By old tradition, you could order her exile to the fringes of Equestria and the stripping of her alicorn status, royal titles, and lands.”

“I wish that she had never started all this. I wish to see her help us fix this.”

Celestia looks pleased. “Very well, though I find it to be insufficient. I shall honor that for her indiscretions against you. Let it be written for instigating the cucking of Herd Blush that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, by the most merciful request of the plaintiff, is to aid in the repairing of the herd. Let it be marked that this is an assignment, not a punishment. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, in lieu of punishment, I give you an assignment. I command that you shall be required to use your knowledge and abilities as the Princess of Love to make herd Blush whole. Help with the teaching of Tim in the ways of life in Equestria along with Princess Twilight Sparkle. What you damaged, you must heal. And now, as for her gross conduct unbecoming of a princess, so I shall pronounce her punishment. Let it be recorded that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Equestria is to have her title struck. She is from this moment forth, until restored by unanimous consensus of princess, to be known as Duchess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Equestrian Crystal Empire. Her access to the Royal Treasury is to be cut off except by strict allowance, her holdings in the Aeolian Sky Islands are forfeit for auction, and all proceeds from their sale will go to Herd Blush. She shall be able to purchase them back with the consent of their new ownership after a twenty-five year moratorium. And finally, she shall be barred from the Canterlot Day and Night Courts save by special invitation until her princesshood is restored. As a mercy, these punishments will not impact her family, Prince Captain Shining Armor and Princess Flurry Heart. They shall retain all titles, ranks, and privileges.” Celestia stands tall.

Twilight interrupts. “What about me, Princess Celestia? This is all my fault.”

Luna answers her. “Thanks to what the duchess has told us, while you are not blameless, your reparative actions in the wake of your indiscretion, as well as your great youth and inexperience, the forgiveness of Herd Blush, and how you were manipulated while vulnerable, has given us more than enough reason to stay our hoof.”

“Bu- but, Princess Luna, I really did do something very wrong. I disgraced my office as princess, and if Cadance has to suffer consequences, then I should, too.”

“Very well, Twilight Sparkle, if you insi-“

Tim interrupts. Dead quiet. All eyes on him. “Twilight, we’ve forgiven you!” He turns to the great, dark alicorn. “Princess Luna, I, Tim of Herd Blush, Ambassador of Earth, request that you grant her clemency. She has expressed great remorse, and I believe that she will make amends on her own of her own volition.”

Luna and Celestia confer for a minute together in whispers. Finally, Celestia says, “Upon your request, Tim of Earth, we have decided that Princess Twilight Sparkle is to face no official judicial punishment, with a proviso, that proviso being she work with your herd and Duchess Cadance to help you and your herd, and let her be warned that this is her second chance. Any further severe indiscretions will be punished to the fullest extent of law and tradition.”

“Thank you,” he says as he bows.

Celestia continues, “Princess Twilight Sparkle, do you accept our judgements?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Duchess Mi Amore Cadenza, do you accept our judgements?”

Duchess Cadance looks over at Citrus, then at Tim. The she looks back to Celestia. “Yes, I do, and they’re less than I deserve,” she says with a deep bow.

“Come with me,” Princess Celestia says, and the younger alicorn walks with the older over to Luna.

“Tis not yet over; we shall discuss what remains this matter privately,” warns Luna. Thus, they exit. Tim swears he hears something like, “We have rule over these ponies because they trust us because we govern well, not because God gave us thrones.”

Tim looks on, completely stunned. “They really threw the book at her, didn’t they?”

“Nah,” replies Silver, “nopony got banished to the moon for a thousand years. This is more of a wound to her pride than anything given the alicorn lifespan, plus an embarrassing confession to have to make for however long it lasts. But for a mere mortal, yeah, it’d be throwing the book at them.” Silver turns to him, a lopsided smile on his face.

Citrus brushes against Tim. “That was a brave thing you did, standing up for Twilight to Princess Luna like that.”

Tim blushes, “I wasn’t trying to be brave, Citrus.”

“Like hell you weren’t, love,” she laughs, kissing his jaw thrice.

"C’mon, we're going home, Cock Blockington."

"What, why? Silver, you have to still be in pain,” Tim objects vociferously.

The pegasus rears up to lay a bloody wing on his shoulder. "Tim, buddy, I just took a sword to the face and it’s all good now – they’ll be making amends and nopony’ll dare make a move or say a slight against us for quite a while. So what we're going to do is go home, and I'm going to rut our lovelies until we all pass out. Cadance got me patched pretty good for the moment. Now, are you going to stand there flapping your jaw, or are you gonna shut the fuck up and enjoy our first big night as a family in months? I love you, man, but I’m not watching you sputter and make astonished fish faces all night.”

As if on cue, the three mares circle Tim, grinning. Citrus whispers in his ear, "Come on, my stallion, chief needs some lovin."

"Fuck me too," said Cayenne.

"You could take me right now and I wouldn't care that they can all see us," moans North, then she looks around and blushes deeply.

Citrus plants huge kiss on his lips. Suddenly, he finds himself kissing her back harder than he'd ever kissed her before, drinking in her touch with his skin. "Attaboy."

"Lead the way," he replies with a grin, smacking her sashaying flank.
> Chapter 23.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The full moon is bright in the sky above Canterlot. It and the multitude of stars in the sky make a splendid display for those in the crown city of Equestria. Among those ponies is one specific herd making its way home. The human ambles with his herd. He’s quite a bit taller than them, but quite often, one gestures for him to get down to their level, quite a few passionate kisses are exchanged, a violation of typical moral codes in Equestria. But they really don’t care about what some old mares would say on watching them. They have gone through the fire, they have gone through Tartarus, and come back relatively unscathed. Every so often the pegasus stallion of the herd hisses in pain as he breaks away from a kiss and then dives back in.

“Ya know,” Tim slurs, “We really should get upstairs.” He staggers a bit as a punch to the hip from Silver connects. All of them had partaken of quite a bit of celebratory champagne before leaving the Gala. “I know it’s improper, all this.”

Cayenne pulls away from a deep kiss with Silver Wing, stumbling a bit. “I don’t care what other ponies think. Our honor is repaired, that witch of an alicorn has been put in her place, and I can have my stallions in bed in me. That is what matters.”

They make their way slowly into their apartment building, nearly tripping over each other in their desire to keep in physical contact. Luckily, the elevator is on ground level, and all three mares, a pegasus stallion, and a human all tumble into the elevator. They all laugh as Citrus narrows her eyes in concentration, her horn lights and the tenth floor button is pressed. She leans back and gathers North Point up, kissing the mare hungrily in the privacy of the elevator. Tim sits down and Cayenne crawls into his lap. She rears up to put her hooves on the wall right behind him. She looks at him lovingly, “I’m so glad to have you back.” She leans forward and kisses him, opening her mouth to accept his tongue entering. He holds her head with both hands as their tongues intertwine and they both are lost in the feelings for a timeless eternity. Though a loud ding brings them out of their distraction. Silver leads the way down the hall toward their front door. As Tim is the last in, he heels the door closed and looks down, two gala dresses are on the floor, along with Silver’s top hat and jacket. 

Tim grins as he sheds his own jacket, pulling off his shirt as he makes it to the stairs, where Cayenne’s princess dress has found a new residence, along with Silver’s shirt and his sheathed squire rapier. Tim’s pants and boxers are left at the door as he stops for a moment. Silver is up on the bed. North Point is doing her best to swallow his entire cock, the loud slurping sounds have him starting to stir down south. Though warm wetness closes around his own penis. He looks down, seeing Cayenne is sucking him to the hilt, rolling her tongue around and humming softly as he starts to really get hard. He reaches down and runs a finger along her horn, getting her to stop for a moment and squeeze her eyes tightly closed. She sucks hard as she shudders, getting a strong twitch from him. She keeps that up, and he’ll explode soon. He thinks for a moment, though the thoughts move slowly due to the champagne, but he continues playing with her horn, running his fingers through the magic flowing along the surface. Slowly at first, he starts to hump forward as her lips meet his pubic bone, his passion rises quickly and soon he’s fucking her mouth like there’s no tomorrow. “Cayenne, I’m gonna.” 

She lets him go with a pop, watching his cock twitch for several seconds. She plants a small kiss on the tip, she looks up at him. “You need to service your lead mare. Don’t hold back, don’t worry about anything else.” She rears up and looks at him seriously. “Fuck her like there is nopony else in the world.” He turns and looks at Citrus, who is kissing Silver deeply while North has changed tactics. She’s running her tongue up and down Silver’s cock, swirling her long tongue around the tip then moving back down. Silver, for his part, has his eyes closed, a look of absolute bliss on his face. He looks back at Citrus; her tail is flagging, and she winks every few seconds. Her arousal is nearly overpowering. He looks down, his dick is already wet from Cayenne’s mouth. He’s been missing mounting Citrus for the last couple of months. North is great, and great in bed, but the one he misses most is presenting herself to him. He thinks that where she is standing is no accident, her hooves are right on the edge of the bed, her marehood is at the perfect height for him to enter her while standing. The magic running along her own horn shows how aroused she is. Tim moves up and places the tip of his cock right at her entrance. She winks long and hard as she feels him tease her. He places his hands on her hips, and with a grunt, he’s fully in her. She yelps in pleasure, though she doesn’t stop kissing Silver. The stallion cracks one eye open, then North changes tactics on him down below and his eyes roll back in pleasure.

Tim starts to move, he’s missed her. Not exactly infrequent sex with North has kept him from being pent up, but having all of his mares dripping at the moment drives him wild. He can smell the copulance. He starts to move a little faster, bringing her back into him as he slams himself forward into her. The feel of her, the moans she starts to make around Silver’s mouth, everything just slams into him. They are back, everything is going to be okay. He accelerates his pace, he wants to cum in her, he wants to claim her back. Cayenne comes up, nuzzling Citrus’ ear gently. She takes over for kissing Silver, pressing him down on his back as Citrus starts moaning loudly. 

After a few minutes of taking him like that, she pulls away. She rolls onto her back, reaching out with her magic and her hooves, bringing him closer, “I want to kiss you, love.” He crawls up on the bed and enters her again, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her cheek, her lips. She latches onto his tongue, sucking tightly as he starts pistoning into her again. Every time his hips meet hers, he can feel her wink against him, getting a happy yelp from her with every thrust. She pulls her head away, her horn brightening, starting to shower unfocused magic everywhere. She snakes her forehooves around his chest, burying her face in his neck. “Oh, take me, please, Tim. I’ve needed this.”

He nods, unable to speak very well at the moment. She peaks, her cries echoing around the room as her magic bounces everywhere, leaving warmth wherever the balls of light land. Her winking marehood pushes him over the edge. He hilts in her, his cock twitching as he pumps his seed into her as she cries out in pleasure. 

With a final push, he’s spent. He holds there for a moment, not wanting to lose the feeling of being inside her. He levers himself up onto his arms, and reaches his head down, kissing her deeply, lovingly. Just enjoying the feeling of being inside her. She relishes the kiss for long moments, their tongues playing with each other. Finally, she pulls away. “My love, my lead stallion. Your herd is happy to have you back,” she pants, “but somepony else needs a suitable reward for leading the charge for helping to make our herd whole once again. She reaches up and bites Tim’s ear gently. “You rest for a bit, love. I need to make things right with the entire herd.” He rolls off of her, allowing her to flip onto her hooves. Her magic brings a pillow over for his head, she kisses him again, her tongue lingering on his for long moments, “I’m glad you can get it up again. I’m going to be wanting more of that soon.” She whispers into his ear before turning around. “Silver Wing.”
The stallion’s ears rotate towards her. He cracks an eye open while she moves over and kisses him thoroughly. He’s painfully five-legged. She pulls away from his mouth and plants another loving kiss on his extended member. Again, his eyes roll back in pleasure as she uses her tongue and runs it up and down his length. After several long moments, Tim smiling as he gets a good view of her winking marehood, she moves away. Turning herself around, she presents herself to him, “Silver was an amazing junior stallion for our herd. And for everything he’s done, he has earned the right.”

Tim glances at Silver, who is now being treated to the same view he had just moments before. A hunger appears in the stallion’s eyes. Silver moves over and stands up, nearly prancing over to Citrus. North Point and Cayenne have found comfortable places to lie down and watch. Silver nearly sticks his snout in her marehood, getting a shudder from Citrus. He pulls away quickly, his wings pomfing up strongly. He stops for a moment, “Most of the time it is quite a long wait for the junior stallion to mount the lead mare.”

Citrus turns her head towards him with a big smile. “Silver. You’ve gone well above and beyond the call of duty for a new junior stallion. The events we’ve had to deal with were well outside the norm for a herd, but you have soared, never complaining to us. And you were able to help Tim regain my trust once again. You are a full member of this herd, and I should have seen that much sooner than this. And you have waited most patiently. I know it's not the customary six months, but it's been hard for you most of the time, and you just took a sword to the face for us, so how about we call it even? Please, take my humble body, join your senior stallion in knowing the love that a lead mare can offer.”

Silver looks at Tim. “Buddy, you are the only one who can veto this. I won’t if it will upset you. I know what you’ve told me of your culture. I don’t have a problem with not mounting Citrus. I am happy where I am, now that we are free to share the love.”

Tim looks at Silver for a long moment, thinking furiously. He can see that the stallion is at full mast. Citrus is looking at him, her face carefully neutral as she watches him mull things over. Part of him wants to grab Citrus and say nopony but him. Sharing the other two hasn’t been bad. It’s actually been great. But the thought of the one mare that brought him in, the one that freed him from the castle… He looks into her cerise eyes. While her face is neutral, wanting him to be honest with his feelings. Her eyes, he can see she’s silently begging him to say yes. He finally smiles. “I want some conditions.”

Her eyes widen and her eyebrows rise. Silver snorts, “Okay, what kind of conditions?”

“First, only with me present.” He says firmly.

Silver chuckles softly, “I can deal with that.”

His eyes flick to Citrus once again, then back to Silver, “Two, I get to have her first.”

Silver tilts his head to the side. “Okay, only with you there, and only with your seed in her. I can live with that.” He snouts under her tail again. “It looks like those conditions are met.”

Tim smiles. “Yes, they are.”

Citrus smiles at Tim as Silver rears up and mounts her. She grimaces a couple of times as his questing member jabs her in sensitive spots. Tim almost moves to help the poor stallion find his spot when Silver grunts and jabs forward. Citrus’s eyes cross as he quickly hilts inside her. The stallion starts to pump, slowly at first, just enjoying the feeling of entering her; soon he’s pounding away like there’s no tomorrow. His wings are still extended as his forehooves grab her tightly. He reaches his head forward, getting his teeth on the base of her mane. He pulls on the mane, hard, getting a lustful scream from Citrus as they rut. Tim feels something around his cock, getting him to look down. Cayenne has brought him into her mouth once again, rolling her tongue around his manhood gets it to stir quickly. Tim reaches down and grabs her rear, bringing it closer, but he’s got a problem -- she’s too short for them to do a true sixty-nine. He runs his hands along her dripping slit, and when she winks in response, he plays with her clit, getting her to gasp a bit as she continues working to get him hard again.

“Here, let me help,” North says. Her magic chimes and she pulls Cayenne’s plot away from his fingers and closer to her mouth. Loud slurps announce her starting to pleasure Cayenne. Then she rolls onto her back in front of him, presenting her own winking marehood. He dives right in, enjoying her flavor. Neither mare has been serviced by a stallion yet. Tim runs his tongue along her lips, enjoying her shuddering as he continues to tease her as she goes to town on Cayenne, the pink mare is having trouble keeping coordinated, which gets a smile from him as he uses both hands to bring North closer. 

Moans and grunts get his attention and he looks up at Silver and Citrus. His face is red, and he looks like he’s about to pop, though he’s got a goofy grin on his face. Tim dives back into North, keeping an ear listening to the stallion grunt and moan. Silver’s already lasted double his usual time. Judging by the look on his face, he’s as close to heaven as he’ll ever be. The room lights up as Citrus starts to scream in another orgasm.

“Citrus…”

“Silver, don’t stop! K’tro finish su!” Citrus gasps back.

“T’ap’ su syub” tapro, otoko hyi!” Tim understood the meaning, but why they failed to translate. As if her words trip a switch, he hilts in her and spasms. Her horn lights up brightly in another orgasm for her. Her cries join his as they both sing out their pleasure. Everyone else yelps as Citrus’s magic yanks them all closer and showers them with the bright motes of magic as she is spent. Finally Silver pulls out and falls over onto his side, breathing heavily. Citrus collapses where she was standing, gasping for air. Tim watches as the stallion blinks sleepily, his wings collapsing down in exhaustion. Citrus struggles to roll to nearer to Silver. She gathers him up in her hooves, kissing his undamaged cheek and whispering gently in his ear while he is dazed.

A short whine gets his attention, both Cayenne and North are looking at him. He dives back down into North’s folds, and in moments Cayenne has enveloped his hardness with her mouth again. She seems to be trying to get him to cum in her mouth, with long strokes along with a lot of suction. He can feel he’ll cum soon if she continues. He jerks his hips away from her, ignoring the look of surprise as he picks her up and lies back on the bed, placing her on his stomach. 

“I wanted to taste you cum, love,” she pouts. In response he lifts her hips a bit and places his manhood at her entrance and hunches forward. That gets her eyes to roll back in pleasure as she puts her hooves on his chest and hilts herself on him. She starts to bounce slowly. “Okay, I can do this too.”

North, for her part quickly straddles his face, leaving her dripping marehood mere inches from his tongue. Tim bucks up to meet Cayenne as she comes down on him, and pulls North closer, diving once again into her folds, playing with her clit with his tongue. Soft slurping sounds announce the two mares kissing passionately as Tim focuses on pleasuring both of them. After a matter of minutes, North Point starts moaning, her horn sparkling. Then Cayenne shudders on his cock, dropping herself fully hilted into him as she squeezes tightly and holds North tightly in orgasm. Both mares spray magic everywhere, the room lighting once again. Tim rides out both of their orgasms, and as Cayenne’s starts to subside, he rears up, starting to piston into her gently as she shudders even harder. He reaches a hand down and plays with her clit as he continues to use his tongue on North. Cayenne starts to moan as another orgasm takes over. Her pussy clamps down on him as the orgasm continues, and she instinctively rocks up and down as her magic surges. Her mouth opens and a loud scream emerges, she throws her head back and howls her pleasure as Tim finds himself driven over the edge himself. He reaches out and grabs her hips, slamming her down onto him as he pumps his seed into her. North dismounts his face as he brings Cayenne onto his chest, still impaled on his cock as his own orgasm finally subsides. 

“Holy fuck that was amazing!” Cayenne pants.

Tim is beyond words at the moment; he just holds Cayenne close as his dick softens. She whines a little bit as he finally slips out of her. He brings her closer and kisses her softly, no tongue wrestling this time, just loving each other with their mouths.

“That looked intense, I’ve never had one after another like that,” North says softly as she crawls onto Tim’s other side. She nuzzles his neck and kisses his cheek. “When you get up again, can I get some more of that action, sweetheart?” Tim is only able to nod as sleep rolls over him like fog. He holds a sleeping Cayenne, and North snuggles up against him, quite soon her breathing is broken by soft snores as she joins the other two in slumber.

***

Tim’s eyes snap open in the gold morning light. He looks around, his entire herd is still sleeping. Looking down shows he’s ready to go again. He looks at the two mares holding on to him. Both are peacefully sleeping. That gets a grin from him, he’s been woken up plenty of times to them performing on him. Time to return the favor. 

He gently dislodges Cayenne from his chest and moves gently, North Point sleepily rolls onto her back, her forelegs spread wide, and her rear legs in the perfect position for him. He kisses her chest softly, moving slowly down, leaving kisses the entire way. She squirms a little bit as he brings a teat into his mouth, sucking on it gently. She pants softly as he plays with the other. For a moment, he wonders how what he is doing is affecting her dreams. They seem to be quite pleasant as a smile blooms on her face as he moves further south. He takes a moment to look at her marehood. His nose already detects the beginning of arousal. He brings his face closer, running his hands along her sides as his tongue invades her. He relishes her taste, every one of his mares has a different flavor. Citrus has the most pleasant taste to his tongue, but that doesn’t detract from how much he enjoys North and Cayenne.

Soft pants and moans come from North’s mouth as he runs his tongue along the inner lips. After a few moments, she freezes. He looks up, seeing her head lifted to look down at him, a big smile on her face. Her horn lights and he can feel her magic over the upper half of his body. She’s not strong enough to lift him magically, but he can feel what she wants, he climbs over her and kisses her full on the lips. She accepts his tongue and they lay there for a long time, just enjoying the kiss. Finally, she breaks away. “Fuck. Me. Now.” 

He obliges her, lifting on one hand, using his other to guide himself into her. With all the added lubrication, he slides in easily. He rears up, gathering her rear legs and putting them against his chest. She always loves him like that. She looks at him as he starts really going, her lustful grin gets him to smile at her.

“Boy, looks like someone woke ready for business.” 

North looks over. Silver is standing there, his wings pomfed and he’s definitely gone five legged. She reaches her forelegs for him, and he walks over to kiss. His eyebrows rise as he rears up a bit, presenting his stallionhood to her. She uses her hooves gently to bring his erect cock into her mouth. Her horn lights, her aura forming around his hips. His eyes widen as he starts pumping into her mouth, with her head at full extension, she gobbles him all the way down. Though the lewd sounds from her mouth get the stallion to pump even faster. Silver looks up at Tim. 

Tim, for his part, is pumping for all he’s worth, every slap of his balls on her ass gets a moan from her around Silver’s cock. Finally, he looks at the stallion fucking her mouth. The smile on Silver’s face gets one on his -- he’s nearing orgasm already. Surprising considering with how busy they were last night. Though the look on Silver’s face says the stallion is going to pop soon, too. Tim speeds up, noting Silver copying him.

“North, I’m gonna!” Silver grunts just as Tim reaches his peak. He shoves deeply into her, the stallion doing the same as both of them pump their loads deep into the faintly blue mare. Tim watches as her throat works as hard as her marehood is, milking both stallions of their seed. Silver collapses first, pulling out quickly. Tim is a little more elegant in his landing next to her, drawing her and Silver closer. 

The loudest panting comes from North, she breathes in great gasps of air, clinging tightly to Tim, though her tail wraps around Silver’s leg as well. She rears her head back and kisses Silver, invading his mouth with her tongue. Tim lies there, enjoying holding her, as she finishes her kiss. She sucks in air greedily after the kiss. “My first spitroast… that was fucking intense.”

“Looked like it,” Citrus says, snaking hooves around Tim, laying her head on his upper arm, “I might want to try that some time.”

Cayenne comes up and lies down on top of North, snuggling in with Tim and Silver. She peppers North’s face with kisses, then leans over and kisses Silver deeply. She’s aroused, but he needs a few more minutes before he’s able to start with her. So, he watches as Silver and Cayenne make out. A yellow hoof reaches around and pulls his head. Citrus latches on with a strong kiss as she helps roll him onto his back. Still with locked lips she drapes herself over him, her tongue and his dueling for dominance. Warmth envelopes his crotch, and in mere moments he’s ready to go again. Citrus breaks her kiss, moving back to slowly impale herself on him. “I’m not the only magical mare you know, love,” she says breathily as she starts to ride him. He puts his hands on her hips, helping her bounce on his cock, loving every moment. Though some snorts grab his attention, Silver is mounting North, the mare’s tongue is hanging out as Silver penetrates her. He watches as Silver starts pumping hard on North, enjoying the soft sounds she makes as the stallion ruts her.

“I want a turn!” Cayenne pouts at Citrus, who looks at her with one eye while she’s got her head back and her horn lit.
Tim reaches over and brings Cayenne over for a kiss as Citrus starts to scream out her pleasure in another orgasm. Cayenne lies down half on his chest, her forelegs hugging him close as Citrus’s motions become jerky and uncoordinated as her orgasm finally runs its course. She flops over onto her side, panting. With a smirk Cayenne moves to ride Tim as well. Her magic directing his cock into her as she slowly lowers herself onto him. She puts her forehooves on his chest as she rises slowly, almost to the point of pulling off, then brings herself down quickly.

“Oh, North, I love you” Silver moans, getting Tim’s attention. The stallion is hilted in her, puffing like a steam engine, he stops, his entire body vibrating as he pumps his seed once again. North’s voice is joining his in pleasure for long moments before both collapse together. He turns back to Cayenne, who seems to be nearing climax herself. 

“Two mares down, one to go,” she says lovingly, “Oh, that’s it, oh keep going.” She collapses onto his chest, he brings his arms around her and rolls over, the better to pound hard. He starts pounding away, watching her horn light and magic swirl around the room. 

“Oh, Cayenne,” Tim grunts, his peak is close. She smiles at him then her eyes roll back as her horn lights again. Her breathing gets stuttered as magic motes shoot from her horn, her writhing marehood drives him over the edge. He hilts inside her, his body shuddering as his balls pump load after load into his spicy mare. 

Spent, he rolls off Cayenne, bringing her close. Citrus edges close and puts her forelegs around his arm, nuzzling into his shoulder. Silver and North are already snoozing together, so everything seems to be good. Tim kisses the top of Citrus’s head then leans over and does the same with Cayenne. He brings them as close as he can, Cayenne’s head is pillowed on his left shoulder, and Citrus on his right. He reaches up and grabs a pillow, placing it behind his head. The warmth from the two mares is very soothing, and soon enough, he again enters the oblivion of sleep among a pile of pony.
> Chapter 24
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second day of a new year, the second day of winter. Princess Celestia, ever the early riser, stands upon her balcony in the brisk morning air, the glow of her lit horn dwarfed by the rising of the sun. Her eyes are closed and a serene smile is upon her face as the bright orb slowly slides above the horizon. As the sun fully rises, her horn quiets, her sun is set on it’s course for the gradually shortening days. She turns and lovingly nuzzles her sister, who blearily walks into the palace, her bed the only real thing on her mind at the moment. Her faithful apprentice, Moon Shadow, walking next to her. Celestia hums happily as she withdraws into the castle herself. As the second day of the new year, and the day after the Grand Galloping Gala, she doesn’t have to deal with court. Additionally, she doesn’t have any official duties today, other than to raise and lower the sun. And with her attunement to the sun, she has it done with almost no effort on her part.

The bright light of morning invades all throughout Canterlot. Though after the night that was the Grand Galloping Gala, hangovers are pretty much universal among the Canterlot elite, even among those who stayed in the palace after the party was over. Cadance rolls over, not even bothering with her magic, she pulls her covers over her head, it’s too early for her to get up.

Somepony else has other plans. “Good morning Princess.”

Cadance flips the covers down, hiding in her cocoon of squipper. “I’m not a princess anymore, my husband nearly died last night, my ears are ringing from my aunties, and I have a hangover. Not a good morning.”

“Oh, no need to be a grumble plot, it’s a beautiful morning.”

Cadance glares at her tormenter. “Twilight, I’ve got a hangover, and my ears are still pinned back by everything Princess Celestia and Luna said after the fight.” She flops her head back down and closes her eyes.

The chime of magic gains her attention, she opens one eye to see what is floating before her, she rolls her eyes at the big glass of water and the small pills floating in front of her face, she looks over at Twilight. “What has you all chipper this morning?”

“Take your medicine and drink the water,” Twilight says seriously. “You may no longer have the official title, but you are still the Princess of love. You’ve been given a task that needs your attention, now.”

“Yes, my princess.” Cadance lights her horn, placing the pills on her tongue and taking a sip of water. After swallowing the pills, she takes another sip. That water is just a few degrees above freezing and is delicious. She ends up draining the cup, smacking her lips appreciatively. “Okay, that is good.”

Twilight takes back the cup and brings forth a second, “Hydration and mild pain reliever, always good after a night of excess.”

Cadance directs a baleful glare, which seems to slide right off her sister-in-law as she gulps down a second glass. She glances over. “Where’s Shining?”

Twilight rolls her eyes. “I woke him up earlier. He’s taking Flurry for a walk in the gardens. Your train is set to take them back to the Crystal Empire in a couple of hours.”

Cadance drops the empty cup on the bed, shame radiating from her expression. “To take up my duties…” Cadance moans softly. To her surprise, the smaller alicorn crawls up behind her, hugging her tightly.

“You have new duties for the time being,” Twilight murmurs into her mane. “Don’t worry, you can stay at the castle, or in Ponyville with me. Either way, you won’t be homeless.”

“Thanks.” It’s the air of a filly who knows she’s getting better than she deserves. Cadance is quiet for a long time, Twilight stays behind her, hugging her with hooves and wings. Cadance’s ears rotate around, listening to the quiet, only interrupted by the sound of the alicorn’s breathing. Finally she shifts a bit. “Twilight?”

“Mhmm, hmm?”

“Why the human? Why Tim?”

“Pardon?”

Cadance squirms away from Twilight, then flips over to look her sister-in-law in the eyes. “I understand that he is different than anypony else. I understand all of that. But there are literally dozens of ponies quite willing to make a herd with you. Yet, you choose to fall for the one of a kind creature that fell from the sky. The lone human in Equestria.” She stops for a moment, watching Twilight blush. She nuzzles Twilight, “I supported your decision, and even pushed the situation so you could have what your heart’s desire. But I’m still trying to understand the why.”

“What made you choose my brother? You were a young princess, new to being an alicorn. What about him caught your eye?”

Cadance flinches back, her ears flicking back and forth. “He didn’t care about my status. He wanted me for me. He loves me even though I’m no longer a Princess of Equestria.” She blushes, her eyes falling upon a suggestively placed piece of stallion’s underwear on the floor.

“Tim does the same, he says his country doesn’t have royals like we do here. He says he sees me for the pony that I am. Since I’ve become a princess, most ponies see me as above them, and either aspire to raise their own circumstances, or want to use me.” Her ears flatten. “I dislike being used.”

Cadance flinches. “I truly was not trying to use you, Twilight. I was really trying to help.” To her surprise, Twilight nuzzles her fiercely. “Tim had no desire to use you. But I could see the effect he had on you. You were acting like a mare in heat whenever you were around him.”

Twilight’s face is now brightly red. “He’s beautiful, Cadance, he’s gentle, and loving, and I guess my time on the other side of the mirror portal has affected me as well. They aren’t humans in the way he is, close but not quite Did you see how he stood up for me at the Gala?”

Cadance nods. “I think if you were to approach Citrus, as humbly as possible later, you might be able to gain her acceptance.”

Twilight looks down. “That bridge is long burned. I’ll have to…”

She’s interrupted by a stern glare from Cadance. “Twilight Sparkle, you love that human. Are you going to say you had one roll of passion with him, then give up?” She slides away from Twilight and steps off the bed, “I may no longer have the official position of princess, but even now, I can see you still have feelings for him. I can’t order you.” She stops, ears flat. She gulps several times, holding in her emotions. “In truth, I never could order you as a fellow princess, but I could suggest. While I was the one to push for this, and the culpability belongs at my hooves. Part of healing that herd will be either accepting you or finding a happy medium. Please, Twilight, keep an open mind with them. My instincts are right on this. I know your feelings, I know Tim’s. And I suspect that I can understand Citrus and the other mares of the herd. You’ve been better behaved than me; if either of us gets forgiveness, it’ll be you.” She walks towards the bedroom door.

That gets a snort from Twilight Sparkle, “Seriously?” Getting the other pony to stop in her tracks. Twilight paws the floor. “Your instincts got us into this mess. You said you’ve got this, and we ended up with seven ponies caught in the middle of a massive shipping crash.”

Cadance’s ears flatten. “Twilight, I’m quite aware of the consequences of my actions. I’m trying to help here.”

“You’ve helped us enough. It’s time for us to help you.”

“How would you help me, Twilight?”

“You are looking at this wrong, Cadance.” Twilight trots up and nuzzles the taller alicorn. “This is a friendship problem, you look after matters of love. You look at the romantic relationships of ponies and the families, the herds, that our ponies form naturally. They have rules, and they know them instinctively. Tim doesn’t. We are trying to teach him, but remember, our instincts provide much of the responses to situations. Tim doesn’t have those instincts, he must learn. And then there’s the fact that a lot of ponies don’t really like each other all that much right now. That is what makes this a friendship problem.”

Cadance hangs her head. “I don’t know how to handle those kind of problems. Did Princess Celestia set me on a task I can never do? I want what is best for you, princess. I want what is best for Tim, what is best for the herd.”

“What if what is best for that herd is without me in it?”

Cadance shakes her head vehemently. “No, I don’t see that, Twilight.”

“Are you certain of that?”

Cadance’s head snaps up. She fixes Twilight in such a stare that the younger alicorn is momentarily rooted in place, “I know that with the same certainty that I know how much I love Shining Armor and Flurry Heart.”

Twilight notices she’s breathing heavily, she takes a moment to calm herself down a bit. “I propose we shelve that for the time being.” She shifts her rear legs uncomfortably. “What the herd needs right now is some stability and trust. We will help them get it back.”

Cadance smiles. “Agreed, just remember, you are a mare, with your own needs. Ignoring them is part of the reason everything exploded in our faces.”

Twilight nods, then her ears perk forward as Cadance walks towards the bedroom door. “Where are you going?”

“Shower; Shiny consoled me rather… physically last night. Then we’ll get started. Wanna come?”

“Already?”

“No time like the present.”

Twilight sputters, “You heard Silver, last night they were probably very busy, and I wouldn’t doubt that extended to the morning.”

Cadance laughs, “Oh, I’m not talking right this instant, I want to go out for breakfast first. Then we will drop my husband and filly off at the train. We should show up around noon over there. She skids to a stop in the sitting room, “Shining Armor, what am I going to do with you?”

Twilight steps through the door, seeing her brother lying on his back, his foal in his hooves, Flurry Heart giggling like a mad. He’s looking innocently at his wife, “What?”

Her magic encases him and Flurry, putting Shining on his hooves and putting Flurry into her carrier, “You are going to take it easy on that not broken rib, Shining Armor, or you and I will be having words.”

He rubs the back of his head with a hoof, wincing a bit, “I’ll be okay. I’m just bruised.”

She snorts, “Okay, rolling around on the floor like a foal is not okay when you can’t stop failing to wince every few seconds. Besides…” Cadance comes up and rubs her side along his “Take your three favorite mares in the whole wide world to breakfast?”

“Princess!” comes a voice, getting Cadance to turn. A reddish orange earth pony trots up and bows, her multi-hued purple mane nearly touching the floor.

Cadance sighs, “Verity, I told you last night, I am no longer a princess, via decree from Celestia. If you wish to address me by title, it’s Duchess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

Verity Lucky snorts softly and shakes her mane out. “I don’t care what Princess Celestia says; you will always be a princess to me.” She walks over and picks up a large bag, slinging it over her back, she trots back and grabs the foal carrier, “You mentioned breakfast. Though the castle has an excellent kitchen. I do know a couple of places in Canterlot that have excellent choices for breakfast. They’re mostly immigrant places, so the staff won’t be half as hung over as we all are.”

Cadance smiles at her secretary/ “What would I do without you, Verity.”

That gets a giggle and a wink. "Miss appointments, walk around with a bird’s nest of a mane, and forget to eat while searching for a lost whammy?"

***

The knock on the front door jars Tim from sleep. Nopony is even stirring at the sounds from the door. He groans and hauls himself out of bed. The knock repeats, how long have they been knocking? He flops back down, closing his eyes. Only to have them open as another set of knocks impinge upon his consciousness.

“Somepony get that please?” Cayenne murmurs softly as she rolls over and brings North Point closer. Silver scoots closer and quickly has Cayenne spooned up with his wing holding her close.

“Fine!” Tim mutters as he rolls off the bed. The soft carpet feels good on his feet as he pads out the door, then down the stairs. A magical chime gets his attention as he gets to the bottom of the stairs.

“Hello! Anypony home?” comes a voice. Tim's eyes widen, he knows that voice. What is with these ponies? Princess Celestia says something, and they leap to obey. The duel was barely fourteen hours ago!

“I’m here, Princess, we all are,” Tim says as he emerges into the entry foyer and then opens the door.

Cadance huffs a bit as she turns to look at him. “I’m going to have to repeat myself a lot, aren’t I...” she trails off, looking at him.

“What?”

Twilight steps around Cadance, her face beet red. “Tim, you are kinda on full display right now.”

Tim looks down, not only is he nude, but he’s got the morning wood from hell. His own face darkens as his hands clasp over his member. He turns to run back up the stairs. Citrus’s head pops up as he slams back into the bedroom. “Cadance and Twilight are here.” He rushes into the closet.

“That was quicker than I thought.” Citrus says softly…then she stops. “You were naked?”

“Yeah, full attention, too!” He finishes pulling on his boxers and looks for a pair of pants as Citrus trots into the closet.

She stops, a broad smile on her face. “I can take care of that lickety split.” She says softly. She advances quickly, getting him to back away.

“Yeah, after I showed it to the fucking Princess of Love and to Twilight Sparkle.” He pulls his crotch away from Citrus as he hops on one leg trying to get a leg into his pants.

Citrus pouts, “Well, it’ll go down after that.”

“Not the point, Citrus.” He says, buttoning his fly.

“Awww, you spoil sport, can’t I get a quickie in this morning?”

“Still not the point, they are right downstairs. In our atrium.”

She walks up and rubs against his side, “They can wait.” She stops and looks at him as he roots around looking for a shirt. She sighs, “Oh you and your nudity taboo.”

“I thought you’d be warier of me being naked around them.”

“Tim, honey, we don’t normally wear clothes.”

“Arh, why do I even-? Come on, let’s see what the Princess and the Duchess want.” He stops, looking at her. “How are you calm over this?”

She looks back at him. “I’m not calm over this, Tim. The last time you were naked around a Princess, our lives turned to Tartarus. For way too long. But not point in taking it out on you, but I wouldn’t mind you walking around the house naked when it’s just us herdmates.” She stands there for a long moment before she huffs, “Let’s see what they want.”

Tim sighs as he pulls his shirt over his head, Citrus hops back onto the bed, nuzzling the other members of the herd in turn before preceding Tim back downstairs. She bows deeply, “Princess, Duchess, welcome to our home.”

Twilight flushes. “Citrus, I don’t think that’s necessary in your own home.”

Citrus smiles. “Nonsense, wherever you are, you are a Princess, Twilight.”

Twilight takes a step back, chewing on her lower lip for a moment. She finally brightens. “As Princess Celestia has commanded at your direction, Duchess Cadance is here to help.”

Citrus nods. “As she should be.” She moves over to the stove. “Tea?”

Both alicorns glance at each other. After a few moments, Cadance shakes her head, “We are fine right now, but thanks.”

Citrus turns to glare at both of them, growling, “Please just let me play gracious host for the sake of civility. It’s harder than it looks. Help me help you so you can help Twilight help Tim help you help us all.”

Cadance flinches. “In that case, I’d be happy to partake.”

That gets an instant smile from Citrus. “Good.” She gets to work, her lit horn bringing down the tea kettle and flying it over to the sink to fill.

As Citrus works, Twilight nuzzles the larger alicorn for a moment. “Citrus, I think you should know, this is not something Cadance is used to. Her aptitude is for romantic love, to help build families and lives together. The bond of trust and love that brings a herd together and keeps it alive and strong.” She steps closer to Citrus. “Your herd has a lot of strength to it. With you as the lead mare, your strong personality helps bring the mares of your herd together. You both have a lot of love to give as the lead stallion and mare of this herd.” She stops, her tail clamping to her rear, “My actions damaged the trust between you two. But I can see that Tim has been able to help heal that rift.”

Citrus turns back from the tea set that she’s floated onto a platter. “Yes, I can trust him, and more importantly, I’m working to trust myself around him and around you.”

That gets a flinch from Twilight. “Yeah…” She clears her throat. “About that, you know I have apologized for my actions.”

Citrus huffs, “Princess, the issues are not you, but me.” Her cheeks start to glow in a blush, “I overreacted to what happened. I failed to understand that Tim is an alien and didn’t understand the acceptable way to respond to the situation.” She looks back at Tim, “And based on what happened in my birth herd when I was a filly…” she looks down and scuffs a hoof on the floor. “I’ll admit I overreacted. So the breach in trust wasn’t just Tim, but my reaction to the situation.” She floats the platter over with the teapot, milk, and sugar, ready to go. Citrus pours a cup and floats it over to Twilight first, then a second to Tim. She floats the third to sit before her. She then looks Cadance straight in the eyes as she pours the final cup and floats it to her. Cadance, for her part, visibly wilts as she lights her horn and the aura around the cup is replaced with her cornflower blue one. Citrus turns and looks at Twilight.

Twilight nods, getting a surprised grunt from Citrus. Twilight steps closer, though keeping a respectful distance. “Citrus, as I’ve told the Duchess, this is more akin to a friendship problem, so she will be having to deal with a learning curve. I have volunteered to help in that respect as the Princess of Friendship. So we are all on the same page, please state your feelings about Tim and the incident.”

Citrus looks back at Tim, her eyes bright. “I wronged him, I acted like he was any other stallion in Equestria, and it took our newest herd members to open my eyes.” She looks back to Twilight, “I’m not angry at you, Princess Twilight. Well, at least not anymore.” She looks down, “I’m angry at myself. I failed my herd, I failed in my duty as the lead mare.” She sniffles.

Tim leans forward, wrapping his arms around Citrus. “Oh, Citrus. You don’t need to blame yourself. I was responsible for my own actions.”

Twilight clears her throat, “Tim.” She glances back at Cadance, then looks at Citrus before directing her attention back at Tim, “What I did…” She gulps, “Would be legally construed as rape.”

Tim slams his hands onto the table, making not only the ponies jump, “Dear Lord, you ponies seem to have the idea that all males are hormone driven and can’t make decisions in the face of your pheromones.” He looks at Citrus, who’s eyes are wide as she looks back at him, “I’ll fully admit that you did have an effect on me. Hell, Citrus and the other girls have an effect on me too. Which surprises me since we are so different. But the responsibility for my actions falls on me. No. One. Else.”

“So, you…wanted to?” Twilight says meekly.

Tim looks at Citrus, who nods slightly, he finally sighs, “Yes, I did want to. I was attracted to you as a pony, and then you changed forms like that. It was like, I don't know, picture yourself going to that other world, with just humans.... living there without your magic not for days, but for months or years. Then one day you have your magic dangled in front of you. During my time having to deal with how you ponies punish your stallions, Citrus and I have had some chances to talk. I’ve told her all of this. The hardest thing to get her to understand was that I still wanted her. That I still loved her, even though I had desire for you. Even for a polyamorous species like you ponies, it was hard for her to wrap her head around that I could desire a fantastically powerful alicorn and yet still want to come home to her. She was worried that I would abandon her for a ‘better model’ like her father did.” He reaches forward, cupping Citrus’ cheek with a hand. “I think she finally understands.”

Twilight shakes her head slightly. “But that’s not how things work…”

“Twilight, I’m a fucking alien, I think different than you ponies.”

Twilight stands there blinking slowly. Tim looks at Citrus, seeing the small smile on her face, he chuckles softly, “I think I broke her.”

After a few seconds, Twilight shakes her head, “No, I’m aware that you are an alien, and we’ve been trying to teach you our ways so you can fit into our society better.” She snorts softly, “It just occurred to me that I’ve been falling into the same trap that everypony else has when it comes to you. Expecting you to think Equestrian when you aren’t.”

Tim sighs as he sits down in his usual seat. “I know that, Twilight. I’ve been trying to learn, but you are just so different. I get that you are polyamorous, but you have rules. Like you girls bringing in North, it’s no problem. And then bringing in Silver, it was also no problem. Though if that situation were reversed, it would be a whole mess.”

Twilight is in full professor mode now. “Well, that’s simple, Tim. If a stallion brings a stallion in, it is implied by that act that he approves of the stallion, and the mares simply have to check him out and approve themselves. The same with the mares bringing in another mare, it’s implied approval that the mare can join them in sexual activities, it’s up to the stallion to say yes or no.”

She hops down from her chair. “Yet if a stallion tries to bring in a mare, that mare has to gain the approval of the lead mare. From old pony times, new mares would approach the other mares of the herd to gain approval first. Because if she gets approval from the stallion, yet the lead mare rejects her, the stallion could face what you faced, with the mares shunning him.” Her ears flatten back. “Or even cutting him loose if he insists when it comes to the new mare.”

Cadance takes up for Twilight, “When it comes to new stallions being brought in to the herd, if the lead stallion feels that the new stallion would be a competitor for his own breeding rights, they could fight. And it could get ugly, even deadly. So, typically, stallions will approach the lead stallion of the herd if he found a mare that he was interested in. If it’s the lead mare, typically he’d be rejected outright. But if it’s one of the other mares, the stallions would find a happy middle ground, and the herd would thrive with the extra genetic information from multiple stallions.

“You ponies are confusing,” Tim says softly.

“Actually, by our world view, it’s quite logical.” Then twilight’s ears flatten. “Though with what you’ve told me of your human interpersonal relationships, that’s confusing.” She smiles, her ears perking forward. “Tim, one thing I want to do to help both your herd, and Cadance, is to help them understand what is going on in your head. Your cultural mores and what makes humans tick, so they have less confusion when you act the way you do.” She looks around at Cadance and Citrus before focusing again on Tim. “You mentioned that it’s typical for the male to make the first move. Now, I know your species is generally patriarchal and monogamous, but I still don’t understand why it’s so taboo for the females to initiate relationships.”

Tim scratches his ear. “Well, I’ve never understood it either, to be honest.”

“So, you don’t have a problem with it?”

Tim shakes his head. “Not really, I was happy when Citrus let me know she was interested. In fact, I found it refreshing for mares to speak up.”

“Oh?” this was from Cadance.

Tim nods. “There are things about human society that have baffled me as well. I guess many of those cultural mores have shaped me into who I am. Like me fighting to get a job, so I can feel productive. I know Citrus and the others will take care of me. They don’t require me to do anything. If I wanted to sit and do absolutely nothing, my lovelies will take care of me. But that’s not in my makeup.”

Twilight smiles. “Your herd is not hurting for bits.”

That gets a laugh from Citrus. “Business has been profitable for Cayenne and myself. And North is paid rather well. Though she’s been looking into quitting her job.”

That gets Tim to look at Citrus, “Really?”

Citrus turns and nuzzles Tim. “And it’s all your fault. Well, yours and Silver’s. The season is almost upon us and she’s been thinking…” He starts to react, then he sees the smile evident on her muzzle. She nuzzles him again, then looks over at the alicorns. “When North first wanted to join the herd, Tim and her had a long talk. She actually learned more about her cutie mark thanks to Tim here. She’s going to start mapmaking. She thinks it’ll be more in line with her cutie mark.”

Both alicorns sit there with identical looks. Finally Twilight shakes her head. “Tim, how did you understand that? Cutie mark magic is central to ponies, it’s one of the most advanced magic disciplines.”

Tim shrugs. “She didn’t seem happy when talking about it. Yet when you’ve told me your cutie mark story, and when Citrus and Cayenne told me theirs, they felt happy about them. For North, it seemed more of a burden to her.”

Twilight’s eyes are wide, she turns to look at Cadance then back to Tim, “Some fillies back home help ponies with questions about their cutie marks. They’ve gotten quite good at it. I’m guessing that’s why they got the marks they did. Cutie marks are highly personal, highly individual, and when a pony misunderstands their mark, their lives can be miserable. Helping a pony understand their mark, or realizing their mark may not be what it seems is a true gift. Not something to take lightly.” She narrows her eyes, looking inside herself, finally she looks up at Tim. “You are a very special person, Tim.”

Tim finds himself scratching the back of his head and he can feel himself blushing. He looks over and notices the very proud smile on Citrus. He looks over, “I think it’s time for some food.”

Citrus speaks up, “Actually, we should move to the living room, Cayenne will make breakfast for all of us. And I think Silver is itching to get to his work table.”

The nearly instant sounds of hooves on the stairs gets Tim to look over as the rest of his herd emerge, North Point hops up into his lap as Silver runs a wingtip along his shoulder. He smiles at the stallion before North occupies his attention fully with a kiss. After she is finishes, she hops from his lap, though she stops and looks directly at Cadance for several long, uncomfortable seconds. As she walks past the pink alicorn, she dips her head. “Duchess.”

Cadance, for her part, blushes heavily, drawing into herself. Twilight leans over and nuzzles her. Citrus stands up to lead them into the living room. Quickly they are settled into the comfortable furniture. Citrus and North are on each side of Tim, leaning up against him.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Tim leans forward. “Twilight, I do have a question, a few times recently, it seemed as though the translation spell wasn’t working.”

That gets a surprising reaction from Twilight. With a muttered curse, she hops from her seat, her horn lighting as she comes close. Tim rests a hand on Citrus withers as he feels her tense. North shifts a bit and her horn lights as well. Though she subsides as Twilight stops, ducking her head submissively. “Sorry, I need to check the spell.”

Citrus looks back at Tim then she nods her head, and North quiets her horn. Twilight steps forward, her lit horn moving closer and finally touching his forehead very gently. He feels something, like someone rooting around in his brain, but finally she steps back. “Huh? It seems to be perfectly normal.”

Tim's eyebrows are climbing onto his forehead, “I didn’t expect that kind of reaction, Twilight. Something wrong?”

Twilight huffs, “Only the idea of a spell created by some of the strongest mages in Equestria failing.” She shakes her head, then she glances at the other two, then back at Tim. “May I ask, did you understand the words being used?”

Tim thinks back, then he nods, “Yeah, it was only later that I remembered that the words sounded odd, but the meaning was normal to me.”

That gets a laugh from Twilight, “Okay, that means you were thinking in Eponese. Can’t translate when you are thinking in our language”

“What does that mean?”

“It means a lot of language lessons for everypony involved.”

Tim nods. “Am I ready to go without the spell?”

Twilight shakes her head, “I’m afraid that spell will be needed for a while, though as you start to think more in our language, you’ll find it becoming less and less effective. It’s sacrificing what you do know to help with what you don’t. I am proud of that particular bit of engineering. Remember, every time we work and build up vocabulary from your language and ours, the spell is learning too. But it has limits, it doesn't have an active spellcaster keeping it viable. Though the act of making it self sustaining gives it a connection to the magic running all through Equestria. Similar to the enchantments on the guard armor that changes their coat and mane color when they don it.”

Tim sighs, “Okay.”

Cadance comes forward, sitting before the herd. “I can tell there is still quite a bit of tension in regards to me.” She curls her tail around her legs. “I’m still surprised that Twilight has forgiven me so easily.”

“It’s because I…” She stumbles to a stop at a look from the Duchess.

Cadance looks back at Citrus. “I know I have wronged you. And ones we love dearly have risked their lives to make things right, although I can see tension still exists.”

Citrus shifts a little in her seat, “The challenge is done, life is returning to normal. But the fact that we are allowing you in our home, allowing you to interact with our herd means something, Duchess. We have forgiven you, but that doesn’t remove all resentment and anger. We are trying. I must ask that you be patient with us. Fully healing will take time, and yes, the fallout from your words and actions still exist. For that, I am sorry.”

Cadance’s ears flatten to the sides, “For what it’s worth, I want to help heal your herd. I have been watching you interact with each other since I’ve gotten here. And I am certain a lot of healing has happened here. You all are acting like a herd in love. Your lead stallion is secure in his life and position.” She glances back at the entry to the study. “Silver does look like he’s in a bit of pain, I may not be the best at the fine healing necessary, but I can work to reduce his pain.”

Silver shouts, “I’m fine, I swear!”

Cadance laughs, “Mine’s the exact same way."

Citrus chuckles with her. “With all due respect, if he asks for more healing, then you may do so. As it is, he has said he is proud of the marks your husband gave him. And his assertion that his lovelies will be proud of a stallion who has scars from protecting his herd is not without merit.” She leans closer to Tim. “Tim has been forgiven, he has regained my trust in him.”

Cadance stands up. “As you’ve mentioned, you said you are having trouble trusting yourself. I believe some one on one talking would be helpful.” She glances at the others. “If we could talk privately, I would be happy to listen to your thoughts.”

Citrus freezes for a long moment, glancing at Tim and North, finally she nods her head. Cadance gestures and she trots up the stairs, with the larger alicorn in tow. Twilight watches them for a long moment before she shakes her head, “She hates problems she can’t untangle.” She looks back at Tim and North, “We have a little bit, let’s work on language while we can.”

Tim nods and her horn lights with a big smile on her face, “Don’t worry, Tim. We will make it work. Everypony, help yourselves to breakfast. Then it’s time to get serious.”
> Chapter 25.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citrus Bush slows, almost instinctively to let Cadance walk past her as they start to climb the stairs. She’s too lost in thought at first, to preoccupied with her own thoughts of what’s been happening. Though a glance ahead of her has her freeze for a moment, mesmerized. Cadence is walking ahead of her, wings tightly at her sides, it’s an old pegasus military cadet posture, yet her tail sways side to side as she moves, her grace of motion and beauty almost captivating.After the night and all the fun she had with her herd, she shouldn’t be distracted. She is totally satisfied at the moment, yet watching Cadance walk up the stairs, her curving flank and hips, her perfect tail, its sway not revealing anything untoward, yet still reminding her of what is underneath. In that moment, she wonders what she really would have done if alone and faced with a princess in her full glory and heat.

For some reason, Citrus finds that distracting. It’s normal for mares to have at least a little attraction to other mares in Equestria. But this one? The primary source of stress for her herd? Citrus suppresses a groan as Cadance apparently guesses right, and they end up in the herd’s bedroom. Cadance turns around and sits down.

Citrus takes a moment to arrange herself as she sits, curling her tail around her hooves. She focuses on her tail for several long seconds. She finally looks up and sees the alicorn with an expectant look on her face. She sighs, “I guess I’m supposed to start?”

That gets a gentle smile from the duchess. “It would help.”

Citrus looks down. “I knew Tim was an alien, but maybe I should tell you how things were when I met him.” She looks up again, to see Cadance nodding, her smile was so kind; how could she ever believe this mare intended ill feelings towards her herd?

Citrus sighs, “I was doing my normal shift in the Canterlot hospital. The rumors had been swirling all day. Some wild creature had been brought in. Nearly dead, and even a Princess of Equestria was brought in to help, since the normal healing methods were ineffective.”

“Due to his magical resistance?”

Citrus nods. “Yeah. Well, I didn’t have time for rumors, a wonderbolt had been brought in. It was a career ending crash. He had lost a wing, I was working with the others in the unit to keep his spirits up. And I was actually quite drained after a long day of that. I had planned on heading home, when there was the most curious sight. A half dozen doctors and nurses rolling a gurney down the hall. Trailing behind the gurney was Princess Twilight Sparkle. And on the gurney was something. I couldn’t even begin to identify him, with him being covered in bandages. I followed them to the room and watched them transfer him. They told her that whether he lived or died was up to him.”

A tear slips down her cheek. Citrus said, “Princess Twilight was there the next morning when I arrived. And I knew she hadn’t slept, I found out his heart had stopped seven times that night, and every time, she used her magic and somehow restarted his heart every time. She wasn’t just sleepy, she was on the brink of magical exhaustion. I offered to help with monitoring him. She refused, but I had a cot brought in and promised if I ended up in over my horn, I’ll wake her up. She finally relented and curled up on the cot. I stayed there, and he woke up a couple of times. I remember his eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes looking around wildly. I saw the fear, the confusion, the pain in them. Then the other princesses arrived. He had tried to communicate the few times he was lucid, and they decided to help him. I wasn’t there when they implanted the translation matrix in his head, but I could feel the strength of the magic used when I got there a few days later. Twilight was off on something, I think it was a magical emergency. I don’t know. But I had gotten into the habit of talking to him as I’ve worked helping to get his limbs moving, basic physical therapy. Sometimes he was passed out while I was helping work his legs and arms, other times, his eyes were fixed on me.”

“As the weeks progressed, his body had started to heal, the doctors were coming in every couple of hours to check on his wounds, to take care of him. He was starting to be understandable when he talked. He could let us know when he was hungry, thirsty, or in pain, not that he spoke our language. He made weird, flowing, hissing words with so many sounds none of us could even begin to reproduce.” She barks a soft laugh, “When he pushed away hay and pointed us to meat, that he needed meat, that was an amazing day. I got in the habit of talking to him during physical therapy. I found out a lot about him.” She stops for a long moment, then she looks up at Cadance. “I didn’t know it then, but that was when I was starting to fall in love with him. He was what I talked about when I was home. He was who I was thinking about when I fell asleep, and my first thought when I awoke. When he was taken from the Canterlot hospital into the castle. I was pretty much frantic with fear. I thought I would never see him again. I remember rushing from the hospital to the castle. I had to beg for an audience with Princess Celestia so I could see him. I was thinking that I was helping with his physical therapy, helping with his healing. But I think she saw what I was too blind to see. And that’s why she so readily gave me permission to care for him. I knew Twilight had started on his education, but I saw he needed more.”

“And you completely fell for him?”

Citrus bats with her hoof defensively. “I wasn’t trying to. It just kinda, well, happened. A talk there, a late night there, and realizing I was enjoying more than the satisfaction of a job well done… And then I finally confessed my love to him, my desire for him. I expected him to reject me outright. I know he was freaked out by us. He was not used to ponies, and then having one express a desire for him in a romantic setting required a lot of thinking on his part. At that point, he’d been in Equestria for about a year, he had mourned the loss of his old life, the idea that he would very likely never see his home again.” She smiles. “The fact that he jumped into a relationship with both of his feet is actually quite endearing. I brought him into our herd, first with Cayenne, then slowly bringing in more. He was adjusting to life here, and I guess I thought he understood how life is here in Equestria.”



“That you forgot that he had to think about things that are natural to us?” Citrus suppresses a sob as she nods. Cadance leans back. “Thank you for sharing that with me. Now, I must let you understand why I acted the way I did.”

Citrus looks up at her, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. Cadance smiles gently. “I understand what you are saying, but remember, I had been spending quite a bit of time with my sister-in-law. When she visited the Crystal Empire, and when I visited her, she talked about him. As you said, he was the first thing on her mind when she awoke, she talked about him all the time. She spent a lot of time with him too. Add to that, while she has some amazing friends. She had something missing in her life. You had Cayenne, and while you said you and her weren’t fully intimate at that point, you did have the emotional intimacy that you craved. Twilight had Spike. And being such a young dragon, he is not yet equipped to be the intimate partner she needs. He is dedicated to her, and he loves her fiercely. Even now, he’s not ready for the intimacy of being a romantic partner. He’s still got a schoolcolt’s crush on another pony.”

Cadance shifts a bit, looking at Citrus seriously. “I discovered how much she was covering up her feelings shortly after he moved in with you. Before that, she would sit and talk with him for hours, about all kinds of things. Mainly learning about his home, his culture. She had covered up her feelings for him in her work trying to find a way to get him home. She was consumed by that, and then finding out the magic of the sonic rainboom had brought him here. She was devastated, she could reproduce the power, she is exceedingly strong. But there’s no way she could have the control, he could be sent back home at thirty thousand feet and fall to his death. Or he could appear someplace completely random. Much of his planet is covered in water. Imagine ending up in the middle of the ocean with no chance of rescue.” She sighs and shakes her head, “To send him home would likely end up in his death, so it’s quite good to know he is adjusting to life here. But then Twilight entered estrous late this spring, I came down from the Crystal Empire to assist her. She had tried to use herbal teas, and some mechanical help to stave off her desires. But they were stopgaps. And the one she wanted most of all was Tim. I had brought some stallions who had drunk a fortnight’s supply of paramour’s tea, since she didn’t want to get pregnant. And she rejected them all. She was nearly insane with the desire to mate, but she only wanted one. She wanted him and only him. Though having him just a quick teleport away was maddening to her. We were able to make it through that heat. But I knew that being an alicorn meant it quite likely she would have a second heat in the year. I knew it would come to a head. And I implored Twilight to approach you, try to get in your good graces.”

Citrus withdraws a bit within herself. “And I rejected her.”

Cadance nods. “With the revelation of his girlfriend, you felt that Twilight was a source of stress for him.”

Citrus nods. “While he needed his education, she was being very improper with him. And with him going through that portal ending up being a pony against his will. And the jet engine he told me about, finding his phone. It put him through the wringer. So, when she asked me, I simply said no. I didn’t want his stress level going too high. I had to lay in the night, holding him as his body shook. Cayenne and I had to have our fur wetted by his tears, thanks to her bringing up memories that would have served him far better remaining buried. And then finding out there really is no way home for him. He was devastated, no matter how much he covered it up. The loss of her was a source of stress for him, and I acted to protect him from that stress, though I think now that I was overzealous in doing so. And I am sorry for that.”

Cadance steps forward, nuzzling Citrus on the cheek gently. “That is in the past, now. Those feelings are now in the open, and we can deal with them. But you need to understand something. My actions were on behalf of Twilight. I knew it was unhealthy for her to keep those feelings locked up. She was being stupidly stubborn and not appealing to you. You rejected her, she accepted it, and tried to move on. But that rejection hurt her. She is the Princess of Friendship. Her entire life is dedicated to it. And to be rejected like that hurt her deeply. Though she would never say so to you. I saw what she was like, and I saw what she needed. I thought by Tim catching her in the depths of her heat, he would do what he should have – gone and implored you, and perhaps had you and him both help her. You know what it’s like to be in estrous. Unending cravings. Have you ever had an addiction? Estrous is a glimpse into the life of a sex addict. I mean, when Princess Celestia goes into heat, most of the governance gets done by her assistants, because she cannot focus on much else. Though being in charge for thousands of years does allow her to have built up a release, to where she can channel that energy in a non-destructive fashion. There are quite a few stallions that live quite well in Canterlot castle and are ready to service her when that time arrives. And it’s quite stressful for them as well. Twilight will, in time, be at least as powerful as Celestia. When she comes into season, she will have to have a lover.”

“We need to discuss this. As it is, and knowing about how difficult it is for her, we should be open to helping her when it comes to heat.

Cadance snaps. “That’s not good enough, damn it.” Citrus flinches.

“I don’t understand.”

“If mindless sex was all she needed, she could hire out a kusa, she could take up one of the myriad stallions quite willing to mount her to satisfy their desire to be close to a seat of power in Equestria. She needs more than lovin, she needs a lover, lover, a herd.”

“I don’t think she wants to move to Canterlot, I know we can’t move to Ponyville, Cayenne’s restaurant, my shop, North’s job. You can I know that’s an impasse from both ends. I mean, Silver can do silverwork anywhere with a forge, and I’m certain ponies around Ponyville will be happy to buy from him. But her joining our herd? Us moving to her? A griffon would sooner pluck her own wings.”

Cadance sighs, “She doesn’t need to fully join your herd. Though I think you should offer. She’d like that. With her background as a bit of a social outcase, she likes to just know that ponies do think of her and want her input.” At Citrus’s eyes widen. “I am not going to try to make you, and I wouldn’t try to force you even if I were a princess again. I am suggesting… I’m begging you, please, work out a way for you and her to have an arrangement, allow her into your bed, allow her into your hearts. Not just for relief while she’s in heat. While that is important, it’s not the most important thing. She needs intimate partners, somepony to giggle with in bed before falling asleep. Someone to rely on when her friends are consumed with other parts of their lives. She needs somepony, a few someponies, to be partners with her in her life. To console her when she cries, to share joy with her, to be by her side no matter what. I have that in my Shining Armor. She needs that just as much as she needs food and water.”

Citrus gulps. “But would she want to be lead? I mean, she’s a Princess of Equestria. I’m nothing compared to her.”

“That is something that you and her will have to work out. Tim is happy with you in charge, right?” At Citrus’s nod, she continues, “She’s not consumed with her station. We are very careful to choose candidates for princesshood. She doesn’t care about such things, as we know, she’s the Princess of Friendship. I think she can handle being subservient to you.”

Citrus looks down, “The most I can promise is to be receptive if she asks. I’m not going to beg her to join us. She has to make that step. She has to show me, she has to show the mares of our herd that she is willing to be one of us. But she knows how she damaged our herd, if she wants to have a role in our herd. She has to do the work, she has to show me, show us, that she can be trusted. Trusted to not use royal privilege to get what she wants. Trusted to not try to steal Tim or Silver because her plot demands to be pounded. Remember, we will be going into heat in the spring as well. Tim and Silver will have to be very busy with just the three of us mares. Having an alicorn with an overactive sex drive is going to be draining for both of them.” She sees the look on Cadance’s face, “I’m sorry, Duchess, but I do have to protect my herd. I have to make sure they are healthy and happy. That is one of my responsibilities as the lead mare of this herd. If Twilight wants to work to fit in and become a part of this family. She can’t just waltz in and decide that we will do.”

Cadance looks at Citrus for a long time, so long that the smaller mare finds herself shifting a little bit, finally the alicorn sighs softly, “I can understand your point. Though I can’t insist that she does that. That decision remains with her. But I will suggest she try, she is convinced that the bridge is burned. I can let her know that a chance remains, if that’s okay with you?”

Citrus nods, “I would appreciate that. If she can approach us, and show that she is willing to approach on our terms. We can find common ground, and maybe negotiate a way to have us all happy.”

Cadance leans closer, “Since we are opening up about our pasts, wanna hear how Shiny and I ended up together?”

Citrus' eyes widen as she nods.

Cadance chuckles, “I had been raised to be an alicorn, then I moved here to Canterlot. I was young, and moving here was a big change for me. You know I was a pegasus before I ascended?”

Citrus shakes her head. “Raised?” she squeaks.

That gets a big grin from Cadance. “Yeah, well, I was brought from my little town to the crown city, to be near Princess Celestia. But I was still young, so she sent me to school. There was a pony there, his name was Buck Withers. He was interested in me, and he lavished me with attention. He had it all; money, connections, popularity. I thought he was okay at first. But I was getting to know the ponies at school. Which was really nice. Then I got a job.”

Citrus looks at the fond smile on Cadance’s face. “What job?”

“Foalsitting, one unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle.”

Citrus' eyes are wide as she looks at the door, then back to Cadance, “Her?”

“Yes, her. And I got to meet her birth herd. You’d love her dam, she’s a real wild child. Her sire is a lot more reserved. But among them was a teenaged stallion. I had remembered him from school. And I actually thought he was cute. But you should have seen him, he was so awkward when it came to me. I didn’t have a clue at the time that he had the hots for me. I’d see it now through four mountain ranges and an ocean, but I knew nothing back then. His tongue got tied every time I was around. And boy, he was jealous of Buck. Him and his friends tried to sabotage Buck a couple of times, and they always failed. It was so funny. I didn’t know all this at the time.”

She smiles as she continues. “Well, after sitting for Twilight a few times, I had decided I liked Shining, and I was hoping that he would ask me to the fall formal. And instead he dithered and hemmed and hawed, and Buck asked me. Well, insisted actually, that I go with him. So, at the formal, quite a bit happened that night that we can go over later, but in the end, Shining and I kissed for the first time.”

She leans closer, “I know you know what I’m talking about with that kiss, electricity ran all over me, it was the most exciting and thrilling moment in my life up to that point.”

“I remember first kissing Tim in the hospital room. It was like, right there, the world felt right. Nothing could go wrong.”

That gets a nod from Cadance. “Good, you know that feeling. Tim gives that to you?”

Citrus looks down. “After he cheated on us, I didn’t kiss him very much. I was so hurt, I felt so betrayed, I didn’t allow myself to feel that electricity. Though I did miss it. I didn’ want to taste her on him.”

“And now?”

She looks into Cadence’s eyes. “It’s back, all last night he was giving me tingles all through my body.” She sighs and shudders in pleasure.

“Had a good reconciliation with your herd?” She has a definite purr in her voice.

Citrus nods. “It doesn’t make up for the months of nothing, but it helps. All of that helped with healing. But I still hurt, I still look at Tim and think, is he going to leave me for her.” She stops, trying to contain her emotions. Finally she sighs, “He’s told me that isn’t going to happen, that he loves me. He loves our herd. But how can I be certain of what’s going on in his head? He doesn’t think like us. He’s told me that a lot of marriages in his world end up with one or the other cheating. Though his parents remained faithful, and he’s told me that he remained faithful with his girlfriend. He was planning on marrying her eventually too. But how can I know for certain?” Tears are flowing faster now. Cadance steps forward and pulls Citrus into a hug, using her larger size and her wings to enfold the yellow unicorn, who sobs into her pink fur. Citrus spasms against her chest. “I have forgiven him.” She wails, “But no matter how much I’ve forgiven him, I still feel vulnerable.”

Cadance lets Citrus cry, holding to her tightly, she knows that the yellow mare doesn’t fully trust her as of yet, but this opening to her makes her own heart swell. Helping this herd won’t be easy, but it is something possible. She can feel the love here. And with that love, and the strong bonds they’ve been cultivating. Yes, it’s possible. Finally, Citrus pushes away, she moves away a bit, hanging her head. “I’m sorry, Duchess. You should still be Princess. I really thought you had malice towards me and my herd because I was keeping Tim away from your sister-in-law.”

To Citrus’ surprise, she gets nuzzled by Cadance, she looks up to see a smile on the other mare’s muzzle, “What’s done is done. But I never had any malice in my actions. I was dedicated to helping Twilight Sparkle. I still am dedicated to helping her. But you need to understand, not at the detriment to you and your herd. You have told me that you are open to her. And once I pound that fact through her thick skull, I think your healing will be greatly helped by having true reconciliation with her.” Citrus opens her mouth to object, only to have Cadance boop her nose gently with a hoof. “Yes, you say that the duel ended things. But you and I both know that you and her have to both heal. And spending time together will bring about that healing. Without saying formally, let her spend time with your herd. You like to go out, right? Do things together as a herd?”

“We haven’t done much as of late, but yes, we love outings together.”

“Invite her along. And when she says she has to do research, or her other duties, insist. This is going to be her audition to join your herd. Not in name, she still has to understand that you are receptive to her. But you have good instincts as a lead mare, be a leader with her. Be strong and don’t automatically defer to her.”

“But she’s a princess. I’m…” She’s against stopped by a gentle hoof to the nose, she flinches back. Scrunching her face, she flinches back.

Cadance leans close. “It doesn’t matter, Citrus. What matters is that she needs you. She needs your herd. Can you help her as much as she can help you?”

“I’ll try my best.”

“That’s all I ask.”

Cadance leans back, a happy smile on her face, Citrus looks up at her. “Where are you from?”

“I was an orphan, I was found by Earth ponies in the woods. I remember growing up and being the only pegasus foal I knew. I didn’t meet another kid pegasus until I was like nine or so. I guess you could say I grew up pretty disconnected from my heritage. It wasn’t until I had to deal with Prismia that I ascended.”

“I was gonna say you think like a ground bound pony versus like a pegasus. You actually are quite a bit like us unicorns – love to think, plan, and solve things delicately. You know our stallion, Silver?”

“The one who fought Shiny?”

“Yeah, him, the crazy guy not only leapt at the chance, but also directly propositioned Cayenne about joining the herd.”

“No way.”

“Yeah way. He even offered his rapier and cuirass to show his sincerity.”

“What a traditional gentlecolt.”

“Cayenne told me all about it, and this was before Tim came to live with us. So, I was resistant. I wasn’t ready for a herd, I wasn’t ready for all of that. She didn’t want to be lead mare, so she did defer to my decision, but Cayenne said he was so understanding, and when Tim told us about the pegasus he met in the market. Cayenne was giddy. She told Tim about Silverwing, about how he was interested in the herd. She let him bring Silver into the herd.”

Cadance nods. “Good instincts right there.” She giggles, “Wanna know how Shiny proposed?”

“Oh do tell.”

“Well, he was just barely captain and in charge of protecting me on a trip to the Camel Sands. So, one night, I’m suddenly shaken awake by guards with blades and arquebos telling me to move quickly, it’s very important. I’m taken through the night to a great cavern hidden from the moon, but by the time I get there, day’s starting to come. And Shiny’s there. He starts all gravely like ‘Princess Cadance, blah blah blah, you are very important, blah blah blah. Then he gets all serious and says that this is the most important moment of both our lives. Then, just as the sun raises, he asks me to marry him, amid an open cavern filled with scintillating rainbow gems. In that moment, I wanted to take his life, but I was so flattered he went through all that just for me.”

“So what did you do?”

“I was tired and mad enough to take his life, but I instead said yes and took his virginity.” She smiles fondly at the memory.

Citrus looks down, her ears splayed back. “I never got to take Tim’s, or anypony’s. How was it?” She looks up at Cadance.

Cadance smiles in response, “Awww, you should know how cute you are.” She cocks her head to the side, “It was cute. Kinda funny. And frustrating. You should have seen him tremble. My father had always told us just how powerful and fearful we mares are to stallions, but I had never believed him. When he mounted me, he called it the greatest honor of his life. He was so sweet; wanted to make sure it was okay, and it felt good. He came in me. I teased him if he got me pregnant we’d better get married for sure.”

“Aww, Duchess, that’s sweet.”

“And how was your first with Tim?”

“Really, really, fun. I didn’t know that his species takes, by pony standards, for fucking ever, to cum. So, I got fucked into a mewling mass before he ever popped.”

“Nice.”

“I never got to be his first. I don’t wanna seem like a jealous bitchy filly, but but, I kinda wish I was his first, y’know?”

That gets a rich laugh from the duchess. “Yeah. Shiny once told me the same. I was his first, he wasn’t mine.”

“So, who was yours?”

“Oh, a prin- er, duchess, never tells. A mare must have her mysteries.”

“You tease! Say, speaking of the past, you remember the 89’th Equestria games, Duchess?”

Cadance laughs, “How could I not? The aerobatics, the dash, and the fencing.”

“Spring Sprinter’s record at the two hundred dash?”

“Totally. The fastest mare in history, and what does she do when she gets in front of a microphone? Burp.” That gets a laugh from both mares. Cadance uses a wing to tap Citrus on the shoulder lightly.

“I know, right?”

“Yeah, Just like Rainbow Dash.”

“The national hero?”

“Just like Spring, only a pegasus instead of an earth pony.”

“Did you ever meet her?”

“No, I was too young, unimportant, and not a princess yet with Spring Sprinter. But when it comes to Rainbow Dash, I’ve met her loads of times.”

“What’s she like?”

“Well, what you see is what you get. Fast, brash, and prideful. A total egomaniac, in a good way.”

“I’ve only seen her at the Gala, sitting on the shoulder of that minotaur.”

Cadance smiles, “Oh, yeah. They’ve been a bit of an item for a while now. I still don’t know how she enjoys him so much. He’s far more reserved to her brashness, when she’s stressed, a few words from him will calm her right down.”

Citrus giggles, “Makes me wonder how he is in the bedroom.”

Cadance looks innocent. “Rainbow has said that his reservation in public is matched to wild abandon in private.”

“Oh, really?”

She nods. “She’s never been a morning pony, and on nights where he’s visited, getting her out of bed has been a monumental effort. She’s spent more time ground bound with him than at any other point. She truly loves him. Though minotaurs are more monogamous than ponies, she’s not into mares at all. She has said she’d be happy with a herd with four or five stallions, and just her.”

Citrus flicks her ears from side to side. “I doubt that would work. They’d kill each other in the rush for sex, and to know paternities.”

“No, it probably won’t. But she is a national hero, being an element of harmony, and a Wonderbolt. You know how many stallions are lining up for Spitfire, and she has no interest in stallions at all.”

“True.”

Citrus glances at the clock. “Wow, we’ve been talking for a while.”

Cadance smiles. “Yes, we have. And we can continue talking other times as well. Healing your herd, healing you, is what we will be focusing on.”

Citrus steps forward and throws her hooves around Cadance, who hugs her back tightly, “Thank you, Duchess. I just wish you hadn’t lost your title to get this healing.”

Cadance smile is genuine when she responds, “What’s done is done, we are focusing on moving forward now.”

“Thank you, Duchess.”

“I’m just trying my best.”

“Me too.”

“That’s all I can ask.”
> Chapter 26.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In his entire life, Tim has never exercised as much as he has since coming to Equestria. His muscles are pleasantly tired after spending much of the day with his herd. Twilight and Cadance had joined them in today’s excursion, which has become the norm since they first showed up the day after the gala. Though Tim can’t complain too much, all three of the girls have been quite a bit more relaxed and happier in the last couple of weeks. The time spent with the duchess and the princess has been a net positive for his herd, his family, that he doesn’t have any reason to object. Twilight’s been intensely working on language with him, she’s even had some of the herd help learn a bit of his natural language. Listening to Silver, or Citrus, try to say English words has been a great source of amusement. Cadance has spent the bulk of her time with Citrus, but she’s also drawn Cayenne and North aside for extended periods as well.

Sex hasn’t been a nightly endeavor, but it’s been frequent, and far more enjoyable than before the gala. He grimaces, a long day of shopping and the herd spending time together has been wonderful, but he’s ready to drop into bed. As they disperse through their apartment, Tim is the first to head towards the stairs. A hot shower sounds really good at the moment. As he gets to the bottom landing, he glances at Citrus, who has curled up in her favorite chair with a book suspended in her magic. Her eyes flick towards him, and a genuine smile appears on her face. After the stress of the last couple of months, seeing such a happy smile on her face gets him to stop. He walks over to her, his approach gets her to look up at him curiously, he swoops down and embraces her, finding her mouth and kissing her deeply. She moans softly and her forehooves wrap around his shoulders.

After time immemorial, they pull away for air, she looks up at him. “What was that for?”

He reaches out a finger and boops her nose, getting it to scrunch cutely. “I missed this.”

She responds with a bright smile, her horn lighting and yanking him closer, the ensuing kiss is full of every bit of passion and love that she can muster, and he responds enthusiastically. When they part again, both are breathing heavily. He cups her cheek with a hand as he slowly moves away. No words are needed, each can tell what the other is thinking.

Tim glances in the library, Silver is sitting in his chair in a pool of light, an intense look on the stallion’s face as he works. Though the half missing ear, and the healed but still tender scar is a reminder that always turns his stomach. The stallion bears the injuries with pride, always brushing off the human's concerns with a happy grin, and practically preening when mares give him a second look. Tim shrugs and resumes his course up the stairs and into the expansive master bedroom. He shucks his clothes and tosses them into the hamper and grabs a thick towel. Opening the glass door, he turns the shower on. Almost instantly, the water is almost too hot. Tim doesn’t like the face peeling heat that some do, but he likes his showers to be a healthy temperature. He spends a few minutes just letting the almost too hot water spray all over him. Knowing the girls’ finances, he guesses that this is a super-premium apartment, and not all pony apartments are this well-appointed. But he appreciates the big shower with multiple shower heads and plenty of pressure. He grabs the soap and starts to apply it, just enjoying the feeling.

“You missed a spot.” A voice impinges upon his consciousness.

“North?” He turns around. “Where did I miss?”

He looks down as she leans forward. “Here,” she murmurs softly as she takes him into her mouth. He isn’t really hard, but that changes quickly as the light blue mare sucks strongly, getting his eyes to roll back and his knees fight to buckle. When it comes to blowjobs, North Point is by far the best at them. And coupled with the fact that she would happily give him blowjobs several times a day if he’d let her, she gets quite a bit of practice anyway. She’s not going for getting him to cum right just yet, just humming happily as she gives him pleasure. He watches her head bobbing back and forth, feeling her tongue working along his entire length. She has figured out the way he moves, and she loves to keep him on the edge of orgasm. After a bit, she releases him with a pop. Then she rears up. “Pick me up,” she says softly.

He gets his arms under her rib cage and she hooks her forelegs over his shoulders. She smiles as she pulls herself a little higher. He shifts so her back is up against the glass, and she leans forward to kiss him. Her tongue invades his mouth as the chime of her magic fills the shower stall. She hunches her hips forward and brings her rear legs over his hips. Her magic has a gentle grip on his manhood, she lowers herself slowly onto him. Keeping her mouth locked to his, though he can feel her breathing get stuttered as her warmth closes down on his cock.

She breaks the kiss, pulling her head back against the glass, “Oh dear Celestia, yes.” She moans. Tim smiles and cups her rear with both hands, playing with her tail as he starts slowly lifting her up and letting her come down on him. She helps as best as she can, but he’s got all the leverage. Her gasps get louder and louder as he just enjoys the feeling of her body on his. He slowly picks up the pace, causing her to moan even louder.

After only a couple of minutes, she clenches her entire body against him, he’s fully hilted inside her as she shudders and moans in pleasure. Tim holds her tight as she rides her wave of pleasure. After what seems like forever, she relaxes against him. She blinks a few times and kisses his cheek. “I want you to cum, love.” She says softly, “I want to feel you cum.”

Slowly at first, he starts pumping into her, bracing her against the shower wall. The hot water flowing over both their bodies as he speeds up, he’s close already. The feel of her writhing against him as she was lost to her own passion has brought him close to the edge. She peppers his cheek and shoulder with kisses as he continues, though he can feel she’s building up to a second peak herself rather quickly. He accelerates a bit, getting her to shudder in his grasp. The mares of his herd have mentioned that they enjoy it when he loses control. Well, he loves it when they lose control just as much. He gets his arms around her barrel tightly as he slams into her, lowering her a bit to get the best angle on her hot plot.

She sucks in air greedily as she starts to peak again, this time she reaches up and latches her teeth onto his ear lobe. He yells a bit as she brings a bit more pressure than he's used to, her breathing thundering in his hearing as her entire body writhes against his in orgasm. Though that sends him over the edge as well. He hilts in her, holding her tightly against him as his cock jerks with every spurt. He holds her tightly as he rides out the orgasm, though the pain in the ear is a bit of a distraction. Finally, she releases his ear and pulls him close, him still hilted inside her.

She kisses his cheek. “Sorry,” she murmurs.

He smiles at her. “Don’t worry about it.” He leans down and kisses her, her mouth opening readily to accept him. Their tongues dance together for a long moment before she pulls away. He gets the hint and pulls her up off of him, then he sets her down on the tile. She lights her horn and brings the soap to her, he’s pretty much done with his own shower. So, he kisses her on the cheek and slips out.

“Holy fuck, that was hot,” Silver says, his wings wide. Tim is beyond being nervous around Silver while naked. It doesn’t even really bother him anymore that the stallion is at full mast himself

“How much did you see?”

Silver smiles. “When I came in here, you were pounding the hell out of her up against the glass.”

That gets a grin. “Yeah, we both had fun.” He looks back at the glass, North is busily washing herself. “I got an idea. Hey, North, want a second round?”

“Really?”

“Oh, not with me.”

“Silver?”

“Who else!” Silver interrupts.

“Honey, you don’t even have to ask. Get in the shower and me!”

Silver does a little nicker, whispering, “Well played, Cock Blockington.” Tim has to laugh at the earnest tone of Silver's voice. He nods and the stallion’s nearly prances over to the shower door. Tim tosses off a salute to the stallion as he pulls the towel around his waist.

***

Silver is the last to hop into the bed. Tim's been cuddling with Citrus on one side and Cayenne on the other side, North is snoozing with her head on his thigh, her glasses askew incredible cutely. Citrus glances at Silver as he moves up and lies down next to North, glancing at Tim for permission. At Tim's nod, the stallion rests his own head on Tim's calf, putting a wing over North he snuggles up closer to her. Being wrapped up in pony has been always the best way to sleep for him. Though Citrus remains a bit tense. He squeezes her tighter. “You thinking about something?”

She looks up at him. “You are perceptive.”

He nods, she smiles tremulously. “I’ve been thinking about my conversation with Princess Cadance last week.”

“Oh?”

She nods, her ears flattening. “She’s suggested that we discuss Twilight and any potential future of her with the herd.”

It’s Tim's turn to stiffen up. That gets a hug from Citrus, but after a long moment, she leans her head back to look at him. “Did you like sex with her?”

“We’ve already discussed this, Citrus, and you know my answers haven’t changed.”

“Tim, we aren’t judging you, any decision made regarding her has to have your input. You like sex with her when she turned human, do you think you’d like sex with her as a pony?”

Tim shifts uncomfortably. “I don’t know, probably, but I do know I wouldn’t want to get into that situation without my herd.”

“Okay, in the situation of you having your herd’s consent, would you be willing to service her in heat?”

“What is heat sex even like?”

Silver pipes up. “Everything the girls are like now, but the extra pheromones they are dropping amps you up as much as they are amped up. It’s far more intense compared to our usual sex lives. There is a reason that unattached stallions become scarce when heat is coming. They want sex all the time and being around them makes you want sex just as much. And if they aren’t ready to sire, they find places to hide. Spending almost every waking moment in bed wouldn’t be strange.”

Citrus nods. “It is a part of our biology, and a very basic and strong part of our lives. There are teas and other herbal remedies to help, but the drive to perpetuate our species is exceedingly strong. You will find that out in the spring. You’ll have us three all clamoring for your attention. And if Twilight joins in, that will be four mares to the two of you. And I’ve agreed to helping her with heat. What I need input on is how you all can handle her emotionally when not in heat.”

“She’s a national hero, why?” North asks.

Citrus sighs, “That’s a big part of the problem; she’s a Princess. She has money, power, fame. She can’t ever hope for a normal relationship. Every gold digger, every scam artist, every pony and herd wanting to elevate their station in life wants her. My father probably has at least once tried to hit on her. She has to be careful about accepting advances, and as a consequence, she’s lonely. I see what Cadance is talking about. She needs to be loved for her, not for what she is. And she, for some reason, has focused on you, Tim. And while I can see the benefits of having her as a herd sister, what that would mean for us. I want the decision to be made for the right reason -- not for sex, not for being pulled into the orbit of royalty, but because of the mare herself.”

“Well, her actions with Tim have really hurt that. How can we judge her if she’s willing to poach a stallion?” Silver shifts a bit, his ear and a half flicking back and forth.

“That’s what we have to decide here. The duchess made some really good points, and ultimately, this decision rests on my withers,” Citrus says softly, “I want to say no, because of what she’s done already, but a shortsighted reaction like that doesn’t help her, or us.”

Cayenne’s ears flick. “I know what you are saying, if it helps at all, her apology was sincere. I don’t see her doing that again.”

“Even when her royal tightness demands pounding?”

Cayenne looks over at Silver. “No, not even then. That was a culmination of several factors. Yes, she was in heat, and we can excuse some of her actions because of it. She had also been denying her feelings for Tim. She had refused to let herself acknowledge her feelings. She was trying to spare our feelings, trying to respect our herd.”

“And she failed, miserably,” Citrus says somberly.

The mares all nod, then North looks up at Citrus. “There is magic in forgiveness, there is magic in friendship.” She nuzzles Silver. “Honor has been satisfied, thanks to our brave junior stallion.” She looks at Cayenne. “Do you think she was honest in that? She honestly wanted to spare our feelings? She had no desire to poach Tim?”

Cayenne frowns, her ears flattening to the sides. “Yes, I do believe her. She even took measures to prevent pregnancy as a human. And while the primary reasons were biological, she was genetically nearly a twin of Tim’s, she also knows what an unattached mare with foal means. We would have had to cut Tim loose, no matter our feelings on the matter, to satisfy honor. And such a duel over not just a tryst but a full poaching might have been to the death.”

Citrus looks over Tim’s chest at Cayenne. “Are you sure? Do you think she would try to take over? Would you accept her taking over lead mare?”

Everypony shakes their head, Tim speaks up. “No, I don’t think she wants that. She wants a happy and harmonious herd, she doesn’t have a big head in that respect. She knows she’s a princess, she knows what that represents. But she’s not shoving it in anyone’s face. I think she wants to be accepted for who she is. If she were here right now, she wouldn’t be shoving you over, she’d be cuddling with all of us.”

Silver’s ears flick forward. “But she’s a princess, princesses don’t cuddle with ponies.”

Citrus looks at the stallion. “Why not? They are ponies just like us.”

His head lifts, “Are you sure? Princess Celestia can move the sun, all by herself. Luna moves the moon. Cadance has the power to kindle love. Those are not things just ponies do.”

Tim reaches a hand and ruffles Silver’s cheek. “Silver, despite her having fantastic abilities, she wants to be loved, just like you, just like all of us.”

Silver withdraws a bit. “Yeah, well you’ve plowed her plot already,” he grumbles.

“Yes, I did. And I’ve also spent many hours with her. She like belly rubs, snoot boops, she likes to snuggle, she likes everything every mare here does. I’ve seen her with Spike. He’s a dragon, yet she showers him with love, genuine love, he’d go to the ends of the world for her. And she would go just as far for him. But she also gets wrapped up in what she’s doing. I know she has her brother, but she’s also a massive bookworm. Very much the introvert. She craves the attention, the love, like we have here. But she doesn’t really understand what an intimate relationship is. She’s read romance books, she’s read about how herds live in Equestria. She’s read all of that. But she doesn’t understand how to apply it. You know what I’m talking about, Citrus. She was in Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns. And she had trouble in there, her studies were top notch, one of the best learners at the school. But she had no friends. She had ponies that she was acquainted with, like Moon Dancer, and a couple of others. But her studies always took priority. Not too long ago, she had discovered that she had left them behind. She went out of her way to help heal that rift.”

“You sure know a lot about her,” Citrus says softly, nuzzling his cheek.

Tim smiles. “Well, she was asking me about my life growing up, and she’d let me know what happened with her as well. I would be against her trying to join our herd, even on a limited basis, if it weren’t for her deciding to fix what she had messed up when she was younger. She has the desire to do the right thing, she only comes here to help. And Citrus, I know you noticed when she was indicating to interact with me. She’s still gun shy about what happened. You can see that she’s doing her best to get in your good graces. And that is with her thinking that her chances are zero.”

Citrus looks at Tim. “You think she deserves a chance? You think she can put aside that crown? Put aside the fact she’s an alicorn, for us? Not just for you, but for us?”

Tim’s eyes narrow as he thinks furiously. “I think she wants to. We know what she needs, and she knows it too, but she’s not as good at expressing that as you are.”

Citrus nuzzles Tim again. “I’ve heard what everypony has to say. I’m not going to just say come on in and make yourself a second home here. But we can see if she’s willing to be one of us, in private. I know she has to be a princess when she’s in public. But when in private, we will have to see if she can be just a pony with us.

Cayenne flicks an ear. “You think she can let her mane down, so to speak?”

Citrus looks at Tim for a long moment, at his slight nod, she nods herself. “I think so.”

“But she has to come to us,” North says, “We don’t want to come across as social climbers, you know that will get her defenses up immediately.”

Citrus nods. “I’ll let the duchess know that we’ll try.”

Citrus snuggles close to Tim, rolling on her back. “Speaking of belly wubs…”

Tim smiles as he runs his hand along her taught belly, feeling the short hairs there and how soft she is. She sighs and melts into his side with a happy smile.

Cayenne rolls on her back. “You’ve got two hands there, bucko.” She gets a laugh from Tim as he shows his love for her as well.

Silver watches for a long moment, a small smile on his face. He nuzzles North and brings her closer to him, running his wings along the mare’s barrel, “It is your decision, and I support whatever you decide.” He chuckles, “Though I still think fish will fly well before I’ll ever mount her.”

***

Tim has very rarely been in a taxi. The ponies prefer to walk almost everywhere, though a trip from one end of Canterlot to the other would be a rather long walk. The herd had decided to take a taxi, but with the added company of Duchess Cadance and Princess Twilight make the tight space rather cramped. Citrus sits next to him, leaning happily up against him, so he’s quite happy in the cab. The two stallions pulling the cab are keeping it at a quick pace. Due to Canterlot being built on a mountainside, the city is divided into several areas, with the Royal Palace being the highest structure. Large bridges connect the different sections of the city together. And all the white marble and sculpture is actually quite beautiful to Tim’s eyes. He holds on as the stallions take a turn and head down yet another bridge.

Tim puts an arm around Citrus, enjoying her being close. In the last few weeks since the duel, Cadance and Twilight have visited quite often. Sometimes while he’s at work, sometimes with him home. And to his delight, their lives have been not only returning to normal, the mares have been more understanding of his quirks. He’s been brought in to their financial lives as well. Not just being able to spend the bits that he’s earned in his job but having a say in some of the business decisions that Citrus and Cayenne have had to deal with. Being asked his opinion on things has made his life in Equestria much better. He leans back and holds Citrus as the taxi continues on its way to their destination.

Finally, he looks around as the stallions slow. They are pulling into a place he’s never been before in Equestria. Though some of the smells are similar to when he visited as a child back home. As the taxi stops, Twilight leads them off. “Welcome to the Canterlot zoo,” she says softly. Citrus lights her horn and opens her saddle bag, only to stop at a sharp look from Twilight. “I said I was treating all of you today, Citrus.” Citrus lets her horn go quiet, but she does stick out her tongue at the purple alicorn. Twilight giggles in response, “You know, Citrus. You can have your friends treat you to nice things from time to time.”

Citrus nods. “Thank you, Twilight.” She glances over at Cadance, and Tim is surprised when the larger alicorn nods with a big smile on her face. “So, what’s special about the Canterlot zoo?”

Twilight floats a few golden coins to the stallion, who takes the money with a big smile, then she also floats some more to the mare in a ticket booth at the entrance. She looks back at Citrus as they pass through the gate, “The zoo here has the most extensive collection of rare and exotic creatures from Equestria, and all over the world. It is the biggest zoo of its kind and its right here! Their cataloguing of species and subspecies could fill a library on its own.Their conservation programs have been working to build populations that have been lost due to natural disaster, or famine, or a number of other reasons in places we ponies don’t control the elements. Princess Celestia has decreed the zoo here is to uphold the biodiversity of our world, and to expand life wherever possible.The amount of research you could do here on animals alone. Isn't it wonderful?”

“But it’s a zoo, a place for ponies to look at all these creatures.”

Twilight blinks slowly looking at him as if he had grown a second head. “Umm, yes, that is a part of it. Remember, if you hear about a fire and a population being decimated. It’s merely words to you. But seeing them, seeing the ponies dedicated to helping them, it gives you a better idea of what those words actually mean. Conservation is the biggest part of the mission here.”

Tim follows the herd as they join the ponies already there. Apparently, a couple of schools have brought students here. Hundreds of colts and fillies are running around, with tired adults in tow. Twilight is wearing a cloak to hide her wings, escaping the attention of the throngs, although Tim isn’t quite so lucky; he actually gets quite a bit of attention himself. He has soon attracted dozens of young ponies, curious about the creature with two of the alicorns of Equestria joining him. He tries to answer the questions the ponies pepper him with. Though he’s learning just as much. Twilight had told him about the disparity between the birth rate between male and female. And for every six or seven fillies and young mares, there’s maybe one colt or young stallion. After the initial furor abates, he leans over to Twilight and remarks that.

Twilight blinks, “You have to consider our genetics, Tim. Remember, our genome consists of the genes which comprise earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. We are wildly different, yet we are interfertile. A pegasus can get a unicorn with foal, and such. And let’s not get into the interfertility with griffons, donkeys, and other denizens of our world. With all that complexity, the male-female ratio is not at parity like with your species. But is skewed heavily in favor of fillies. It’s also one of the reasons why our herds end up the way they do. One mare to one stallion would mean a lot of lonely mares. There are even magical ways for two mares to achieve impregnation. Though it is rather taboo, it does happen from time to time. Though the product there is always female, hence why it is taboo – if everypony did it, we would, in the end, run out of stallions, and only via unicorm magic could reproduction be achieved. You can see how a malicious pony could use that for evil. That basic fact of our biology is why colts are highly prized. We love our offspring, and you can see that here.”

Tim looks around, the little ones running around seem to all be well fed, well taken care of, and most of all, happy. He looks back at Twilight. “I see.”

She smiles brightly. “Well, you’ve seen all different kinds of creatures. Do you have most of them on your world?”

Tim shrugs, “Yeah, mostly. I’ve seen lions, bears, ostriches, deer, all of those on our world.” He stops and blinks, “Wait a second, does that bunny have antlers?"

Twilight turns and looks, "Its a jackalope, they are native around here. Now you have to be careful, because there are blood drinking vampiric Jackalopes, but they are usually kept in check by the Chupacabras."

Tim stands there for a long moment, his mouth working, but nothing coming out.

She smiles, then she looks up at the sky, a concerned frown forming. “Well, that’s not good.” She says softly.

Tim follows where she’s looking, a sky chariot is coming in to land, a few ponies are aboard. Curious, Twilight takes off at an easy canter, and after a few moments, he jogs along, the rest of the herd in tow. As they approach the chariot, two unicorns are bringing out a form on a long board. One of them comes up to Twilight, ducking her head, “Your pardon princess, we found her at the edge of the Everfree. She was severely injured, we aren’t certain what did it to her.”

“Who is she?”

“A deer. We have some of the best vets here at the Canterlot zoo, and a great rehabilitation center for injured animals as well. We’ll have her grazing with the rest here in no time.”

Twilight turns back to Tim. “Oh, this is exciting, a rescue case has come in. Want to see more?”

Tim looks back at the herd, and then over to Twilight. “We won’t be in the way?”

“Not an inch.”

“That would be pretty cool.”

The stretcher is floated into the small building that apparently houses the veterinarian clinic. Twilight and the rest follow at a respectful distance. Though she winces at the blood slowly dripping off the edge of the stretcher, she leans towards Tim, “Whatever got her, got her good.” They are soon inside, and two unicorns come up, both light their horns, calling out orders to the other ponies. The other ponies leap to obey as the two unicorns light their horns and start working.

“So, this is how you do magical healing?” Tim murmurs. Damaged flesh is enclosed in a unicorn’s aura, and the wound closes up. A needle finds a vein, and blood is drawn from the deer, who is unconscious throughout. After the blood is drawn, what looks like saline is hung, trying to replenish fluids. Tim leans back, watching the unicorns work.

Both of them have grim looks on their faces, the magic involved in the healing seems to be rather strong. Twilight moves in, and the others start to defer to her. Though she dispels that quickly. “I’m here to help, not taking over.” She says softly, as her own magical aura adds to the magic in the room, “I’m not the best at healing, but I can provide supportive magic here.”

That gets a big sigh as the other two continue to work. A pegasus brings an oxygen mask and places it gently over the deer’s muzzle. Before long, the deer starts to move, getting happy smiles from all involved. Citrus leans towards Tim. “Magical healing takes as much as it gives. A skilled healer can mend broken bones where the bone is sticking out of the flesh without so much as a scar, but some of that energy is taken from the one getting healed. One reason a lot of pegasi don’t like magical healing done on their wings. Though their repair factor dwarfs other ponies.”

Not wanting to interrupt the others working, Tim pitches his voice low. “So, she was near death?”

Citrus agrees, “Yeah, really close judging by how limited their initial healing was. Notice they started on the wounds actively bleeding. And focused on stabilization. Flew her right by triage, too. If you get to triage and you get held there, be grateful – if you were really about to die for real, they wouldn’t be okay with keeping you waiting. They can’t fully heal her to how she was before this attack, but they can keep her from bleeding out, and heal the worst of the wounds. Natural healing will have to complete the work, so she’ll likely be laid up here for a while.”

Tim looks at the deer. “She looks different than the deer they had on display.”

“Oh? I didn’t notice.”

Tim nods, “Yeah, smaller body, her ears are a lot smaller too. Like the difference between mule deer and white tails back home.”

Twilight finally backs away from the others working. The horns of all the ponies quiet as a warm blanket covers the deer, Twilight comes close. “I’m glad I could lend my strength to them. She was in bad shape.”

Citrus perks up. “Tim said she looks different than the other deer that are on display here.”

Twilight’s eyebrows rise. “Around Ponyville, there are pretty much just the same type, though…” She turns as the deer starts to stir. An earth pony adjusts the blanket as the deer’s eyes open.

Twilight moves forward, watching as the deer blinks a few times. Then the deer opens her mouth. “Take your stinking hooves off of me you damned dirty horse!”
> Chapter 27.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The effect of the deer's talking is immediate. The veterinarian ponies and their assistants back away, looking at Twilight, who freezes at the deer's words. She glances back at the herd, then she walks slowly forward. “Are you one of the deer of the Everfree Forest?”

The deer rolls her eyes. “What? You think I’m one of my retarded cousins? Look at the ears, look at the eyes, Princess. I’m not one of them.”

She glances at the veterinarians, then back at the deer. “You are not fully healed yet. May we finish?”



The deer lifts her head, looking at the two unicorns and their staff, then back at Twilight. She lays her head back down on the gurney, grumbling softly, “If I had been faster, that Manticore wouldn’t have caught me.” She closes her eyes for a long moment, then she looks at Twilight. “Yeah, just make it quick.”

Twilight looks back at the vets with a nod and a smile. As they get back to work, she moves closer and sits down closer to the deer, “Magical healing takes energy from the one getting healed, you were so weak when we got you here, to heal you fully would be fatal. So, we are stabilizing you and healing the worst of your wounds. We will let you get some rest tonight, and I’ll go into the Everfree with you in the morning to get you home. Prince Bramble knows me. It will be okay.”

The deer starts to struggle and is quickly immobilized by Twilight’s magic. “No, I’ve got to fulfill my mission. You can’t send me home yet!”

Twilight glances back at Tim and the herd. “What mission?”

The doe glares at Twilight. “Something of great importance has been stolen, I’m going to get it back.”

“You can’t be much past your spots,” Twilight scoffs, “You are telling me Prince Bramble sent a fawn on an important mission when he’s got his own guard?”

The deer obviously tries to move, but Twilight’s magic holds firm, finally she flops her head down. “I’m not on a mission for Prince Bramble, but one for my family. My mom and dad can’t go, so it’s up to me.”

Twilight sits there for a long time, finally, she shifts a bit on her hooves. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

The deer shakes her head.

“Princess,” a vet says softly, “I will not release her to be on her own tonight. She must get a minimum of ten hours of sleep after this. And plenty of food.”

Twilight nods, she leans closer to the deer. “You have a choice, you can stay in my castle tonight, with plenty of food and a comfortable bed, but with Royal guards keeping their eyes on you. Or you can stay here, in a locked room, with vet techs monitoring you.”

The doe looks at the other unicorn, then at Twilight. “But I have to go. The trail will get cold and I’ll never find them.”

Twilight stamps a hoof on the concrete of the floor. “Those are your choices.”

The doe glares at her balefully, then directs her ire at the vet, finally she flops her head down. “Okay, Princess, you win,” she grumbles.

Twilight smiles. “Once these nice ponies are done, I will get you to my home. You will be a lot closer to the Everfree at that point. What's your name, by the way?"

The doe half mumbles, half grumbles in response, "Wisteria."

"That's a pretty name," Twilight said with a smile before looking over her shoulder at Tim. "Deer love naming their fawns after plants."

"Daffodils shining, Wysteria twining," Citris starts to sing softly, "Flowers amaze us in so many ways."

The doe groans softly and covers her muzzle and eyes with a foreleg.

Tim gently puts his hand over Citrus's muzzle. "I don't think she's well enough for singing."

Twilight turns and heads over to the herd. She pitches her voice low. “I guess we will have to cut today short,” she says with a soft sigh.

“Oh, I don’t know about that, maybe you should bring the herd along with whatever is going on.”

Twilight’s eyes go wide. “But, Cadance, we could end up going all over Equestria.”

Cadance nods. “Or you could take her to the front door of your castle and let her go on her merry way. Either way, I think you spending time with the herd is a good thing.” She glances over at Citrus. “Am I right?”

Citrus glances at Twilight, then looks back at Cadance. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”

Twilight flinches. “You and your herd are never an imposition, Citrus.”

Cadance claps her hooves together. “It’s settled then.”

She glances back at the doe, then looks at Citrus. “I plan on teleporting us to the castle. How good are you at teleporting?”

Citrus’ eyes widen. “I can teleport myself, but that’s it.”

Twilight looks around. “I can handle everypony else then if that’s okay with you.”

Citrus looks up at the encouraging smile on Cadance’s face. “I think I will try and trust you in this.”

That gets a bigger smile from Twilight than she expected. The herd and the alicorns stay out of the way of the other ponies as they continue working on the doe.

After a bit more than an hour, one of the vets comes over. He reaches up a hoof to take off his sterile cap and wipes his face with it. “She’s as healed as we can do, Princess. I will release her to you. But she needs to sleep and eat. She mentioned a manticore, so we’ve administered some antivenin. She is going to be exceedingly drowsy for a while.”

Twilight nods her thanks, then gestures for the herd to follow her, though Silver takes a step back. “Not to be disrespectful, Princess, but I’d rather be home than out on some adventure.”

Cayenne speaks up. “I’ll second that. I’m a city mare, I don’t like the idea of running around on some crazy adventure.”

All eyes move to North, who squeaks, “An adventure sounds fun to me.”

Twilight glances at Citrus, who nods. “Then I will make sure the rest of the herd makes it safely home.” She reaches over and hugs Silver and then moves over and gives Cayenne a hug as well.

Cayenne hugs Tim tightly. “Be safe, love. And I’ll make sure your job remains for when you get back.”

“This could be quick.”

“Or it could take weeks, either way, don’t worry.” She glances at Twilight, then gathers up Silver. Twilight takes a moment to envelop them in magic and they wink away. Twilight takes a deep breath then looks over at Citrus and lights her horn again. After a few moments of charging, the deer along with the herd, winks out.

Winking into the castle, Twilight's horn stays lit, holding the now sleeping deer in her magic. A few seconds later Citrus and Cadance pop into existence in the entryway.

“Twilight?” comes a young voice, and quickly a young dragon scampers into view. He skids to a stop, taking in the scene before him. He blinks slowly at the deer suspended in Twilight's magic. “Well, looks like I’ll get a couple of guest rooms prepared. Duchess Cadance, your room is already ready.”

“Spike, just tell the staff, don’t act like you are the only one making the castle work,” Twilight says with a giggle as Cadance bids good evening to the rest and heads off.

The young dragon shrugs his shoulders and scampers off. Tim follows Citrus and North as Twilight escorts them into the castle. She opens one of the guest rooms and canters to the bed to place the deer on it. She covers the prone form with a blanket and extinguishes the lights. As she shuts the door behind her, she looks at Citrus. After a long moment, she scuffs a hoof on the floor. “I don’t suppose you three would accept an invitation to my bedroom for the night?”

Citrus tenses, but before she’s able to get a word out, Twilight flushes bright red. “I’m not asking for sex!” After the outburst she somewhat withdraws into herself. “I just haven’t had anypony to sleep with in a long time, just sleeping together.” She looks up at Citrus with tears in her eyes. “I know that I’ve messed up any chance of anything more, Citrus, but it doesn’t have to be all of you. Just you could, and Tim and North could use one of the other guest rooms. I just need…” She trails off, a few tears falling.

Citrus stands there for a long moment, glancing at Tim, and over at North, but focusing mainly on the alicorn silently weeping before her. “No.” She says softly, “Your bed is not going to work. I know what happened in there, and I can’t see that being helpful for repairing relationships.” She stops and glances at Tim. “I also am not for having us sleep apart. Where Tim sleeps, I sleep. And if you want to join all of us in slumber, I can agree to that, on more neutral territory.”

The change in Twilight is immediate, her ears perk forward, and a happy smile appears. “Really?”

Citrus nods, only to be nearly bowled over by the larger alicorn leaping at her in a big hug. Citrus hugs back, a genuine smile on her face. After they part, Twilight excuses herself to prepare Spike for sleep. As she trots off, Citrus watches her. “She’s so mothering.”

North smiles, “Yes, she is. That is a good trait, you know.”

Citrus turns and heads down to the other guest quarters, in that wing of the castle that Twilight had indicated. “I know it is. She has a lot going for her. She’s earnest, very intelligent, an exceptional mage. Had there not been such bad blood from the beginning, I would have thought of her as herd material much sooner.”

“You know, we don’t have to go with whatever she’s going to do.” Tim says softly.

Citrus nods. “I know. This is something she would normally go with her friends on, the other Element bearers. But if she wants to join the herd, we have to know more about her. Maybe getting some idea of what goes on when we normally wouldn’t be around would give us some perspective on what her life is like. Why she is the way she is.”

Tim nods. “You know, I’ve told you what she’s told me about her life growing up. Her birth herd, and how she ended up in Ponyville.”

Citrus looks back with a smile. “I know, Tim. Her family is Canterlot elite. Twilight Velvet, her dam, is a teacher and a member of the EUP. She’s well respected as a mage herself. I’m not the biggest fan of Night Light, from what you’ve told me, and he’s the only sire of the herd. I do worry about his influence.”

Tim nods. “Those two do seem like oil and water.”

Citrus opens the door and looks around. “Wow. Fancy.”

“Much like Canterlot Castle,” he says, looking around.

North Point prances over to the bed and hops on. “Now this is comfortable.” She moans as she stretches out. Citrus looks back at Tim before cantering over to the bed herself before hopping on. She pats the bed and Tim reaches to pull off his shirt and jeans. He tosses his socks on the pile of clothes as he crawls into bed with the girls.

Citrus snuggles into a shoulder, “Why are you keeping your boxers on?”

Tim finds his face heating. “Because Twilight…” he trails off.

Citrus giggles, “If she can’t keep her hooves off of that part of you, then we don’t have much to trust her with. You have us here. I know you are more comfortable sleeping nude. But if you really want.”

He hurriedly pulls off his boxers and tosses them at the other clothes on the floor, getting a happy sigh from Citrus as her magic draws the covers up, she snuggles again into his shoulder. North has her head on Citrus’ withers, a hoof on his stomach as she snuggles closer.

In only a few minutes the door opens silently, Twilight walks in, being careful to not make too much noise with her hooves as she approaches the bed. Tim looks over at her drowsily, Citrus is already breathing deeply in sleep. Tim pats the bed and the lavender mare leaps easily up. She slides her way under the covers and lays close to him, one forehoof draped over his chest and touching Citrus’ own hoof, the rest of her body pressed up against him. She sighs happily as she snuggles closer. Her muzzle ends up against his neck, her horn just barely touching his hair. She had laid on his arm, so he brings it around and holds her close, much like how Citrus is lying on the other side. He looks at all three mares, one falling towards sleep, with two others already in dream land. He smiles softly as his own eyes close and he relaxes towards sleep himself.

***

Tim shifts a bit; the windows are letting in the light of the rising sun. Since coming to Equestria, he hasn’t had to use an alarm clock. Today is no exception. He opens up his eyes to the yellow face of Citrus Blush. He lies there on his side, warm and content, looking at her. His slight movement has apparently brought her out of her sleep, she opens her eyes slowly and smiles as she sees his face. He leans his head forward and she eagerly meets his mouth in a kiss. He pulls his arm out from the wing over him and cups her cheek as the kiss continues. After a few moments, he hears North pipe up from around his waist level from her head lying on Citrus's cutie mark. “Good morning love.”

He feels a burst of pleasure down below and looks down, North is stroking him gently, a hungry look on her face. His eyes widen. “Ummm, North, we have an extra in the bed,” he says softly.

She pouts for a moment, but quickly recovers. She squeezes between Citrus and Tim and moves up for a kiss. Tim obliges, though North’s hooves do roam over his body rather freely. Twilight’s wing retracts when they finally part, both panting a bit. Twilight wiggles a bit to lay her head on his shoulder. She yawns loudly, “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Princess,” Citrus says.

That gets an annoyed grunt from Twilight. “Citrus, we spent the night together. A very pleasant night, I might add. I haven’t slept this well since Rainbow Dash was over for a sleepover. But you should know, that crown doesn’t matter once we make it into the castle. Cadance has told me that I have a chance with you. Though I do hope that’s possible, I still want to treat you like family no matter what. Any of your herd is welcome to stay here any time you wish.”

Citrus's eyes narrow for a moment, then she smiles. “Okay… I’m going to assume that wasn’t a pass, Twilight.”

The lavender mare throws the covers off the bed and rolls off to land on her hooves. She shakes herself quickly before heading to the bedroom door. “I have a feeling the deer will want to be going soon. Thank you, Citrus, North, and Tim. I haven’t slept that well in ages.” She walks sedately from the room, her tail wagging from side to side.

As she closes the door behind her, Tim throws the covers off and slides over to the edge of the bed. It doesn’t take him long to don his clothes, quite aware of his mares watching his every move. For some reason they enjoy watching him get dressed, almost as much as they enjoy watching him get undressed. He pulls his shirt over his head and adjusts the collar. He turns back to two smiling faces. “Ready?” They nod and hop off the bed themselves, making a beeline to the bathroom. In a matter of minutes they both emerge, manes all brushed and clean. Tim takes a moment to empty his bladder in the toilet, then he steps to flush and hurries to catch up with the girls.

Though it turns out hurrying wasn’t necessary. They wait for nearly an hour before Twilight emerges with the deer walking next to her. Twilight is wearing a heavy set of saddle bags, the clasps on them matching her cutie mark. The deer has what looks like a small barrel hanging low around her neck. Twilight smiles, “Sorry about the delay, Wisteria here needed a new flask, and with my visits to the Everfree, I’ve acquired a couple. And I had to get packed. Wisteria has agreed to allow us to join her.”

Citrus nods. “So what is going on.”

The deer looks back at Twilight, who nods encouragingly, she turns back to the herd. “A couple of days ago, two unicorns visited our home in the Everfree. They wanted to buy barrels, my family makes some of the best in the Everfree. We agreed to sell two dozen to them. Well, instead of loading empty barrels, they loaded their cart with barrels full of a very powerful plant growth potion.” She paws the ground. “We didn’t notice at first, apparently one of them had shifted over the empty barrels in place of the full while the other was talking to us. It was a good con. But this is my family’s work. I need to retrieve the potion.”

Twilight beams with a smile. “And we are going to help.”

“By the time we found out, they were out of the forest. The birds of the forest told me where they went, but I had to hurry, and I wasn’t paying attention. So the manticore got the drop on me, he even broke my favorite flask. Princess Twilight was kind enough to let me have this new one.”

Citrus looks back at North and Tim, then back to the deer. “We will be happy to help, Wisteria.”

That gets smiles all around as Twilight guides us out. They don’t take very long to make it to the edge of the forest. Twilight asking questions of the deer the entire time. Finally, she asks the deer to describe the ponies. After hearing about their coloring, clothing, and cutie marks, Twilight growls a bit. She stops and looks at the deer. “Those two are Flim and Flam. They are con ponies, and they’ve tried to run cons here in Ponyville. They very nearly got Sweet Apple Acres out from under my friend Applejack.”

“You’ve dealt with them before?” Tim asks.

“Yeah. Applejack was actually in Los Pegasus recently, they actually helped her when it comes to a friendship problem. But apparently they’ve gotten bored with that, so are now doing something else.” She stops and puts a hoof to her chin. “Well, they apparently were looking for good barrels. I guess they just saw an opportunity and took it.” Her ears go back, a scowl appearing on her face. “Though that doesn’t excuse them from doing this.”

The doe is walking around. “Yeah, this is where I was attacked.” She leans down and noses some broken pieces of wood. “Yeah, this was my flask at the time. He got me good with his first swipe before I knew he was there. A couple of ponies head the commotion and called for help while one of them stayed with me. I only remember bits and pieces after the pegasus drove the manticore away.”

“Do you know who the pegasus was?” Twilight asks, her ears perked forward curiously.

Wisteria’s own ears fold flat, side to side. “No. All I remember is her coat was gray with a blonde mane and tail.”

That gets a smile from Twilight, “I think I know who you are talking about. I’ll talk to her and congratulate her later.” She looks at all assembled. “Okay, they were unicorns, so I’ll do a resonance test, see if we can determine their direction.” With that, she lights her horn and closes her eyes. Tim takes a step back from the power being used in close proximity. For a long time, Twilight is silent, with her horn glowing brightly. Citrus and North look back and forth at each other. Then North takes a tentative step forward, her own horn lighting. Twilight seems to notice this as her eyes open for a moment, then she smiles at the smaller mare. She nods and their glow changes somehow, it looks like the horn shine from both seems to come from one source. North gasps a little bit and her eyes start to glow. After a few moments, the magic is released and they look at each other. Twilight smiles. “You were invaluable there, North.” That gets a blush and a shy smile from the gray mare.

Tim leans down, “What happened?”

Citrus looks up at Tim. “Twilight and North formed a ring. North is good with directions and such, so she was able to add her expertise to what Twilight is doing.”

Twilight brightens, teaching is where the lavender mare is most comfortable. “What I was doing was feeling the resonance. If a unicorn uses magic somewhere, I can feel the residues of that magic. And luckily, they were. They were using it continuously as they walked, so I’m guessing they were using magic to pull the cart they had. I could read the trail and they went to the southwest.”

North pipes up. “And with us connected in the ring, I can direct us to them easily. Since that is more in line with my natural talents. Which I’ve discovered more about, thanks to you, Tim.” She beams a big smile at Tim, getting a blush from the human.

Twilight looks at North, then at Tim. “Your intuition when it comes to cutie marks is exceptional, Tim.” He grins. North turns and starts walking. Twilight and Citrus quickly follow, and Tim follows them quickly. The doe stops and watches the party for a minute before scampering off to join them.

As Wisteria gets close, she falls in next to Tim. They walk in silence for a few minutes before the doe looks up at Tim. “So, what’s your story?”

Tim looks down at her. “My story?”

She nods. “I’ve never seen your kind before. And you don’t look like minotaurs or other bipedal tribes from around here.”

Tim nods. “Ah, well, I’m not from Equestria.” The doe walks in shocked silence as he explains. “Then I moved in with Citrus, and we’ve been adding in more to our herd.”

She looks at the mares walking before them. “All three of them?”

Tim shakes his head. “Twilight isn’t a member of the herd as of yet. We’ve just resolved some…” he glances forward. Twilight’s ears are perked forward as she looks around as they walk. “Difficulties with her in heat.”

The doe actually blushes, “I don’t know much about ponies in heat. But I know how bucks are during rut.”

“How are they?”

She nods. “When does are receptive, the bucks are really aggressive. There are a lot more does than bucks, so they tend to gather harems. It used to be one buck would take all the does in an area, but newer sexual rights legislation has prohibited that. Prince Bramble has scaled that back a lot in our city. But some fighting does occur.”

Tim shakes his head. “I remember Princess Celestia telling Twilight about the jet engine in the Everfree, telling them that ponies should clean up their trash. They didn’t know that it wasn’t from the ponies, but from when I arrived.”

She continues walking, though her head droops, along with her ears. “So you are stranded here?”

“It’s not bad at all, I have a herd that loves me, and that I love. Twilight is an amazing teacher. And I’ve got a job. Life is good now.”

“Well, there’s that.”

***

It’s been a very quick week following the magical trail. North Point has been guiding them unerringly quite far from either Canterlot or Ponyville. Tim is glad he’s gotten used to how the ponies tend to walk everywhere. Twilight’s magic saddlebags are bigger than they look. When asked, she just said there was a spell on them. But cold food was still cold, hot food was still hot, she had a tent, and quite a bit more in them. She had even thoughtfully included some clothing for him, getting an approving nod from Citrus. Sleeping was easy, a pad on the ground, and everypony, human and deer all piled in together. Usually with Twilight and Citrus on each side of him, with North cuddling around his middle. After the first night, the doe had curled up at his feet. Striking camp every morning is fascinating again as always. Citrus and North help Twilight, but packing everything into the saddlebags seems to only be able to be done by Twilight. As her horn goes quiet, she watches Citrus douse the ashes from the previous night’s fire. She looks around, “We are getting near a town, it’s called Appleoosa. We will see what’s going on there. The trail still heads that way, North?”

North Point nods. “It’s still faint, and fading, but I’m still getting good resonance. It should last at least one or two more days.”

Twilight smiles. “We should get some clues in Appleoosa. Then we will know what to do.”

They depart quickly. Tim checks his shoes. Walking as much as they have done the last few days has been interesting to say the least. The are as comfortable as ever, though. The white mare that made his clothes seems to have a very good grip on cobblery. He catches up with the rest and keeps his head moving, looking at the desert they are moving into. The last three days of walking have actually been in plains, not very many trees, but high grasses everywhere. Though ponies traipsing through the plains with a human and a doe in tow have actually gained some attention. Pegasi from the weather service have landed nearby, asking if they could be of assistance. Twilight simply told them that they were busy, and they were okay, and the pegasi would take off, saying to shout if they needed anything. Tim always looked at the retreating pegasi, so willing to help without knowing anything about the ponies. It’s actually quite wondrous to him.

Twilight looks ahead, the town is visible in the distance. Though she seems surprised by the view. Tim walks up next to her. She points at the farms visible around the town itself. “They have an orchard here, much like Sweet Apple Acres back home. Farming hasn’t been very big down here. But look at that.”

Tim follows where she’s indicating. “It’s green, in winter.”

She nods. “It’s most certainly the wrong type of year for this much new growth.”

Indeed it is, large swathes of the land show the bright green of new growth. Wisteria stops and looks at the sight, blinking slowly. Then she yelps, “They are using our formula!!!” And scampers towards the town. Only to be stopped by Twilight’s magic.

As the deer is floated back to the group, Twilight looks at her. “We stay together, Wisteria. You going off on your own is part of why you still have a few bandages.”

“But they are using my family’s potion,” she whines plaintively.

“We will get to the bottom of this.” She looks back. “Let’s get the lead out, ladies and stallion.” She sets off at a brisk trot. Tim jogs with them for a bit. Though after a mile or so, she looks back as he’s wheezing a bit. “Tim, you okay?”

He nods. “Just…a…little…winded.”

"Oh, come on, we are just starting!" North Point gives Tim a nuzzle before she starts to sing cheerfully, her tail swishes side to side in time with the song as she prances. "Will you be lost by time, or be part of history?"

Blinking, Citrus smiles brightly and bounds up beside North point leaning against her as she starts to prance as well. "Will your story be told or remain a mystery?"

Looking back over her shoulder at the girls Twilight giggles. "Will they sing your song, telling all that you have done?"

Putting his hand over Citrus's muzzle Tim looks down and groans, "Is now really the time for singing?"

"Ouch, song denied," Wisteria says with a smirk.

Twilight shakes her head. "Fine, we'll do it the Spike way." Her horn lights. She picks up the human and places him on her back. After a moment, she looks panicked and glances over at Citrus, who nods with a smile. The group picks up the pace and they get into the town rather quickly.

As they stop, Tim quickly climbs off of Twilight, avoiding her tail flagging. Though she does look back with an apologetic smile. Her tail thrashes for a moment before settling down, and she also works to refold her wings, which had extended a bit during the run. Citrus actually giggles a bit at the alicorn’s discomfiture.

“I haven’t run like that in a while,” North pants.

Citrus moves over to her. “It’s the desk job. I don’t run very often either, but with my volunteering and my store, I’m kept busy and on my hooves.” She looks over at Tim. “With those long legs, you should be able to run for next to forever.”

Twilight actually answers for Tim. “It’s his species. I was able to look through much of the cache information in his phone. He had looked up something on human beings about six months before on something called Wikipedia.” She stops and shakes her head at the odd name. “Well, humans are predators, and before they built civilization, they were endurance hunters.”

That gets furrowed eyebrows from everyone. Twilight smiles and continues, “Basically, they were unable to run down prey in a speed contest, so they would walk them down. They would keep following the prey until it either died from exhaustion or was simply too tired to flee anymore. Walking, he could likely put you or me into the ground, but it would take several days at a much higher pace than we’ve set with our travels.”

Citrus looks up at Tim. “That’s horrifying. Running away, then every time you stop to rest, the hunter shows up, making you flee again.”

Twilight nods. “There is a reason they are the apex predator on their world.”

Tim blanches a little bit. “You know I’d never do that. I like my chicken already dead and cut up.”

Twilight moves over and rears up to hug him. “I know, Tim. But we are talking about your species generally. Some of the cached pictures shows different body types. And some of those humans, I guarantee couldn’t walk down a jelly doughnut much less a deer or a pony.”

That gets laughs from everypony. Tim looks around. “This is Appleoosa?”

She nods. “And let’s find Applejack’s cousin.”

Together they head over to the orchard, which is hard on the edge of town. Twilight knocks on the door of the farmhouse. Quickly a yellow stallion answers the door, wearing a vest and a similar hat to the one Applejack is always wearing, “Well, Twilight Sparkle, welcome back to Appleoosa.” He looks over, “And I see you brought friends.”

She nods. “We actually are here for a purpose, Braeburn. Want to tell us what’s happening with all the new plant growth?”

He blinks his green eyes for a moment before shaking himself. He had been staring at Tim. Finally he focuses back on Twilight. “Oh, it started just a few days ago. That miracle plant-gro is better than anything the earth ponies here could do. He even guaranteed freeze resistant plants so we could grow and harvest year-round. And it seems to be working. What you see around town is only a couple of days of growth.”

“He? Who is he?”

“The one selling the miracle plant-gro solution. They are little bottles, and you have to dilute them with water. But just a little bit really works. Better than some of the stuff those two that are his partners have sold around here before.”

Twilight growls, “Flim and Flam?”

He nods. “Those were the names.”

“How do ponies keep – never mind, do you know where they are?”

“They are set up in the Appleoosa general store.”

Twilight thanks the stallion and they head quickly back into town. The small size of the town makes finding the general store easy to spot. Twilight opens the door, causing a loud cow bell to ring as they enter. Tim looks around, they have all kinds of interesting things for sale here. But Twilight moves off with a purpose. She turns a corner and skids to a stop. “YOU!”
> Chapter 28.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The single word that Twilight had shouted rings throughout the relatively expansive general store in Appleoosa. A half-dozen ponies turn to look curiously. Though the alicorn’s wings have extended in rage, her focus is on the tall biped among the ponies. He turns curiously to look at Twilight, and Tim gets a good look at him. Another minotaur, taller than him, with a bull’s head on top of a vaguely humanoid body, though with the hooves of a bull as well. He smiles and strikes a pose that shows off his biceps. “Well, if it isn’t Twilight Sparkle. Was Iron Will hard to track down, Princess?”

Twilight snorts softly, “I was after Flim and Flam. I’m quite surprised to see you here.”

The minotaur strikes a pose, flexing his enormous biceps. “It must be Iron Will’s animal magnetism. You came directly to him.” He turns and clasps his hands in front of his waist, flexing his arms again.

Twilight steps forward. “I’m here to retrieve the stolen potion, Iron Will.” She flicks her ears, “Where are Flim and Flam?”

“Iron Will cares not where his delivery ponies have gone. They did their job and have left.” He takes a step forward, “These ponies here are having a hard time growing enough food. Iron Will is simply here to help.”

“Right, another scam? Like you helped King Aspen?”

He stands up straighter. “A Scam? A Scam? You would tarnish the name that is Iron Will?” He strikes another pose. “I’m here to help.” He reaches over and picks up a foal, depositing the young earth pony in front of Twilight, “Can you say no to those eyes?” The foal looks up at Twilight with bright sad eyes. “As to King Aspen, Iron Will had a legal and binding contract with the King. All issues with that would need to be taken up in the courts.”

Twilight looks at the foal, she takes a moment to run a wing along the pony’s cheek, then she shakes her head. “You only help yourself.”

"Iron Will helps lots of ponies and other creatures. But Iron Will is confused. If you are following, why are you all huffy?"

"I'm not following you!" She shouts. Then she catches herself, she puts her hoof to her chest and pushes it slowly s straight out, exhaling. "Breathe, Twilight.” She takes several deep breaths. After a moment, she says in a much calmer voice, “I'm not following you, Iron Will."

“Iron Will has noticed your interest. He does not object to the Princess of Friendship’s attention.” He smiles at her, wiggling his eyebrows.

Twilight stomps a hoof in frustration. “I’m not interested in you!” 

He looks coyly at the herd behind Twilight, then back at her. “Yes, Princess, you’ve followed Iron Will into the Everfree before, now you follow him to Appleoosa. And he’s supposed to believe a lack of interest?”

She spreads her forelegs, her wings rising in rage. “I’m not interested in you, I’m interested in Tim!” She shouts loudly, getting everyone to flinch away from the power emanating from her. Though after a moment, she flinches as what she said registers. She looks back at Tim with a panicked look on her face, her wings clamping to her sides. Rapidly her face and ears turn bright red.

The minotaur looks at the human, then at the mares, then he smiles. "Oh, Iron Will sees. You've found a substitute to satisfy your cravings for Iron Will." He points at Tim. "Though he's rather furless and somewhat scrawny for a minotaur.”

She flinches. "What? He's not a replacement for you! I have never had any feelings for you!"  

"Good, then Iron Will can go back to helping the fine folk here, especially the foals." Turning, he flexes his butt once in front of Twilight before walking back to his display full of bottles of the growth potion. Though his walk is stopped by the doe, who has scampered by Citrus and North and has full on tackled the enormous minotaur. 

“That’s my family’s potion! It wasn’t for sale to those two ponies!” She shouts as she strikes the minotaur. He reaches up and grabs her by the scruff of the neck. He holds her at arm’s length, though that doesn’t seem to deter her. She flails her hooves at him, still trying to get a hit on him.

He looks at Twilight. “So, getting puny deer to fight your battles?” 

His eyes widen as her magic envelopes him and picks him up. Wisteria is pulled away and gently deposited on the floor as Iron Will is floated slowly towards Twilight. She takes to the air as she brings him close. “You are in possession of stolen goods. Should I call the Royal Guards?” She says quietly with an unmistakable air of menace in her voice. This actually gets a gulp from the Minotaur. Though Tim is uncertain if this fear is from her tone, or from the threat of the Guard.

“Iron Will was not the one to take the potion, Princess. He merely bought it from the two unicorn ponies. They didn’t provide much information. But Iron Will has been in the Everfree before. He knows the ratio for diluting the Miracle Gro plant food. Look around this town, all those plants are growing in the dead of winter because of Iron Will and his business acumen.”


The doe paws the ground. “Because of my family’s potion, you thief!” She makes to leap at the minotaur once again, only to be restrained by Twilight’s magic once again.

Twilight sighs heavily, “As a Princess of Equestria, I must order the remaining barrels confiscated to be returned to Wisteria’s home.” She lights her horn to send orange sparks skyward., shushes Iron Will with a look. “Whether you like it or not, this is stolen property, and you do not have the right to profit from it. I must also further confiscate any profits from the sale of the potion, to be returned to Wisteria as reparations.”

The minotaur stands there for a long time, breathing heavily. “Fine, Princess. Iron Will must confess. He likes the idea of a pony mate. And the Princess is rather attractive, especially when she’s mad.” He stops, wiggling his eyebrows at her, but immediately quits when he sees the new arrivals – three pegasus guards, all holding sheathed rapiers Tim notices are more utilitarian iterations of the one Silver used in his duel – shorter and stouter blades, comparatively speaking, no ricasso, and the elaborate sweepings are instead a metal bowl that loops around to form the back of the hilt.

Citrus grabs Tim’s hand and backs up, also drawing North Point back with her. Tim gapes as smoke starts to wisp from the mane and tail of the alicorn princess. She snorts softly and steps towards him, taking slow, deliberate steps. “I am not attracted to you, Iron Will. Not even one little bit.”

The minotaur glances at Tim. “Iron Will has reason to doubt that, considering you are interested in a pale imitation.” He strikes another pose. “You can try with the real thing.” He leans down to her. “Iron Will can outperform any hairless ape. Especially this scrawny one.”

“I SWEAR TO FUCK!” Her scream gets everyone, even Iron Will, to flinch back. Her mane and tail turn to bright flames. Her wings extend and she gets eye level with him. “I love the human, not you. You have violated the law and benefitted from the larceny perpetrated by others! And most of all, you have seriously pissed me off.” The flames extinguish and she drops to the floor, her ears back and anger crackling in her eyes. “Pay the reparations, and we will be on our way. Or do I have to have the guard arrest you?” The swords come out.

He sticks a thumb underneath the short necktie he’s wearing as though it’s starting to strangle him. He takes a long time looking at the ponies all around, finally he deflates, “Iron Will will go and get the bits for the Princess. Unless the princess prefers wearing her bits.”  Iron will says as he flexes his muscles and wiggles his eyebrows, glancing up at Tim before focusing again on Twilight. "I bet he doesn't even know how to handle a bridle, though he’s a poor substitute for the real thing.”

“GO!” Twilight screams, her horn lighting and the minotaur jumping as if goosed. Which is very likely, given the mood of the Princess. She snorts softly at his retreating back before turning towards Wisteria. “I cannot do anything for what has already been used.” She looks back at the other ponies. “And given that quite a few crops seem to have been planted in anticipation of a supply of this. I will have to speak to Princess Celestia and the weather managers in Cloudsdale to help support this crop outside of the normal growing season.” She turns to her guards. “You have my permission to take inventory and confiscate as needed. I will write a letter to Captain Shining Armor advising the assignment of a detective to this case.”

Wisteria looks down, her ears flicking back and forth. She glances at the other ponies, most of them have ears down and tails tucked, quite dejected in the face of what happened. “I don’t like that my family’s serum has been stolen.” She growls. She looks around, “But I can’t see a crop failing because of short sighted greedy minotaurs.” She looks down. “Twelve barrels were stolen, I’m not an expert, mind you, but I’ll leave what’s already been bottled for sale for the ponies to use. If they need more, I’ll tell my parents, and maybe they can sell some more to the ponies from here if they decide to come and buy in the Everfree.”

“The Everfree? That’s a dangerous place.” One of the other pony’s moans.

Twilight looks at Wisteria. “That’s equitable. I can go with you to talk to your family and maybe talk to Prince Bramble.” She looks back at the other ponies. “If anypony wants to, come to my castle in Ponyville, and we will find somepony to escort you into the Everfree to get more if necessary.”

Iron Will comes back, a big sack on his back, he drops the sack in front of Twilight. She flinches at the loud clank of bits inside the canvas. Her magic envelopes the bag, getting a grunt from her as she lifts it. “How much did you sell?”

The minotaur shrugs. “Two barrels have been portioned out into bottles for sale, I’ve sold about two thirds of the bottles.”

The doe walks forward and taps the sack. “That’s a lot of bits.” She looks up at the grin on the minotaur’s face.

Twilight whirls around. “Let’s go.”

Tim, North, and Citrus join Wisteria in turning away from the minotar. As they are walking, he speaks up again, “And there she goes, showing off her tail to Iron Will. Some ponies just don't know what they need.” 

Twilight ignores him. Wisteria moves up next to Twilight as the alicorn walks from the store. “What about the thieves? He just sold the serum.”


Twilight looks at the deer. “Don’t you worry. I have an idea where they might be going. I have a friend who will be happy to let them know how bad it is to steal from anyone.”

Wisteria glances back at Tim, Citrus and North. “Who?”

“My friend that’s dealt with them a few times before. I’ll let her know what they’ve done. She’ll set them right.”

Wisteria’s ears flick back and forth. “When we do sell the serum, twelve barrels would actually get less gold than you are carrying right now. And he only sold two.”

Twilight glances at the bag. “You are entitled to the spoils of his effort, since your family produced the serum in the first place.” She giggles, “Maybe you should up the price a bit, considering it’s so effective.” She glances around. “Since we were tracking them, we had to go the long way. Now let’s take the train back to Ponyville. We’ll be home by morning.” 

Wisteria looks down, “You do know why we don’t typically sell the serum to the ponies, right? You all control your weather and growing conditions every year. You don’t even really need it around here, this is more for added food to get added profits for the farmers here. We usually sell to the Griffon Empire, and to the Zebras, and a few others. They know what to do to use it safely.”

Twilight glances over. “Safely?”

Wisteria nods. “Yeah, it doesn’t discriminate what plants it nourishes and enhances the growth of. Any weeds or malicious plants will absorb it just as readily, and grow just as fast or faster. Too many of them could choke a good field or wheat or corn, or whatever, to death. The serum is actually pretty dangerous in the wrong hooves.”

Twilight looks at the deer for a long moment as they all walk. “Well, I’m glad we retrieved it.”

Citrus watches the larger mare as they walk towards the train station. Tim watches as she mutters to herself as they walk. North walks placidly, keeping pace with Citrus and Tim. He clears his throat, getting Citrus to stop muttering and look up at him expectantly. He looks up,“So, what an adventure, right?”

Citrus nods. “It doesn’t even seem to be all that uncommon for her. What craziness does that mare go through on a regular basis?”

That gets a bark of a laugh from Tim. Twilight’s ears flick a bit, but remain pointing forward. Tim suspects she’s trying to give them respectful privacy there. He glances at her before leaning a bit to be closer to Citrus. “She’s told me some of what’s happened since she came to Ponyville. Her time in Canterlot was mainly just learning in class. But her adventure to gain her wings.” He glances at Twilight then back at Citrus, “She royally messed up. She tried a spell that was incomplete, and somehow it switched her friend’s cutie marks.”

That gets a shudder from both North and Citrus. “That must have been horrible.”

“Apparently, it went on for a few months, with her trying many different things to change them back. She finally figured out that her friends had to discover once again what made their marks special. And she had to have them help each other discover that magic inside of them once again. The spell really messed up their minds for a while. And let’s not forget Nightmare Moon, and Discord, and Sombra. Her and her friends have saved the world.” 

Citrus focuses on Twilight. “She truly could have her choice of stallions, of herds.” She glances up at Tim. “Yet she chose you, and us.”

***

Tim looks out the window, it’s now the heart of winter in Canterlot. Add in today the weather pegasi have decided the snowpack in the mountains is a little thin, so a heavy snowstorm has been ordered. Tim had watched the previous day as the clouds were brought in, making a heavy layer above the city on the mountain. The snow started the previous night, and is still continuing. He leans back to look in the kitchen. “Are you sure, Cayenne?”

The faintly pink mare trots into the living room. “Have you seen the status of our fridge? I might be able to squeeze one meal from that. And it would be on the order of warm mush. No, we will deal with the weather, we need food.” She raises her voice. “Silver, are you ready?”

“Yes, my lovely,” the pegasus answers as he enters the living room, just a scarf wrapped around his neck. Cayenne’s horn is lit as she floats a heavy parka around her barrel and she zips it up. Tim grabs his own coat, along with a warm hat and his own scarf. 

Tim zips his own coat to the neck and pulls on the gloves. That white mare at Canterlot Boutique had been puzzled when he had asked for something to keep his hands warm, butshe had been able to produce some of the softest and warmest gloves he’s ever had a chance to put on his hands. They would fetch a pretty penny back home, he had better dexterity with them than even thin driving gloves he’s worn at times while working. She had charged a pretty penny for them too, given he would be the only one to buy them, though she had mentioned a pair for “Spikey wikey” as she had called him. Tim looks at Silver. “Don’t want a jacket?”

The stallion extends a wing. “I’m a pegasus, I love the cold; don’t forget the sky is colder than an enchantress’s teats. Winter is fun!” He flaps into the air as Cayenne lights her horn to open the door. The corridor is deserted and they make it to the street with only seeing the doormare. Most ponies are not wanting to go out in the weather. Opening the front door has a wall of cold slamming into all of them. Silver drops to the ground rather than get blown about by the cold wind, though he keeps his wings tight to his sides as they walk.

Cayenne looks up. “I was considering going to the Ponyville market this time, but Citrus has informed me that they are getting as much snow as we are. And Citrus would have to ask Twilight to teleport us all, rather than taking the train. I’m not a big fan of teleportation, to be honest.”

In deference to the weather, most stores are keeping their wares inside, so they have to walk into each store. Cayenne fusses over the root vegetables as she buys food. This time of year, she’s explained, a lot of storable foods are staples for the ponies. Dried beans and potatoes, tubers, and other fare are quickly added to the bags that Tim had grabbed before leaving. The ubiquitous plastic bag he’s always been used to back home is completely unknown here in Equestria. Though paper bags are common, they have a nice store of heavy duty canvas bags to use. After visiting a few stores, Cayenne sighs, “Greenhouses would be still producing good food I would think, but I haven’t seen a hint of green in the last three stores.”

“Well, let’s keep going,” Silver says, his own saddle bags are laden down with food. “We’ve found a lot of good grains, too.” He looks up at Tim. “We could use some hay, but you aren’t too keen on that, right?”

Tim shakes his head. “Not unless you want to ask Twilight to turn me back into a pony.”

Silver snorts, “Turn you…what?”

Cayenne giggles, “I can’t believe we haven’t told you about that before, Silver.”

“Okay, you’ve gotta tell me.”

Tim rolls his eyes as they trudge through the snow towards the next store on Cayenne’s list. “It was some weird magical portal that Twilight had me go through. It didn’t do anything when I went through, but coming back, it turned me into a pony.”

“Awww, man. That’s awesome!” The pegasus exclaims loudly. “I bet you were turned into a super cool pegasus, right?”

Cayenne leans over and nuzzles the stallion. “No, he was a unicorn.” She stops for a moment, then starts to walk slowly, deep in thought. “Given how Twilight was acting then, both Citrus and I thought she felt bad about messing up.” She looks up at Tim. “But now, I think she was upset on your behalf. You were worried we’d reject you, and that was what she was most afraid of.” She looks down, her ears flicking back and forth as she thinks furiously. “She was most upset about what it meant to you. On thinking about it again, she was upset that she made a major change in your life. One you didn’t ask for, and it was a source of stress for you.” She smiles up at Tim. “That’s why she worked so hard to fix you so quickly.”

Silver looks at Cayenne, then up at Tim. “So, you are saying it wasn’t about her? It was about Tim?”

Cayenne nods, then she shakes her head, “I can’t believe I didn’t see that before. On finding that she’s actually in love with you, not just horny for you. That changes a lot of how she interacted with you, and with us.”

Tim shrugs. “How so?”

Cayenne turns the corner and enters another store. This time a bakery, she browses among the merchandise displays. “Tim told us how she was acting towards him, that she was leaking, and winking. But she was never really trying to display herself to him.” She looks up at Tim. “In fact, most of her actions were of a mare that’s not really good at hiding her body’s reactions. If they had been pointed out, she probably would have been supremely embarrassed. I’m beginning to think that she’s telling the truth about not really realizing how much Tim affected her.” She smiles brightly, “Though in the last few months she has learned. I think Citrus has only had to tell her to lower her tail a couple of times on her most recent visits.”

Tim frowns. “She’s still feeling the same thing? We had sex, wouldn’t that have calmed her down? I mean, you and Citrus don’t go around showing yourselves to me, except when we are about to head to the bedroom.”

Cayenne looks up at him. “It was a haze for her. While she did get what she wanted, she really didn’t enjoy it the way she really wants to.”

Silver looks at Tim, then at Cayenne. “How so?”

Cayenne huffs as she picks up several loaves of bread and a package of muffins. “Sex during heat isn’t about pleasure. It’s about easing the pressure that your body is driving you crazy with. Sex like that is a relief, as both of you will find out more of when Citrus, North, and I go through it. Pretty much nonstop sex. I’m just going to tell you this now, but if you at any point want to duck out during heat so you don’t die, just do it – just leave a note saying so and leave. If you try to talk to us in person about it, odds are we’ll just street the conversation, and you, into even more sex. I’m not joking.” She stops and blinks. “That’s coming quickly, too. About a month away.” She snorts. “I’m going to have close down for a couple of weeks when it fully hits Canterlot.”

“Close down?”

Silver nods. “Heat season isn’t exactly a holiday in Equestria, but most businesses do close down, especially in cities like Canterlot. Too many mares in season, not nearly enough stallions. Pegasi don’t have it as organized as the unicorns and earth ponies, but when I was in Los Pegasus, most of our tourist trade dropped during the early spring when most mares hit heat, except for some weird foreign sex tourists taking advantage of the season to pretty much fuck round the clock. And around that time, a lot of the pegasus mares were either closeting themselves at home, or on the prowl for stallions. You have no idea how many unicorns were offering no-foals spells at grossly gauged prices.”

“I’ve heard of that.” Tim says.

Cayenne nods. “I’m still debating...” She looks at Silver. “Would you want to be a dad, Silver?”

The stallion snorts softly, “What? Me? A dad?”

Cayenne nods again. “I mean, we can have you have your own sterility spell placed on you. But for stallions, it kinda makes you boys a lot more excited.”

Tim looks at the stallion, who is looking inward, a pensive look on his face, then at Cayenne, she’s putting her purchases in her saddle bags as she floats a few gold coins to the proprietor of the bakery. She gestures and the other two follow. As they make it into the snowy street, she nudges Silver. “Well?”

“I’ve been temp sterilized before – I’d rather have blowjob season.” Silver walks slowly with them. “Are you planning on having a foal?”

Cayenne nods. “Citrus feels she isn’t ready, North is still on the fence, but I want a foal.”

Tim asks, “Don’t we get a say in this?”

Citrus explains, “You do. It’s just pony tradition that mares, because they are the ones who through heat and pregnancy, decide amongst themselves first who wants to breed, and then present their wishes to their stallions who then are free to either consent or refuse fatherhood.”

Tim looks at the stallion, though Cayenne moves over and rubs up against his thigh. “Tim, you do know, normally, the lead stallion would be first asked if he wants to be a dad, and in some herds he has exclusive breeding rights, but I don’t want to presume that you would want to be changed. Twilight did say it was possible.”

Tim smiles. “Don’t worry, I was a pony, and it was nice, but I prefer being human. I also don’t want any weird status problems for our children. Besides, if we’re talking most deserving guy, it’s you, Silver, considering you got half your face chopped off for us.”

“And you know it only made me prettier.”

Cayenne says, “That’s what I thought – to both those things, I mean.”

Silver nudges Tim with a wing as they walk into another store. “You sure? I’m not going to take your thunder. You are lead stallion, so breeding rights are yours.”

Tim nods. "I want you to be happy, and having a foal is something you truly want, so I won't stand in the way of that. But changing forms just to have a foal... It would feel like I'm lying to the foal all the time. I will do everything I can do to help raise it, but for this, Silver is the better choice. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying no to this forever, but it’s a hard pass from me this time."

That gets big grins from both of them as they look around. Silver’s wings pop out. “The butcher shop!”

Tim nods in agreement. “My favorite place to buy food.”

Cayenne brings out her bit bag. “Go crazy, loves.”

***

Silver snuggles up closer to Cayenne and North. “I want to go, I’m going to go, but I’d rather stay here.”

Tim’s head is on Cayenne’s barrel, Citrus is in his arms. “Then stay.”

Silver snorts softly, “I’ll only be gone a few days, this mine has been very productive, and I have the opportunity to buy silver at some really good prices.”

Citrus shifts sleepily in Tim’s grip. “Then you’ll have to pay to make the ingots into strips you use. Are you sure the savings are worth it?”

Silver nods. “Oh, most certainly. And I get to crawl around in a mine for a few days too. That makes it worth it for me.”

“But you get to crawl in tight spaces all the time at home,” North pouts.

Tim shifts a bit to look up at the stallion. “Almost every pegasus I know is severely claustrophobic, and here you want to crawl in a hole in the ground?”

That gets a laugh from Silver, “I’m not a speedster, or an endurance flier. They are the ones with the worst problems there. You should see Rainbow Dash in tight places, no. That would just be bad.”

Silver glances at the clock and yelps. “And I’ll miss my train if I don’t hurry.” Those wings come in handy as he launches off the bed and heads to the door, “I love all of you. See you in a few days.”

Tim squeezes Citrus tighter for a moment. “I’d better get ready for work, too.”

Citrus grabs him tightly, “Stay. Your boss is right here, I doubt you’d get in trouble if you told her you were servicing your mares.”

He glances at Cayenne, who had cracked one eye open. She chuckles, “Don’t look at me, I took today off.”

Tim levers himself up. “I know, but keeping busy is good. I like working, I like feeling productive.”

Citrus clings to him tightly. “Well, you’ll just have to do the dishes then.”

“And maintaining the place. He’s good with tools.” Cayenne says softly. “Love, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Tim smiles back at them as he pulls his shirt over his head. “After this morning, I would think you girls want some rest.”

Citrus stretches like a cat, her tail waving from side to side. “Oh you know, we always want more of you.”

Tim buckles his belt. “Love, I like working, I like feeling productive. I love what I do, I know it doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but keeping the restaurant going, and keeping things clean. It’s fun.”

Cayenne giggles, “Leave him alone, he’ll be home much later tonight. You can pounce on him then.”

Citrus pouts for a long moment, then looks over at Tim as he sits down to put on his shoes. “Hurry back to us, love.”

He smiles. “No worries, Citrus. I’m closing tonight, though I know you’ll be waiting for me when I get home.” His shoes tied he walks down the stairs, and the girls hear the distant closing of the door.

Citrus turns to Cayenne. “Why do you keep indulging him? He doesn’t need the job. We don’t need him working. We make enough money already.”

North rolls over to cuddle with her herdmates. “He does need the job, not for the money, hell the stipend he gets by being an ambassador from Earth just goes into the accounts. We aren’t hurting for bits, but he enjoys it. He needs to work with his hands, with his mind, to feel valued.”

Citrus frowns, “But he is valued, here at home, we are happy to have him here.”

Cayenne nods. “Yes, he is valued by us, but by feeling productive, he’s able to carry himself better, he’s happier. Did you not see how he felt after getting the job at the restaurant? Even over my objections.”

Citrus lowers her head, her eyes narrowed. “I miss him, I want him home.” Her voice has almost become a whine.

That gets a nuzzle from North and Cayenne on each cheek. “Don’t worry, by him working, by him keeping busy, he’s happier when he’s home. We just have to make sure we are ready for when he returns.” Cayenne says. She rolls off the bed, landing on her hooves, she walks to the bedroom door. “I’m hungry, let’s have some food.”

The three mares move down into the kitchen, and quickly Cayenne has the other two helping with the prep work with the food she had purchased with the boys the previous day. She stands before the stove, humming softly as she works a turner over the eggs, keeping them from sticking to the cast iron pan. She looks around at a knock at the door. Citrus looks at the other two, who would be knocking? 

“I’ll get it,” Citrus says.

***

Princess Twilight Sparkle walks down the street. Well, trudging would be the right word, over a foot of snow and the pegasi have been flitting about among the storm clouds, replenishing them and keeping the snow falling. She had been told that the snow would end sometime the following morning, with nearly two feet of snow forecast for total. The train to Ponyville had been cancelled due to the snow. So she had teleported into the Royal Palace earlier before talking to Princess Celestia. Then she’s been on the street today. Part of today was just getting her nerve up. Part was also waiting for Tim to leave. She knew his work schedule at Cayenne’s place, simply by showing up with a disguise spell a few times and talking to the staff there. 

The ponies working at the restaurant all seem to like the tall biped. And his skill with fixing things rivals the best unicorn handypony. She walks down the street by the apartment building. Then her eyes are transfixed by the human exiting the building. He turns in the direction of his work. She holds her breath as he walks by her. At this moment she looks like a dark blue unicorn, with a black mane and a couple of stars for a cutie mark. No gumball pink or purple in the mane, no wings. She turns her head and watches as he continues down the street. Even bundled up in a heavy coat with those glove things on his hands and a hat over his head, he’s still beautiful to her eyes. She puts a hoof to her chest, trying to slow her racing heart. It’s time. She needs to go now.

She nods at the doormare, who is more bundled up than Tim was. She smiles as she shakes the snow off her jacket, she folds the jacket into her small bag and presses the button for the elevator. She glances back and forth as she waits. And her patience is rewarded with a soft ding as the doors open. Blessedly, the elevator is empty, and as she sits and watches the doors close, no other pony calls out to hold the elevator for them. The car starts to move and she lights her horn. With a bright flash, she’s back to her normal self. Such disguise spells are really advanced, taking that off reduces the strain on her magic immensely. Shortly the door opens and she gathers her bag and hangs it on one side, her wing over it protectively as she walks down the hall. The apartments up at the top of the building are much larger than lower down. So, the space between the doors is actually quite a bit more than on other floors. She stops at the door. Will they say no? Will they say yes? She shakes her head, she’s talked enough with Cadance, there’s only one way to find out for certain. She reaches out and knocks on the door.

After a wait that feels like next to forever, the door opens, and Citrus is standing there, a confused look on her face.

“Princess, Tim just went off to work. He won’t be back until late... I thought your teaching day was Saturday?”

“I’m not here for Tim. I wouldn’t have shown up for this if he were here. I’m here to talk to you, Citrus.”

Citrus’ eyes widen as she backs off, beckoning the alicorn into the entry foyer. “Okay, then why are you here?”

Twilight closes her eyes for a long moment, screwing up her confidence, finally she opens her eyes and looks at Citrus, “While we were on our adventure, we all slept together, and it was pretty close to the best thing ever as far as I was concerned. But in the last month, I’ve decided, I want more.”

“More? As in more sleeping together? I guess we can arrange to visit Ponyville once in a while and have sleepovers.”

“No, that won’t do. That won’t do at all. I loved the closeness, I loved the warmth of us all sleeping together, but I want…” She stops, her ears flicking. “I need more than just that. What I need is a lover, not just Tim, but all of you, Silver included. If Tim will accept him for this.”

Citrus’ eyes widen as North and Cayenne walk into the foyer, looking at their lead mare curiously. Twilight bows down, lying prone on the floor, “Citrus, I want to do more to join your herd, and I will do anything in my power to be accepted by you. Anything at all.”

Citrus looks at the alicorn lying there, she shakes her head, “I’m not certain I’m understanding you here, Princess. Are you saying…” 

She trails off as Twilight is muttering softly to herself. She perks her ears forward, the alicorn is mumbling into the floor, “I’ve read every book in the library on courtship, on adding to herds, on romance, this is the best I can do.” 

Twilight’s horn lights, and her small bag glows momentarily. With a small flash, a beautiful roll of parchment is there, she brings it to Citrus. Citrus lights her own horn and pulls the parchment closer, her eyes scanning over the precise penmanship. Citrus mouths, “Oh you have got to be…”
> Chapter 29.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citrus Blush reads the parchment in her magic, not really believing  her eyes. She looks over at the mare…the alicorn…prostrate before her,  then back at the parchment, not quite utterly bewildered. Twilight  Sparkle is a Princess, a leader of Equestria. And she’s coming to her  like a petitioner. She wets her lips, her mouth has suddenly gone dry.  “Princess…”

“No!” Twilight yelps. “I can’t change the fact that  I’m an alicorn. But in this, I’m not coming as a princess. I’m coming as  a mare, wanting to pledge myself and my life to you all, for good or  ill.”

“This form of petitioning hasn’t been done in hundreds of years. It truly isn’t necessary.”

Twilight  looks up. “I do know that, Citrus. But I think it is, it announces to  you that I intend to attempt to be accepted by your herd on my merits,  not by my crown.”

Citrus passes the parchment to Cayenne, the pink  mare's eyes rove over the precise pen work. After a few moments, she  drops the parchment as her horn sputters out. “Fuck me... you're like a  walking talking one mare economy unto yourself..."

Twilight shakes  her head vigorously. “I specifically did not include income from Royal  sources in my petition. I’m doing okay, my stakes in my herd's business  activities amount to…”

“A hell of a lot of bits, Twilight.” Citrus  interrupts. She glances at her two herd sisters, then back at Twilight.  “Twilight, we are very comfortable financially. We don’t have to worry  about bits. You could buy my store, Cayenne’s restaurant, all that North  and Silver could produce until they die and not even affect your net  worth. Rich doesn't even cover it, nor does thorough. You even included  your grades all the way back to magic kindergarten.”

“I have to show that I’m worthy of your herd.”

“Twilight, look at me, please get on your hooves.”

The  alicorn slowly rises to her hooves, though she seems reluctant to stand  her full height, taller than Citrus. She stands there, trembling.  Citrus smiles as she brings the parchment between them. “Twilight, your  inclusion into the herd is not based on how well you did in school, your  accomplishments as a mage, or even your net worth.” She tenses a bit as  she uses her magic to shred the beautiful parchment.

Twilight  looks on in shock, tears falling from her eyes mixing with the fragments  of parchment that fall to the ground in front of her. Slowly she takes a  step back, gulping, glancing around she looks for an escape, a way to  run. To hide. Parchment pieces laying like confetti in front of her  hooves. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." She cries out. Her horn lights, and  Cayenne moves forward quickly and taps the alicorn’s horn.

“Owwwwwww!"

Citrus  takes a step forward. “Twilight, whether we accept you or not is based  on you. Not what you bring to our herd. In fact, based on what you  showed us, we should be petitioning to join you.”

“No, no, no, no. You are an established herd…”

“Which  doesn’t matter, we aren’t politically connected, nor are we nobility or  elites. We are simply ponies living in Canterlot." She pauses. "Now  about that, aren't you a Ponyville mare?"

"Canterlot born and  raised, but anyway, I’ve been thinking of that, you all can use the pass  I gave Tim to use the royal coach on the train. You can visit anytime,  any of you. You are welcome at my home at anytime. I’ve already informed  Spike and my own guards to allow you unrestricted access.”

Citrus  looks over at the other two. “That’s very generous, Twilight, but we  can’t move. My store, Cayenne’s restaurant, Silver and his smithy.”

Twilight  nods. “I don’t expect you to move. I’m just one pony, it’s far easier  for me to be mobile, I can teleport here anytime I wish. And with your  permission, I’ll set up a waypoint here.”

Cayenne cocks her head to the side. “A waypoint?”

Twilight  explains, “It’s essentially a target for teleportation, while I know  exactly where your home is in relation to mine, it will make the  teleporting process easier; so easy even a pedestrian filly could do it.  You have two bedrooms here, right? Your master bedroom along with a  guest bedroom?”

"Yeah." 

Twilight claps excitedly. "I can  simply set up a resonance, a waypoint, and anytime I want to teleport  here, it’s a lot easier to teleport right there. It also allows unicorns  that would otherwise be unable to teleport to feel that connection, and  teleport themselves.”

“And Silver? Or Tim?” Cayenne asks softly.

“They would have to be brought along by a unicorn teleporting, but the process is easier with the waypoint.”

Citrus  and the other two look at each other. Twilight watches their body  language for a few moments before taking a step forward. “I want you  three to judge me, see if I’m worth inclusion into your herd. You said  that my worth to you isn’t the money I possess, or the magic I can bring  into the herd, or any tangible asset. But who I am as a mare. I ask  that you judge my worth as that mare.” She stands tall, her tail  thrashing back and forth. “I’m ready for anything you want of me.”

Cayenne  looks over at Citrus. Citrus nods and sits down. “Twilight, I know your  actions during your last heat were not how you would normally act. I  also know that you were not fully aware of how much you were attracted  to our stallion. But inclusion into our herd isn’t just being mounted by  our stallion. It’s spending time together, it is loving each other in  and out of the bedroom. It is being with your herd for good or for ill.  It's rolling with the bad times, forgiving mistakes, and kissing your  stallion even when half his face is hanging off from a crescent saber  strike...” She looks down, her ears twitching back and forth. “We have  discussed your inclusion, and I do agree with your compromise when it  comes to our different living arrangements.” She glances at Citrus.  “Citrus has been accumulating the funds to open a second restaurant, and  Ponyville might be a good place to open it. Provided she can find a  chef that has the same passion for food that she has. The same with me, I  haven’t been actively preparing to open a second shop. Though having a  second location in Ponyville is appealing. And both would necessitate  that we travel between the two cities.” She gulps. “We have discussed  this issue, and we would be open to that.”

Twilight smiles and her ears perk forward. “You would be open to spending time in Ponyville? With me?”

Three  heads nod, and Twilight leaps forward, grabbing Citrus and her horn  lights again to bring the other two to her. She uses her wings to assist  her in hugging all three of them. After a few moments, she draws away a  bit, “Does that mean more than just platonic time together?”

Citrus’ ears perk forward, “Yes.”

Twilight’s own ears flick back and forth. “Could we?”

Cayenne’s eyes widen. "We'd be doing this now, Citrus?"

"Just a minute, Yanne."

Twilight nods. “I would like to be presented to your lead stallion when he gets home tonight.”

Citrus  frowns. “Well, I will admit that’s pretty fast.” She glances at North  Point. “Though that seems to be the norm with this herd.”

"You're  already acquainted," Cayenne growls. North nudges the testy mare. "But  that's in the past. All that's said and done, we've talked about a fresh  start with you and yours, so we'll let it be."

Twilight leans  forward, her head perking to the side as she meets Citrus’ own mouth. In  a matter of seconds, their tongues are writhing together as she brings  the other two mares closer as well.

After a few seconds, Twilight  pulls away, then occupies her mouth with Cayenne, and shortly North  Point is on the receiving end of a very energetic kiss. Finally she  pulls away, all of them panting softly.

Citrus leads. “When a  decision is made, the time to execute it is now.” She regains her hooves  and walks slowly towards the stairs.

The other three mares glance back and forth. North giggles. “Silver is going to kick himself, you do know that.”

“He  took serious injury at the hooves of my brother. With Tim’s permission,  I’ll make sure to apologize the right way for all of that.”

"Oh  you bet you'll be apologizing. He has a thing for fishnets, just so you  know..." Citrus mounts the stairs behind Twilight, her nose twitching as  she watches the alicorn’s tail swish back and forth in excitement. She  shakes her head for a moment to clear it. “He is very proud of his scar  and his half missing ear, Twilight.” She glances back. “But I do think  he would appreciate time with you, though.”

Twilight uses a hoof  to push open the bedroom door, “Well, when I’m in heat, he’s gonna have  to suffer without me. I’m not ready for foals, and if Cayenne does want a  foal, he’ll have to stay fertile.”

North and Citrus look at each  other, neither was planning on children for this spring. Citrus giggles,  “Poor Tim. Servicing three hungry mares with no backup.”

Twilight shrugs her wings. “I think he will enjoy our affections.”

Citrus  nods as she follows Twilight in hopping up on the bed. She’s  momentarily grateful that she bought a big enough bed, four mares, and  the tall human, and the pegasus stallion. They all sleep quite  comfortably on the bed, and they certainly have plenty of fun on this  bed. And on the floor, and in the living room, and the kitchen, even the  entry foyer. She feels the heat in her face at the unmistakable smells.  She looks around, everypony on the bed is shifting hooves, abashed  expressions, and flicking ears. She looks at Twilight, who is blushing  as fiercely. “So…how do you start?”

Cayenne looks at the others. “Well, most of the time, our stallion starts things.”

North  chimes in, “But he isn’t here.” She looks up at Twilight. “I guess I’d  better dive right in.” She stands up, walking slowly towards the  alicorn, her tail swishing back and forth. “I’ll admit, I’d like Tim  here. I think he’d really enjoy this.” She moves up and embraces  Twilight.

Twilight accepts the embrace, bringing North closer.  “He’ll have plenty of time to play with us, after you all accept me.”  She wraps her hooves tighter around North. She presses her lips to the  smaller mare’s mouth.

North is half apoplectic. "I'm kissing a  princess... I must be dreaming... Of all the mares to kiss... A fat  apple has fallen in my trough..."

Citrus shifts, watching the two  mares make out, the sloppy, wet sounds from the other two is getting her  tail to swish a bit harder, she can feel wetness starting to leak.  North pushes a bit, and Twilight ends up on her back, her wings spread  out. North drapes her body across Twilight’s, pressing herself tighter  to the alicorn, kissing her deeply. Cayenne moves forward, Twilight’s  body has curled a bit around North, bringing her closer. Cayenne presses  on Twilight’s leg, though it doesn’t move. With a resolute face,  Cayenne pushes down harder, pressing the leg down, getting a hiss from  Twilight. "I like it rough. Too much?"

Twilight breaks away from  North’s kisses, and the smaller mare moving to kiss her neck. Twilight  pants for a moment. “No, that’s fine, you can be rough. That felt good.”  Cayenne glances at Citrus, her eyes wide and her eyebrows raised.  Twilight moans softly as North Point nips her neck gently. “Harder,  North. Please.” North bares her teeth, biting down on Twilight’s neck  harder, getting a hiss of pleasure from the alicorn. Twilight moans  louder. “Please, make me earn your love. Make me earn my place.”

Citrus  moves forward, using her hooves strongly to spread the alicorn’s legs, a  single sniff has her snorting. “Twilight. You are really turned on  here.”

Twilight’s questing mouth is found by Cayenne as Citrus  settles down between Twilights rear legs, trapping the alicorn’s tail  under her chest. She contemplates the plot before her. She fights down a  bit of jealousy, though he didn’t technically have sex with this, she  had changed her form, it was still the same mare. Though the smell is  intoxicating, Tim had mentioned when they are really excited that their  smell makes his head fuzzy. She fights to keep her own head clear,  Twilight’s arousal scent is definitely in the upper end when it comes to  affect. She watches the plot flex in a wink, enhancing the scent even  further. She lowers her head slowly, letting her hot breath wash over  the lavender mare’s plot.

“Please…oh, please,” Twilight murmurs  around Cayenne’s tongue. Citrus smiles and nuzzles Twilight’s folds  gently, running her tongue along Twilight’s clit as the mare winks  furiously.

“Oh no, Twilight, you are here to pleasure us,” Citrus says firmly, “starting with me.”

Twilight  breaks off from Cayenne’s mouth. She squirms a bit and North climbs off  of her. She flips onto her hooves and shakes her body a bit. She smiles  as Citrus lies down on her back. She looks at Twilight. “Well?” Her  tail is thrashing along the bed.

“Yes, mistress,” Twilight says  seriously as she stalks slowly towards Citrus. Citrus lays her head down  as she opens her legs, she can feel herself winking in anticipation. In  moments she can feel Twilight’s own hot breath on her nethers. She  braces herself, waiting for the intense feelings of a mare’s mouth on  her. But nothing happens. She lifts her head to look, Twilight is  cradling her lower half, but she’s merely contemplating the mare before  her.

“Twilight, something wrong?” Cayenne asks, noticing the alicorn’s hesitation.

Twilight glances over at Cayenne. “No. I just haven’t…”

“You haven’t been with a mare before?”

Twilight’s  ears flatten. “No. I haven’t. I was in a herd, but usually when the  mares were going at it without the stallion, I would find some reason to  not participate.”

North comes up, running her cheek against  Twilights. “It’s okay, Twilight. If you aren’t interested in mares that  way, it’s not a deal breaker. We will find other ways…”

“No, it’s  not that.” Twilight says forcefully. “I want to.” She contemplates  Citrus spread out before her. “I am incredibly turned on right now, but  this is where book learning fails me. I want to give you as much  pleasure as I can. But I’m afraid…”

Cayenne lays down next to Twilight. “You are afraid of a pretty plot like Citrus’?”

Twilight  shakes her head hard enough that her ears flap. “No.” Her face reddens.  “I’m afraid of doing it wrong, of not giving her pleasure right.”

That  gets her nuzzled from both sides as North and Cayenne show affection.  Twilight blushes even deeper as Cayenne grins. “None of us really knew  what to do at first. You know what you like, right?”

Twilight nods. “Yeah.”

North  leans forward and runs her tongue along Citrus’ slit, getting a  shuddering gasp from the yellow mare. “Don’t worry, Twilight, if Citrus  doesn’t like what you are doing, she will let you know. And you have two  mares here who will support you in this.”

Cayenne crawls around  Citrus’ body, finally embracing the yellow mare and their lips meet in a  kiss as North uses her magic to spread Citrus’ folds gently. “Remember,  Twilight, what feels good for you, will feel good for others. We are  all mares here." She leans forward and nips the alicorn’s ear gently,  getting a gasp from Twilight.

“Please, do that again, but harder.”  North brings Twilight’s ear into her mouth again, still gently, but  with more pressure. Getting a gasp and a moan from Twilight. Though she  squeezes her eyes closed tighter. “Harder.” She moans. Citrus looks over  at North, who’s eyes are wide. North narrows her eyes as she bites down  even harder, her tongue working along the tip of the ear in her mouth.  That gets a long shudder and moans of pleasure from Twilight. “HARDER!”

This  time, North bites down savagely, getting a scream from Twilight. North  releases her ear, showing obvious impressions of the younger mare’s  teeth. Twilight dives down into Citrus’ plot, her tongue parting Citrus’  folds and darting deeply inside her, Citrus’ eyes widen as the  alicorn’s long tongue caresses her inner walls. She clamps down on the  invading tongue, her eyes crossing as the muscle wiggles and squirms  inside, the tip finding a spot on her that causes her horn to  immediately light and loud pleasured screams to be emitted from her  lips. Twilight runs her forehooves over Citrus’ barrel as Cayenne runs  her tongue along the magic on the yellow mare’s horn, truncating her  screams and having her entire body vibrate.

Cayenne moves to bring  Citrus’s horn into her mouth and she slowly brings her mouth down, her  tongue writhing along the spirals along the appendage as Citrus eyes  squeeze tightly closed, tears drip from the sides of her eyes as an  orgasm overwhelms everything. Cayenne’s cheeks puff out as the magic  from the orgasming mare lights them up. Twilight withdraws as Citrus’  body relaxes completely and Cayenne released her horn.

“That was fucking hot,” North pants, "I want my turn!"

Citrus  lifts a hoof weakly. “Yeah, hot.” She lets her hoof flop back down onto  the bed as Twilight moves over to North as she lies on her back and  Cayenne brings her already lit horn into her mouth. Just a few minutes  of attention has North equally rendered into an incoherent mass of  pleasured jelly.

As North finishes her own passioned screaming,  Twilight lifts her head up, smacking her lips appreciatively. She looks  at Cayenne, “Going for three?”

Cayenne giggles, looking at her two  other herdmates and the potential third one. “Hold on a moment.” She  hops off the bed, then she pauses, looking back, “Keep yourself revved  up, okay, Twi?” She disappears into the closet.

Twilight pants  softly, she aches for more right now, she can feel her marehood flexing  in an extended wink as she looks at the two other mares gasping and  fighting for consciousness. That gets a smile on her face, her first  time pleasuring a mare, and she’s done a fairly good job. She reaches a  hoof back, playing with herself for a moment. Though it isn’t really  necessary, Cayenne told her to keep herself revved up, even though lying  here, being bathed in the pheromones that are filling the entire  bedroom, she could stay like this for hours. She licks her lips,  enjoying the flavor of the other two. She gets to her hooves, rather  unsteadily after everything, even though she hasn’t been told to cum  yet, she is certainly affected by these mares. Twilight settles down  next to Citrus, who is starting to come down off her high. The yellow  mare’s horn still glows in bursts.

Citrus’s eyes snap open in  shock as the warm mouth envelopes her charged horn. A glance up and she  can see the lavender mare run her tongue along her horn. She shudders in  pleasure, another orgasm is close with just those ministrations. “Oh,  yes!"

Twilight smiles around the horn in her mouth, sucking  strongly she runs her tongue along the yellow mare’s horn, enjoying the  faint buzz of the magic running along it.

Cayenne emerges from the  closet, a small chest suspended in her magic. She stops as she watches  as Twilight is giving a very enthusiastic horn job to Citrus. She sets  the chest on the edge of the bed and hops up. She settles herself  between Citrus’ spread legs and runs her own tongue along the mare’s  dripping slit. She looks at Twilight as she plays with Citrus’s clit,  and in moments, the yellow mare churns as another orgasm overwhelms  everything.

Cayenne sits up as Twilight releases Citrus’ horn.  Citrus tries to lift a hoof, but it flops weakly back onto the bed.  Twilight moves over and kisses Cayenne, their tongues intertwining.  Cayenne brings a hoof up, using her fetlock to cradle the larger mare’s  cheek as she presses forward with her kiss. Though finally she breaks  away. “Citrus isn’t as much into some of this stuff.” She says,  gesturing to the chest. “And, to be honest, with two energetic stallions  in our herd, we haven’t really had much opportunity or desire to get  really kinky. Stagnation from satisfactions.”

Twilight’s horn  lights and the chest is brought over. She sticks her tongue out the side  of her mouth as she works the lock. And in moments the chest is opened.  “Really good there, Princess, Citrus hasn’t been able to figure out the  lock, yet."

"It's difficult, Yanne!" Citrus whines defensively.

Cayenne chides, "So says the mare who couldn't figure out an electric can opener."

"Hey, that was one time!"

North and Twilight are laughing raucously.

Then,  finally, the chest opens before them all. “Oh my.” Twilight murmurs.  “You’ve got quite a stash here.” She lifts out a set made of leather  with metal rings holding it together. “Wing binders? You’ve been with a  pegasus mare before?”

Cayenne nods. “She wasn’t looking for a herd, but she was pretty kinky. She moved on a few months before Tim came to our world.”

Something  about Twilight gets Cayenne to look over. Twilight is sitting there,  the wing binders held in her magic, and a bright blush on her face. “Is  there something wrong, Princess? Is this too much for you?”

Twilight  shakes her head so hard her ears flop. “No, no. And don’t call me  Princess. Twilight is just fine, or love, or any term of endearment.”  She blinks for several seconds, her blush spreading to her eartips and  down her chest. “Actually, I’d like…”

Cayenne glances at the  device held in her magic, then at the alicorn’s wings that are  fluttering uncertainly. Then her eyes widen in understanding. “This  stuff is turning you on?”

Twilight ducks her head, “I know. I’m weird. I’ve just had fantasies of being bound up like this. Do you have anything else?”

A  long silence has Twilight looking up at Cayenne, this time, the light  pink mare is the one blushing heavily. “Twilight, I’m not exactly  certain how all of this is used. I’ve really only used this…” Her horn  lights and a large piece made of rubber floats out, with a strap and  harness to attach it to a mare.

Twilight’s eyes get wide, “That’s  not a cooler, is it?” Cayenne shakes her head, “It’s a strap on? Just  for pleasure?” She leans forward, looking at it intently. “Yeah, that’s a  big one.” She looks at Cayenne, “You are going to use it on me, right?”

Cayenne  glances at the other two mares, Citrus is pretty much passed out, but  North has her head up, her eyes wide. Cayenne looks back at Twilight,  “Maybe. But we’ve got a few other things first, okay?” She floats out a  few things. “So, what sounds good first?”

Twilight flinches back,  her blush returning. “Well… I'd like if... Could we start with the wing  binders? I’ve never really had sex since I got my wings.” She stops for a  moment, “Well, except two times time, but I didn’t have my wings one;  the kusa had kissed them, though...” She looks up, “Oh, sorry.”

Cayenne  puts a hoof on Twilight’s withers. Her irritation is spelled in  wrinkles, but she measures out a few words. “That is water under the  bridge, Twilight, we settled that already."

Twilight says, "Thanks. And I'm sorry."

"We all are. So, see anything you like, Princess?"

Twilight says, “Yeah, I think I like the wing binders, and the… bridle?”

Cayenne  smiles as her horn lights, she places the binders on Twilight’s back,  then fits her wings into the formed cavities for them. She leans down,  bringing the strap underneath her barrel, she struggles for a moment. “I  don’t think these were made with an alicorn in mind," she murmurs as  she finally fits the strap through the buckle. She takes a few moments  to tighten it, getting a moan from Twilight. She looks up, concerned at  the alicorn with her eyes closed. “Are you okay? Princess?”

“Cayenne,  I’m not Princess here. Please?” Twilight whines plaintively, she perks  her ears forward. “But tighter. Please, I can move too much like this.”  She exemplifies by shifting her wings.

Cayenne grimaces as she  uses her magic, taking the binders in a notch, then with a glance at  Twilight’s face, another notch, getting a happy gasp from the alicorn.  Twilight smiles, “Now the bridle, please?”

Cayenne brings up the  leather straps and fits them onto Twilights muzzle and brings the top  over her ears. “Wow, Twilight, that looks hot on you.”

Twilight  strikes a pose, a big smile on her face. “Does that mean you are going  to use that.” She points at the strap on. “On me?”

Cayenne grins.  “Nope.” She envelopes it in her magic, bringing it over to the mare and  fitting the straps around her hips, “You are going to use it on me!”

Twilights  eyes widen as she looks at the large rubber penis now hanging under  her. The chime of magic gets her attention and she looks up, Citrus has  floated the chest off the bed, and she’s turned around, her tail  flagging. Cayenne’s own leaking marehood winks at Twilight. “Come on,  Twilight, you can mount me.”

“Wow, I thought I was turned on  before.” She stalks forward, eyes focused on Cayenne as the other mare  wiggles her plot back and forth. Twilight nuzzles under her tail,  getting a gasp of pleasure from Cayenne as her tongue darts out, getting  her first taste of the mare. Twilight smacks her lips, running her  tongue along her own lips. “Tasty,” she says softly. She rears up, her  magic grasping the large horsecock for aim.

“Come on now, Twilight. Be a good little stallion and service your mares.”

Twilight  awkwardly rears up, her magic grasping the thick rubber. She knows she  can’t feel it when it enters the mare, but she can feel Cayenne’s  reaction through the shoulder blades. The happy gasps from her rubbing  Cayenne’s lips with the flat face of the dildo, and Cayenne’s moan when  it’s barely breaching her entrance. She hunches her hips forward,  getting a loud gasp from Cayenne. “Ohmigosh, so full!”

“Oh sorry.”

"Did I say stop! Ram it in!"

Twilight  takes a step forward, and hunches her hips slowly forward, enjoying the  pleasured gasps from the light pink mare as she fully enters Cayenne.  Then she pauses, a frown forming on her face. “What do I do now?”

Cayenne blows out her breath in a huge gust. “You’ve been with stallions before -- thrust!”

“Oh, right.” Twilight starts rocking her hips, bringing the dong slowly out, then pushing it back in.

“Faster!” Cayenne moans, her horn sparking.

Twilight  increases the pace, a smile forming on her face as Cayenne starts  ramming back into her as she moves forward. She can feel her own  marehood winking in response. She pistons faster as Cayenne shudders and  vibrates in orgasm, her horn throwing off bright motes of light.  Twilight keeps up the pace, furiously pounding Cayenne’s plot as the  mare is quickly brought to a second orgasm. Then a third swiftly  follows, every time Cayenne stops moving and moans softly, vibrating in  place. Cayenne’s forehooves collapse, depositing her face first onto the  soft bedcovers. “More…more…more…” she murmurs softly.

Twilight  resumes her frantic pounding of Cayenne’s plot, and after only a few  minutes, Cayenne screams loudly as her horn lights brighter than ever.  Everything within the room is moved around, though North and Citrus both  squeak as they are brought closer by the spicy mare’s magic.

Twilight  pants as she pulls the toy from Cayenne, she sits down, looking at the  slick tip of the toy as it bobs between her front legs. She leans down  and runs her tongue along it, then smacks her lips. “You are tasty,  Cayenne.”

Cayenne is still lying with her rump in the air, her tail now covering her plot. She lifts a forehoof weakly. “Thanks.”

Citrus  nuzzles Cayenne for several moments then she stands up, locking her  forehooves to keep from falling. “Twilight, do you like being dominated  like this?” Twilight immediately blushes, looking back at the now  overturned chest on the floor, then back at Citrus. She slowly nods.

North  Point totters over, nosing Twilight’s tail aside. “Twilight, you are  sopping wet back here.” That gets Twilight’s tail to clamp to her rear.  North moves over and nuzzles her. “That’s not a bad thing, Twilight. For  what it’s worth, given how much you’ve worked to help repair our  relationship with Tim, and how you’ve come to us, asking us for  acceptance, there’s no way my answer is anything but yes.”

Twilight’s eyes widen. “You're deciding now?” Her eyes dart to Citrus.

“It’s a yes from me," says Cayenne.

Citrus  looks at her two herd sisters and frowns. “Well, it falls to me, then.”  She stands up. “I may have been barely clinging to consciousness for a  while. You are better with your tongue than you realize, Twilight. I did  hear what was going on. I’ll admit, I kind of like that look on you.”  She glances at the chest. “And there are a few more things in there I’d  like to put on you. Kicker was fun for Cayenne and I to play with, I  will admit, I would love to try more in that vein when it comes to sex  with you.” She sits there for a moment, her eyes clouded in thought.  Then she shakes her head to clear it. “Twilight Sparkle, while our herd  mates do have a say in additions to the herd. The decision, in the end,  belongs to me as lead mare. I was concerned that you would want to take  over this herd as new lead mare. And while that has worked with some  herds before. I don’t see it working here. Tim and I have discussed  this, and he wants me to remain lead mare if you are brought into the  herd.”

Twilight ducks her head. “I have enough responsibilities as  Princess. I don’t want to add to that in being responsible for a herd.”

Citrus  nods. “I’m glad to hear that. So, Twilight Sparkle, you have presented a  petition, you have formally asked to join our herd, and you’ve offered  ways to deal with the differences in where we live. As I’ said, we are  judging you based on you, not what you could potentially bring into our  herd.” She stops and glances at Cayenne, who is now snoring softly,  though still with her rump in the air, her tail swishing softly back and  forth in sleep. Then she looks at North, who has floated her glasses  onto her face so she can see. She’s looking intently at Citrus, an  expectant look on her face with her ears perked forward. Then she looks  at Twilight. “The answer is yes.”

“Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Twilight leaps forward, grabbing Citrus tightly and hugging her. Citrus embraces her back.

Then  she looks down, the dong is now pressed between their chests. Citrus  grins. “You know you are going to have to use that on me next, right?”

Twilight  grins as Citrus lays on her back. “Tim’s going to be back from work  before too long. We want to present you to him. He’s going to want to  pound that plot too, I think.”

Twilight grins. “I’ve got a few ideas in mind for when he gets here. But first..."

***

Tim  trudges slowly through the snow-covered streets. Ponies have been  pretty good at scraping the wet fluff from the sidewalks. But the  continuous deluge from the sky has gotten them behind. He’s glad for the  snow boots that he’s gotten from the Canterlot Boutique. Sassy Saddles  had been amused when he had described them. Something to protect his  feet from the cold. Then she had looked at his bare feet, then at her  own hooves. She had produced them fairly quickly and they fit him  perfectly. So, walking through the city on the mountain has been quite  warm for him for the last couple of months.

He turns down his  street. Several high rise apartment buildings are on each side of the  street. He nods at his doormare and walks inside. Stomping his boots a  bit to dislodge the snow. He whistles softly as he presses the elevator  call button. With the heavy snow, work has been a breeze. Very few  patrons want to brave the snow for a meal they can easily prepare at  home.

The elevator takes only a minute to rise to the top floor,  and Tim steps out and turns towards his apartment. The staff at the  Spitfire Grill seem to really like the tall biped now. He had more than  one helper today fixing a light in the dining room. He puts his hand on  the door and takes a deep breath. His mares are always happy to see him  after a long day at work. “I’m home!” Tim calls out as he pushes the  door open.

Silence greets him. He looks around curiously, all the  first floor lights are off, the kitchen is spotless and empty. Tim walks  over to the library, and looks inside, the girls quite often like to  curl up with good books in the evening. But it’s empty, Silver’s  workstation is also empty, though Tim does remember the stallion will be  gone for a few days. He trots up the stairs, a smile plastered on his  face, this wouldn’t be the first time they welcomed him home with their  plots ready for him. He pushes the bedroom door open, and then he stops.

Citrus,  North, and Cayenne are sitting on the floor, happy smiles on their  faces. But what grabs his attention is what he sees on the bed. Or  rather, above the bed. Attached to a sturdy ring in the ceiling is four  sets of ropes. Those ropes come down to small rings in four figure eight  shaped hobbles. One for each of Twilight’s legs, her leg is hooked into  each one and each fetlock is curled into it as well. She’s wearing a  small saddle as she’s rotating slowly. A crupper is attached to the  saddle, the other end holding Twilight’s tail curled over her back,  leaving her entire plot visible. He gapes as it winks long and hard  before him. She continues rotating slowly, he can see the bridle on her  face, though it’s got blinders on it, restricting her vision to directly  forward. As her face comes around, he can see her mouth is forced open  with a bit attached to the bridle. His small bag falls to the floor as  Citrus erupts, “Surprise!”
> Chapter 30.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim is rooted in place. Just taking in the scene before him. His brain resets, then overloads again, necessitating another reset. It's a flash of rage. He storms forward. His feet stamping on the floor as he rushes towards the bed. "Citrus! what the FUCK!?” He leaps forward, over the other mares on to the bed. He rotates Twilight to where he can reach the bridle over her face. He yanks hard on the bridle to get some play and starts undoing her bonds. "Twilight, are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Twilight can't stop laughing and blushing, even with her restraints. His hands slip on the leather as he tries to loosen the buckle by her temple. Then his hands are enfolded in lavender magical aura and pushed fairly hard away from the alicorn as Citrus hops up on the bed next to him. “Love, we have forgiven her. Look around, she’s the one stopping you.”

Tim looks at Citrus, then at North, then at Cayenne. All three mares' horns are dark. Then he looks back at Twilight. Her blush is visible, she's trying to grind her hips onto his hip, her plot is facing him, though her lit horn is easily visible. The magic fades and he pushes on her hip to bring her back around. He stops and looks into her eyes. Her eyes are pleading. “Twilight, what's going on?"

She flexes a bit in her bindings. Citrus leans against his hip, “Tim, love. She wants to join us. She has been tested by the mares of your herd, and this is how she wanted to be presented to you. It's a long-time dream of hers” She stops for a moment, smiling a bit. “Okay, I’m guessing it’s more education time, right, Twilight?

"Timc'c', k'tro arumg, Ramg Blushc'c', ib", Tim, osht' samg..." Tim knows vaguely what she means, but frown at the translation spell faltering again. Even he at this point can tell it's badly garbled, though it’s likely by the bit in her mouth compressing her tongue. Normal pony speech is impossible while wearing that.

Citrus sits down, her tail waving happily. “There are two ways for a mare to be brought into the herd. As with North Point here, while she went on a date with us. The actual offer of her joining the herd came from you, which was fine because Cayenne and I had already discussed her entry, and we had already agreed and were planning on formally asking her ourselves, you simply beat us to the punch, and we happily agreed.” She stands up and moves over to Twilight.

“Twilight here.” She smacks the alicorn mare on the rump, hard, getting her to swing around quickly. At Citrus' warning look, Tim subsides, though he gets another look, Twilight looks to have at least a few welts that look like she’d been bitten, as well as some other smacks like what Citrus had just administered. Though a glance at her face shows the mare’s eyes are closed, and she actually has a smile around the bit in her mouth. Citrus continues, “Twilight has come to us directly, going so far as to formally petition for entry into the herd. And most of the day has been spent in her doing exactly that.”

Tim looks at Twilight, her slow rotation has her facing him, and it looks like she has a very satisfied look on her face. He looks down at Citrus. “So, basically, all four of you mares have been fucking each other silly pretty much from when I went to work?”

All three mares nod, and even Twilight attempts to in her bindings.

“So…what now?”

Citrus clears her throat. “As the petitioner, Twilight Sparkle wants to become a full member of our herd. The lead mare has accepted her, and the other mares have agreed with her decision. There is only one more that we need a decision from.”

“You mean me, don’t you, Citrus?” At her nod he looks at Twilight. “What about Silver, he’s a stallion in this herd. Don’t we have to ask him, too?”

“Oh, he will be asked. But for whether or not she’s added to the herd, that decision rests with you, Tim. You are the lead stallion of our herd, your mares have said yes. It’s up to you.”

Tim looks up at Twilight, who’s able to convey pleading in her bindings. Then he looks down at Citrus. Cayenne and North have moved over to sit next to Citrus. He looks back up at Twilight. “So if I say yes, you can free her? 

Citrus shakes her head. "She chose to suit up to begin with..."

He looks up at Twilight again, now her plot is facing him, which flexes in an extended wink. “So, I mount her, and it’s all good?"

Citrus comes forward. Her horn lighting and her aura forming at his belt. “You should know that it’s nowhere near that simple, love. Yes, you are going to have to accept her into the herd with your body and hers joining in passion. But first.” Her magic pulses and his clothes end up on the floor. She glances down, “Looks like you like this idea.”

Tim glances down. Hs boner is so ready it almost hurts. He looks up at Citrus. “Shit, I'm hard."

“Firrst, she gets to watch usss...” Citrus's grin is savage. Her magic pulls him to his knees, allowing her to rear up and she kisses him aggressively. She pushed him down and straddles him, lying on his chest and continuing to kiss him. He wraps his arms around her, bringing her closer. As he loses himself in kissing Citrus, he feels warm wetness close over his cock. He moans into Citrus's mouth as the blowjob continues. Judging by how she’s using her tongue, he’s pretty certain Cayenne is doing the deed there. He forces his eyes open and looks up at Twilight. Her horn is lit again, though it seems she’s stabilizing her rotation, she’s pointed directly at them, and the look on her face looks decidedly…hungry. Citrus breaks away from the kiss. “You like to pleasure your mares?” she pants.

He nods, and she smiles. She pushes herself up, and slides her plot along his chest, leaving a decidedly wet trail as he brings her plot closer. He pauses for a moment, looking at her most intimate of places mere inches from his face. “Citrus, you’ve got the prettiest of plots, you know that?”

She giggles as he pulls her closer, letting her scent into his nose. His cock twitches in Cayenne’s mouth as he uses his fingers to part her lips, he darts his tongue out, running it along her soft pink inner lips. She is decidedly wet, though her smell is fresh, not like after a whole day in bed. She washed specifically for him. That gets a grin as he traps her winking clit with his lips, using his tongue and rubbing it all along her clit and enjoying the passionate screams elicited from her mouth as her rear legs clamp against his head.

As her body relaxes, she pulls away. “Oh no, I’m not going to be worn out by you right there.” Then she smiles demurely. “Though you will be wearing me out at the very least, love.” She spares a glance up at the bound alicorn before climbing off and nuzzling Cayenne, running her tongue along the pale pink unicorn's lit horn, getting her to suck strongly and gasp. Citrus brings Cayenne’s horn into her mouth, getting Cayenne to stop bobbing up and down, her face is buried in his pubes as she snorts loudly under Citrus's ministrations on her horn. She does have the presence of mind to continue sucking and running her tongue along his cock.

Only a few minutes pass before Cayenne's horn starts shooting bright motes of light as she moans her passion into Citrus’ mouth. The yellow mare's cheeks bulge and glow from the magic being release into her mouth. She grins as she pulls off of Cayenne’s horn. Cayenne gasps indignantly, "Hey, I'm still hungry -- no fair, Citrus!" 

Citrus laughs, "and our stallion is thirsty, so please help him,” she says as she climbs onto his hips, directing him inside her without preamble. Cayenne glances at Tim, who gestures for her to come to him as Citrus starts to slowly bounce on him. Her passioned moans starting once again. As Cayenne brings her plot closer, he brings her down for him to easily show her the oral attention that he had given Citrus. Cayenne holds out her forehooves to Citrus and Citrus grabs them as the continues to bounce on Tim’s dick. In moments the two mares are kissing passionately as Tim enjoys both mares. Fairly quickly Cayenne’s thighs are squeezing down tightly as her breath becomes irregular. He reaches up his hands and runs them along her barrel as her body shudders in orgasm, intensifying as he presses his palms into her cutie mark.

Finally, Cayenne pulls herself off of him, collapsing to his side as Citrus starts to call out with her own orgasm, the bedroom again lighting up as motes of unfocused magic ricochet like popcorn . As her own orgasm subsides, he pulls her off of him, having her gasping breaths continue as he holds her close. He enjoys running his hands along her body, enjoying he electric feeling that he gets from touching her.

“You…have…to…cum…” Citrus is able to pant. He glanced up at Twilight, who seems to be focused on his dick, twitching as he feels the need for release. She stops panting for a moment and gulps quickly. “I need you to cum, Love.”

He cups her cheek. “In you?”

She gulps again and nods. He runs a finger along the edge of her ear. “You seem a bit wiped out, Citrus. I don’t have to cum yet, I have a feeling I’m not getting much sleep tonight.” He smiles, “We have all night, Love.”

She smacks her hoof onto the mattress, “No, Tim. It’s important, you need to accept Twilight into the herd. But I want your seed in me first. This establishes order. Remember how it was important Silver fuck Cayenne that first time, and it was also a huge deal when he finally did it with me after the Gala? It's like that."

He doesn’t have to look up at Twilight to know what Citrus means, she’s asserting that she’s the lead mare, and while stallions aren’t owned in any legal sense in Equestria, she needs to show that he belongs to her, that they are the ones that lead the herd. He brings her face up to his, dragging her up closer. Her eyes close as their mouths make contact, her lips parting readily to enthusiastically accept his tongue. He loses himself in the kiss for a long time, but she finally pulls away. “Okay, Love.”

She grins and gains her hooves unsteadily, turning her body a bit. Twilight will get an eyeful of him going into her. Her tail is flagged, and he watches her wink before him. She looks back, a smile on her face. “Don’t be gentle, I'm not due to be anywhere..."

He nods as he walks on his knees, another certain part of him seems to be quite happy with the turn of events this evening. He grasps himself, watching her plot as she stretches herself back towards him. As his tip spreads her lips, she shudders and pushes back, hilting herself on him. She moans softly then turns her head to look at him. Her sultry smile is more than enough for him to put his hands on her hips and start thrusting. He starts off fast, and he pushes harder with each thrust. The slapping together of their bodies the only sound in the room. His eyes close, just enjoying the feeling of her milking his cock with everything in her.

“Oh, right there. Please, don’t stop, love. Please…” she starts to gasp as she can feel his balls bouncing off her extended clit each time he slams into her. Her horn is brightly lit as another orgasm wracks her frame.

“Citrus, fuck!" He’s more than just close. With a growl, he slams into her, holding her tightly against him as his cock spasms, his entire being is focused on the sensations starting in his groin and radiating through his body, through his physical connection to her.

Finally, it’s over. Though he doesn’t immediately pull out. He enjoys the feeling of her as his softening member slowly retracts. She whines softly as he finally sits on his heels, his hands still on her hips, helping keep him upright as he pants, trying to recover his breath. He’s nuzzled on each side of his face as North and Cayenne move up and wrap their forelegs around him.

North nips the tip of his earlobe. “That’s my big strong stallion.” She murmurs softly. Cayenne seems to be content simply enjoying being close. Though he watches as Citrus turns her plot towards Twilight, and she flexes a bit, a gob of white slides slowly down her vulva and inner thigh. She flicks her raised tail a bit, and Tim looks up at the suspended mare. The view gets his eyes to widen. Twilight’s tail is thrashing within its restraint, and her own wetness is literally dripping from her, a wet spot forming slowly on the bed.

“I think watching you two has turned her on.” North says softly.

Tim looks at the faint blue mare. “It’ll be a few before I’m ready again. But when I am, your turn?”

North giggles. “Technically, I do have the option. But I think I’ll let our newest member have the honor. Besides, I played selfish at Silver's initiation.” She looks up at Twilight. “Though she could have you ready right now, if you want.”

Tim glances up. “Twilight, would you like no more delay?”

Her enthusiastic grunts gets a smile and a nod from him. Her horn lights and he watches in fascination as her magic works on his member, in only a matter of seconds, he’s back to full mast. He sighs, “Oh, right, forgot magic can do that.” Twilight's smile around the bridle tells him she’s quite pleased. He stands up on the bed, pleased to note that where she’s hanging, her plot is the perfect height for him to enter her, standing. He takes a moment to rub his hands along her flank. Her tail is thrashing against its restraint.

He looks down at Citrus, who is now lying on her side, curled up contentedly. She nods at him. “Go ahead, Tim. Bring her into the herd with your body, she is as much yours as you are hers. She is part of all of us, and you are as well. Claim her, Love.”

Normally, Tim would take his time; he loves performing oral on all of his lovelies, he loves getting them revved up and ready, panting for him to enter them long before he parts any lips. With Twilight, this time, he grasps his hard on, teasing her a bit, watching the lavender mare's marehood flex as he plays with her lips. He smiles at the moans from her as he finally pushes slowly into her. Visions swirl through his head, her bouncing on his cock as a woman, her grasping his cock with her hands as she goes down on him. Then there's the shame and turmoil from that. He feels himself soften despite the pleasure.

She notices it and turns her head a bit to look him in the eye. They're thinking the same thing. He holds her for comfort, going still, just him in her. He can't tell which mare says it, but he hears. "Go ahead, Tim, it's alright this time."

Tenderly, he leans down to kiss her cheek and caress her mane. She pushes against him, and he takes the signal. Her cunt is soaking wet and blazing hot -- he is losing the battle to his instincts, but he doesn't want to go fast. He sits up and gathers the pony close. He kisses her. She purrs.

He doubts he could get any harder as he shakes his head a bit to clear those visions. He's had to admit that sex with Twilight as human was intoxicating. And to be honest, he has had to admit to his mares that he would enjoy doing that again. Though Twilight’s not human now, she feels different than she did then. Her scent certainly has his head swimming with lust. He embraces her and digs his fingertips into her fur as if grimacing with his body.

He hilts in her with a soft squeak emitted from her mouth. He glances down at Citrus, who is watching intently as he starts to thrust. With Twilight suspended, he gets into the rhythm of his thrust pushing her while gravity brings her back. He smiles as he increases the pace, getting her to swing back into him, her pussy consuming him as their hips collide then she bounces away. He grabs her hips to help stabilize her swinging, focusing on her. He goes slow, kissing her, calling her name. Unlike the first time, they are making love.

Her horn lights brightly, the somewhat dark room now bright as a summer day, though with lavender colored light. He runs his hands along her body.

The lust in him is building. The emotional torque in him is intense. He gasps, "Twilight! I'm-" Tim never finishes that sentence, instead crying out and clutching her close as he cums inside her, feeling both shame and release. Twilight looks at him with concern, nuzzling him gently, letting him release into her body as he shudders and clings.

North is the first to his side. "Tim, are you okay?"

"I think so..." He's slow, contemplative. "I was just thinking about the last time we had sex, and all these feelings just came out at once. Lust, shame, even a bit of fear."

North smiles softly. "Wanna talk about it?" Tim pulls Twi off him, withdrawing with his limp cock. He reclines on his side as North strokes him, curled up around his chest but meeting his eyes. "So, what's going on?"

"I guess I still feel a bit guilty about having an affair with Twilight."

North boops his nose and asks, "Why should you be worried about that now -- we've all forgiven her, and now she's part of the herd."

"I don't know, I guess it's just that I feel like I'm hurting you guys more by having her here and screwing her in front of you."

Citrus rolls over and snuggles him from behind. She rests her head on his shoulder like an overgrown cat. "I understand," says North Point, "and that's not an unreasonable thought.

"I know, but this is all consensual -- everypony is on board to have her here with us. I shouldn't be reacting like this. What do you think could be causing it?"

"I'm no shrink, but I read psychology stuff. I read somewhere that sometimes a stallion will ejaculate quickly if he's feeling stressed or fearful about intimacy."

Tim nods. He flicks her ear. "I guess that makes sense -- mate fast, get off the shot and be done with it."

"How are you feeling?"

"Kinda shameful; I just disappointed a mare on her joining night." 

"You really care about her, don't you?"

"I do. And you guys. I just want to see you all happy."

North kisses him deeply on the lips, then breaks apart to kiss Citrus, too. "Anything else to add to that?"

Tim stretches. He starts petting North Point down her back from neck to tail. "Twilight and I are reenacting our tryst right in front of the ponies it hurt the most."

North hums thoughtfully. "You could say that, but things are different now. Citrus, do you approve of Tim and Twilight?" 

"Yes. And do you, Cayenne?"

"Do you have to ask?"

Twilight rubs herself against the man. North continues, "So it's all okay, Tim, we want this to happen. Do you feel up for it? I mean, you've technically done it already, and we can wait for when you're feeling better about things." 

Tim kisses North. "Thanks, North."

"Wanna try again?" Citrus asks.

Tim inhales. "I can try."

"Works for us!" say the two unbound unicorns, their horns lighting up alongside the alicorn's. In seconds, he has risen again. Cayenne pushes Twilight into position, her restraints have her completely accessible. She blows him quickly, then claps him on the ass, shoving him towards the eager mare.

“Don’t be too gentle with her.” Cayenne purrs. “She does like having her flank smacked.” To punctuate her words, she smacks Twilight right behind the cutie mark. Which gets a pleasured groan from Tim as Twilight clamps down on him, almost so hard he’s forced out.

He pats her other flank, Cayenne was not at all gentle with her hoof. North giggles. “Tim, Twilight wants you to be rough. Claim her. She is submitting herself to you. She wants this. Grab her saddle, slam yourself into her. You need to fuck her like there is no tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?”

North applies a hard hoof to Twilight’s other flank. “Twilight, if I’m right, shoot red sparkles from your horn.”

In few seconds the entire room is bright red with a jet of sparkling energy being emitted from her horn. North looks back at Tim. “See? I told you so.”

Tim grimaces. “I’ll let you girls do more rough stuff with her.” He pants, “I’m not really into that.

Cayenne nuzzles his hip. “That’s fine, love. But give her the best dicking you can. I want to watch that.”

Murmurs of assent come from the other two mares as he grabs her saddle and slams into her. Only a few hard thrusts has her horn shooting out motes of unfocused magic, her own passionate cries altered by the bit in her mouth. It’s not very long before he hilts in her. Holding her tight to him as he moans loudly, feeling his cock spasms as he hammers away as her.

He's fucking her, he's fucking her again! And... tension goes out of his grip... it's okay! 
Better than okay, everypony is thrilled with it. North was right, the affair was in the past and there's new future happening right now. Tim smiles and plunges into the purple pony princess pussy with his proud penis to fuck her until she screams. The mare is trying to wiggle back against him, but he's not letting her. In a haze of lust and elation, he pins her. One hand grabs her by the neck but not her throat, the other clamps down on the curve of her hip, fingers squeezing into the supple, tight ass.

Twilight is moaning from beyond the gag. She's so sexy done up in all this tackle -- even though it's not Tim's thing, this feeling of raw, virile, sexual power supercharges him. Here he is gloriously fucking his mate and everyone involved is just absolutely loving it. He plows away, almost pulling out before slamming back in for another reunion with her hot insides, silky tunnel, and delirious noises.

She shudders around him. North is touching herself. Citrus and Cayenne have each other in a sixty-nine. The room is replete with sex noises.

There's that tingling in his loins again. His balls are boiling. He feels like his cock is going to explode. He surges forward, locking himself inside. He's berserk! He tries to say something, to warn Twilight what he's about to do, but the words get lost in his throat as he empties himself into her. Shot after shot of thick cum cascades into her pussy as all the mares moan and writhe. Tim doubles over, moaning out his own bliss. Pleasure like electricity courses through him as he fills up this glorious bookhorse of a mare. Finally, Twilight is no longer just a princess, but his -- neigh, theirs, their herd's princess.

Finally, he flops down onto the bed, leaving her swinging wildly back and forth. He looks down, certain he’ll never get a hard on again. He’s spent.

Citrus and Cayenne approach him, lying down contentedly and cradling him. “That’s my loving stallion,” Citrus coos into his ear before she kisses his cheek sensuously. North cradles Cayenne, holding her tightly as she yawns widely. Sleep overtakes him with shocking speed as his eyes slide closed.

***

Tim shifts a bit. Warm wetness is enfolding his cock, he can feel it rapidly expanding under the mare's ministrations. Then he remembers the previous night. His eyes pop open, searching for the ceiling, he quickly locates the ring with the ropes suspended, but the hobbles are empty. He glances down. Twilight is curled up between his spread legs, her horn is lit softly as she works on his now rock hard erection. Soft slurping sounds greet his ears and it looks like she’s removed the bit. The bridle is still on her face, he squeezes his legs, he can feel the saddle is still there, as are the wing restraints.

She looks up at him with a sultry grin, then she focuses on his cock, sucking strongly. Her tongue writhes along his length, getting his eyes to cross. Citrus is still passed out on one side, Cayenne is sleeping peacefully on his other side. North is awake, though, watching Twilight intently. “Twi.” He whispers. “I’m gonna…”

His warning comes too late as his hips buck and he shudders, his cock again spasming as he unloads into her mouth. Her sucking intensifies as he does, her eyes locked on him as he shudders and vibrates. When his body goes slack she stops sucking, but she keeps him in her mouth, her throat working softly as his member slowly deflates. As he ends up fully flaccid, she pulls her head up, finally letting him loose. She grins at him, then she gets up. She first moves over to North, who accepts her kiss eagerly. Tim has to admit that it’s pretty hot to watch the mares make out, with his cum on their lips no less. After several minutes, they finally part and Twilight walks back over to between his legs. As he opens his mouth she slithers her way long his body, she ends up draped along his body with her face mere inches from his. “Good morning, Love.” She says softly before nuzzling his nose.

“What a way to wake up,” he sighs.

"Thanks for breakfast, my little human." Twilight Sparkle smacks her lips lewdly, her smoky look telling him she’s ready for another round. He’s got the day off, all the herd does. For this, he’s quite glad to have a day off in bed.

“Wanna wake the others?”

She giggles softly and shakes her head. “I can be patient.” She lays her head on his chest. “I wish I had realized much sooner.” She nuzzles his chest, running her nose gently along the scars cris-crossing along him. “I wish I had come to Citrus much sooner. I knew I had feelings for you, but I didn’t know how intense they were until that first big heat in the spring. Cadance told me I should talk to you then, that you should talk to your herd. And maybe some relief could be arranged. I told her no. I wanted the stallion I would be with to be with me for love, not because my body demanded release.”

“Twilight, I...”

She reaches out a hoof and places it gently over his lips. “No, I need to tell you.” She stops, looking uncertain as she glances between the two sleeping mares. “I fell in love with you at about the same time Citrus did. She was lucky to have Cayenne help her realize her feelings and she pushed Citrus to come to you and tell you how she felt. I didn’t realize then how jealous I was. I wanted you for myself, I didn’t want to share you.”

“What changed?” comes a new voice. Twilight’s eyes dart over and lock on the cerise eyes of the yellow mare. “What made you decide that a whole herd was better than just one stallion?”

Twilight looks down. “I tried to forget about my feelings, I tried to forget that I was in love. I tried to accept the fact your heart was in another pony's hooves. Though on seeing you five together, on our times where Cadance and I have tried to help with healing you all. I’ve learned that sharing that love is far better than me selfishly taking. I learned that my jealousy was not healthy, it was selfishness. You generously share your heart with Citrus, North, Cayenne, Silver, and now me. And while I wish I had come to you much earlier, I’m also glad of that delay, because I’ve learned from you far more than I ever thought possible.” She slithers her forelegs around his chest, “Thank you, Tim, for loving me.”

Tim can feel Citrus relax against his shoulder. He smiles. “Twilight. I’ve told you how my species is. I didn’t know how this type of relationship was possible. This entire herd thing is completely new to me.” He cradles Citrus tighter against his side. “Without these mares, I would never have found out, or understood that it’s possible to love more than one as madly as I’ve fallen in love with them. Then we brought Silver into the mix. I’m not into guys, not even curious. But I love him just as intensely as I do Citrus, Cayenne, North, or you. Just not carnally.”

Citrus squeezes his shoulder tightly, nuzzling his cheek. He feels Cayenne shifting a bit. But the biggest surprise is Twilight. Her eyes are wide as she looks at him. She sits up, “Love?”

Tim nods as Citrus giggles. “Of course Tim loves you, too. Part of the reason I was jealous of you wasn’t just that you were so much more powerful, or that you were a princess. It’s that I could tell Tim had some very strong feelings for you. And I was stupid blind where I didn’t see that he looked at me with that same intensity. I thought that he would want to leave me, leave us all, for you.”

Tim looks over at the mare attached to his shoulder. “Citrus, I’d never leave you.”

Her voice gets really small. “I was afraid.”

Twilight leans over and nuzzles Citrus. “I would never be a herd wrecker.” She stops and blushes. “At least not in purpose.” She shakes her head. “Once you three formed your herd. I tried to forget my feelings. I buried myself in my work. I still hadn’t admitted to myself what was plain to everypony in Ponyville, apparently. It was so bad at times, even Fluttershy told me I needed to do something about that.” She buries her face in his chest. “I’m just glad that is behind us.” She sniffles a bit then raises her head, her cheeks coloring again. “You still smell good, Tim.”

Citrus nods. “Yes, he does.” She squeezes his arm again tightly. “Now, Twilight, I want you to ride him.”

“What?” Comes from two throats at once.

Citrus nods, “I want to see your face while you are impaled on his cock, free this time.” She lifts her head to look at Tim. “And you, I don’t want you moving. Twilight needs to do all the work. Understood?”

Tim nods as Twilight slithers back down his body. “Let me suck start this engine that can.” She murmurs softly as she brings him into her mouth once again.

“What are you doing?” Tim asks of the yellow mare.

“Twofold. One, Twilight likes to be dominated, she likes being told what to do. Look at her, she’s loving this.”

Tim looks down, Twilight’s horn is lit softly as she has her face buried in his crotch. He feels his member starting to respond to her ministrations. And she most definitely has a happy smile on her face. She looks up at him as she releases his now rock hard cock. “That was easy, we didn’t have to use a lick of magic.”

She licks her chops as she climbs up on him, a deft move of her hoof has him poised to enter her, and she slowly slides down his cock, emitting a happy sigh as her pelvis meets his. Citrus moves, “And with her preoccupied with that.” She murmurs softly before she reaches up and grabs Twilight’s ear with her teeth. She clamps down hard on the lavender mare's ear. Getting Twilight to clamp down on him, writhing in pleasure before really starting to bounce up and down on him. As she gets into a rhythm, Citrus starts, but North and Cayenne both join in, Citrus bites Twilights dock, getting a passionate scream from the alicorn. Cayenne grabs her mane at the nape of the neck, getting more screams. Tim watches as all three mares do what he would think would be really painful, and have Twilight respond screaming for more. Cayenne smacks her flank several times, the smacks resonating throughout the bedroom. In a very short time Twilight hilts herself on him, shuddering and screaming as passion rolls over her. As she resumes bouncing on him, she reaches over and grabs Citrus, bringing her up for a passionate kiss. Tim enjoys watching the mares make out as Twilight continues to bounce on him.

Then new sensations intrude, He can feel a gentle hoof encouraging his legs to spread open wider. As he does so, he can feel another mare down there. He can feel her hot breath on him, then his eyes cross as a soft mouth brings his sack into her mouth. The mare gently fondles both balls with her tongue, keeping gentle suction going as well. He gasps in pleasure as he reaches over and can see North sitting there. He grabs the faint blue mare and pulls her onto his face. He dives into her wetness quickly as he can feel pleasure rising up inside him. He’s going to cum again!

He reaches his arms and traps North plot against him as his body shudders in pleasure, depositing more seed into the lavender mare as he sucks strongly on North's clit. Two mares cry out in orgasm as Tim’s own body finally relaxes. Citrus curls back up against his shoulder, North ends up on his other shoulder as Twilight collapses on to his chest. He brings her closer, her head lolling on his chest as she pants, trying to regain her breath. Cayenne ends up lying between his legs with her head on his hip.

“Is this a normal amount of sex for this herd?” Twilight groans, looking halfway between fucked delirious and shell shocked.

Citrus lifts her head in a smirk. “Too much for you?”

“I think... I think I could get used to this..." 

“Wait until Silver gets back.” Cayenne murmurs softly.

Twilight giggles, “The fun will be doubled."

Citrus asks, "So, what's the plan for our other husband?”

North's head springs up, energized instantly. North Point declares, "I'll brew some tea tomorrow and get a boil in my belly. Could be a while, so feel free to sleep without me."

"Ye yeah yeah sure," says Citrus.
> Chapter 31.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim’s eyes pop open as a shiver runs  down his body. He had noticed over time that ponies tend to prefer  things cooler than humans typically did, probably because of their fur,  and even in winter they often didn't need to wear much. With four mares  sharing a bed with him, however, overheating sometimes becomes a real  problem. Glancing around, he notes Twilight herself is snuggled up  against one shoulder, with Citrus on the other. Cayenne and North are  snuggled up along his hips, using his stomach as their pillows while  sleeping. Though quite often they end up with their horns crossed while  they sleep.

There are a few problems with them sleeping this way,  the biggest being when he has to go to the bathroom quickly. Even just  getting up to move around, however, has its challenges as he levers  himself slowly down the bed, checking quickly to make sure the girls are  not disturbed too much. Twilight and Citrus are now holding each other,  with North and Cayenne sleeping peacefully in each other’s grasp. That  much concentrated cuteness is always a good thing for him. He reaches  over and gives each one a gentle kiss on the cheek. Watching them sleep  like that is always fun. Though he’s paid them back for waking him with a  blowjob multiple times. Though with all the sex that’s been going on in  the last few nights, he’s needing some relief at his polar outpost. He  can’t wait to see the look on the stallion’s face when he finds out  what’s been going on while he’s been busy following his passion.

Tim  quickly heads to the bathroom, a morning shower is always a good way to  start the day. The sweat of last night washes down the drain, he  supports himself on the wall, food will be a good thing as well. Tim  briefly wonders how many calories he’s burned in the last several  frenzied nights alone. Finally, turning off the water activates the  blower. A few minutes of nearly too hot air, and he steps out into the  bathroom proper. He probably would have paid a pretty penny for a  bathroom as luxurious as this back at home. Adding in the massive  closet, he’s lived in apartments smaller than this bathroom.

Cayenne  and Citrus have finally shown him how much all of this costs. And then  they showed him the full income from Citrus’ store, and Cayenne’s  restaurant. He wouldn’t even begin to understand how much money flows  through their family, considered only middle class in Canterlot.  Twilight has told him that Canterlot is not the most expensive city to  live in in Equestria -- that would be Manehattan.

He pulls on a  pair of pajama pants. The white mare at the Canterlot Boutique has been  churning out different clothing styles for him on a regular basis. And  also pinching his bottom with her magic, and always saying nice things  about Twilight. She would likely be quite pleased at the turn of events  with Twilight joining the herd like this. He doesn’t bother with a shirt  at the moment; the house is pleasantly cool.

He pads down the  stairs, stomach grumbling in anticipation. He does like making breakfast  for the girls, he won't today; he can see the light for the kitchen is  already on. The sounds of hot grease on a griddle greets his ears, along  with cheerful humming. He frowns. Silver would have come up to the  bedroom and crawled into bed if he got home early. He debates heading  back up the stairs and grabbing Silver's rapier; he doesn’t have a gun  like he had back on eath.

Then he shakes his head. If ponies  wanted to steal something, they wouldn’t be cooking food. The smell from  the cooking food gets another grumble from his stomach. So, whoever  this is, they are probably friendly. He takes the last few steps slowly,  peering around the corner to look into the kitchen.

The sight  that greets him immediately gets a grin on his face. Cooking on a stool  is a small green and purple dragon, he’s humming a happy tune as he  turns over an omelet. Two other omelets are steaming on the serving  platter next to him. As Tim watches, a timer dings, and with a practiced  motion, the little dragon hops off the stool and drags it over to the  oven, which he opens, and simply grabs the pan inside. Tim lurches  forward then stops, the heat of the oven doesn’t seem to affect the  dragon. Then he breathes a small burst of fire as he turns and reaches  to put the pan on the counter. As he does so, he spots the human  standing there.

“Hi, Tim!” He says cheerfully.

“Spike!“Where did you come from?”

Spike  drags the stool back to the cooktop and grabs a turner. He slides it  under the complete omelet and picks it up. “Oh, I was getting bored with  Twilight gone here. So, when her and Citrus visited last night getting a  few books and some stuff from her lab. I asked her if I could come back  with her. They both said it was okay, and here I am." He slides an  omelet onto a plate and holds it out for the human.

“Oh?” Tim says as he reaches and grabs the plate.

As  he sets it on the table, he watches the dragon take a bowl and pour a  measured amount of beaten egg onto the skillet. It starts to solidify as  Spike sprinkles vegetables and cheese onto the egg. He quickly folds  the nearly fully solidified egg over the toppings. He looks back at Tim.  "I take care of her, including handling the cooking; her results can  be... explosive." He smiles brightly at he turns the omelet over and  reaches for the shredded cheese again. “I can clean, I’m excellent at  keeping her organized.” He stops and his eyes narrow. “I do a lot as  Twilight’s number one assistant.” He looks up at Tim.

"This isn't a job application."

“I know, I just want to feel useful to you, too, like I'm for her."

"You're  a nice trip, kid." Tim heads over to the drawers and pulls out some  utensils. “Twilight has said that dragons are really long lived, and  your childhood lasts decades?”

He nods as he finishes up another  omelet. “That’s what I’ve been told.” He slides it onto the platter and  starts yet another. “You know, it’s frustrating. My earliest memories  was with Twilight, she was maybe six years older than me. So, I was  there with her through most of her school. When she moved to Ponyville,  and when she was learning new spells all the time.” He stops with his  work, “We went to the Crystal Empire, we have been all over Equestria. I  was there when she became an alicorn. When she was accepted as a  Princess of Equestria. And then you fall from the sky.” He looks at the  stainless steel splashguard. “I knew she acted different whenever you  were involved. She talked about you all the time.” He turns and looks  back at Tim. “I’m sorry, Tim. I wish I could have helped Twilight  realize she loved you and handle it better. She's like my mom... I wanna  do right with her, y'know?"

Tim looks down at his admittedly excellent breakfast. “It’s not your fault, Spike.”

“Really?”

Tim  nods. “The blame could be spread around quite widely, mostly on me. But  also some on Twilight and Cadance. But remember, Spike. This is all  water under the bridge. Twilight and the duchess have worked hard to  help our herd heal from all of that. Some of it from my lack of  knowledge of pony norms.” He looks down. “A lot of it from me not  understanding how things work here. Twilight has tried to teach me,  Citrus has tried to teach me. I’ve never been the best of students. But I  have learned some of how things work around here.” He spears a bit of  his food. “The lead stallion and lead mare of a herd are part of a  special bond. With the lead mare’s okay, I actually have a lot of leeway  in things, but only if I ask first and get approval. And the other way  around. The others follow our lead. It’s most certainly different than  how I grew up. But it works.”

“I still wish I could have helped.”

Hoofsteps.  “You did, Spike.” There's Twilight Sparkle coming down the stairs. “You  did help, a lot. When I was sad, you were there for me. I realized  later that when you asked me to hold you because you had had a  nightmare, it wasn’t for me to comfort you, if was for you to be close  to me. So you could comfort me.” She huffs. “I was such a bad mom to  you, you shouldn’t have had to bear my burdens.”

Spike leaps from  his stool and rushes over to Twilight, glomping onto her tightly. Tim  smiles as the alicorn holds the dragon tightly, bringing her wings  around and holding him.

Tim moves over and quickly turns the last  omelet over before it starts burning. More hoofteps. Citrus has  descended the stairs and is hugging the other two. He remembers  something and grabs a small bowl the dragon had laid out, several gem  shards are sprinkled over the meal, along with another generous helping  of cheese. He turns around as Twilight floats the carafe from the coffee  maker over to her seat. He sets her plate in front of her, along with a  serving for Citrus.

The clatter of hooves on the stairs announces  the other two mares of the herd have been woken up by the wonderful  smells wafting up from the kitchen. Twilight finds the coffee carafe  floating away from her and pouring a cup in front of a yawning Cayenne.  It only takes a few moments for the herd to get arranged for breakfast.  Spike smiles tremulously at the rest of the herd as he crunches through  his first bite of the food.

Citrus floats a muffin from the pan  the dragon had pulled out earlier and sets it on her plate. “So, what  are the plans for today?”

Cayenne sips her coffee. “I’ve got work.  And I think you were planning on a shift at the hospital today?” she  looks over at Citrus, who nods.

North swallows a bite of her food,  “Well, I’m going to be working on a new map I’ve been compiling  together. Some of the cities outside of Equestria proper do need to be  surveyed for inclusion. The whole world is not just Equestria, you  know.”

Twilight looks over at her. “You going to survey them yourself?”

“Eventually.  But for now, I’m pulling information from some of my new books on  exploration outside our borders. Gonna need to hire a ship for some of  the places I want to include on this map. Maybe some mercs for  protection if Silver won't come.”

That gets hooves clopping  together from Twilight. “Oh wonderful! I can hire a gondola for you to  use. Maybe we can turn it into a family trip?”

North smiles shyly. “If it’s okay with Citrus, maybe during the summer?”

Citrus  nods. “That sounds like fun!” She takes another bite, chewing quickly  before she swallows. “What about you, Twilight. You are planning on  being here when Silver gets home. right?”

Twilight nods. “His  train will be coming in around sundown, but I’d like to take Tim into  Ponyville for a little while. I’ve got some interesting things to show  him.”

That gets his eyebrows to rise. “Oh, really?”

She  swallows a bite. “You remember a while back when you said I could keep  the phone. Well, I’ve been learning a lot from it. And I’ve spent quite a  few days working through the engine from the plane. And when we get to  my lab, I’ve got a surprise for you!”

Tim glances at the others of  the herd, noting the happy smiles abounding. That gets a warm feeling  in his chest, the mares are happy. Silver will be home soon. Their herd  is doing well. The rest of breakfast passes quickly with quite a bit of  chatter about things going on. Citrus teases Twilight about a few things  the night before, getting a blush from the alicorn, and a confused look  from the dragon. Finally, Spike is gathering the plates and carrying  them towards the sink. Twilight wipes her mouth with a napkin. “Spike,  you ready to go?”

The dragon turns back to look. “Nah. I’ll get the kitchen cleaned up."

She stops for a moment, a hoof on her chest and a happy smile on her face. “You are wonderful, you know that, Spike?”

“Yeah, yeah, you tell me that all the time.”

Citrus  looks at Twilight, then at Spike. “She really means it, Spike. You are  more than just an assistant to her. To us, actually. You can come to any  of us if you need anything at all.”

Just trying to be of help.”

Cayenne walks over and gathers the dragon into a hug. “It helps that you are just so cute.”

Spike wiggles a bit in her grasp, his face beet red. “He-hey, cut it out!"

"Nope, not yet! Gonna hug you!"

"Ca-cayeene! Twilight, help!"

"Cayenne, please let him go," the princess says.

Cayenne says, "Tim, do I have to honor junior's request?"

Tim is too busy laughing to answer at first. He finally says, "Enough, Cayenne, let'em go."

"As  you wish," she pouts as finally lets him go, her horn lighting to fly  all the plates and silverware into the sink. He smiles at her gratefully  before he drags the stool over to the sink.

Twilight leads Tim up  the stairs into the guest bedroom. She rears up, her larger size allows  her to brush a kiss onto his cheek before walking towards the wall.  “This right here is where I set up the waypoint. You can’t see it, but  to any mage who knows what to look for, it’s easy to spot. Please, put  your hand on my withers.”

The instant his hand touches her fur,  they are in her castle. She looks back at him. “I set up the other  waypoint in my lab, easiest place to find.” Tim glances at the portal to  that odd version of Equestria and shudders. “Don’t worry, no visits  there for the time being. I keep it open because Sunset visits from time  to time. And since we're in my private quarters... the surprise.” She  kisses him deep on the lips and with tongue. Tim pets her down her back  and pushes back into it. "That wasn't it." She trots over to her work  bench and picks something up. “Remember this?”

The fabric is tattered like it’s spent more than a year out in the elements. “My laptop case!”

She  gestures to the items arrayed on the workbench. “You used this like we  use saddle bags. All sorts of great information. The book was completely  ruined. I’ve got my dad working on restoration, but he says a good  portion of it will be unreadable due to water. Why don’t you make these  watertight?”

Tim shrugs. “Never thought to get one like that. I  don’t even know if they make them waterproof.” He picks up a small  device. “I had a few thumb drives in there.”

Twilight’s brow furrows. “Thumb…drives? What is that?”

He  holds the tiny piece of technology up. “It’s a data storage device. It  plugs into the computer and the computer can read the data on it.” He  looks closer. "Wetter than you last night for sure."

She nods.  “I’ve found out how electronics and water don’t mix. Don’t worry, a  little magic can fix that. The case was found about a mile from where  you landed, half buried in the mud. When I sent the guard to scour the  area between where the engine was found and where you landed, they  thought I was crazy. But they found some clothing and a few bags, and  this. I had to clean it up, and the screen inside is similar technology  to your phone, so I could mend the cracks.”

“You’ve gotten it working?”

She  shakes her head. “No, I’ve taken it apart, I don’t know if I can repair  everything. but the learning experience is amazing. Your species has  done things with electricity that I can barely dream about. I’ll get it  up and running, eventually.”

He smiles. “Well, much of everything was internet based.”

She  clops her hooves. “Oh, goodie! I know the system stores a bit of  everything that you’ve done on it’s drives. So, I’ll be able to pull  even more information. I mean everything from figuring out the TCP/IP  standard, and how these machines communicate within themselves, and with  your internet. I might be able to start building our own data system  like that.”

Tim’s eyebrows rise. “You can make your own internet?”

She  nods. “Most of the puzzle pieces are right here. And it’s a fantastic  way to store and transmit information. Add in all the other advances  we’ve been able to puzzle out from the control systems, and everything  else to do with the turbine engine. Your technology is going to bump  ours by quite a bit.”

Tim feels a bit of flutters in his belly. “What?”

She  squees, “Oh, yes. Remember, I’ve been through that mirror and they have  data networks similar to how you’ve explained things work in your  world. But I never had my magic to examine the tech there on account of  my powers being so limited. Well, I never really thought about doing  such research until that jet engine was found and Applejack and I just  thought it was the craziest thing... But you should see the computer.”

"Why?"

Her  horn lights and the laptop flies over onto the workbench. A gesture has  the bottom panel flying off and landing precisely on another part of  the bench, alongside a plethora of tiny screws.

“Oh, it’s  fantastic, I mean you make tiny tiny screws. I mean, I’ve never thought  of component miniaturization like this. Lookie here.” A little work has  the motherboard out of the chassis of the laptop. She points with a  wing. “There are two devices here similar to what you called the system  on a chip from your phone.”

Tim looks at the board in her magic. He says, “I’m no expert, but probably you are talking the CPU, and the graphics processor.”

“Graphics processor?”

He  nods, “So the programs can display on the screen. I spent some money on  this one, it’s really nice. The CPU is a bunch of transistors built a  very specific way to do logical computations. The GPU crunches the  numbers and pushes them to the screen. It’s really good with games. I  had some in my laptop case.”

She brightens and her magic brings out some disks. “These?”

He grabs one. “Yeah, the data for the game is stored on these.”

Her  eyes widen. “I had to get a microscope to see more than just a  reflective surface. You are saying those little marks on the metallic  portion are information?”

He nods. She grins and points to a  component. “That’s a capacitor, right?” that gets a nod from him. For  several minutes, they work together to identify many of the components  inside the computer. Then he gets to watch in utter fascination as she  magically assembles the computer. “Well, with what you told me about the  batteries, I’ve repaired a couple of internal shorts for your battery.  And I can fabricate power crystals to get the right voltage and amperage  for it to work without going to that crazy AC power your kind uses.”

"I'll  have you know AC power travels better -- we use it for crossing  distances, and DC is what we build our appliances for. Anyway, is it  fixable?"

She shrugs. “From my examination, I’m pretty sure the  CPU and the graphics processor are fine. But I’ve found a few burned out  resistors and capacitors, so right now, I don’t think it will send the  right amount of energy to those. And burning those out would be a big  mistake. So I hesitate to try at this point.” Twilight smiles brightly.  “But, with your helping with identifying components will allow me to  learn more and maybe in a few months I can see about firing it up.”

She reaches up and hugs him tightly, “Did you store pictures of Karen on your computer?”

“No. They were all on the phone.”

She breathes a sigh of relief. “Okay, I didn’t want to hurt you like before.”

Tim  thinks for a minute. “I think that last time was cathartic. It wasn’t  just her.” He stops, eyes flat as he focuses inward. “I mean, I do miss  her terribly. But I think my reaction was also mourning the loss of an  entire life. I do still think about that life occasionally. But my life  here is so much more important. I can’t let my old life interfere with  everything else.” He cups her cheek. “You, Citrus, North, Cayenne,  Silver. You all are my life now.”

The alicorn blushes heavily. “Even me? Really?”

Tim  nods. “Twilight, I have learned one very important thing from how you  ponies live. Loving more ponies is not dividing your love, but  multiplying your capacity to love. There are humans in my world that  could do very well to learn that lesson. And I’m thankful that I have  learned it from you all.”

She smiles broadly. “I’m glad we are going to make it work, Tim.”

He smiles back. “Me too.”

***

Silver  Wing trots through the streets of Canterlot, he didn’t expect his  lovelies to meet him at the train station. But he is most certainly  ready to see them at home. His saddle bags are fairly full, lots of  silver and gold for him to work with, along with a few nice cut gems  that he plans on making horn rings, and perhaps a few other things to  sell in Citrus's shop.

His passion, what led to his cutie mark, is  working with precious metals. Making beauty from simple, if expensive,  materials. He whistles a happy tune as he nods to the door mare of the  building. Though he stops in his tracks for a moment, that mare is  different than usual, a but more toned and buff than he’s used to  seeing. Her mane and tail are very short, and she has that grim,  aquiline look he's seen on some tough ponies.

She almost looks  like a mare from the Royal Operations Group, the division of the Royal  Guards tasked with guarding the Princesses. He knows the story as to why  the guards around Princess Celestia are stallions, but the vast  majority are mares, the ones you don’t see during public appearances. He  shakes his head and snorts softly. ROG mares wouldn’t have a reason to  be staked out here. He joins the small crowd of ponies as they wait for  the elevator. Though the wait is short to get in, the car stops at  almost every floor. He’s tapping a hoof on the metal floor by the time  it makes it to his level.

As the elevator dings and the door  opens, he’s almost prancing down the hallway, only moments before he can  see his lovelies. A hoof on the door and it opens. He sheds his load  and calls out as he kicks the door shut.

Cayenne gallops over to  him, he grabs her and their mouths meet. Their tongues fight. But  finally she pulls away. “We have dinner ready. it’s called Captains  Chicken.”

Silver frowns. “I’ve never heard of that before. Tim?”

She  nods. “He remembers new recipes all the time, it smells really good,  but he’s waiting for you before he will let us eat.” She huffs a bit,  “Come on, I've got a boil going...”

Silver puts a wing around her haunched with a slight smack. “I'll eat, then that, then I'll eat."

She whaps him with her tail. Do you always think about sex, Silver?”

He shrugs. “You invited me to, and you love it!"

She shakes her head as she leads him into the dining room.

“Hi Silver!” Tim chirps. Citrus is at the table and Silver climbs on to his own chair.

He looks around. “We usually eat in the kitchen.”

Tin disappears into the kitchen as Citrus supplies the answer. “We just wanted to celebrate you coming back to us.”

Her  warm smile warms his heart. He smiles shyly back at her. He sniffs the  air, finding himself drooling a bit at the delicious smells wafting from  the kitchen. “It does smell good. Hey, where's North?"

Cayenne giggles. “She’s getting ready, looking forward to after dinner.”

He  shudders a bit as the smoky look the pink mare is giving penetrates.  He’s glad he’s sitting at the table, and they can’t see how he’s  starting to be ready. He wants to eat first, but he’s been dreaming of  ravishing his lovelies for a few days now. And apparently they are ready  for him too. The smells intensify as Tim backs through the door from  the kitchen, then turns with a big pot in his hands. He places it on the  table and quickly ladles into several bowls. He adds in a thick piece  of garlic bread on the side and places a bowl in front of each pony and  then sits down himself.

Silver fits his spoon onto his hoof and  digs into the soup before him. He finally swallows his first bite.  “That’s really good.” He murmurs softly as he goes for another spoonful.  Then he freezes. His wings snap out, and he looks around at the two  mares calmly eating their food.

He shifts a bit, causing his chair to creak. “Something wrong, Silver?” Tim asks.

Silver suppresses the urge to glare at Tim. “Nothing.” He's turning pink.

He glances at Cayenne, and catches her suppressing a smile. "You troll! Did you put North up to this?"

The human asked, “What are you talking about, Silver?”

“I’m  not complaining, but North hiding under the table and starting in on  me.” Silver gasps and caresses his unseen tormentor's head. 'Oh, that's  good. I love you, oh yes, don't stop."

Citrus giggles as Silver's eyes cross and he gasps as he’s close to his peak. Cayenne hops from her  seat and comes over to Silver, rearing up and running her tongue gently  along his good ear. “Liking your welcome home, love?”

He’s only  able to nod as he gasps loudly. “Yeah, a l-" He’s not able to finish as  he starts bucking into the mouth servicing him. He gasps and moans and  everyone can hear the loud sucking sounds as the mare under the table  accepts the load he’s giving her. After time eternal, he slumps to the  table. “North, that was amazing.”

“What was amazing?” North asks casually as she pushes through the door into the dining room.

Silver  frowns as he tries to control his breathing. He squeezes his rear legs  together, yes she’s still there, though she suckles more on his spent  member as it slowly retracts.

“Huh, what?” Silver pushes his chair back. A purple face smiles at him from her grip on his maleness. “YOU!?"

She  lets him go with an audible pop. “Welcome home, Silver.” Smacking her lips with a big smile, she scoots backwards and hops onto one of the  other chairs as North settles into her own seat. “Well, I’ve had a very  yummy appetizer, let’s see how dinner tastes.”

Silver sits there,  looking at Twilight as her magic ladles a bowl full of the soup and  settles before her. She takes a spoonful. “Yummy, Tim. I love your home recipes.”

Silver looks at Tim, then at Citrus, who is calmly  eating her dinner. Then at North and Cayenne. “What’s going on here?”  he’s able to moan.

He glowers and everyone at the table dissolves  into laughter. Twilight is the first to recover. “Oh, Silver. I asked  the mare’s of your herd to allow me to join.” She glances at Citrus, who  is wiping her eyes. Her smile becomes find. “She found me to be  adequate to join. Then Tim accepted me into the herd.” She blushes. “And  I wanted to greet you as the herd's newest member, and hopefully gain  your approval.”

Silver's eyes widen. "My approval? The decision has been made."

“Silver,  you are valued as much as Tim in our herd. Yes, Tim makes the decision,  but your input is just as necessary.” Citrus says gently.

“Silver, I said yes, providing you agree.”

"Thank you, Cock Blockington!" He snorts.

Twilight  nods. “I want you all to accept me into the herd. And yes, right now it  all hinges on you right now.” She hops from her seat, her wings and  tail rising. “I’m willing to persuade you as much as I can.” She fights  her wings for a moment before she runs it along the scar on his cheek.  “My brother gave you that. And I understand if you are resistant to my  inclusion because of that. I can’t blame you. I was wrong and the source  of strife in your herd…”

Silver’s eyes widen, he looks between Twilight and Tim. “So, if I said no, Twilight would go?”

Twilight's tail droops, "Yes, Silver. I will go if you request it." She sighs before turning back to the rest of the herd. "It was nice, for a little while."

Silver cocks his head to the side, his voice softening. "Twilight, I merely asked if my opinion was valued as much as everypony else's. I know how herds go. The mares decide the addition of new mares, with the approval of lead stallion. Stallion's decide addition of new stallions, with approval of lead mare. That's how it works here. That's how our herd mares have done things since time immemorial. I'm not lead stallion of our herd.  But I'm glad to know that Tim values my input as well." He leans forward and nuzzles her gently. "I would prefer to have been involved in the initial decision."

Tim snorts. "Yeah, me too. I came home to Twilight all trussed up and ready, after they'd been having sex all day."

That get's Silver's ears to flick forward. "Trussed up?"

"I'll show you some of the toys, maybe we can use some tonight." Twilight purrs. 

Silver looks from herd member to herd member, finally settling on Twilight. "I understand why things happened the way they did. I would have liked things to end up differently." He runs a feather along his cheek. Finally, he brightens. "But I don't think I would want a different result. My answer is yes. Twilight."

Twilight  gathers them all up in a huge magical group hug. "Oh, thank you thank  you thank you! Thank you, Silver!" She kisses him deep on the lips.  "Now, dinner can wait -- let's celebrate!"
> Chapter 32.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citrus Blush walks through the city of Canterlot. Next to her is the newest member of the herd. While Twilight doesn’t spend all of her time with them, she sleeps at their place most nights. But in the month since she’s joined, she’s gone on a mission from the map in her castle. Citrus had nearly crawled out of her skin when the alicorn’s cutie mark had started glowing and flashing. But today has been a quiet day, until now. They’re going shopping.

Citrus flicks her ears back and forth. “I don’t know why the anniversary of his arriving here in Equestria is going to be considered his birthday, Twilight.”

“It’s simple, Citrus. We’ve asked what his birthday is, and it’s in February. Our calendar is arranged differently than in his world. His months are named after an old civilization on his world, the language Latin has February is named for Februa, the feast of purification. He did say it came in the depths of winter on his world, the second month after the new year. So, we are a little past that, since spring is close. But in two days, the anniversary of his arrival here is happening. He likes that idea, it’s a new beginning, a new life for him.

“But it was traumatizing, he nearly died.”

“True, but he’s also met the mares he’s fallen in love with on that day.” She hip checks the smaller mare gently. “He’s happy with that. And it’s always a good time to celebrate.”

Citrus huffs, her ears flattening to each side. “You’ve ordered your gift weeks ago. How am I going to find something that he will like with only two days to go.”

Twilight deadpans. “It’s not my fault that you procrastinated, Citrus. We decided on this weeks ago. Cayenne has what she’s giving him. North made him a beautiful map from the information on his phone cache. Silver made him a beautiful necklace with all of the cutie marks engraved on it. All that’s left is you.”

“But I want it to be perfect, I haven’t found anything that really screams Tim to me.

Twilight nuzzles the smaller mare on her cheek.. “Princess, we’re in public. What would Celestia say?”

“About time,” Twilight laughs, trotting down the street, practically prancing, her tail held high. Citrus watches for a moment, grinning at the alicorn. She breaks into a trot to catch up with Twilight. As she gets close, she nuzzles the alicorn’s cheek quickly, her face nearly on fire.

“You really like being a part of our herd now?”

Twilight nods. “I’ve learned so much from you all. It’s amazing.” She turns to a store. “Okay, we are here.”

The ding of the bell on the door causes the proprietor to emerge from the back. He sees the alicorn. “Oh, Princess Twilight! So happy to see you again. It has been painted and is ready to go.”

Twilight brings out a bag and opens it. A thick stack of bits flying towards the unicorn shopkeeper. “And the second half of the payment. As agreed.” She floats quite a few more bits towards him. “And a little something for getting it done so quickly.”

He looks at the pile of gold before him, then at Twilight. “Always a pleasure doing business with you, Princess.” He bows deeply. “If you gentlemares will follow me?”

As Citrus walks with Twilight into the back of the shop, she leans over to Twilight. “That’s a big tip.”

Twilight looks at her, confused. “Really? They got the job done quickly. They deserve a suitable reward for their work.”

Citrus nods as they snake through the narrow hallways of the shop. “Whatever you say, but there’s rewarding good work, then there’s overpaying. Trust me, Twilight.”

Twilight shrugs her wings as they get into the small back room of the shop. Citrus looks. “Wow, it’s beautiful.”

Twilight squees loudly, “It’s perfect!” She clops her hooves looking at the small sculpture on the workbench. It seems to be made of porcelain and has been exquisitely painted with true to life colors. Tim is in the center, standing proud and tall. The details of his face and hair are accurate to Citrus’s eyes.

Citrus spies a photo of the human posted on a wall, along with photos of the entire herd. So that’s where the artist got the information. But Tim isn’t the only one of the herd shown. North, Twilight, and Cayenne are all arrayed around him. With Citrus reared up on her hind legs and her forelegs hugging him tightly. Silver wasn’t forgotten, the stallion is perched on Tim’s shoulder, a happy smile on his face with his wings spread. Citrus leans forward to look on the base, all of their cutie marks are there, with Tim’s family crest at the center displayed proudly. 

“It’s worth every bit!”

Citrus whistles softly, “Indeed it is.” She looks up at Twilight. “That is fantastic! I know he will love it.” She sits down. “Nothing I could ever buy would every be good enough to match that, Twilight.”

Twilight moves over and puts a wing around the smaller unicorn. “It’s not a competition, Citrus.” She nuzzles Citrus forcefully. “We are all his mares. All of our goals are the same, to make him happy. And he wants to make us all happy in return.” Twilight’s smile broadens as they make their way out of the shop, the box with the statue suspended in the alicorn’s magic. They point out different things as they walk through the expansive shopping district of the Crown city of Equestria. Something catches her eyes, and Twilight stops in her tracks. “Citrus, look at that.”

Citrus follows where Twilight is looking. “A watch?”

Twilight steps over to it. “It’s perfect, look at it, Citrus.”

Citrus slowly walks to the watch. The case is silver, and fairly unadorned, but everything about it screams quality. Citrus lifts the prices tag with her magic and whistles softly before clicking the button to open the cover. In tiny script, To the love of my life, is written around the edge. She smiles up at Twilight. “We can engrave all our cutie marks on the inside, and put his coat of arms on the outside, fully colored and lacquered with the colors he showed us.”

Twilight nods. “Exactly what I was thinking. And we know a master engraver who can do the job perfectly.”

Citrus’ eyes widen. “Silver. Oh, Twilight, you are a genius.” She leaps towards the alicorn and hugs her tightly.

“Thanks, Citrus, but I think you should pay for it before this turns into something that crosses my brother’s desk.” 

Citrus blushes as she brings out her bag of bits. “Yeah, good idea.”

***

Twilight Sparkle bounces into the library, getting everyone there to look up. The alicorn mare is nearly prancing in place. North Point looks up from her work table. “What’s going on, Twi?”

“I’ve figured out what I want to get Tim for his birthday.”

Citrus scrunches her nose. “we’ve all got him some nice presents. Even that beautiful sculpture that you had made for him.”

Twilight nods. “I know we got him some nice things, but that’s all it is, stuff. I want to give him a present that is meaningful for him outside of just things to look at, or use. But the only catch is I need your help, all of you, to do it.”

Silver chirps up from his work bench. “You do know our herd has plenty of sex. So, it’s not really a gift.”

Her blush deepens. “Yeah, but what can he not get here in Equestria?”

Citrus narrows her eyes, the fur on the back of her neck bristling a bit. “You want to turn yourself human again? That wasn’t all that successful before.”

Twilight shakes her head. “I was in the depths of heat, I wasn’t thinking fully. I’m not talking turning just myself human for him.” She stops and puts her hoof to her chest, she pushes out as she exhales forcefully. She does it a second time. “I know the concept is from something that caused a lot of harm.” She looks at the other mares, then focuses on Silver. “Was it that I turned myself human for him? Or that him and I had sex without your input or consent?”

Citrus frowns, her eyes narrowing. “It was that you disrespected our herd. You tried to poach our stallion. And the method that you used was to turn yourself human.”

Twilight’s ears fold back. “I know, but while I was trying to appeal to him the best way I could. He has admitted that he liked me as a pony. And we’ve been having sex with me as a pony. Can you say he likes that any less than sex with you?”

Cayenne’s ears flick back and forth. “Sex with you in the herd has been quite good. Do you really think he’s going to want you human, with all of us still ponies?”

Twilight giggles. “I wasn’t thinking just me.” She stops, her face glowing again. “I want to turn you all human with me.” She looks again at Silver. “Even you, Silver Wing.” His wings spread in alarm.

A pin could drop and make a racket as the herd processes what Twi had just uttered. Finally, Cayenne shakes herself. “Do you think he’d like it?”

Twilight nods. “I know those memories are tender, but remember, he’s been a wonderful stallion for our entire herd. He wants us to be happy, and we all want him to be happy. He has instincts, down deep, no matter how much he tries to deny, he misses the feeling of human skin, human smells, human touch, the fingers.” She looks at Citrus. “You know how magical he can be with those fingers for all of us.” She looks at Silver. “Even you, Silver, he’s massaged your wings, and your withers. How relaxed you’ve been after he was done. Right?”

Silver nods, frowning.

Twilight turns to Citrus. “I won’t do it without your support. But I really do believe that he will really enjoy this. I sent him to take Spike out, and then to take him to the train station. And I’ve told Spike to dawdle and take his time. He knows what to do. It will give me plenty of time to get the spell right for each of you. If you all are wanting to try. I promise you all, this will be fun for everyone.”

Silver Wing and the mare’s all glance back and forth, and soon all of them are looking at Citrus. As lead mare, the decision rests on her withers. She looks at everyone around her. Finally, she smiles tremulously. “If Tim will enjoy it, we are in.”

“Me first,” Silver says.

Everypony turns and looks at him. “You, Silver?” Citrus asks.

He nods. “I want to see if it’s safe for you girls first.”

Twilight smiles and her horn lights. Silver flinches. “Oh, you mean right now?”

Twilight nods. “There is no time to lose.”

“Cayenne, if this fucks me up, avenge me.”

Twilight groans a bit as more power is concentrated in her horn. Finally, she fires at the stallion. Magenta magic slams into the pegasus, lifting him into the air and becoming too bright to see. With a loud pop, Silver drops to the floor, on all four hooves. He looks back at his body, then questioningly at Twilight.

“What happened?” Citrus asks.

Twilight looks up at her horn, which is smoking softly, she puffs a bit of air to dissipate the smoke. “Sorry, Silver. This spell is still experimental. But it’s got built in safety measures, if any part of the new form will not work correctly, it cancels out the transformation and leaves you unharmed.” She grimaces and rubs her horn. "Though the backlash of that cancellation comes back to the caster. Ouch."

“What didn’t work?”

“He’s a stallion. I didn’t correctly account for that. No worries.”

Citrus stamps a hoof. “What do you mean you didn’t account for that?”

Twilight sits down, her tail curling around her rear. “This is far different than from one species in Equestria to another. Their genetics are similar enough, a few transpositions of the matrix is all it takes to make a pony into a breezy, a griffon, or even a dragon.” As she speaks, she transforms herself into everything she mentioned. She blows a small spurt of fire before turning back to herself. “He’s an alien, his DNA is completely different than ours. I had to come up with an algorithm to do that transposition. While his DNA is relatively simple compared to ours, what determines some traits is different for humans than ponies. And then you add in the large amount of the data that doesn't even do anything in the human genome. Every attempt helps me learn more about his species, and before you ask. Yes, I’ve been continuing that research. Because the female I turned into was nearly a genetic twin of Tim. And I don’t want that for when we do this.”

“Your goal was this? But I thought you came up with the idea for his birthday?” Cayenne asks, her eyes narrowed.

Twilight smiles. “I was planning on a bit later, after heat, so all of us can enjoy it. But I remembered that Cayenne was planning on a foal. And I don’t think that would be good for your foal. So, I’m doing it early so you can join in. And if we all like it, we can do it every so often.” She looks at Silver. “Ready to try again?”

Silver gulps. Twilight says,  “Don’t worry, did the first attempt hurt at all?”

“Kinda but not much.” Twilight smiles brightly. Then her horn glows again. Once again magic shoots across the living room. Only to leave a silver colored stallion standing there. Twilight looks at Silver. “Okay, I got why that wouldn’t work, you wouldn’t live long with your lungs outside your body.” Silver squeaks as she fires again. “Oh, your hooves would have stayed, but everything else would have been human.”

Silver takes a step back as he’s hit by magic again, leaving him still a pony. “Can I get a running tally of how many times you almost kill me?” He mutters softly, glancing at Cayenne briefly.

“Oh, that would have been bad…” Twilight murmurs softly. “I think I’ve got it.” Before Silver can react, he is hit again by the magic. Bright and colorful magical clouds surround him. Twilight cocks her head. “Yeah, that worked.”

The other mares watch as the smoke slowly dissipates. A new human is standing there, short, blonde hair on his head, along with a small patch of hair on his chest and groin area. His skin is almost Tim’s coloring, fairly pale by human standards according to Tim. His eyes remain the golden color they were as a pegasus. They all crowd forward, looking at him. He overbalances and ends up on his rear.

Silver looks at his hands. His wings spread in alarm. Then he looks over his shoulder. “I’ve still got my wings?”

Twilight nods. “That is another safety aspect of the spell, your unique magic will remain. Your wings, our horns, and the magic endemic to both remains. Otherwise I’d have to find another unicorn with enough strength to reverse it. That was an early design of the spell. Do you want to wait for Starlight Glimmer to make it here?”

Silver looks down at his body, covering his manhood. “I can see why humans like clothing, it’s cold.” His blush spreads from his face down his neck into his chest. He frowns. “My ears move.” He reaches up and pulls back his shaggy blonde hair, exposing an ear. He runs a finger along it. “It’s not like Tim's” 

Twilight leans forward, his ear is feathered, and somewhat shaped like a pegasus wing. She looks back at the other mares. “This is his pegasus heritage showing through. Do you dislike them, Silver? I can try again.” 

Silver shakes his head emphatically. “Oh, no, they are cool. And I can move them like normal, so it’s one less thing that’s different.” He looks down. “Its not very impressive, is it?” 

Twilight giggles. “Don’t worry, Tim has said some human stallions are growers, as in it’s small until they get aroused. Others are showers, which hang down but only really get stiff. Yours will grow, so don’t worry about it. When Tim gets back, we will make sure that part of you gets plenty of attention.” She brightens. “I did think of this, I had some clothes made. I doubt Tim’s clothes will work for you mares. But I was certain that Silver’s wings would remain, and I don’t want to rip up his clothing. So…” Her horn lights again, and a pair of saddle bags appear. She opens one side and roots around with her magic. “I don’t know if you like boxers or briefs. I know what Tim likes, but I kept the mares at the Canterlot boutique busy with all the clothing being made for all of you. And they showed me how to size the clothes to all of you.” She brings out some clothing. Holding a pair of boxers and a pair of briefs before Silver. He points and she poofs the one he didn’t choose, then she sets the clothing on the floor next to him.  “Alright, you ready to learn walking as a biped?”

Citrus clears her throat as her magic floats a chair to Silver and picks him up to sit in it. “Let’s all be taught that at the same time. I’ll go next.”

Twilight smiles. “Since you are a mare, this will be easier. But remember, how you look as a human will be determined by your own genetics. I’m not going to do anything to adjust that. If you want changes after the transformation, ask me and we can play around with the specifics.”

“Specifics?”

“Oh yeah, humans have all kinds of body types, big breasts, little breasts, different places where the hair grows, skin color, facial structure, among others. I think you’ll end up with the same basic structure you have through the portal. The reference I’m using for this was the transpositions the portal made to Tim’s DNA when he was turned into a pony on coming back. I’m going to do the same with you as I did with Silver, you’ll keep your eye color. For some reason, that’s really hard to change in the spell. And you will still have your horn.” She charges her horn and fires. Twilight frowns. “Interesting, well, that’s the difference between alicorns and unicorns. Easy adjustment.” She fires again, and once again a magical cloud obscures the subject of her magic. Twilight waves her hoof to dissipate it and her horn lights quickly, keeping Citrus from collapsing like Silver did. “Okay, that worked.” Citrus looks down at herself, she brings her golden blonde hair up and looks at it. She reaches and pushes her hair out of the way, revealing a long, pointed ear. She looks up at Twilight questioningly. “Yeah, that’s you being a unicorn. Long, slender, pointed ears.” She giggles as Citrus flicks her ears back and forth. “Not as directional as pony ears, especially since they are on the side of your head rather than the top. But they are very cute.”

Citrus looks down. “Did they have to be this big?” She asks, cupping her new breasts. She runs her fingers along her shoulder and down her arm. “Wow, they are sensitive.”

Twilight grins. “You have no idea. There are decidedly major differences between humans and ponies.” She cocks her head to the side. “I like the breasts, they fit the body very well. And you are comfortably padded, too.” 

“I’m padded?” Citrus looks at Silver, he’s boyishly slim, not really an ounce of fat at all on his frame. She looks down. “I’m fat?” Her cerise eyes widen.

Twilight shakes her head. “Not fat, just a little extra, rounded would be a good word. Kidnap resistant. Tim prefers girls with a little more to them, so this is good. I think he’d say just enough meat on the bones.”

Citrus hesitantly reaches up and touches the yellow horn sticking out. “Well, that’s still there.” She closes her eyes for a moment and her horn glows briefly. She lets the hornshine abate and smiles back.

Twilight looks at the other two mares who look at each other then North steps forward. “Alright, go with me now.”

North closes her eyes tightly as Twilight’s horn lights. The alicorn fires again, keeping her horn lit to keep North from falling. She places the new human onto another chair. “Wow, pretty hair color.” She picks up the dropped glasses and her magic works on them, narrowing them and growing the temples so they’ll fit.

North reaches out and grabs them. She puts them on and runs a finger along an ear. “Wow. Even these ears are sensitive.” She looks at the long platinum blonde hair that reaches midway down her back. Then she cups her own breasts. “Well, they aren’t that big.” She spreads her legs and looks down. “That’s what a human plot looks like?”

Twilight grins. “Yes, and among them, that’s a very pretty one. Hold on.” Her horn lights and the silver/platinum pubic hair is trimmed to a triangle pointing down to her labia. She looks at Citrus, who looks at her own rather overgrown hair down south. She nods and spreads her legs a bit, allowing Twilight to magic it down a bit. “Don’t worry, I do the same myself. The genetics make for a lot of hair down there, so I’m bringing it under control.”

Citrus nods. “Tim keeps his trimmed for us, though without trimming, it’s a jungle down there. But not too much gone. Can you just get rid of mine?”

Twilight cocks her head, her eyebrows rising. “Really?” Citrus nods and with a flash of Twilight’s magic, all of the woman’s pubic hair disappears. Citrus runs a finger along the outer lips and groans softly.

“I wasn’t kidding about sensitive,” Twilight says with a giggle. 

Citrus spreads herself a bit, looking down. “It looks a lot different than ours. Are you sure Tim likes ours? We are more different than I thought we were.”

Twilight nods. “Different doesn’t mean bad, Citrus. We are a completely different species from Tim. Just remember, you like Silver’s cock when he’s a pony, and you like Tim’s cock too, right?”

She nods. “Different, but both are fun.”

“The same when it comes to mares and our plots. We are different from human women, but we still turn him on. He will like this too.”

Citrus looks down. “I guess you are right.” She looks over at Silver, who is having his own nest of pubic hair trimmed by Twilight. “I’ll admit I like both.” The other girls nod in agreement.

Twilight turns to Cayenne. “Ready?”

Cayenne takes a step forward, her eyes tightly closed. “Do it.”

Once again, Twilight’s horn lights, and Cayenne in her new form is gently deposited on another chair. Twilight pants softly. “That spell takes a lot out of you.”

Cayenne touches her horn, then looks at the other girls, then down at herself. “Okay, first thing, get that hair gone, please, Twilight.” She lifts her arms, “And under the arms, too?”

Twilight smiles as she complies. Cayenne touches her own breasts. “Oh man, no fair. Everypony gets bigger breasts than me.”

North giggles as Citrus looks down at her large breasts then back at Cayenne. “Those look like bee stings.”

Cayenne touches her pale skin that is covered in dark dots. “What are these?”

Twilight answers, “Freckles. They come with your red mane.”

“Red? My mane didn’t change color?” Her horn lights and a mirror appears. She inspects her face. “Well, I kept my eye color, but my mane is just one color now?” she runs a finger along her own elongated ear.

“That’s normal for humans, Cayenne,” Twilight pants a bit, “Okay, my turn now.” She lights her horn again, and with a bang, she’s standing before the other ponies turned human. She closes her eyes and her horn lights again, trimming her pubic hair, along with her underarm hair. She concentrates again and a gumball pink highlight grows down her raven black hair. She pushes her long hair back, exposing her own long ears, which she flicks up and down. “There. What do you think?”

Citrus looks at her. “Definitely the darkest here when it comes to skin color.” She cocks her head to the side. “Very pretty though.” She leans a bit, looking at Twilight’s plot. “So, the same as before?”

Twilight shrugs. “A bit different. I believe it’s as close to human without having an actual sample. Tim has said it smells right and feels right.” She raises her arms to stretch, and her own wings extend as she flexes her back. She folds her wings back and smiles at the rest.

Citrus spreads herself again, running her fingers along the inner lips. “Wow, I’m wet already.” She explores for a moment. “Why can’t I wink?”

“Humans don’t wink, and their clitoris is smaller than ours. But easily just as sensitive.”

As Twilight was talking, Citrus continued to explore, she squeezes her legs together and moans softly. “Found it.” She sighs. “I want Tim in me now.” She shudders. “Can we get pregnant with Tim like this?”

Twilight shakes her head. “That can be an option for the future. I did make sure all of us are functionally accurate for human, full uterus and ovaries with all the genes, but none of the tubes needed for ova to get to where sperm can reach them; I’m rather hesitant to start making humans without a perfect understanding of their genetics. And of course we only have Tim for reference, so the gene pool would be too limited." She stops for a long moment, a slender finger on her chin. "I would have to think about the ethical questions, though. Creating a whole race of humans to satisfy a single member that made it to our world. Would that be ethical?" She stops and shakes her head. "That's a question for another time, though." She giggles. "Maybe we can figure out some kind of humanized pony shape? Still looking like a pony, but with some human features. Might be interesting to explore in the future."

“Wow, it does grow.” Silver says. All the mares turn to look at Silver, his legs are slightly spread, and his member is pointing straight up. 

Cayenne cocks her head to the side. “A little smaller than Tim’s when it comes to length, but the same girth.” She reaches out and rubs a finger along the edge of the head, getting Silver’s breath to stutter as he closes his eyes. “Sensitive?”

Silver nods and then gasps as Cayenne grasps the shaft, she runs her thumb along the head again, she runs her hand up and down his shaft. “Not kidding about how sensitive these fingers are.” She runs a fingertip all around the edge of the head, looking up at Silver’s face. His eyes have closed, and she enjoys him bucking gently into her hand. “I’m glad you like, Silver.”

“Cayenne! I’m gonna…” His member spasms in her hand and thick white fluid spurts out, flying several feet.

Twilight exclaims, “Well that’s new; Tim shoots nowhere near as hard!” Silver quivers and collapses. Cayenne leans down and starts cleaning with her mouth, making him twitch and gasp.

“Wow, hair trigger even as a human? Damnit!”

“That’ll change,” Twilight says, using a thumb to wipe a gob from her shoulder. She looks at Silver as she brings it slowly into her mouth. She smiles as she extracts a clean finger. “I did get that right. Tastes just right for human.”

“I hope I can recharge as fast as usual.”

“Not likely, but odds are future rounds will last much longer.”

Twilight moves down and kisses him, her tongue invading his mouth as she sits on his thighs, wrapping her arms around him. After time immemorial, she pulls away. “No worries, Silver. You’ll have plenty of time to recover. And if you need help, we can help you, just like we help Tim from time to time.” She giggles as he twitches a bit. She reaches down and gropes him gently as she leans forward and whispers in his ear. “I want this in me later.” He nods as she stands up and then ruins the sultry look by stumbling over her feet, windmilling her arms until she catches herself on one of the reading tables. “Okay. Time to teach you all how to walk.”

***

Tim stuffs his hands into his pockets. This cold wind sucks. Though spring is on its way, the unicorns of Canterlot have let the city know that winter wrap up is on its way. The sidewalks are clean, which is a good thing, but the cold wind just cuts through a person. Even ponies on the street are bundled up, wearing parkas and some kind of snow pant that only exposes the bottom of their hooves to the ground. Though some are wearing boots on all four hooves as well. He glances up, not really any pegasi in the air either. Tim is looking forward to the heated lobby. When it’s really bad out, the doormare will be just inside the door. He hurries through the door, nodding to the ROG doormare. The elevator responds instantly to the press of the button.

A soft ding announces the elevator arriving at his floor. He exits and turns to the left. Quickly he’s at his door. He pushes the lever style knob down and pushes the door open, he’s quickly pulling off his jacket as he gets through the door. He closes the door and turns around, his jacket falling to the floor as he stares.

Dressed in tight jeans and a white scoop neck shirt, a young woman is standing there with shoulder length wavy golden blonde hair and bright cerise eyes. He boggles at noticing the long, slender ears emerging from the sides of her head, flicking nervously back and forth His eyes drop to her bare feet, shifting nervously on the marble floor. He takes in all the details, that mare at the Canterlot Boutique must have made those jeans, they look painted on. The shirt has a pocket like most of his, and on that pocket is the cutie marks, Twilight Sparkle’s stars have been added to the ones around the marks representing him and Silver. He looks at her face, then he squints, noting the horn sticking up from just above the hair line. “Citrus?” 

She nods and smiles tremulously. “Happy Birthday, Love! We all have gifts for you, but Twilight wanted to do something overboard. You like?”
> Chapter 33.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim just stands there a long moment, eyes wide.  Citrus shifts from foot to foot. She looks down. “Do you not like how I  look as a human?”

Tim shakes himself. “Wait, what? No.” In a few  strides he’s got his arms around her, reflexively she throws her own  arms around him, clinging to him tightly. He pulls back a moment, then  crushes her lips with a kiss, pulling her tighter to him. His hands go  from merely embracing her, to running up and down her form, feeling the  soft cloth, he slips his hands under her shirt, feeling the soft skin.  He moans as he pulls her to him.

“Hey, don’t take him all for yourself."

Tim  breaks away and looks, his eyes go wide as he notices the faint blue  horn sticking up from the platinum hair and the cerise eyes. “North?”

She  nods, spreading her arms a bit, she’s dressed in a long dress, fitting  her slim form from her neck down to her hips before flaring out to a  wider skirt. She pulls it wide. “You like?”

He looks at Citrus,  then at North. “Tons. Come here.” He reaches out and grabs North,  bringing her close for a kiss as he hugs Citrus close. After their  tongues have battled a bit. He stumbles a step back. “I’ve almost become  used to pleasant surprises when I get home.” He shakes his head. “But  this one takes the taco." 

"Tacos?"

Tim pauses. "Earth thing. Uuhhh... puts the carrot in  my trough?"

"That works."

"Twilight certainly did a number on all of you. What about Cayenne? Or Silver? I’m guessing he’s still a pegasus?”

“Nope,”  the pony turned human says as he steps into the foyer, Twilight and  Cayenne by his side, “I volunteered to be turned first.” He puffs his  chest out, his wings shifting a bit on his back.

Tim walks over,  touching Silver’s cheek, looking into his eyes. Then he looks at  Twilight. “You said before that you were nearly an identical twin,  Silver’s male, wouldn’t he look like me?”

She shakes her head.  “Oh, the amount of work I’ve done on adjusting the spell. We are all  genetically unique, more based on our own specific genomes versus just  derivatives of yours. Silver has no more genetic relationship to you  than any other human. And it’s the same for all us mares.”

Tim blinks a few times. “That’s amazing.” He directs a grin at Twilight. “So, did you do this for a specific purpose?”

That gets a loud laugh from Silver. “Wow, he’s turned into a telepath.”

Twilight  leaps up, Tim reflexively catches the shorter Twilight as she brings  her mouth up to his. After several moments, she pulls away, breathing  heavily. “Tim, I know what I did before didn't help; I made things a lot  worse. I hope you understand what I was going through, and why I  thought at the time it would help. Now, I’ve talked to everypony in the  herd, I got their approval before I did this.” She squirms a bit,  allowing him to set her on her feet. She puts a hand on his shoulder to  steady herself. “If you don’t want to. It’s a simple spell to make  everypony turn back.” She looks down. “If this brings up unpleasant  memories you’d rather leave behind.”

Tim looks at all of the human  faces arrayed around him, his brow furrowing. “So, you spent a huge  amount of effort and thought to make this work. And you’ll give it all  up if I ask you to?”

She nods.

Tim sighs, “Twilight, that  night, while it was damaging to my relationship with my herd. It was  magical in its own right. I do not regret that night. I regret what  happened to our herd.” He reaches out and lifts her chin to where her  purple eyes looking into his. “Twilight, you are an embodiment of the  magic here. You do what you do because you have a passion for the magic,  a passion for making new things. He reaches out and puts his index  finger over her mouth when she opens it to object. “Please, let me  finish. I know you did it for me too. And deep down, I’ve had to admit  to what I miss at times.” He looks pointedly at Citrus. “No amount of  talking about it will remove that deep desire within me. That instinct,  that fire. It will always be there for the rest of my life. Doing this  for me, acknowledging that instinct within me, showing that you are  willing to do anything in your power, even change species, no matter how  temporary it is. That just tells me even more how much you...” He turns  and looks at each of his herdmates. “All of you are willing to do to  make me happy. So, no, Twilight, let’s enjoy tonight. All of us  together. I love you all, and I’ve got tangible proof standing before me  of how much you love me.” He grins. “Maybe some night, you could turn  me pony, and have a night of fun together again like that.”

That  gets grins all around. Citrus moves closer, wrapping her arms around his  shoulders and bringing his earlobe into her mouth, using her teeth  gently, though enough to get his eyes to widen. “Tim, I want you to take  me, right now.”

“Upstairs?”

“Oh no, the library is closer. And I don’t think we’ve inaugurated the new couch."

Tim  smiles as Citrus leads the way, she guides him into the library before  sitting him on the couch. “Let’s get rid of these.” She smiles as her  horn lights. With a yank, his clothes are on the floor behind her. She  looks up at Twilight. “Nice spell. Oh, boys..." Citrus sings, sitting  her stallions down on the couch as she stands up on the table.

The  woman sways her hips in time with invisible music. Then North and  Cayenne begin to snap their fingers. Citrus twirls around, giving a look  at the goods. Tim is hard already. Silver not quite.

Citrus  shakes her hips in tune to the beat, small at first, but then bigger and  bigger. She leans down, giving them a look down her shirt at her  copious breasts. She squeezes them up, making them look all the fuller.  She straddles Tim, rubbing her crotch on his, pulling his head forward  into her cleavage. He's protruding. The man inhales and puts his hands  on her hips. As she bumps and grinds, she giggles, a blush overtaking  her features. She reaches into her collar and pulls off her top.

Tim  tries to take her bra off, but she pushes his hands down, taking them  lower. She rubs on them. He smiles as they brush the spot between her  legs. He can feel her through the fabrics.

Citrus dismounts and  returns to the table. She gets on her back and locks eyes with Silver.  The stallion is at full mast now, and rubbing himself through the fabric of his pants . Citrus sticks a  hand inside her waistband, finding her cleft. She gasps and writhes,  dancing the awaiting treats for her mates. She turns over and crawls  towards Silver. Kneeling before her, she turns around to show him her  ass as she pull off her jeans, revealing her bare, round ass.

The  woman rubs it on his hardness straining to get through his pants, then leans back. Silver hugs her, kissing  the nape of her neck. Before  he has time to do anything else, Citrus is on her knee, pulling off  Silver's pants and lowering her head. She licks on his cock, cupping the  swollen balls, and her free hand wraps around the human's erect shaft.

North  and Cayenne watch. Citrus switches her mouth to Tim and her hand to  Silver. "No cumming yet; I know it feels good, but you don't have a  stallion's ability to keep shooting."

He reaches out and runs his fingers along her bra. “Why the bra?”

She unhooks the final clasp of her bra, letting her copious chest spring forth. She moves both hands now to her stallions, one for each man. “Twilight said human mares wear them, and feeling these, I get why." She pushes forward, letting Tim get  his mouth on one, she wraps her arms around his head as he plays with the nipple in his mouth. “Oh, I see why you like them so much.”

The  couch shifts as Cayenne pushes Silver onto the cushion, she pulls his  shirt off and finishes removing his pants. “I’ve been waiting for this  long enough, Silver.” She takes a moment to run her fingers along his  chest. “I think this is going to be fun.”

Citrus is slowly sliding her body down Tim’s. She traps his penis between her breasts, then looks up at him. “You like?”

He’s  panting, the only answer she needs is the look on his face, she runs  her breasts up and down his length, though he only has moments before  Twilight swoops in, kissing him full on the face. She pulls back. “Happy  birthday, love.” She says softly. In response, he pulls her too him and  kisses her deeply.

Citrus watches the head of his cock poking out  from between her mounds. She reaches down and kisses the tip, running  her tongue along the edge, enjoying him groaning into Twilight’s mouth  as their kiss continues. She glances over at he sounds of energetic  slurping. Cayenne has her head bobbing up and down on Silver’s stiff  dick, and North has tossed her clothing down and is kissing the pegasus  deeply. Citrus looks back down. That seems like a good idea. She shifts a  bit, letting go of his cock, only to grasp it gently in her hands. Once  again, she runs her tongue around the edge of the head. In response he  bucks gently a bit, she smiles and opens her mouth, bringing the tip all  the way in. His smell has her mind going all fuzzy, it intensifies as  she brings more of him into her mouth, and in moments her nose meets his  pubic bone.

She looks up, Twilight has peeled off her own shirt  and bra and Tim is in the process of sucking on her breast. Her wings  are stretched out into the air, quivering. She reaches down and cups one  of her breasts, letting her fingertips play with her nipple, enjoying  the feeling of it getting hard as she starts bobbing her head up and  down, a little bit of precum greeting her. She smiles as she ups the  pace.

She can feel Twilight shift a bit as she focuses on Tim’s  manhood. Though one of her hands has strayed further south and she is  playing with her slit, she moans a bit as her fingers find her clit,  maybe she can cum at the same time as she makes him cum, she feels her  own wetness, the thought of him pounding her later gets her to squeeze  her legs together on her hand. She looks up, Twilight has one foot on  the couch cushion, the other is over Tim’s shoulder, resting on the  back, and her crotch is in his face. Citrus slows her pace a bit as she  watches the human pleasure Twilight. She smiles, she’s going to get the  first taste of his cum tonight. She runs her fingers along his taught  belly then brings them down to his hips, encouraging his awkward humping  into her mouth. He’s close, she can feel it. She sucks hard as she  speeds up, running her tongue along his length.

Twilight moans as  Citrus can feel Tim’s body tense. She's thrilled at his body's warm  reception of her efforts. She stops bobbing as she feels that expansion  in her mouth. He’s past the point of no return. She slips a finger  inside herself as he finally lets go, the taste of his cum explodes on  her tongue, the feeling of his member spasming in her mouth drives her  over the edge. Her cries are muffled as she writhes on her hand and his  cock. In moments his manhood starts to wither, she suckles on it a bit,  running her tongue along the shaft and focusing on the head, getting him  to shudder. She looks up, Tim is cupping Twilight’s rear with his hands  as she works through her own orgasm. Her breathing is stuttered as she  intertwines her fingers in his hair, pulling him harder into her crotch.  Citrus releases his manhood and runs a finger along his chest, noticing  the moisture that’s dripped there.

As Twilight’s orgasm ends, she  relaxes and falls back. Tim catches her and brings her close, Citrus  slithers up between Tim and Silver and puts her head on his shoulder.  She wraps her arms around Tim and Twilight as they all work to get their  breathing back to normal. Taking their cue from Citrus, North and  Cayenne end up cuddling with Silver. For a long time, the only sound is  their heavy breathing as they bask in their afterglow.

After  they’ve calmed down a bit, Twilight reaches up and kisses Tim deeply.  When she breaks away, a bit breathless, she struggles up and stands  before Silver. She reaches down while looking into his eyes. “I told you  I want this in me tonight.” She leans down and engulfs his flaccid  length in her mouth.

Citrus watches as Silver gasps and groans  happily. She idly reaches down and plays with Tim's own shaft as she  watches. After a few moments, one of his hands runs down her side, just  barely touching with his fingertips. She pulls her hand up and cups his  cheek, bringing him closer to kiss her. In response, he pulls her on to  his lap and leans back, that gets her to straddle his belly. She grinds  herself against him, enjoying the feeling as she gets more into the  kiss. He gasps a bit as she continues, but she’s lost in the feelings.  She pulls away. He smiles and moans softly, “I think I’m ready again.”

She  lifts herself a bit and looks down. Cayenne is busy with pleasuring  him. She grins as she gets off of Tim. She notices that Cayenne is  sitting on her knees, her legs spread. “I wonder how different human  mares taste....” Citrus murmurs as she gets on her back and slides  underneath Cayenne. The other mare jerks a bit as she let’s her tongue  run along her spread inner lips. She let’s her tongue dart along  Cayenne’s dripping slit and soon she finds Cayenne’s clit, getting her  to squeeze her legs onto the sides of her head. She brings Cayenne's  rear down a bit, giving her easier access. She dives deeply, sticking  her shorter tongue as deep as it will go.

Tim, for his part, is  watching the look on Cayenne’s new face as she first notices what’s  happening, then she starts to enjoy it. Her blowjob pretty much  forgotten as she rears back a bit with Citrus pulling her down on to her  face. Tim reaches out and strokes Cayenne’s flickering horn, getting a  soft moan from the redhead. He shifts to lay sideways on the couch, his  legs hanging off the side as he brings Cayenne close to kiss her.  Twilight has moved and is now bouncing on Silver, her own moans are  resounding through the room as he kisses Cayenne deeply while at the  same time he continues playing with the magic running through her horn.  Warm wetness closes on his cock as he continues. So North is keeping  busy herself. He smiles as he puts a hand behind Cayenne’s head, bring  her close as she gets closer to her peak. Their kiss is the usual battle  of the tongues, but without her usual extra length, they are on an  equal playing field. He groans as North sucks harder on his member and  he pulls away from Cayenne as her breathing stutters in her orgasm with  her horn lighting up and sparking.

Cayenne, spent, collapses to  the side, drawing Citrus close to her as she struggles to come back into  herself. Tim looks down. “North, floor.” He murmurs, she looks at him  as she withdraws, a questioning look on her face. Then it dawns on her,  and she lies down on her back, her legs spread wide for him. He grins  and levers himself off the couch, taking a moment to kiss Cayenne’s, then Citrus’s cheek. He enjoys how they are clinging to each other. He  then turns his attention to North. She has one hand buried in her crotch, the other cupping her breast, playing with a nipple. He latches  on to the other nipple, and she brings both hands around and wraps her  arms around his head, pulling him tighter onto her breast. He hunches a  bit and uses a hand to direct himself to play with her entrance, getting  pleasured gasps from her. Her arms fling out to each side, allowing him  to position himself better. He looks into her eyes. “Ready?”

“Hurry  up,” she growls, before grabbing his hips and pulling. He slides inside  her easily. He lifts her legs a bit and starts pounding away. She  brings her legs up further and brings them around his back, pushing him  deeper into her as she moans. Her horn is lit consistently now, she runs  her hands along his chest as he continues fucking her. He watches her  emotions on her face, the love for him, the passion building inside her.  He leans down, kissing her deeply as she squirms and writhes her way  through an orgasm, her horn lighting up brightly. He leans up, putting  her knees on his shoulders, enjoying her relative tallness with her  human form to continue pounding her. Both hands come into play in her  breasts, enjoying the feel of her. She runs her hands along his  shoulders, and soon she’s moaning as another orgasm hits, even stronger  than the first one. She pushes him away. “No more, please, no more.”  She moans.

Tim picks North up from the floor, fighting his  unsteady legs. He gently deposits her on the couch, and before he moves  away, she reaches her hands around his neck and pulls him close, kissing  him deeply.

When he pulls away, a bit breathless, he takes stock  of the situation, Silver and Twilight are cuddling in post coital bliss,  Cayenne is lying on her side, a look of shock on her face as Citrus  sits up, smacking her lips and rubbing some of Cayenne’s excretions from  her cheeks. She looks pointedly down at Tim. He glances down, his little buddy is pointing half past noon. She grins at him, he grins at  her, with a quick motion, he’s got Citrus in his arms. Her heavy  breathing is hot in his ear. “Have you cum again, love?”

“No.”

She pulls back and impish grin on her mug. “Good. I want it in me."

He  looks around, no real horizontal surface available but the floor. She  grins. She puts a single finger on his chest. “You’ve proven to be  pretty flexible, let’s see if this body is as good.” Citrus walks over  to one of the chairs and puts one leg on it and leans forward,  supporting her top half on the back of the chair. She bends over a bit,  looking at him from between her legs. “Enough access, you think?”

He  grins. “I think I can make that work.” He doesn’t need to check; he’s  about as hard as it’s possible to be. Though Citrus isn’t as tall as  North is as a human, she’s close enough to the right height. He grasps  himself to run the head of his cock along her slit, she’s as wet as he  is hard. She moans softly as he enters her from the rear. Putting his  hands on her hips, he pulls her towards him as he presses into her. She  moans loudly as she starts actively bouncing back into him as he pushes  forward. In moments they have a good rhythm going. He moves and pulls  her up so his chest is against her back, letting his rocking hips keep  up the fucking.

He pants in her ear, “Let me show you why I love breasts so much.”

His  first cupping of her breasts gets a loud groan from her, which  continues as he plays with her nipples, and he gently, but firmly,  kneads her breasts as he kisses her neck, continuing to fuck her the  whole time. After a bit, he runs a hand down her belly, getting her  breathing to speed up as he works his hand south while the other keeps  the pleasurable attention on her breasts. Her horn is brightly lit as  his fingers find her clit, he plays with it as he pulls her body closer  to his.

“Oh, Tim… You keep that up and I'll…”

He’s past the  point of no return again. He leans back, grabbing her hips roughly as he  slams into her a few more times. Bright motes of light swirl around the  library as he hilts in her, letting his second torrent of the night  into her. Their cries of pleasure intertwining and making the entire  universe sing in harmony.

As he takes a step back, physically  spent, she turns around and wraps her arms around him, pressing her  breasts into his chest and her lips onto his. Together they stagger over  to the couch and collapse in front of it, his back against the couch,  her pressed up against him. Everyone lies where they collapsed, just  enjoying the feeling of being completely and totally relaxed. Tim leans  his head back against someone’s leg, exhaustion rolling over him, in  moments he’s the last one asleep.

Warm wetness has once engulfed  his dick. He smiles a bit, feeling it grow as he gets a decidedly good  blowjob. He can feel himself growing under her ministrations. He opens  his eyes.

Then immediately shuts them. “Silver!” He groans.

The leg under his head shifts. “Hey, I’ve woken up to your junk in my face enough.”

“And  mine is much more impressive, you’re welcome.” Tim shakes his head  before looking down to see which mare is servicing him at the moment.  The olive dark skin and raven hair with the gumball pink stripe running  through it tells him all he needs to know. He gently runs his hand down  her back, enjoying her wings shifting under his touch before he cups an  ass cheek, getting her to groan on her snack. He moves his hand on to  her hip. “Hey, you kept your cutie mark.” He runs a finger tip along the  large purple star in the middle. He looks around, every pony had kept  their cutie mark.

Twilight's hand comes around to grasp his  member, allowing her to release him so she can speak. “The cutie mark is  an expression of our inborn magic, I couldn’t get rid of it if I  tried.” Her horn lights, and he slides away from Citrus as though on  rollers. She scrambles up on him, trapping his manhood between her hot  sex and his pubis. She looks down, his length has parted her lips, and  is peeking out, drooling slightly from her stimulation. She grinds  herself along his length a bit. “Are you ready to stop teasing poor Silver and fuck me?”

In response, Tim picks Twilight up a bit, and  brings her down slowly, slipping into her, getting a gasp and a shudder  from the magical mare. She arranges her legs so she can bounce on him  better and looks into his eyes. Her eyes are locked on his as she starts  to bounce, slowly. Tim reaches out and pulls her to his chest, running  his hands along her sides, slipping them under her wings, which quickly  extend, so he can run his fingertips along her back. He leans his head  forward to kiss her, and their tongues writhe together as she continues  slowly moving up and down on him.

As they are kissing, he blindly  reaches up and runs a finger down her horn, through the magic pooling on  it. Her breathing becomes stuttered as he continues, but she reaches up  and pulls his hand away, intertwining her fingers with his. Her ears  flick up and down as she moves her mouth to his ear.

“Please, I want to take my time cumming. Let's make love."

Tim smiles, he’s not near his peak right now. He just feels…good. Well rested, happy, horny, just…good.

They  continue with that for several minutes before a soft cough gets Tim's  attention. He looks over, everyone else is simply watching. He looks at  Citrus. She is sitting there, smiling happily. She’s not even playing  with herself at the moment, she’s just watching, enjoying.

Twilight  glances over, noticing all the attention on them, and she stops, her  face getting red. Tim looks at the others, then reaches up and gently  grasps Twilight’s chin, turning her head to him. He brings her close.  “Love, yes, they are watching us. But all that matters right this  instant is you and me. You feel me inside you?”

Her blush intensifies and she looks down before giving a short nod.

He  smiles. “I feel you, Twilight. I feel the love you have for me, I know  the love you have for everyone here. But right now, just focus on you,  and on me. Feel the love I have for you, feel the passion I feel for  you. Just feel, don’t think right now.”

She glances quickly at Citrus, who nods quickly before looking back at Tim. “I love you.”

She  resumes her slow, gentle strokes, running her fingers through his hair  before placing both hands on his chest. She looks up at him. “I want to  feel you cum, Love.”

He nods and leans forward and she obliges him  with a kiss. Their kiss goes on as he reaches up with his hands and  plays with her nipples, getting her to giggle and squeal. Then she gets a  thoughtful look on her face. “I felt that.”

His eyebrows rise, “Felt what?”

She  squeezes his manhood with her own nether regions, getting his eyes to  widen. “I felt you twitch when you played with my breasts. You really  like them?”

He nods, she gets a thoughtful expression. “I think  this is going to be a regular thing.” She reaches out and hugs him to  her, her breasts squished on his chest. He runs his fingers a long the  sides of her breasts, getting her to shudder and moan. She accelerates  her bouncing a bit, biting her lower lip. “I’m close.” She pants.

Tim  smiles, he’s close to his peak as well. He brings his feet up a bit so  he can lift his rear off the floor as he grabs her around the waist. He  supports himself with his shoulders on the couch and feet on the floor.  He ups the pace further, staring into her eyes, watching the pleasure  and the pressure build inside her. Her hands are roaming all over his  body, playing with his nipples, running along his chest, playing with  the hair on his chest, she even runs her fingertip along the scars from  after his arrival in Equestria. She smiles at him, her passion is nearly  at it’s peak. Her horn lights as she chews on her lower lip, her face  brightening in a blush.

“Dear Celestia, yes!” She sails over the  edge, grabbing Tim by the shoulders and clinging to him tightly. Her  nether regions clamping down on him as passion takes her. He tightens  closer to her as he finally let’s go, he clings to her just as tightly  as his member unleashes a flood inside her, his orgasm is silent, he  simply holds her tight as she clings to him, both of them lost in  passion. For what feels like forever, their bodies are connected most  intimately, pouring their passion into each other, her horn lighting  brightly as unfocused magic swirls throughout the room.

Eventually,  it ends and they both relax, she ends up lying on his chest, him still  inside her as she just moans softly into his chest. Tim lays there, just  feeling absolutely amazing when a mouth closes in on his neck, kissing  him and moving up to gently nip on his ear. He turns and looks. Brassy  red hair with a pretty freckled face is there, faintly pink horn pokes  up from her forehead. He smiles. “Cayenne...”

She grins. “That was hot. You got any more in the tank after that?”

Twilight  groggily lifts up then looks down where they are still joined. Her horn  lights and Tim's eyes widen. She pulls slowly off of him, revealing him  back at full mast. An impish smile appears on her face as she crawls up  on to the couch. “I think he can go again.”

Tim shifts a bit, he  feels as though he’s slept for a week in bed, he looks up at Twilight as  she settles comfortably on to the couch, reaching up and cupping  Silver's manhood, she lies there with her head on his knee, playing with  his rapidly growing member.

Cayenne reaches down and grabs Tim's  member, running her thumb around the tip. She looks unsure for a moment.  “Would it be okay if we tried it like I were still a pony?”

Tim smiles, “You’ll have to be on your knees, but certainly.”

She  nods and moves to all fours, her legs spread a bit, showing off her  slit, she takes a hand and spreads herself a bit. “You like?”

Tim  looks down, his member feeling full nearly ready to burst. “Hell yeah.”  He gets behind her, probing her wetness with the tip, enjoying her  squirming as she wants to slam herself back into him. He puts his hands  on her hips and pulls himself forward, getting a yelp from her as he  slides inside her.

“Nice and slow, love,” she murmurs as he starts  rocking his hips. Cayenne moans softly as they continue their union, he  focuses on running his hands along her body, enjoying every sound and  gasp from her lips. He reaches down and cups her small breasts, finding  her nipples and playing with them. The nipples tighten and stiffen under  his ministrations, getting louder gasps and moans from the spicy mare.

“Oh  that’s nice. Keep it up.” He leans down, supporting some of his weight  on her hips as he keeps playing with her body. New sounds intrude on his  mind, he looks over, North is now riding Silver, they seem to be more  interested in passionate lovemaking rather than fucking hard. Twilight  is focusing on North's body, her breasts and running her hands along  North's body, while Citrus is focusing on Silver, kissing him  passionately, her hands roaming all along his body.

Cayenne moans  softly and lowers her face to the floor. “Oh, dear Celestia, yes, I’m so  close.” Tim grins, judging by how bright her horn is, she’s right on  the edge. He’s pretty close himself. He presses his hands on her hips as  he speeds up.

“Oh, yes! Yes!” Cayenne calls out as she reaches  her peak, her eyes are tightly closed as her entire body clenches. Her  breathing becomes stuttered as Tim impales her, holding tightly into her  as he releases again. His groans are drowned out as her magic surges.  Bright motes of unfocused magic fly through the air as she lies there,  marinating in pleasure as their orgasms play out. Finally he pulls out  and gathers her into his arms and holds her tightly to his chest. Their  breathing takes a while to normalize, he keeps an eye on North as she  bounces on Silver. He finds it fascinating, watching the union between  those two. North is energetically bouncing on his manhood, Silver has a  goofy smile on his face as Twilight moves to play with his balls as  North continues. As he watches, Silver groans loudly and slams North  down on his manhood. His breathing turns to gasps as he pumps his seed  into her. Tim holds Cayenne closer as he watches the stallion expend  himself. North leans down and kisses Silver deeply.

When North pulls away, Silver looks down at Twilight. “I’d say this counts as best day ever.”

***

Tim  lies in the bed, his body is pleasantly exhausted. So far today he’s  beaten his personal best, over a dozen orgasms for him, giving his mares  as many as he could. He looks down, doubting he’ll ever be able to rise  to the occasion any time soon. He can hear the clip clop of hooves in  the bathroom. He can hear some of his herd washing up in the shower. He  grins they probably are doing another round in the shower. Sometimes his  mares are absolutely insatiable.

The bed shifts a bit as someone  else crawls on. He looks over, the face is somewhat familiar, but the  horn on her head is a dead giveaway. “Citrus. I thought you were in the  shower, and I thought you had Twilight cancel the spell.”

She  crawls up and wraps her arms around him. “I did a quick clean up,  cleaning the necessary places. I’ll have Twilight cancel the spell for  me in the morning, maybe. I like this; horns got nothing on hands..."

"What's up?"

She  gives up the charade. "I want to lie with you, skin to skin, tonight.”  He lifts an arm to put around her, as she gets close she drapes a breast  over his chest, lifting a leg to lay on one of his legs. She kisses his  ear. “I noticed you were really sweet to Twilight.”

He shrugs. “She wanted slow lovemaking. I was happy to oblige.” He’s silent for a long moment. “It was wonderful.”

“It looked really hot.”

He nods.

She  shifts a bit. “I think you are really starting to get it. Being a lead  stallion for a herd, I mean.” She looks up to see his eyebrows raised,  which gets a giggle from her. “What I mean is, you don’t save all your  love for just me, just one member of your herd, but you love us all. You  give of yourself to everypony.” Her arm around him tightens in a tight  hug. “You do understand that by loving Twilight, or Cayenne, you are  showing love to all of us, right?”

Tim thinks for a moment. “When I  was with Twilight like that, for that time, it was just her and me.  Just like I’m with you right now, everything else is secondary. I showed  her love. But it means I have love to give all of you, just as all of  you show love to me.”

She moves her hand and runs it down his chest. “You are a good man, Tim.”

They lie there for a long moment. Finally she shifts, reaching a hand down and cupping his manhood. “Got any more for me?”

His  eyes widen as he turns to look at her. “Always, love. Any time.” He  looks down, noting how flaccid his member is. “Just give me a moment.”

She  faster than he is. “That part is easy.” She murmurs before bringing his  manhood into her mouth. She sucks strongly as her horn lights. He  groans loudly as her magic seeps into him. A matter of seconds has him  back at full mast. She moves and directs his member into her. As he  fully enters her, she sighs happily before pressing her hands into his  and intertwining their fingers together. She rocks her hips and smiles.  “Love, I just want you to feel. Just enjoy the feeling. The sensation,  how it feels for you to be inside me.” She gasps a bit, smiling demurely  as she brings her hands up to her breasts. He runs his hands along  them, playing with her nipples.

“Oh, yes,” he whispers, as he  fondles her nipples, they are taut and firm, the nipples standing out at  attention. He looks down, enchanted as he watches his stiff member  sliding in and out of her, he looks up into her eyes, and the look gets a  big smile from him. The love, the passion, just everything that is  important to their relationship is communicated with those looks. This  woman, this mare, makes his life complete, more so than any relationship  he had before coming to Equestria. He swears he could keep this up all  night.

As they continue, he can hear other members of the herd  move through the bedroom, and for a long time as they continue,  everything is silent, her just moving on him, them looking into each  other’s eyes, one hand with fingers intertwined, the other playing with  her body, enjoying the feeling of simply touching. She peaks a few times  in quiet orgasm, he can only tell because her horn lights and she fires  unfocused energy, lighting up the bedroom.

“You two still at it?” comes Cayenne’s voice, getting Tim's attention for a moment as she hops up on the bed.

“Yes.” Citrus says softly, "and it’s wonderful.”

Cayenne snorts softly, “Well, dinner is ready."

Both  of them shake their head. “Tempting, but I'm having tube steak  tonight." They all laugh. Tim notices the faintly pink pony turns around  to hop from the bed. Her tail is high, just a few minutes in the room  with them has her hot and bothered once again. He looks up at Citrus,  and they share a quick laugh. Finally, she ups her pace. “Okay. I want  to feel you cum, love. Are you close?”

Tim nods, he’s been riding  the edge for a while, just a little stronger will have him spilling over  into her once again. As she bounces harder and faster, he can feel him  getting ever closer to that tipping point. She runs her free hand down  his chest.

“Cum for me, my love.”  With a jerk, he’s there, he  grabs her hips with both hands, slamming her down onto him as his orgasm  overwhelms everything. His breathing becomes ragged as he bucks into  her, feeling as though he hasn’t had sex for months, and is giving her  everything inside of him. The feeling goes on and on, causing his eyes  to roll back as he very nearly loses consciousness. Finally spent, he  collapses back, every muscle has turned to water. Citrus pulls off of  him, crawling up to cradle him. She kisses his cheek as he gasps for  sweet, sweet air.

“Now that’s my beautiful stallion.” She murmurs softly into his ear as he finally does lose consciousness.

***

Tim  finally awakens, normally he’s got a pony pile of his mares and  Silverwing, though right now, only Citrus is cuddling with him. He looks  over, Citrus is passed out, drooling softly on to his shoulder, and the  rest of the herd is curled up together. Using one hand, he grabs the  nearest pony, North Point, and he pulls her closer. She sighs in her  sleep as she ends up snuggled up against the other side of his chest. A  little work has the rest slowly, groggily, moving over to snuggle with  him. As sleep overtakes him once again, he’s got his entire herd close  to him, one arm around Citrus, the other draped over North and Twilight.  With Silver above his head, his wing draped over North with his cheek  to Tim’s. Cayenne is now using his thigh as a pillow. He smiles a bit.  “Best birthday ever.” He murmurs before he finds, once again, the  oblivion of peaceful slumber.
> Chapter 34.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Woohoo! Guys’ day!” Silver crows out, pumping a hoof. Tim grins at the pegasus as he hovers next to the human. He nods to the ROG door mare as they exit their apartment building. Tim only has a light jacket on. The ponies have changed the season, spring is in the air, and it’s very pretty in the city of Canterlot. Trees are planted along pretty much every street, grass is greening up as the trees are growing new leaf buds. The smell of green growing things is in the air. Tim glances around, herds are moving around, though something seems a bit different. He nudges Silver and points out his observations.

Silver laughs uproariously, “Oh Tim, spring is in the air. Some of the mares are already in heat. That puts a coals to our hooves. Look around, Tim, do you see any single stallions?”

“No.”

Indeed, there are not, normally, the ponies are streaming around, walking easily among each other. Now they are moving in clumps together, individual herds staying together, many times the mares are walking close with the stallions, usually with other mares encircling the small groups. Silver leans close. “The mares that are staying close are usually either in heat, or really close to it. They instinctually want to be close to their stallions. The other mares are, to an extent, guarding the others.”

Tim frowns. “But why be on guard like that?”

Silver smiles, though his scar does twist his smile a bit, it’s still an easy, happy look on the stallion. He never did get the tip of his ear reattached. “It’s a holdover when herds would have to defend themselves from either rogue mares in heat, or from larger herds wanting to increase their size. It’s really early now, as heat really gets going, the streets will be fairly deserted. Stallions without mares are okay for the next few days, but most single stallions have either hightailed it out of town, or are on the hunt themselves, looking for a mare to start a herd with.”

“So, we could have mares attempt to snatch us up? Do we need one of our mares with us?”

Silver chuckles. “Not literally; the Edict of Shetland put a stop to that thirty years ago. My dad used to talk about mom and his mares covering him with rapiers and estocs. They got in a fight with rival herd once… seems to be a family thing to get face scars; I’m lucky, I lost an ear tip, he lost an eye. In a week, being covered might be helpful. As it is, we might have to deal with some single mares wanting our attention. You’ll find some stallions of some herds trolling around, looking to enjoy some extra time with the mares. Though if you pay attention, you’ll see the lead mare of the herd keeping her eye on him. It’s not common, but there are a lot more mares than stallions, and they want lovin too. It’s almost a public service.”

“Even me?”

Silver punches Tim’s shoulder. “If you talked to Citrus, and these mares knew that you couldn’t get them pregnant no matter how much you mounted them, and you can shoot a good half dozen times, you’d likely have a line of mares going around the block, all waiting for you to service them.” His grin returns. “I don’t see Citrus being all that hot for something like that.”

Tim shudders. The girls have been insatiable more than usual the last week or so since they turned human for him. In fact, one of the reasons Tim wanted time out of the house was to give himself a little bit of a break. He can’t really blame the girls, they are unquestionably loving, and Twilight has assured him they aren’t in heat yet, his nose will tell him when that is the case. Though she did caution him that their hormones are in flux, and so they are definitely more physical than usual, but not obnoxiously so. Not just sex, but Citrus has been going out of her way to be close to him. Reminding him of a cat that wants attention, always climbing into his lap, or snuggling with him. He actually likes the attention quite a bit. Just right now, a little time away is a good thing, Silver has been having the same with Cayenne. Twilight and North have been basically bouncing between the two male members of the herd.

He looks at Silver. “So, what are we going to do?”

The silver colored stallion does a quick loop. “Spend some bits, what else?” He takes up hovering at about shoulder level for the human. “Cayenne wants a foal, but you would be worn out with the other three, so we are going to get some enhancements for you, and some twenty-four hours sterility potion for me, so I can help with the rest of the lovelies. Your first real Canterlot heat. Well, it’s mine too. But I think you are going to have fun.”

Tim speeds up his walking a bit, two unicorn mares are giving him looks that give him the impression of hunger. “What are the single mares going to do?”

Silver claps a hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Tim. Have you noticed the abundance of foreigners in town?”

Tim looks around. He sees zebras, griffons, donkeys, hippogriffs, buffalo, horses, yaks, drakes, and minotaurs. “Yeah,” he agrees.

“They’re here hoping to snap up all the sex – pony mares are kinda legendary for their libido. We even have visas exclusively for heat tourists. Some males even offer their services for a fee and make off with  a ton of money for just a couple weeks of work. Some mares will have friends with coolers, that will satisfy the physical needs, a lot of filly foolers choose that option.”

“I’ve heard the term before, but what is that?”

“Mares that prefer other mares, don’t humans have mares or stallions that are attracted to their own sex?”

Tim nods. “Yeah.”

“Same idea, but in heat, mares crave that insertion and then having some kind of fluid in them, so a cooler gives them that. And then they will do other fun things together, help drive down their hormones levels.”

“Ahh.” Tim nods.

“Then you have the mares that want stallions, and they have options as well. Hiring a stallion for a week happens all the time. Though typically the stallion will have a spell to prevent pregnancy cast on him, a pregnant mare with no stallion is a big no-no. Some stallions are out right now buying week long or longer sterility potions or visiting unicorns that can cast such spells. A lot of bits to be made in the time leading up to heat.”

“And then it hits hard, and pretty much the whole city is indoors having mind blowing amounts of sex?”

Silver nods. “Aint it great?”

Tim shakes his head, smiling. “I knew a few guys back home that would kill for something like this.”

“Really? How is it back at your world, you said humans don’t have heat, right?”

Tim shakes his head. “No, we don’t. With her research, Twilight could likely spell it out better than I could. But humans women can be fertile a few days every month. And while their hormones will increase their desire, they don’t go out of their way to seek out men, they usually aren’t even aware if their fertile periods.”

Silver's face scrunches as he thinks, his ears flicking back and forth. “How do you guys make little humans then, if you don’t know that you are going to get her pregnant?”

That gets a bark of a laugh from Tim. “There are at least seven billion humans on my world, we like sex, like all the time. So, if we don’t use birth control, like condoms and such, there would be a lot more little humans running around. Men are fertile constantly from when they’re around twelve years old until the day they die.”

Silver whistles. “Seven billion humans.” He shakes his head. “So, a human mare has no idea if having sex is going to get her pregnant. That’s crazy.”

Tim nods. “It works for us. But, boy, it makes coming to your world a crazy experience for me. Pony mares like sex, with Citrus and the girls, I have had more sex in a month than I had in a typical year back at home. And then we are talking about the girls becoming totally insatiable. Silver, buddy, I’m a little afraid.”

“Afraid? You? I don’t believe it.” Silver says with a straight face. “You’ve mentioned how the smell of the mares makes your head feel funny?”

Tim nods, Silver continues. “That’s their pheromones, and when they are happy and content, their levels are fairly low. But when heat comes in, that’s jacked to eleven. I mean your head feels as though it’s gonna float right off your shoulders. You will find your body responds to their heat more. You’ll get hard easier, stay that way longer, and it even amps up your energy level. It’s a lot of exercise, a lot of effort. But everything about it feels so good. You may pass out late at night totally exhausted, but you’ll have a smile on your face, and be ready to start the next morning before the sun rises.”

Tim glances at the sun, rising slowly towards its zenith. “What about the Princesses? I’ve heard some things.”

Silver leans close. “You know how Twi was during hers, well, Celestia and Luna have been alicorns much longer than her. I know they both have stables of willing stallions who live all year in luxury before performing their royal duty.” 

“You’ve got to be pulling my leg, Silver.”

“No, I’m serious. Between Celestia and Luna there’s probably forty or so stallions kept on hoof so they can satisfy the physical needs of the Princesses. I mean, the requirements are quite tough to even be considered. A stallion must have sired a minimum of four foals, one of which must be a colt. Most are former lead stallions from herds throughout Equestria who have decided to let a younger stallion take over. Some single stallions have made it into the royal harem, but it’s pretty rare. There are millions of herds throughout the land, spending twenty or more years being pampered for most of the year before your princesses need you for a couple of weeks twice a year sounds pretty good to some stallions when your foals are grown and out of the house. Maybe you’ve got a young stallion who’s been a good second for you for years, and you want to give them the position of lead. There are a million reasons why some stallions would toss their names in.” He leans close. “And if you fit the requirements, and have made it through the screening. You have a personal interview with the Princess you would be servicing before you are accepted.”

By the stallion waggling his eyebrows towards the last gets Tim's attention. “So, they get to try the stallion out before he’s accepted.”

Silver nods. “I’ve met one stallion who made it all the way through the process, only to have Princess Celestia decide no, and he said it was a very thorough interview.”

“Sounds just like an excuse to have a stallion visit just to scratch an itch, cause she’s horny that day.”

Silver shrugs. “I can’t think of a better way for her to scratch that itch. The princesses are as close to deities as we have here in Equestria, but they are ponies, just like everypony else. They have needs too, and I do know that Princess Celestia has been less available than usual for the last couple of weeks. She’s feeling the pressure of the upcoming heat herself, I guarantee you.”

“What about royal privilege?”

He shrugs. “Well, it used to be, a princess could come to a herd, and demand the use of a stallion and there is nothing a lead mare could do, and the stallion had even less of a choice. A long time ago, the punishment for denying royal privilege was quite heavy. But as things have progressed, they started building up their stable of stallions so they could continue to function without cucking herds all around Equestria.”

“Continue to function?”

“Yeah, raising and lowering the sun and moon, all the other head of state functions that the Princesses must perform. If they didn’t have some release, it would be chaos. They would be a danger to anypony around them, mares would get attacked, stallions would likely get raped by a sex crazed Princess.”

“I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna while I was trying to recover. Sex-crazed and rape doesn’t even enter my thought processes when I think of them.”

Silver laughs. “It was a long time ago, Tim, buddy. But sex-crazed is the word. Did either of them flip their tails to the side and you get a good view of them as they were walking?”

Tim furrows his brows and thinks furiously. “Maybe a few times.”

That gets a big grin from Silver. “Dude, if you had said anything about that, or had expressed interest, you could have banged a Princess.”

Tim rolls his eyes. “I’m already banging a princess.”

Silver shoves his shoulder with a hoof. “You know what I mean. Twilight is wonderful and all that. But Celestia, or Luna. That would be amazing.”

“What about Cadance?”

Silver shrugs. “What happened with Shining is water under the bridge.” He reaches up and unconsciously touches his damaged cheek. “I really don’t hold any animosity to Shining for that. And she’s been punished enough. But from what all the papers say, she’s chased out any potential suitors to join them. She might be fun, but still, she isn’t Celestia or Luna.”

“I saw her tending to you after the duel.”

“Yeah. I think she kinda likes me. I can’t say I hear anything about Cadance; either Shining is Superpony McEverhard, or they make arrangements with a kusa, or several. Speaking of them, they’re all booked solid for heat months in advance, like they have to stagger when reservations are open so ponies who learn later they may need some help aren’t all out of luck.” He stops and blinks. “Here we are.”

Tim looks up at the sign, though he has been learning the pony script, it’s still hard for him. He takes a moment to try to read the sign, but Silver drags him in before he gets more than a couple of letters. The mare behind the register greets them, though Tim finds himself shying a way a bit. The mare seems to be focused at looking not at his face, but quite a bit further down. His nose twitches a bit as Silver gets up to the counter. “We need some potions.”

Her eyes don’t move from Tim’s crotch. “Oh we are going through a lot of them today.” She stops and shudders, her tail waving back and forth. “What kind?”

“Temporary sterility and what kind of enhancement potions do you have available?”

She brightens immensely. “So, not every mare is wanting a foal, and just two of you? How many mares in your herd?”

“Four. Just one is looking for a foal.”

She tears her gaze from Tim’s crotch to look at Silver, her horn lighting. “One stallion, servicing three mares in heat, gonna be a couple of long days until your buddy has finished his job with the one wanting a foal... Don’t count on seeing him for half a week or more while he’s seeing to that. Since I’m guessing this is your first heat in  Equestria, at least make sure they stop to eat twice a day so they don’t forget…” She blinks a few times then turns to her shelving. Her tail is waving quite a bit, exposing everything she’d usually keep hidden. As Tim watches, she flexes a bit. Silver apparently noticed, he nudges the human and chuckles. Tim rolls his eyes. He’s seen enough mare parts, quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. Though she doesn’t seem to be trying to make it obvious, she is definitely showing off quite a bit. Finally, she turns around with small, stoppered vials held in her magic. “A twenty-four hour potion good for sterility? Here’s five of them. And when it comes to enhancements. Are you looking for stamina or recharge?”

Silver looks up at Tim, then back at the mare. “Both would be nice.”

She smiles and a half dozen different colored bottles land on the counter. “Well, take your pick, boys.”

Tim crouches down, inspecting the different bottles. All of the potions seem to be labeled in the crazy pony script. Silver picks up a bottle, looking at it, then he looks up at Tim. “Well, we don’t know how these will fully act on you, how ‘bout a couple of each, and we’ll come back for more if needed.”

Tim nods. “What’s the charge?”

She looks at the line of bottles. “Five hundred.”

Tim’s eyes widen. “That’s quite a bit.”

She nods. “And with what was put into making them, they are worth every bit. You are in Citrus Blush’s herd, right?” Tim nods. She smiles. “What she sells is quality, I do the same here. Trust me.”

Tim looks at Silver, who nods. “Yeah, a bad potion can have some different effects than you want. Not a good idea to skimp on the quality here.” 

Tim reaches into his day bag. “Now I know why Citrus sent me with so much.” He pulls out a heavy bag.

***

“Hey, Tim!” Comes a familiar voice.

Tim looks up from his sinks. Lunch rush is over, he’s been able to get caught up with dishes. He reaches under the sink and opens the valve to drain it. “What’s up, Apple Stars?”

“Go ahead and clock out. This was the lightest lunch rush we’ve had in a while. Cayenne has already headed home. We are going to be closed for the next week or so. Just not enough business to stay open during heat.” 

Tim grabs a towel and starts drying his hands. The last two days have been fairly quiet, he can see why extra staff really isn’t needed. And many of the staff do seem eager to be getting home to their own families. It almost reminds of Christmas time, where people are more interested in being home with families rather than working. Though that gets an internal laugh, this is because the ponies are pretty much completely focused on sex. He heads into the small staff room and hangs up his apron, a quick stop by the time clock and he smiles at Apple Stars. Even the mares working here haven’t been immune. Though he’s found the best thing to avoid embarrassing mares that may not be fully aware of how they are acting is to simply ignore it. 

He opens the door out of the restaurant and then stops in his tracks. The streets are fairly deserted, but what he sees standing before him has his jaw dropping. Standing nearly at his shoulder height in undoubtedly a pony, her face is covered in short yellow hair, she has a two tone orange mane with her horn sticking out from her forehead. But the rest of her shocks him. She’s standing on two hooves, but her body is proportioned more like a human, two hands are clasped together nervously, she’s wearing clothes too, but her tail is swaying back and forth. She’s wearing a green patterned dress which goes down to her knees. She smiles tremulously at him. “You like?”

“Citrus? What is this?”

“I liked holding your hand as a human. And Twilight said she’s continuing her research on this transformation spell since it was so fun when we all did it for you. She came up with a variant, between fully pony, and fully human.” She touches her chest. “I’ve got breasts again, I know you like them.” She reaches up and touches her face. “But I still feel more like me like this. I like the form. Twilight says it’s easier to perform, and she says that I could learn the spell. So she’s going to teach me since it ended up looking so good.”

Tim reaches out and touches her arm, running his fingers through the soft fur. “You know, you don’t have to do this for me. I love you no matter what you look like.”

She smiles and blushes a bit. “I know. But I also know you miss your kind. A happy medium, Twilight says, do you like it?”

Tim hugs her to his chest, and she wraps her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. “Citrus, whatever makes you happy, but yes. I like this.”

She pulls away, reaching up and cupping a breast. “I asked Twilight to make them a little bigger, I understand why human mares wear bras now, but you liked mine so much the other day, I like appealing to you, love.” 

He reaches down and kisses her cheek, “Citrus, you keep on amazing me. You are a wonderful mare, did you know that?”

“Thank you, Tim.” She reaches out and takes his hand. “I thought we could hold hands and walk through the town before we head home, just a little date for you and me?”

That gets a smile from him. “So we can go get coffee? Maybe something sugary?”

She grins. “Cookies it is then.”

She leads him off, as she turns he can see there is a small cutout for her tail to hang outside the dress, but the dress does cover everything effectively. Then a thought hits. “So, the fur is over your entire body?”

She nods. “Except for a few places, it thins out on the belly and my marehood, but pretty much all is fur.”

He nods, “Similar to how it is for you as a pony.”

She lifts her other hand. “Twilight had issues figuring out the hands, it was funny, some attempts had fur all the way down to the fingertips. This way was the happy medium.” He looks at the hand, the fur thins out heading down the forearm, and leaves skin the same color as the fur down to the fingertips. 

“What can be done with magic, that is truly amazing.”

She giggles. “Twilight has been saying the same thing about your species with electricity. Did you know she got the computer to run? She told me this morning at the castle.”

“You were in Ponyville?”

She nods. “That little spell she set up makes life really easier to go between her castle and our home. I like her castle. The crystal all throughout it is beautiful.”

Tim nods. “And she spends a lot of time in her lab?”

She bumps her shoulder into him. “Of course she does. She’s fascinated by everything you. Everything that’s human. She’s been busy with a lot of things. You remember when we told you she was a one pony economy all by herself?”

He nods. It struck him totally dumb when he found out that Twilight wasn’t just comfortable financially like they are, but actually overpoweringly rich thanks to not just her family, but some business ventures she spends time on. “What of that?”

“She might be multiplying her wealth with this. And she said she’s going to specifically put you as owning your own companies with this venture. Since you brought the technology here when you came to Equestria. She was giddy when she was explaining that she’s having the infrastructure starting to be built, not just in Canterlot, but she’s contracted with other companies to build all throughout Equestria. No more time wasted waiting for a response, she’s figured out mobile phones, internet all throughout the kingdom. In ten years, ponies are going to have almost the same communications humans do.”

Tim’s eyes widen. “And she’s going to do what?”

“Since you brought the tech, you are going to benefit from it.”

“Citrus, I don’t need all of that. I’ve got you, I’ve got Cayenne, North, Silver, Twilight. I have a job that keeps my mind and body busy. I’m happy.”

She moves a little closer. “I know, Tim. But Twilight…”

He reaches out and puts a finger on her lips, getting a questioning look from her. “Citrus. I know you are excited about the newest member of our herd, I love Twilight as much as you do. But this date is just you and me. Why not tell me what you’ve been doing?”

“Oh, my day is boring by comparison.” She looks away, her cheeks flaming.

He reaches out and turns her face to him. “Not to me, Citrus. I want to know what goes on with my herd when I’m not around. But you are here, I want you to tell me about what you have been doing.”

She stops walking, turning to look at him. “Really?”

He nods. Getting her to leap at him and wrap her arms around him tightly. “You are the best.” She murmurs into his chest.

That gets a smile from him as she pulls away, he makes a point of grasping her hand in his, he starts walking, drawing her with him. “So, what about your day?”

She looks down. “Well, I started off at the shop, I had to replenish some stock that’s been selling out. Perfumes are really in high demand around heat. I thought I had made enough, but they sold out. Then I went by the hospital.” 

He reaches out and pulls the door open for Cookies. “The hospital?”

She nods as they get in line behind two mares. “Yeah, though things are quiet there. Not many patients, and they are pretty much running on a skeleton crew. But I was working with a mare, she had a bad teleport, and ended up something like twenty feet high. The fall was pretty nasty, but she was healing pretty well. But she has some scarring from the landing. I’ve been helping her feel pretty after all of that.” The other mares move off and they step up to the counter. 

Tim scans the menu board, looking to Citrus. “Hi, Cookie!”

The mare at the counter does a double take. “Citrus Blush?”

She nods. Getting the other mare to blink. “What happened? You look way different than normal.”

“Oh, just trying out a spell, getting some romantic time with my lead stallion.”

Cookie looks at their hands intertwined together, then up at the smile on both of their faces. One blooms on hers. “Oh, I see. Connecting with your stallion. That’s always a good thing.” She shakes her head. “Okay, what can I get you?”

Tim watches Citrus as she orders them some hot drinks and muffins, utterly fascinated by the subtle changes to her face with the spell, but that’s she’s still recognizable as the mare she usually is. Tim pulls out his bits to pay for the meal and soon they are sitting at a table. With him being around the city so much, the ponies really don’t react to him anymore. And that seems to be holding with how Citrus looks now.

“Where was I? Oh yeah.” She stops, looking at him. “I want you to know something, Tim. I’m so happy to have you in my life.”

Tim looks into her large eyes. “Citrus, I can say the exact same thing.”

She smiles brightly as a unicorn floats their food over to them. “Are you sure you want to hear everything that I did before I came to meet you?”

Tim grins. “Every moment, love.”

Her face could ignite wood at a hundred paces, but the demure smile lets Tim know that she really appreciates the attention. She takes a sip of her coffee and continues speaking. He lets one part of his mind work on the words she is saying, but the rest, is focused on looking at her. Last night after he got home from work, he had been sitting cross legged on the floor, and just like a big cat, she had crawled into his lap and fallen asleep, despite the fact she weighs more than any cat, it was so endearing to have her curled up on his lap and sleeping peacefully. 

“And she told me that for the first time since her accident, she felt beautiful.” She says softly as she takes a bite out of her muffin. He reaches for his drink then he stops, crumbs from her muffin have ended up in her cleavage. He reaches out.

“Tim, what…?” He shows her the small morsel of muffin between his fingers. He slowly puts it into his mouth and swallows. She looks down, “Wow, should call these crumb catchers.”

He shrugs. “I like ‘em.”

She looks at him for a long moment. “You do? What about how I usually am, just as a pony?”

“I like you that way too.”

“What about as a human?”

“Like ya that way too, love.”

She looks down. “So, you like me no matter what?”

He grins. “No matter what, my love. You are a wonderful mare, and I’m so happy to have you in my life.”

***

Their hand holding continues all the way back to their home. They are the only ones in the elevator on the way up to the top floor. She leans against him, letting him run his hands along her body. Though as the car dings, she grasps his hand once again as they head to their apartment door. Before he opens the door, she draws him to a stop. She takes a moment to verify the hallway is empty before she wraps her arms around his neck and lifts a little bit on the tips of her hooves to kiss him. Their kiss goes on as they lose sense of everything. Finally she pulls away breathlessly. “Sometimes I forget to breathe.”

He grins, though he’s just as winded. “I know, me too.” He hugs her tightly.

She snuggles her chin into his shoulder. “Thank you, love.”

“For what?”

“For showing your love to me, for being the stallion you are.” She places her hand on the door knob. “Ready?”

He nods and she opens the door. The soft clink of dishes speaks of Cayenne working on dinner, Experience tells them that North and Silver will likely be in the library, both working on their respective creations. Though one thing is new in the foyer. Twilight had used her magic to alter the wall, making a niche for the statue that she had gotten him. It’s now the first thing he sees when he gets into his home. The craft pony’s eye was sharp, and the work was, to his eyes, amazing. He joins Citrus in walking into the kitchen, the pony working their smiles happily. Though something about the smell gets Tim’s attention. “Cayenne, are you?”

His words get her to whirl around, her eyes wide. “You’re home!” She prances over, her tail high. “Silver isn’t home at the moment, he decided to buy a few more supplies for his project he’s working on.” She glances at Citrus then back at Tim. “Yes, I am.” She stops and clamps her tail on her rear for a long moment. “It’s manageable at the moment. I wanted to get dinner finished before I retired for the night.” She looks up at Tim. “If you are up for it.”

Tim grins. “Well, I’ve heard enough about it, I guess we had better jump right in.”

Another form walks into the kitchen. “Cayenne, are you okay? Oh, Tim! Citrus!”

“Spike!” Tim grins at the little dragon. “Can you finish cooking dinner? Cayenne needs a break from cooking.” 

“Sure!” 

He looks over at Cayenne, who is huffing a puffing a bit, her face is most certainly red. “I can finish dinner.”

“Oh, nonsense.” He reaches down and picks her up, careful to trap her tail underneath her rear as he shifts her against his chest. She immediately nuzzles his chest, then his cheek. “Spike, I’ll be down in a little while.”

The dragon rolls his eyes. “I may be a kid, but I know what ponies going through heat are like. Take your time.”

“You’re the best.”

“Yah, yah, I know.”

Tim waggles his eyebrows at Citrus. She looks hesitant. “I think I’ll talk to Twilight before I head up. Cayenne needs your full attention, Tim. Go ahead.”

“She’s at her castle.” The dragon supplies helpfully. “I was here helping Silver with his engraving before he took off. You know, that stallion can do the most beautiful things with silver and gold.”

Tim nods as he heads over to the stairs, but before he gets two steps up, he hears what seems to be a loud belch, followed by Spike’s voice calling his name loudly. “Let me put Cayenne upstairs real quick.”

“Hurry, ‘cause it’s urgent.”

Tim nuzzles and kisses Cayenne as he carries her up the stairs. He sets her on the bed and kisses the tip of her horn before walking quickly back down the stairs. “Okay, Spike, what’s up.”

Spike offers a scroll. “It’s for you, and it’s marked urgent.” He points with a claw at the marking on the outside of the scroll. Tim’s eyes widen as he breaks the seal, a beautifully rendered sun, and spreads out the parchment on the counter. Citrus sidles up next to him as they both read.

Tim Malone of Earth

Pursuant to your agreement when you accepted the position of Ambassador of Earth to Equestria. One of the agreements is that you would come to the castle when commanded, but not more than twice per year. This is your summons to Canterlot Castle to consult with Princess Celestia. Your presence is required immediately, make all haste to appear before the Throne of the Sun this evening.

Signed,
Princess Celestia

Tim looks at Citrus. “Right now?”

Citrus scans the document again. “It does mention make all haste. So, I’m guessing it means right now.”

He glances up. “But Cayenne.”

Citrus hugs him tightly. “Silver should be home soon. But you cannot ignore a summons from Princess Celestia herself. Go!”

Tim glances at Spike then at Citrus, finally he turns on his heel and slams through the door. A glance at the elevator indicator shows that it is coming up. He presses the button just in case and stands there for a few moments. 

“Hey buddy! You back with Citrus?” Silver says as the doors open.

“Hey, Silver, talk about timing. Cayenne needs your help. It’s started.” He says, putting his hand out to prevent the door from closing. 

Silver swallows. “Why aren’t you helping her? Why are you leaving?”

“Because I was summoned by Princess Celestia, Spike belched up a letter for me while I was taking her upstairs. But the letter says I need to go now.”

Silver exits the elevator and ushers him in. “Far be it from me to prevent you from doing at the Princess commands. Have fun with her. Though I wonder if there is a second letter for Citrus to be sent without you knowing.”

“Huh?”

“Well, duh, look at the time of year, Princesses go into heat, too. She might be early this year.”

“Oh, we don’t need another of that.”

Silver rolls his eyes, “Princess Celestia has a lot more experience in such things. If she is planning on having you mount her, she’ll have a full letter sent to Citrus, probably with some incentives to help persuade Citrus to let her and you go at it. But, if not, and it’s just an innocent meeting, why is it just after sundown?”

Tim frowns as the stallion pulls his foreleg back and lets the door close. The elevator heads quickly down to the first floor, and Tim trots from the building, heading towards Canterlot Castle.
> Chapter 35.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim had been walking through the deserted streets of Canterlot. Silver had mentioned that single stallions weren’t exactly in danger, for he had just gone out alone himself, but mares are definitely on the prowl. In his twenty-minute walk, he had been directly propositioned four times, and one mare had gotten a lot more affectionate than he was used to when it comes to ponies on the street. Silver has an advantage, though. Those wings can keep him out of the grasp of most ponies. He had mentioned that the unicorn mares don’t tend to think of their magic in such cases. That seems to be true, though being pawed by multiple mares is a little disconcerting for him. Finally, he stands before the great closed gates of the main entrance to the Castle. Two mares are standing guard, one of them looks at him curiously. He pulls the creamy parchment from his back pocket and proffers it to the guard. Her horn lights golden and the parchment is whisked from his hand. Her eyes widen at the seal on the bottom and her eyes scanning over the text twice. After a long moment she floats the text back into his hands and the gate is opened.

He nods in thanks, she grins and murmurs something softly before he steps through the gate. As the massive metal structure slams closed, he stops. Did she say what she thinks she said? ‘Go get 'em tiger?' He looks back at the gate for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and heading through the courtyard into the castle proper. The wide corridors are deserted at this time of night.

He sees a grand total of two ponies in his walk to the throne room. He pulls on the massive door, only to have it open to a dark and deserted room. His eyes widen before he tracks down the two guards he had seen.

“Excuse me,” he calls out, getting the two ponies in deep blue armor to stop in their tracks. Their tufted ears flicking back and forth as he approaches. He looks at them, their eyes are wide as most pony eyes are, but they seem to be more like the eyes of a cat with vertical slits. Then he notices the leathery wings folded easily at the sides of each pony. “I have a summons from Princess Celestia herself directing me to get here as soon as possible, it’s only been about twenty minutes since I got it, but her throne room is deserted.”

The ponies smile. “Princess Celestia has retired for the night, you can find her in her quarters. If she summoned you at this time, I would think you would know where to go.” One of them says. He takes a few steps. “Do you need a guide to get you to her quarters?”

Tim’s eyes widen, and he finds his mouth suddenly dry. Was Silver right? Was he being summoned to service Princess Celestia herself? “Y-yes. I think that would help.”

The stallion smiles, “Always happy to be of service.” With a gesture of his wing, he leaves the other stallion behind and has Tim follow him. The walk passes quickly, Tim thinking furiously. Very quickly he’s standing before a set of doors with the solar alicorn's cutie mark emblazoned on them. He leans close, is that gold? Very pretty. He shakes himself a bit before knocking firmly on the door.

After several seconds, he hears her clearing her throat before calling out, “Come in.”

He glances back at the weird pony guard, who’s already started walking away, and pushes the door slowly open. 

He stops a moment, almost not recognizing the pony lying comfortably on a large couch. Oh, it most certainly is Princess Celestia, but the vestments of her office are nowhere to be seen, even her flowing mane seems to be more pink than anything else, and less flowing than normal, almost like just a regular pony’s mane. She brightens at his entrance, her horn lighting to close the door behind him. “Good evening, Timothy, how nice to see you.”

Tim looks back. Did she lock the door? He must be feeling paranoid after the mess that happened with Twilight. Though his nose twitches, if the solar princess isn’t in heat yet, she would definitely be close right now. He takes a step forward. Maybe he should have insisted Citrus come with him? “You have commanded me to appear before you, and here I am.”

She laughs softly, “So formal. Well, I must follow the forms myself then.” She clears her throat again and intones louder. “Your care in acceding to my request is to be commended. Thank you for your service, young…man.” She stumbles a bit over the last word. It’s a word calqued directly from his language – she isn’t speaking Eponese, but rather English. She has an accent and it’s adorable, even if it does sound more like she said Mih-mn rather than man.

He grins. “You can call me a stallion if you wish, Princess. My herd does so all the time.”

That gets a smile. “Very well, young stallion.”

Tim glances around, this is her inner sanctum. Her bed, a giant thing, is turned down, apparently in preparation of her retiring for the night. He glances around. Might as well bite the bullet. He clears his throat roughly. “Princess, did you send another note to Citrus about you commanding that I come here.”

Her eyebrows rise. “Why would I need to do that?”

“I would assume, since you are quite aware of what happened with Twilight and what it did to damage our herd, I thought you would…”

“You are saying you came here expecting to service me.” Her brow furrows in a frown.

Tim takes a step back, gulping. “I had assumed…”

Princess Celestia smiles brightly. “I can see why the assumption was made. I have summoned you rather late, but I did have an innocent purpose in mind when I asked you to come here.”

“Really?”

She shifts and pulls herself off the couch and gains all four hooves. She leans closer to him. “When this season was in effect last year, you were barely conscious, and the translation spell was still struggling to have you be coherent to us ponies. And then when Twilight’s fall season hit, it was a disaster for your herd. I want to make your life easier if at all possible.”

“You’ve bought me a niqab?” Tim quips.

She stops for a moment, looking at him. “Tim, I am quite aware this part of pony life is rather intense to someone not of Equestria. While some of outside lands do enjoy this time of year from a tourist perspective, it’s not something your species is acclimated to. So, I am offering you an option. You can spend a couple of weeks sequestered in the castle, a letter can be sent to your lead mare, letting her know that heat is a rather intense time for you, and you will need to have some shelter from the full brunt of how a pony herd would be clamoring for your attention.”

Tim’s eyes widen. “Poor Silver.” He finds himself whispering. All four mares, and he would be having to deal with Cayenne, and also the others who don’t want to get pregnant.

Celestia seems to have read his mind. “Oh, I would not leave your herd on bad straights because of this. I have selected two of my stallions who could be sent there, they are surgically sterile, so there are no worries about any new unplanned foals. I also have an apprentice kusa who on account of his junior rank cannot be hired by the general public yet.” She smiles gently. “Do not make your decision based on how much your junior stallion would have to work. Survivors and lone stallions have satisfied herds since we walked the plains; he is only likely to sleep for a week and be not interested in sex for a while afterwards. This is entirely on your needs. Do you think you can withstand everything going on? Because if not, I want to offer you safe haven to weather the storm.”

Tim stops, thinking furiously. Silver has let him know some of the details. And the prospect of what’s coming up, well, what’s already here since Cayenne is likely already being energetically ridden by Silver at this very moment. But it’s only the start, Citrus, North, and he already knows how bad Twilight is in such circumstances. Can he rise to the occasion? Make all of them happy? He looks at Princess Celestia, who is standing there, her mane hanging like any other pony’s, looking almost vulnerable compared to her usual look. But the encouraging smile on her face gets him to make his decision. “Princess, I do appreciate your offer. But I would much prefer to spend that time with my herd. I don’t know how it’s going to go, but I’d rather find out with them.”

She smiles. “Very well then. Know this, the offer remains. If you find their affection to be more than you find you can handle, you can come to the castle. You will never be turned away.”

She turns a bit. “Before I sleep, I would like a nice walk through the castle, would you join me?”

Tim nods and she leads the way. He watches her tail swaying back and forth. She must be pretty close herself; her tail is definitely swaying quite a bit more than usual, and he gets more than a mere glimpse of her own plot. To his surprise, the white lips part and a very pink clit emerges in a hard wink. Tim quickens his steps to make it up next to her. As they make it into the corridor. He looks at her. “So, I heard some things about your own personal harem.”

She smiles demurely, her tail swinging more, enough to brush up against him. “Oh, some of the rumors are true.”

“The vetting process. Why so rigorous. I mean it’s sex, I don’t know how they would get trained in doing it.”

That gets a joyful laugh from the princess. “Oh, I am surprised the retelling gets so distorted.” She giggles a few times, shaking her head. Finally, she leads him down a long corridor. “Tim, there are real reasons the vetting process is so rigorous. For example, a stallion must have sired multiple foals, and as least one colt among them. The reason for this is they will be permanently sterilized, if they are to be removed from the gene pool, they had to have made a decent contribution to future generations first. Luna and I cannot risk becoming pregnant; the old nations of ponies were torn apart time and again by fights over thrones. We remain peaceful and powerful because they are united behind us. Blueblood and Cadance exist because we were less discrete, and their heritages were allowed to live as peace settlements to keep all ponies in one nation. Regardless, I foster the growth of my little ponies. And that requires the stallions be contributing members of our society first.”

Tim nods. “But why so thorough?”

She stops, drawing him to a stop to look back at her. “Many hundreds of years ago, we did not understand the concept of surgical sterilization, nor did we have any effective potions or spells to prevent pregnancy. This was fine for most of the ponies. This land was still being settled. The mortality rate among the ponies was regrettably high. And every new foal was needed to expand our population as we spread across the land. But that presented at problem for my sister and I before she was nightmare moon, and for me for a long time after. We still had those biological urges that we must deal with. And as a result, I have had quite a few children of my own. My own genetics are all throughout the land as my foals have grown and left my home to forge lives of their own. I do not want to have children with the descendants of my own flesh.”

“But you have them sterilized.”

She smiles. “That is true. And while there is no danger in any way, they would be removed enough from me genetically that even being with foal from ponies today would not present a real danger. I find the idea of coupling with my progeny, no matter how many generations removed, to be distasteful. Enough so I ensure those who would lay with me in such times of need would not be related to me in any way.”

“And Princess Luna is the same way?”

She nods. He thinks for a moment. “Is the night her domain? I would think she would be around.”

That gets another tinkling laugh from the solar diarch. “Would you be willing to watch her being mounted one after the other by six different stallions?”

His eyes widen. “Not particularly, no.”

She nods. “Then she shall remain in private for the time being. This time of year has many benefits, and few downsides. Commerce may slow to a trickle, but the ponies are following their instincts and desires. Older stallions and mares are taking care of our youngest generations as their parents and older siblings are ensuring the creation of the newest generations to come. The ponies are safe and happy. And I will be retiring myself, my time is nearly here as well.”

Tim frowns. “I don’t understand. You ponies are the greatest power on your world. There are other kingdoms on your world, wouldn’t they want to take advantage of the distraction of heat?”

That gets an uproariously loud laugh from the princess. “Oh, young Timothy, you are definitely a breath of fresh air. Have you heard of the six-minute war between the griffons and the ponies?”

He nods. “Twilight had mentioned that in passing.”

She grins at him, the intensity is enough to get him to step back. “The griffons tried to take advantage of our distraction, as you call it, many decades ago. The ponies on the frontier were caught by surprise, and sent messengers begging for support. Well, when the nearest brigades had arrived, they found the mortality among the griffon army was upwards of ninety percent. And both the mares and the stallions of the border forts had less than ten percent losses. And those ponies we’re found madly in the middle of…let us say, relations…with both corpses and living but severely injured griffons. The griffon ranks had been decimated by sex hungry ponies. It was not a pretty picture to be sure.” Her smile softens. “And there was one other time, the minotaurs had decided they should be the most powerful nation on the planet. That required my involvement. But I was in the depths of heat myself, so I challenged the general to a duel. And what I did to his poor corpse sent the entire invading army across the border with very few casualties.”

Tim suppresses a grin. “So, thinking you are too distracted by this time of year would be a mistake?”

She nods. Then she leans forward and kisses him on his cheek, her lips lingering there. Tim freezes in shock as the princess flinches back. “Oh dear.” She mumbles softly. “I must be closer than I thought. Twilight’s letters to me must have affected me more than I had expected them to.”

Tim does a mental double take. “Wait, what? Letters?”

Princess Celestia sits down on her haunches. “When Twilight was but a filly, she apprenticed to me in learning her magic. I spent years helping her learn all the ways of our magic. Then it came time for her to be there for my dear sister’s return. She made friends. She learned to control the vast power she possesses, and she ended up becoming the Princess of Friendship. During her time in Ponyville, she would write to me often, telling me of what she learned. That habit has not stopped as she has grown into her wings as a Princess. She often writes to tell me of her exploits, and to ask for advice. Some years ago, I strongly suggested that she get a coltfriend. She did so, and for a time, her letters to me included the details of her relationships. She never found a stallion that captured her heart and her mind nearly as much as you have been able to, young Tim. And now, with her joining your herd, she has continued and I have been privy to some of your exploits in bed as well.” She smiles as her horn lights. “She has even communicated the details of her newest spell.”

With a bright flash, a very tall, statuesque woman is standing before him, proud in her nudity.

The woman is simply put, the epitome of human feminine beauty. He immediately feels his pants get tight in response. The woman is easily more than six feet tall, counting the long white horn emerging from her forehead. Her breasts are huge – Tim has to estimate they are at least F cups, and they sit tall and proud upon her chest. Her burnished bronze skin is without blemish, imperfection, or scar. Her face is a feminine, sharp oval with large eyes, a gentle nose, and high cheekbones. The glorious hair emerging from her scalp and spilling down her back is a golden blonde. Her body is a fine hourglass curve – great chest with a modest waist flaring out to generous hips and well-built thighs that just scream feminine fertility. She has just a little fat to fill out her body. The scent of female pheromones, smells foreign to ponies, suffuses him. He finds his body tensing in response. This woman before him is unbelievable – 21/10 gorgeous. Visions of long nights making love to this beautiful creature before him flash through his head. He shakes his head, remembering his bonds to Citrus and the rest of his herd, allowing the flash lust to cool a bit.

Though he boggles as she breathes and her very generous chest bobs before him. She clasps her hands behind her back and waves her chest back a forth. Tim takes a step back, swallowing. Her blond hair waves back and forth, and he can see that it reaches down to her waist. She looks down and giggles a bit as the long horn on her head lights, trimming her pubic hair rapidly to a mere landing strip. Though the definition of her sex is quite visible to him. He finds his eyes lingering down there, entranced. Wings spread out from her back as she stretches her arms above her head.

“H-H-H-Holy fuck!”

“I did practice it out of curiosity. You like?” She sees the bulge in his pants and laughs, then opens her lips to a disarmed smile, as if to apologize for arousing him so, forgetting how this foreigner would interpret the display.

Tim gulps again. “I do like. I am tempted to ask you to join us back at home.”

She giggles before running a finger along his cheek. “Oh, you will have your hands busy with one alicorn in heat along with the other three mares of your herd. After this season is done, we can discuss anything else. I’m not eager to be mounted by you, though I will confess to some curiosity. Your species favors fewer but longer copulations; after a few thousand years of frequent, fast ones, I would like to know what a prolonged coupling is like…” She stops, shaking her head with her long ears flicking back and forth. “Go, Tim, go to your herd, and show them the love you have for them. It is a rather difficult time for your mares right now. They need you.”

She turns quickly and walks away, her generous posterior waving gloriously back and forth as she walks. Tim watches for a moment before turning and walking towards the great courtyard and the exit towards his home.

He looks down at his tented pants. “You traitor.” He mutters. His manhood ignores his ire and continues straining to get through the fabric. He’s going to go home and fuck each and every one of his mares like he had envisioned fucking Celestia.

He felt in heat.

***

Tim takes a deep breath as the elevator rises slowly to the top floor of their apartment building. The trip back home had required fending off more mares who seemed so pitiful in their desperation than anything else. If he didn’t have a herd, he would have likely been whisked away more than once. Even with one, he was so turned on already he felt the urge to cave. As it was, mentioning herding with Citrus Blush had mollified the mares, though the pained look of desperation on their faces had certainly tugged at his heart strings. It seemed being in a herd with a known duelist had a protective effect. One or two mares had promised to approach Citrus in the next few days, though their promises seemed to ring hollow to him. As the doors open, he sticks his head out, and breathes a sigh of relief at the empty corridor. He darts down the corridor quickly and very nearly dives through the front door. Taking great pains to bolt the lock as he finally makes it home.

“Tim!” comes Citrus’ voice as he hears the clatter of her hooves before she lands on his chest. Reflexively he grabs her and hold s her. She’s back to her regular pony shape and she nuzzles his cheek fiercely. “So, how was your visit to the Princess?” She chews her lip for a moment. “I didn’t get a letter from her requesting your services, so what happened?”

“Nothing bad; but first, you, sex, me, now!” He grabs her and pulls her closer. He feels undeniably, irrepressibly male. His cock is bulging fit to burst. He fumbles at his crotch for a moment, unzipping the zipper and freeing an erection that hasn’t dropped a whit since leaving Canterlot Castle.

“Tim, so eager?” He’s kissing her neck already, nibbling and sucking a trail down to her chest. She hugs his head there while his second hand works to her nethers. The approach of heat, though it’s not her time yet, has made her practically ready with nearly no warmup. He doesn’t know if he can even restrain himself. His head is clouded with lust. He brings his hand up, coated in mare juices, and licks it. In his hazed state, it tastes delicious.

The mare moans, practically melting like butter in a hot frying pan. Her genitals are radiating heat. His fingers hook inside her and find her sensitive spots. She calls his name, tells him she wants him. She works free of his hug and drops his pants with a grin as she begins to suck his cock. Her skilled mouth makes him smile and he pets her mane, imploring her to go faster and deeper. She’s teasing him to insanity.

“Citrus, please, I need this.”

“Awww, no mood for a blowjob?”

“Not now, too horny, I want you between the legs.”

“Then fuck me; I’m still giving you that blowjob later, though – making you squirm while petting me never gets old.”

She leaps back into his arms and kisses him. He grabs her hips and slams her down shakily onto his cock. He’s balls deep in her, kissing her lips furiously. She writhes and moans into his mouth. He stumbles against the wall for support as he starts fucking her. He feels like an animal, fucking her like a beast. He digs in his nails, growling at her, bringing her body close to his. She’s kissing him back with tongue. It’s like she’s trying to eat his face. He’s drinking in her flavor, her scent, her texture. She’s hugging him fit to crack his ribs, but he doesn’t care. Every inch of him that can touch Citrus Blush is drinking up all of her he can get. He’s fucking her fit to make her scream, her juices running down his dick and onto his balls as they slap against her pert ass. He holds her close to his body. “I love you! I love you!” He moans over and over.

He can’t hold on. The pleasure, the intensity is too great. He’s feeling her trembling. He rams her awkwardly against the wall. She winces, but still coos at him to take her. The heat it having an effect. Her pussy feels wetter and hotter. Her legs are locked around his back to keep him inside. She bangs against the wall again. He’s clawing at her ass, grabbing her thighs to get even deeper into her soaking cunt. He feels like he’s about to explode.

Tim tries to say something, but she’s read it in his eyes already. She kisses his neck and sucks on it to leave her mark. Her hips wriggle and the pleasure sends him over the edge. He roars her name in a hoarse voice that hurts his throat, hilting in her as his cock twitches, sending ropes of cum flooding into his first mare, his wife. He’s being loud, yelling his climax for all to hear as he ruts his mate into oblivion. She thrashes and screams, joining him in heaven as his seed pumps into her. He thrusts through it, electricity engulfing his nerves and flashes dancing across his vision. Their mixed fluids leak out from her and fall to the floor and run down both their legs. He is ejaculating so profusely it hurts, but that only excites him more.

Tim falls, still cradling her. He pins her and kisses her, still moaning open mouthed into her with his pleasure. Her eyes are rolling back into her head, a high peal of pleasure escaping her lips, the shrill screeches making his ears ring. He holds her down by her throat, hilting slow with all the pressure he still has, his orgasm starting to fade.

They go limp, him still weakly pumping into her.

Tim hugs her tightly. “I needed that.” They make out like horny teenagers, not minding that Tim is still eighty percent clothed and there’s a growing mess on the floor. “Sorry, was I too rough? You wanted that, right? I wasn’t too rough, was I?”

Citrus is barely conscious to croak out, “Little sore in my back, but… wowww… just… like well oh…. Woooooowwww, Tim, feel free to do that again whenever you want. I take it something got you all fired up?”

“Princess Celestia is insanely hot as a human.”

She cocks her head to the side. “She transformed in front of you?”

He nods, panting, trying to regain control of his breathing. “She also offered me, as she called it, safe haven during you girls’ heat. She even offered the services of two of her own harem to make up for me not being there.” He’s able to gulp.

She giggles. “She thinks two pony stallions are equal to you in bed?”

He tilts his head. “Apparently.” 

That gets a tight hug from her. “I would think she would have to send six or seven stallions to make up for the loss of you, love.”

That gets his chest to puff out in pride a little bit. She leans forward and kisses him, time stops as their tongues meet and caress each other, lost in their own little world, before a throat clears near them. Tim looks over. “Twilight!”

“Well, it looks like you two already got started.” The purple mare says huskily, taking in the scene before her. She seems to come to a decision as she takes a running leap, her horn lighting and he finds himself sitting on the living room couch with Citrus and Twilight in his lap. Though surprisingly, his clothing didn’t make the trip. Twilight nuzzles Citrus for a moment, before claiming a kiss from Tim. 

Finally, they part, both of them breathing heavily. Twilight immediately moves and nuzzles first his cheek, then the side of his neck. “You smell good.” She murmurs softly.

Tim looks at Citrus, who smiles. Then back at Twilight. “Are you?”

She shudders a bit before nodding. “I felt it come in after Citrus left the castle. I didn’t want to overwhelm you when you got home, so I used some assistance I had at the castle. But nothing is as good as the real thing, as you, love. Can we?”

“Well, it looks like he’s ready.” Citrus says softly, running her fetlock along his shaft. Getting a groan from him. Twilight grins as her horn lights again, and she shift herself to where she’s running her slit along his manhood. She grins as she gets in the right position then lowers herself onto him, biting her lower lip as she swiftly hilts inside him.

Tim groans as he feels how hot her marehood is, almost to the point of being uncomfortably hot. He runs his hands along the alicorn’s body. “So, heat means more than just being in season.”

Twilight nods, starting to bounce up and down on the human. She hooks her forelegs over his shoulders as she accelerates her pace. 

Citrus backs up a step before leaning over and putting her head on Tim’s shoulder. “Yeah. Can you smell her?”

His nose flairs as he inhales. Twilight seems to be focused inward as she accelerates even more. “Wow, a bit more musky than usual.” He inhales again. “Smells amazing.”

Citrus licks his neck. “We are ponies, smells are very important to us. There is a real reason why perfume sells so well leading up to heat. The best potions actually enhance the natural smell of the mare wearing it. Strong enough, it’ll attract stallions from across the home, or even farther.”

Tim grunts a bit, reaching up and running his fingers along Twilight’s ear as the mare climaxes for the first time with him. When her orgasm hits, she hilts herself on him, moaning as her horn lights. Though instead of unfocused blobs of magic, streams and waves of intense magic expand from her horn, bathing him in energy. His eyes widen as he feels himself expand within her, though the effects of the magic spread throughout the living room, knocking down  a lamp and having the magazines on the table flutter as the magic pulls Citrus closer to them. She giggles as he puts his arm around her and she embraces him back. 

Twilight groans a bit, before resuming bouncing on him. Citrus nibbles on his ear. “Oh, I forgot to mention our magical expression during orgasm is a bit stronger than usual during heat. Might get pulled around a bit, nothing dangerous, though.”

Tim nods as he focuses on Twilight. Running his hands from her taut belly up to her chest. Everything in the room is disturbed once again as the alicorn peaks a second time, then a third. A change in the look on Twilight’s face gets him to run a finger along her cheek. “Something wrong, love?”

She pants, “Please, I need you to cum for me.”

Tim’s eyes widen. “I’m close, love.”

“Please, fuck me, let me feel your cum. Please!” Twilight pants.

Citrus smiles and nips his ear a bit harder. “Cum for her, show her your love, give her what she needs.”

Tim grabs Twilight’s waist, he’s so close, he slams her down onto him as he tips over the edge. His breathing stops as his orgasm hits, he can feel every twitch, every splash of his essence spurting into her. He pulls her close as he continues to ride out his orgasm. Twilight, on the other hoof, is moaning loudly as her horn lights even brighter than before. As before, everything in the room is dragged around, and Citrus is brought in to embrace both of them as they both float in the ecstasy of their respective climaxes.

Both the human and the alicorn relax as she falls onto his chest and Citrus slides in to join them. The yellow mare reaches up and brings the tip of Twilight’s ear into her mouth and bites. Getting a shudder from Twilight and a yelp from Tim.

Twilight looks up sheepishly. “Sorry, that was unexpected.” She directs a glance at Citrus, who lays there, looking pretty innocent. 

Tim groans as he pulls Twilight off to free his manhood, then he pulls her back onto his chest. “Karen once sneezed while we were having sex, almost felt like she had pinched it off of me.” He chuckles, she grins with one ear on his chest, enjoying the sound of his voice in his chest. “That was even more intense, every part of you squeezed down on me.”

Citrus licks Twilight’s ear tip, then reaches up for a kiss. “Intense?” She purrs after pulling away, leaving him breathless.

Both the alicorn and the human nod, both of them gasping a bit to catch their breath. Citrus crawls down and gains her hooves on the floor. “You do know I want some action too, after that. I had to watch Cayenne and Silver, then I had to watch the two of you. Being respectful for the first mares in heat is one thing, being ignored is another.” Her horn lights and she darts forward, bring his flaccid length into her mouth. Twilight giggles as she brushes her tail along Citrus’ horn, getting the yellow mare to moan a bit. But she gets off of Tim and settles onto the couch.

“Citrus, after two of them that intense, I don’t think I can…” His eyes cross as she sucks hard on him, running her tongue along the edge of the head. In moments she releases him with an audible pop, then reaches up a fetlock to run along his renewed hardness.

“I’ll take that blowjob now. And as Silver’s told you, I told you, you are going to find with the pheromones us mares are dropping, you are going to get hard quickly, stay hard longer, and regenerate quicker. We don’t need those potions…” She smiles. “Yet. But you are going to enjoy the next week or so, love.” She bends down and engulfs his hardness with her warm mouth, obviously enjoying herself as she runs her tongue around his shaft and pays attention to the edge around the mushroom shaped head.

“For now, just hold on for dear life.”

Twilight stirs as Citrus is giving him a mind-blowing blowjob. She watches the other mare for a long time, idly running a fetlock along his chest. Then she turns and smiles at him before snuggling against his neck. She kisses the skin gently, running her tongue softly along his neck, moving slowly towards his ear. She brings the tip of the earlobe into her mouth enough to gently press with her teeth, enough to get a twitch and a moan from him. “Thank you, love.” She whispers into his ear. “I’ve been thinking about your cock all day. My cooler just wasn’t enough.”

She looks down. “Are you wanting him to cum in your mouth?” 

Citrus looks up, a smile forming around the cock in her mouth as she sucks hard on his member. Tim groans loudly in response. Twilight grins as Citrus resumes in earnest. Tim leans back as he awkwardly moves his hips in rhythm with her movements, his breathing quickens as he feels his peak approaching. The girls love when he releases in their mouths, so he’s pretty much gotten over his aversion to it. Citrus rears up her forelegs to cradle his hips, letting him fuck her mouth. She moans around his hardness as he speeds up. He’s so close once again. She looks up once again into Twilight’s eyes as she uses her tongue again and sucks strongly, getting his breath to stutter as he reaches out his free hand onto her head. No chance of her pulling off as he groans his orgasm, pumping frantically into her mouth. Her lips writhe on him as he finally relaxes. She pulls off of him, white coating the inside of her mouth, and a big smile on her face.

Twilight darts forward, kissing Citrus strongly. Tim weakly holds his head up as he watches the two mares battle of the tongues. After a long time, they both pull away. Both smacking their lips appreciatively. Twilight runs her tongue along her lips. “Thanks for sharing that.” She murmurs.

Citrus grins and cocks her head to the side. “Glad to share.” She looks up at Tim. “Probably the last time I taste you for a while.” She leans closer. “We crave the release inside us in heat. but I like the way you taste.”

“Hey, did I miss the party?” come’s North’s voice. The gray mare trots into the living room. “I got Spike all bundled up in the second bedroom. I also cast a sound deadening spell around the room, so he doesn’t have to hear us all night.”

Twilight grins, “Good idea, I was tempted to send him back to the castle. But he was so insistent, making sure that we eat, that we get what we need outside the bedroom. I couldn’t force him to go. He’s been around enough cycles to know to keep clear, and still support us how he can.” She leans closer to Citrus. “And I think he found out a certain mare is in town, visiting her friend Fancy Pants. I think he’ll try to sneak out and talk to her. You do know what kind of crush he has on her.”

Tim nods. “I’ve heard.”

North pouts a bit. “First Cayenne, and now you two. What’s a mare got to do to get some cock around here?”

That gets both Citrus and Twilight’s ears to perk up. “North, you too?”

The gray mare shifts her hind legs a bit, her tail waving back and forth. “Spike mentioned I smelled different, so I hightailed it out of the bedroom. Just because he knows what is going on doesn’t mean he needs all the details.”

Twilight nuzzles Tim’s cheek. “You ready for another round, love? North is in need. Then you are gonna need to mount me again.”

Tim looks down, at the mere mention of mounting another mare he’s already half hard. “Again, already?”

North nods, again shifting her hind legs. “I can wait, if you aren’t ready again.” The reluctance in her voice has Tim gesturing for her to come to him. She slowly, hesitantly, steps forward, when she gets in range, he leans forward and picks the little mare off the ground and puts her on his chest, kissing her cheek quickly. “I’m up for anything you mares can dish out. You want to out here? Or upstairs?”

She bites her lower lip as she moves a little bit, trapping his manhood between his pelvis and her sex. He can feel how hot hers is, easily as hot as Twilights. She wiggles a bit, having his length slide along her slit. “I think upstairs would be most fun.” She murmurs, still sliding herself along his length. “Though if you delay any, I’ll probably jump you right here.” He can feel her wink against him, grinding her clit along his cock. He smiles and picks her up.

“Your wish is my command.” He says as he walks towards the stairs, the other two mares in tow.
> Herding Instincts April Joke
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim is rushing through the grounds of Canterlot Castle. The guard stallion that had come to their door at the most inopportune time was quite insistent that he come with him immediately. Three very upset mares are waiting for him, and getting his clothes on was rather difficult considering the looks his mares were giving him as well as the impatient tapping of the unicorn’s hoof as he waited in the hallway with the front door open. Tim was surprised, though, none of the mares of his herd gave the stallion a second glance. 

He makes it into the castle proper and rushes towards the throne room. The stallion peels off as he makes it to the large doors. As he touches those doors, they are encased in a golden magical field and are wrenched open. He finds himself jerked forward magically as the doors slam behind him. Princess Celestia is standing there, her tail waving back and forth, and a blush on her face as she regards the human.

“Finally you arrive. I have a problem that I need your help with.” 

Tim ducks his head. “Princess, I thought we had settled that earlier?” 

Princess Celestia’s reaction surprises the human. First, she flinches, her eyes widening, then she shakes her head as though she’s trying to banish a thought and her flowing tail clamps down onto her rear. She clears her throat. “No, Tim. I’m not asking you for that. Though I am in the beginning stages of that time.” She shakes her head again. “I shall need to retire fairly quickly. But I had you brought here for a specific reason. One of the experiments that Twilight has been working on here in Canterlot has borne some fruit.”

She steps to the side. A woman is there, sitting on the floor. A human woman. Tim takes a step forward, no, not a woman, a girl, not much more than fifteen or sixteen. Short blonde hair reaches to her jaw line, though it’s precisely cut. She’s wearing what almost looks like camouflage, but it’s not any pattern he recognizes. It’s also devoid of any country or name markings, which is odd. He waves his hand in greeting, and her eyebrows furrow as she waves hesitantly back. Tim looks up at Celestia. “A human?”

She nods. "Actually, Tim, I called you here because this human is here and I can't understand them." 

“It’s a woman, Princess. A girl, actually. Can you deactivate the translation spell in me? So I can try to talk to her in my tongue?”

The girl flinches and scuttles back as the alicorn’s horn alights and slowly comes down to touch his forehead. He remembers the familiar feeling of what seems like a switch being thrown inside his head. Celestia leans her head back, looking at him curiously.  [[Shu yo shpopo?”]] “Can you still understand me?”

Tim nods. [[Shpopo Pon. Shpopo hyi.]] “My practice in eponese seems to have paid off. I can understand you just fine.” Tim trills back. He turns to the human. “Hi!” 

"Slava bogu! Nakoents drugoj chelovek! Pochemu zhe est' takie stranye loschadi?" <Praise God! Finally another person! Why are there so many weird horses?>

Tim flinches back, his eyes wide. He looks at the girl, then up at the Princess. [[Hyiclop, wshpopo.]] “Princess, I can't understand her either." 

The girl looks at him, then at Celestia, then back at him. "Ty ne govorish' po russki?" <You do not speak Russian?>

Tim glances back and forth. He’s not a linguist, her words are not much more than gibberish to his ears. 

Celestia’s ears flick back and forth. [[Tamgamg wo mo shyichyi k’wa ho lakakal k’wa?]] "What do you mean? Not all humans live in one kingdom with a shared language?" 

The girl’s voice is rising. "Shto-zhe ono -- ona govorit? I kakie zvuki?" <What's it, or she, saying? What the fuck are those noises?">
`
Tim rubs the back of his head. [[Tamgang mwamwa k’wa shasha]] "We're all over our planet, and English is just one of over a thousand languages. Remember, I told you we have over a hundred different nations." 

The girl frowns. “Shto ty na eto govorish? Kakoy yazyk?” <What are you saying to it? What language is that?> The panic in her voice is rising, getting Tim to squat down to be more at her level.

“It’s okay, I’m American. Do you know America?”

She looks up at him. “Amerikanets?” <American?>

He nods.

“Tvoyu mat’…! Ty proklyaty amerikanets! Konechno! Yasno!. Shto zhe est’ glya menya delat’!? Ya splyu? Ta umerla?” <Holy Fuck! You have to be a fucking American. What the hell am I going to do? Am I dreaming? Did I die?>

Tim looks up at the solar diarch, who is leaning closer, inspecting the human female, her ears flicking side to side as she considers. After a bit, she turns to him. [[Wini ga. B”chlo wo nachamg?]] “She’s a noisy one, that’s for certain. Would she be going into estrous? Some ponies get a lot more vocal during that time of the year.” 

Tim sighs. [[Lakakalbo ya, hyiklop, wb”chlo – slisha shk mest nushap” kakfashkakfash sha.]] “I’ve already told you, Princess. We don't have estrus; we're horny and fertile year round."  

[[Shwa?]] "That's supposed to be a relief?" 

[[Winrey su shu cho? Oloc’ kusa? Yegabab klopep  p”a chukakfash?]] “What am I supposed to say? She's a raving sex maniac and is going to fuck everypony with a pulse for the next month?" 

Celestia grins. [[Bahab mest susu!]]  "At least we'd know how to deal with that!" 

The human girl stands up, brushing off her clothing. “Izvenite pozahaluista. Menya zovut Marina Aleksandrovna Zhukova. A vy? Gde ya?" <Excuse me please, I am Marina Alexandrovna Zhukova. Who are you? Where am I?>

He leans forward. "My name is Tim. Do speak English?"

She shakes her head. "No, only Russian."

Celestia giggles. [[Shpopo ya hyamb -- oloc’! Oloc’ fufu!]] "I understood that! She has a sense of humor." 

Tim glances back at Celestia. “Most people know a few words of other languages, I know a couple dozen words in Spanish – yo no hablo espanyol, and a little Polish thanks to my grandmother, but not enough to converse.” He turns back to the young human. “It will be okay, did you say your name was Marina?”

She nods. “Da.”

“Well, Marina, you are in Equestria.” He gestures to the Princess. “This is one of their leaders, err,  Tsarina, Princess Celestia.” He stops for a moment, it’s the first time he’s pronounced her name in his native tongue in who knows how long, it felt odd to say compared to how he usually does.

The human looks at the alicorn with wide eyes. “Printsessa Selestiya!” <Princess Celestia!> She seems to think for a moment, before running at the solar alicorn, who’s horn lights and restrains her. “Otprav’ menya domoy! Proshu, tebuyu, ya hochu domoy!  <Send me back home! I beg, I demand, I want to go home!>

Celestia’s eyes widen. [[Wres hyamb reshyi]] “I don’t think she’s happy.” 

Tim sighs. [[Res shpopo. Chwinrey p”a su mest hyamb wb”amg.]] “I think if I had been conscious at first, I’d probably have reacted the same way. Please, let her go.” 

As the princess releases the human, Tim reaches in and puts a hand on her shoulder. She jerks her head to look at him. The look on his face gets her to pause, then after a few moments, she slumps.

“Mne nel’zya otsyuda, li nyet?” <I’m stuck here, aren’t I?>

While he doesn’t understand her words specifically, he does understand her emotions there. He nods his head.

[[Bahap cho susu hyamb”?]] “So, what are we going to do with her?” 

Celestia looks lost for a moment. [[Bahap shumg b”ap’ chobi hyamb seha?]] “Would your herd be amenable to a new member, a human mare?” 

Tim’s eyes widen. He glances at Marina, then back at Celestia. Then he slowly shakes his head.  [[Wres lak kakfash. Wres mest.]] “I don’t think Citrus and the rest would accept her without getting to know her. I don’t think forcing the issue would be wise.”

Celestia shrugs her wings.  [[Yo winrey su chuwoloc’ RaKadenzar. Mest ashi hyamb bahap hyi.]] "I'm making her Duchess Cadance's concern. Perhaps she will redeem herself...."

Marina glances back and forth. "Shtyozh?" <What the fuck are you saying?>

The galloping of hooves gets everyone’s attention as a royal guard bursts into the throne room. [[Hyiclop! Mwamwa lak Tim! Bahapazu imgaseha RaHyiclopR TailaitR.]] “Your Highness! Another human has appeared. And that machine that Princess Twilight made is ramping up again.” 

Celestia glances at Tim before darting off, Tim runs to follow, and notices a few seconds later that Marina is following as well. They are hot on the hooves of the solar diarch as she rushes through the halls of the enormous castle. She skids through a turn and clatters to a stop before a large…device is the only word that Tim can apply to whatever it is. In the middle is a glowing ball of light, and as they watch, a human is catapulted through the light and lands unceremoniously on the floor. That human joins two others that are sitting there, both rubbing their heads and seemingly trying to get their bearings after what seems like a rough trip.

[[Hyeb namg. Yo bahab, Tailait?]] “Oh dear creator.” Celestia says softly. “What have you done, Twilight?” 

With two more thrums, two more humans are tossed into the room. Tim puts a hand on the alicorn’s withers. [[Sokolosh chobi chme?]] “How do you turn it off?” 

The bleak look he gets back tells him everything he needs to know. As they both turn back, the device thrums several times, and nearly a dozen humans get tossed through. Marina flinches back. “Blyad’” <Fuck.>

Tim turns to run, to find Twilight so she can turn the damned thing off as it starts continuously thrumming, and streams of human beings flow through the machine. Celestia dances back. [[Keyos raDisk’ordar!]] “Oh fuck!” she moans.
> Chapter 36.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Consciousness returns to the lone human of the herd with a rush. Somepony is riding him, well, his cock, specifically. Before he opens his eyes, he takes a mental assessment of everything. Again, he’s about as hard as he can be. Last night was wild, the only pony not in heat was Citrus. Hooves gently come down onto his chest as the pony riding him starts bouncing. Definitely one of the mares in heat, given the extra warmth he can feel down below. He lies there, relishing the feeling of one of his mares pleasuring herself on him. Her soft gasps aren’t enough for him to identify her, though he can still feel another mare snuggled up to his left side. That was where Citrus fell asleep the previous night. He stretches a bit, his right side seems to be devoid of pony at the moment, though the breathing of what seems to be his pillow tells him that North is still asleep. They did pretty much collapse into a pony pile very late in the previous night. 

Finally he peeks an eye open. “Cayenne!”

The mare in question doesn’t pause; her eyes are squeezed tightly closed as she approaches her peak. Her breathing gets stuttered and her horn lights, magic flowing throughout the room as she hilts herself on him. Tim runs his hands along her belly, playing with her teats as she comes down from her high. She looks down at him lovingly, running a hoof gently along his chest as she resumes bouncing on him.

“Aren’t you supposed to have Silver doing this?” he gasps as she squeezes down on him tightly, though he can feel her winking, and her clit coming down on his pubis every time she hilts herself on him. He reaches down a hand and plays with her clit, getting a moan and a gasp from her.

She pants in need. “I think I wore him out, gave him a half hour blowjob, and he didn’t get more than semi hard. He’s flooded a siren’s sea into me already.” She looks down at him. “Hope this is okay.”

Tim smiles, with as many times as he’s been woken up via a mare either giving him a blowjob or outright rutting him awake, he’s made sure to wake them up with sexual attention as much as he could. “Of course.” His eyes cross as Citrus shifts a bit and sucks on the tender skin of his neck. He grins up at Cayenne before pulling Citrus closer for a kiss. Though she pulls away fairly quickly, turning and presenting her plot at him. He runs a hand along her side. “You too?”

Citrus turns her head to look at him. “Not yet, but I love the feeling of your tongue on me.” She bites her lower lip, her plot winking at him strongly. “Please?”

“Couldn’t ask for a better breakfast,” he murmurs as he pulls her closer. Once again, she winks hard and he darts his tongue out, running it along her clit and tasting her. He pulls Citrus closer as Cayenne speeds up her bouncing, she’s close to another peak. The yellow mare is pretty much sitting on his face as he lavishes attention on her marehood, running his tongue up and down her lips, inhaling her most intimate of scents, his hands roaming along her body, enjoying the feel of her.

“Oh, please…” Cayenne groans as she finishes another orgasm. “Please, dear Celestia. Please.”

Tim knows what that means. The mares desire most during heat is the release inside of them. He pulls away from pleasuring Citrus for a moment. “Almost there, love. Keep going.”

She speeds up in response, it won’t be long now. He pulls Citrus closer, every mare of his herd has a different taste, and to be honest, his favorite flavor is definitely Citrus, with Twilight coming in a close second. But he’s got Citrus on his tongue, and he’s doing his damnedest to drink her dry. Only a few moments more has the yellow mare crying out in orgasm, with her clit trapped between his lips. He tightens his hold on her as his own orgasm approaches. As his cock spurts into Cayenne, his mouth and tongue are diving deeply into the yellow unicorn as deeply as he can, enjoying the touch, the feel of her body as she cries out a second time in orgasm.

Cayenne, her appetite sated for the moment, slides off of him and she snuggles up on his other side. Though Citrus shifts her front half over, pulling her plot away a bit as she sucks his softened cock into her mouth. Tim takes a moment to ponder the yellow plot mere inches out of easy reach. With as many times as they’ve had sex in the time since he’s joined this herd, he can appreciate the beauty of the different mares plots. Citrus' isn’t nearly as pronounced as Cayenne’s, but there is a lot of beauty in her subtlety, the inner lips protrude just slightly, and her winking shows of the pinkness within. Twilight has very pronounced outer lips of her own vulva, more so than Cayenne, but beautiful in her own right. Tim blinks for a moment. Every mare is quite different back there, and every one is utterly sexy. His mind flashes briefly to the previous evening, where Princess Celestia had transformed herself human. Then he remembers seeing her pony plot, winking at him as he walked behind her. 

Citrus moans as she pulls off of him, contemplating his renewed hardness. “Ready for another round, love?”

Tim smiles and nods as Citrus glances at Cayenne, who is snuggled up against the human’s side with her eyes closed. She positions herself. “Let me do all the work right now, lover. You’ll be getting plenty of exercise later.”

He nods as he reaches down, guiding himself into her. Her hot wetness clamps down on him as she slowly slides herself down his shaft. He grins as he watches her writhe on his hardness. Her eyes are closed, her face scrunched up as she focuses inward, feeling him inside her. She jerks a bit as his hands find her barrel, running along the soft fur. She opens her eyes and smiles at him, squeezing him with her marehood. He reaches up, cupping her cheek as she speeds up. Her horn lights as she gasps, her orgasm peaking quickly. Her bouncing becomes unsteady as magic flows throughout the bedroom. Tim pulls her down onto his chest as she writhes in pleasure, hugging her tightly.

Finally her passionate cries end and she moans softly as he pulls her off of him so he can kiss her. Their tongues battle quickly as she quickly pulls away, letting her breathing start to slow. “You haven’t cum yet,” she murmurs.

The purple mare takes a hesitant step forward in his peripheral vision. Twilight looks at him hungrily, he offers her a quick smile before focusing back on Citrus. “I know, love, but that looked really good for you.”

She nods. Then she notices Twilight, who had sat down, her tail thrashing on the bed. “Need a turn?”

Twilight blushes and ducks her head, Citrus smiles and moves off the human. Twilight takes a hesitant step forward again, her tail thrashing. “Please?”

Tim nods, grasping himself at the base. The alicorn lowers her head, sniffing his hardness. She looks up with a smile. “Got enough energy, love?”

Tim nods. “I slept well.” He glances at the peacefully sleeping Cayenne. “Well, probably not enough, but I’ll be okay.”

Twilight grins and rolls onto her back. “Fuck me hard, I need you.” She pants.

He nuzzles Citrus’ cheek before levering himself up. Twilight’s rear legs are spread wide, her marehood winking, obviously quite wet. Tim teases her full lips with the tip, watching Twilight’s eyes. The mare looks up at him lovingly as he pushes into her. As he first hilts into her, she sighs happily as she reaches out with her forelegs and wings, hugging him closely as he starts to seriously move, moving in and out of her slowly. He looks down, watching in fascination as his cock plunges into her. He enjoys the soft, happy sounds from the mare as she accepts him into her body.

“Oh, yes.” She moans. “More…”

Twilight is a little bit longer in body than the other mares, he’s able to kiss her deeply as he continues to slowly make love to her. Most of the last night, it’s been frantic fucking. But now, she wants him, just to feel him inside her, to have him feel her accept him. Their tongues intertwine as he keeps a steady pace. After Citrus, he’s quite close, but he controls himself as he feels Twilight get close to her peak. She gasps, her horn lighting. Tim is ready, he accelerates, pushing hard into her, and as she starts to hit her peak, he can feel himself starting to release into her. Their cries merge together as the kiss intensely is both of them are overtaken by orgasms.

For a long time he remains within her, holding her tightly as he slowly comes back to himself. He can feel he hasn’t gotten fully flacid after such a hard orgasm. As he lies there, his weight on the purple mare, he can feel he’s back nearly to full hardness. He rocks his hips, sliding in and out of her a few times, getting her eyes to jolt open. She looks at him with a smile. “Love, I’m good for now.”

He slides almost out and then pushes quickly back into her. “I like loving you, Twilight.”

She cocks her head to the side, a happy smile on her face. “Pull out, love, I want to do some magic on myself.”

Tim puts his arms to each side of her barrel and pushes himself upright. He ends up between her legs, sitting up, with a really good view of her sopping wet plot. He reaches down and runs his finger along her clitoris, then plays with her lips, enjoying the feel of her wetness. She squeezes her rear legs together and squeals cutely, batting her eyelashes at him. “Okay, I actually do need to concentrate here. Once I’m done, you can enjoy my body all you want.”

Tim grins. “I like the sound of that.” He glances at the other mares of the herd in bed at the moment. North is still passed out, Cayenne pushes herself to her hooves and walks over to nuzzle his neck quickly before hopping off the bed. He takes a moment to think of poor Silver. The pegasus has told him that during heat, when a mare wants a foal, she’s gonna be pretty much insatiable. Her winking plot as she exits the room tells him that Silver is going to be busy once again. The chiming of Twilight’s magic intensifies as her horn and cutie mark both glow brightly, dragging his attention back to her.  An image of her cutie mark forms around her as she lifts off the bed, closing her eyes, magical winds swirling around her blowing her mane and tail.  Before his eyes, her hips change in form, rounding more, and her legs lengthen.  Her barrel flattens and tapers to a more human proportioned rib cage and her udders move as breasts grow in. 

Wrapping around her, her wings grow slightly and shift on her body to reposition themselves on her back. Her forelegs rapidly extend and her forehooves become slender arms with dainty hands and fingers. Finally, her neck shortens, and her skull subtly reforms for a bipedal design of sitting on top of the spinal column versus previously hanging off of it. Her wings flair wide as one last pulse of light fills the air before she slowly descends back onto the soft mattress, the magical aura fading around her. She lowers her head and runs her new hands along her body, before lifting it a bit to look down at Tim through her bangs. She runs her new hands along her body.

Tim gapes at the new view, even her plot has changed, it doesn’t look fully human, but it doesn’t look exactly pony either. Though as he stares, the alicorn's new plot winks at him, a smaller, but quite pronounced clitoris poking from the folds of purple flesh.

“You like?” comes her sultry voice. He can only nod before she sits up. She places a hand on Citrus, who has succumbed to sleep once again. She concentrates and a magenta glow starts to form around the yellow mare. Tim’s mouth drops as the same changes happen rapidly to the yellow mare. In a matter of seconds, Citrus gently lands back on the bed before shifting onto her side, her hands reaching out and grabbing a pillow. She snuggles the pillow close, murmuring his name softly before stilling. Twilight looks up at him. “After you fell asleep last night, Citrus and I talked for a while. Since we don’t plan on foals, there is no danger to any foals for us to transform like this. And we retain our pony hormones, so we continue to be in heat. We don’t have ovaries, so the levels are all carried over in our blood.”

“So, if you turned human, you wouldn’t be in heat anymore?”

She looks thoughtful for a long moment. “To an extent, the newest version of the spell would likely not have our brains awash in the same hormones associated with heat. But I believe it would come back with a vengeance when we change back. This is the happy medium, I think.”

“So you can’t really escape heat?”

She shakes her head, sitting up, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I’m not exactly certain why, for I have long since thought there was a magical component to our heat, because we’ve had transfiguration spells around for centuries, yet a mare cannot escape heat by changing forms, when she changes back, it always comes back harder than ever.” She reaches a hand down and cups a generous breast, the fur is quite sparse on it, but the flesh is the same color as the fur, though the areola and nipple is a much darker purple than the rest. She shudders in pleasure as she plays with her breast. “Even now, I can feel it that drive to mate, that feeling of need, like there’s a hole in between my rear legs that must be filled, since there is, that I need to be complete with a stallion to function.” She shakes her head. “I know it’s quite a bit stronger for alicorn’s over other ponies. Which also bolsters the idea that heat has a strong magical component to it.”

“So it’s weakest in Earth ponies?”

That gets a bark of a laugh from Twilight. “Oh dear Celestia, no. Just because they don’t have wings or horns doesn’t mean they aren’t magical. In fact, Earth ponies have some of the strongest magic outside of alicorns. Remember, Tim, Earth ponies are the stewards of the land, they are the ones who make and build. They are the heart of our civilization. For all the unicorns expressed magic, they don’t have the raw strength of the Earth ponies. If you were in a herd with Earth ponies, Tim, they would be the most demanding of your time. One reason Earth pony herds tend to be larger than most. There is a real reason the Apple family is all over Equestria. And it’s mainly because they are over eighty percent Earth pony.”

Tim nods thoughtfully. Before a purple finger traces along his cheek. He looks up at her, and can see the hunger in her eyes. “Again?”

She nods, dropping her legs to sit cross legged. She reaches towards him and he uses his bigger size to pull her onto his lap. She squeaks cutely as he pulls her body close. He nuzzles her neck before reaching up and kissing her ear. One of his hands starts rubbing a breast, getting breathy cooing sounds from the transformed mare. His hardness is trapped between her hip and his pubis, though she quickly reaches a hand down there and plays with the tip, getting a sharp intake of breath from him.

“I love how our pheromones affect you as well as they do, love.” She breathes heavily as he plays with her nipple, enjoying it becoming hard under his ministrations. He runs his fingers along the new shape of her body. Her chest, her belly, her hips are shaped human, her fur thickens down her thighs and he enjoys running his fingers down to her knees. In response she spreads her legs, allowing him to run his fingers up her inner thighs. She shudders as he cups her plot, feeling the heat there. She leans over and uses her teeth on his neck, getting him to slip a finger inside her.

“I’m wet for you.” He turns and kisses her cheek before she turns her head and her mouth meets his. Their lips meet and tongues intertwine as his fingers find her clit and play with it. She breaks away and moves to lie on her back. Her hands running up and down her own body, enjoying the feel of the different shape. Tim grins as he reaches down and picks her up.

“With that shape, you can ride me easier.” She smiles and nods as he lies down on his back. She takes a moment to look at him before leaning down quickly and bringing his cock into her mouth. He smiles as he watches her bob up and down rapidly, adding her saliva to the wetness on him. His eyes cross as she stops at the tip, sucking strongly and using her tongue to flick along the very tip.

She watches his breathing increase and releases him before he’s past the edge. She climbs over his body and grasps his hardness with her hand, directing it inside her as she lowers herself rapidly onto him. As she fully hilts herself on him, she gasps a bit as she stays for a long moment, enjoying the feeling of him inside her. She reaches out her hands and places them on his chest before she slowly rises. She whines softly as his hardness slowly slips out of her. But before she fully pulls off, she slides back down, breathing heavily. “Yeah, that’s good.”

Tim, for his part, is fighting himself internally, he wants to cum, but Twilight is really needing him inside her. He gasps a few times as she picks up the pace. Though he mainly concentrates on running his hands along her body as she continues to bounce, mainly focusing on her breasts as they bounce gloriously before him.

As Twilight quietly moans through a second orgasm, a loud gasp gets Tim's attention away from the purple mare bouncing on him. Citrus sits up, her eyes wide. She looks at Twilight, who is completely focused on the pleasure of fucking Tim before she looks down at him. He offers her a smile and gets a bright one back. She crawls forward and plants a strong kiss on his lips. The world goes away for a long moment as he focuses his entire being on kissing the yellow unicorn who is wrapping her arms around his shoulders. When they finally pull away, he glances down at Twilight, who is still bouncing enthusiastically, her eyes closed in concentration while her horn is lit in her passion. Citrus leans her muzzle close to his ear. “I see she changed us, you like?”

All he can do is nod as the purple mare slams down on him, groaning through another orgasm, magic flowing all through the room.

“It’s my turn,” Citrus pants in his ear, getting him to turn and look at her questioningly. She nods in response to his unasked question. He responds by running a finger along her inner thigh, getting her to spread her legs. He finds her hot wetness ready to go. She leans down and kisses him as he plays with her femaleness, finding her clit and getting her to shudder as their tongues once again intertwine. A change in pace by the purple mare brings him closer to the edge, he reaches out his free hand and guides her bouncing as he continues kissing Citrus. Quickly he’s gasping into the yellow mare's mouth as he unloads into Twilight, feeling his manhood spurt time and time again deeply into her.

Finally the pleasure abates for a moment as Twilight clambers off of him. Citrus wastes no time in grasping his softening manhood. She keeps up kissing him as her horn lights, pulsing even more pleasure into his manhood, reversing the softening rapidly and bringing him back to life. Twilight, for her part, is snuggling up against his side as she watches Citrus take the place she was in. His eyes roll back as her hot wetness squeezes his member tightly. Citrus starts to move.

“Holy shit, I’m not going to last long like this,” Tim groan, getting a tight squeeze down there by Citrus.

“You’ll last long enough,” Twi coos in his ear. She takes up kissing him as he uses his free hand to play with Citrus' breast as she continues to move on him. It’s only a matter of minutes before he’s bucking wildly, holding on to Citrus as pleasure overtakes everything. 

With a sigh and a happy smile, Citrus lies down next to him, nuzzling an ear as Twilight continues to nuzzle and kiss him. “Thank you, love,” Citrus whispers into his ear, “I needed that.”

Tim, for his part, is trying to get his breathing under control, three orgasms in such a short time has him utterly winded. “Isnthisngoing to be all of heat?”

He gets twin giggles from each side of him. “Yes!”

A perfunctory knock at the door then it opens. Tim doesn’t have any time to react, but the covers glow magenta before dropping over the three of them. Tim shouts, “Spike!”

The dragon trundles in, a large platter held in his claws. “Dude, I know what happens during heat. I’m almost eighteen years old, I've been around ponies in heat before. And more than any other time, you need to eat and drink. Just so you don’t die; wouldn’t be the first stallion fucked to death.” He sets the tray on the bed before hopping up. “You stallions need fluids, lots of fluids, so I made you a smoothie. The mares need fluids too, but more substantial food also. I made haycakes.” A large cup with a straw is floasted to Tim, though with a mare occupying each arm, he can’t grab it. It remains suspended in Citrus' magic as one of the haycakes floats before her muzzle, letting her take a dainty bite out of it. Munching next to the human's other ear announces that Twilight is enjoying her own food.

“How did you know we weren’t in the middle of…” he glances at Citrus, who is chewing contentedly. “…You know?”

The dragon sits down at the edge of the bed. “Cayenne came out and got one of the potions that you guys bought before heat. She must be running Silver ragged if he needs enhancement potions so quickly. But I was already working on breakfast.” He looks at Twilight for a moment. “I knew when to come in based on timing. Twilight has schooled me on hormone levels in mares during heat, and they are strongest when they first wake up. So, I waited until I was certain you guys had a round or two done before I came in.”

“Spike, you are a gem,” Twilight says happily as she magics a second haycake into her hand.

He rubs the back of his head, his face turning red. “I just wanna help.” 

Twilight sits up, reaching out with her magic and arms and bringing him up to hug, the duvet trapped between the two. She runs a hand along his cheek. “I couldn’t function without you, Spike.”

“Awww, you do pretty good, Twilight.” He mumbles in her grasp. After a few moments he closes the door behind him as he exits the room.

North Point shifts a bit before slowly lifting her head. She lights her horn and her glasses float from the end table onto her face before she looks at the scene on the bed. Her eyes widen. “What did I miss?”

Twilight and Citrus both dissolve into giggles as Tim grins. “We’ve been pretty busy this morning.” Twilight throws the covers off. “Wanna change with us?”

North looks at Tim for a long moment before shaking her head. “I think I wanna stay on all four hooves. Is that okay, Tim?”

Tim nods. “Of course.”

The silver mare stretches like a cat for a long moment before turning and flicking her tail from side to side. “I am ready for some vitamin D this morning, though.”

Tim sits up. “Your wish is my command.” He winks at Twilight before he crawls towards North. It’s going to be a very busy day.

***

Tim is in the kitchen, heating up some noodles. He’s hungry from all the fucking and just needs a bit of break. He’s had… Tim realizes he can’t even count how many times he’s had sex in just the past day alone. He’s surprised his dick isn’t bleeding or calloused from all the rubbings it’s gotten. Still, days into heat now and he hasn’t even seen Silver once. Heard, yes, how could he not with the brash pegasus and Cayenne literally going at it around the clock noisily? Seen, no. Their cries accentuate the day and pierce the night.  By his reckoning, Cayenne ought to be like hextuple pregnant or something. They are being quiet at the moment. 

Tim wonders what to plan for the next meal. The stocks are getting a bit low and they’re all too busy either banging or sleeping to go shopping. Well, the mares are too damn horny to want to do anything but them, Silver sounds like he’s spending every waking moment in Cayenne, and Tim wonders about his safety if he goes out all alone.

Then the idea comes to him. He’ll ask Twilight if she can send Spike shopping for them.

The man is heating up water in the kettle. He gets out a big, cast iron pot in that distinctively Equestrian style, sharp angles accentuated by curly tails and accents. He puts in several bags of aniseed, lemon, and ginger teas. He longs for a bit of quiet and peace. He doesn’t know how Silver’s coping, and he’s honestly a little afraid to find out. For all he knows, Silver’s going to one day come stumbling out of his bedroom dripping semen in a daze and saying something about how if he ever has sex again it’ll be too soon.

He touches his fingertips to the metal. The prickly heat is oddly soothing as he inhales the smells of water vapor, a hint of rust and hot metal. Tim inhales and sighs. It starts rumbling as it nears a boil. He hears clopping behind him. 

“Hello?”

“Tim, how are you?”

He doesn’t even need to turn his head. “Fine, North, just a bit tired. You?”

“The same.” He can imagine her body language vividly – approaching him in a sorta diagonal motion, crossing her front legs, blushing a little bit, her tail raised with tension. “It’s my first heat with a herd. Are you putting on a…?” 

He can smell her pheromones.

“Yeah, putting on a boil if you’d want some.” He hears her pause. “Just a water boil.”

“Ah,” she exhales. North Point sits down and Tim make the tea. He sits down right next to her and she nuzzles him. He hugs her and they let the hot drinks cool.

She laughs, “You know, I can magic these cool fast, right?”

“I forgot; not used to that still.”

The mare kisses him on the cheek and conjures the tea into levitating, spinning loops, letting the air have at the whole liquid and raising the surface area. She’s done after less than a minute, the end result being two just hot enough but not the least lukewarm cups of herb tea of a slightly spicy and sour, but primarily licorice flavor. He runs his fingers through her mane.

“You girls are the best.”

“You too, Tim.”

They drink in silence, just enjoying being together. Tim can feel himself getting hard unbidden. He’s knows it’s sex season, but there’s just something namelessly precious about having an intimate and non erotic moment with one of his mares. He knows he’s going to have sex with her, just not when. She must know that they are going to bang, and same. She’s being more physically affectionate than usual, leaning against him, nuzzling him, purring a bit, brushing him deliberately with her tail. She is drinking up his body and he’s letting her. It’s sweet, really. It’s not too long before their tea is finished. He doesn’t have to ask for a second round, as North refills without being asked, being a polite Equestrian herdsmare.

It’s halfway through this second round of herb cocktail tea that she says something faintly. “This is my first heat with a herd.”

“Mine too,” Tim says, following with a laugh to make her feel comfortable.

“Thanks for not pressuring me to have sex with you, at least not right away.”

“North?”

“I was worried that during heat it’d all just be a frenzy. I’m really horny and I want to have sex, but I want to make sure that we’re, well us. I know you don’t get this way because of your species, but I’ve heard enough stories, read books about ponies in heat to know we can kinda just lose ourselves to the desire. I was worried maybe heat would make us all into manic beasts focused only on fulfilling our instincts, but here I am, drinking tea casually with one of my stallions.”

“And you’re finding that you’re still you and I’m still me – we’re still us?”

She nods and uses her magic to pull her mane out of her eyes. She says, “My body feels hot, I can’t stop thinking about sex, I’m wet and won’t stop winking, but it’s not like I feared. I’m not pouncing you without thinking or caring. And you’re not savaging me.”

He scoops her up into his arms and kisses her full on the lips. She lets out a little ‘eep’ in surprise. “Of course I wouldn’t do that, North.”

“I knew it. I just had to be sure before… And here I am wondering how to ask my stallion to…”

He eyes her body up and down. He smiles at her, making eye contact. “Are you saying that you’d like to get a boil going?”

“What if I am?”

He asks, “North Point, do you want me to have sex with you?”

She peppers his throat with kisses, answering, “Yes! Just let’s do it pony style.”

“Sure thing,” Tim agrees, smiling.  He lets her go and she immediately presents, standing on the chair with her hooves on the table.

“Take me. Fuck me like I’ve heard you fuck Citrus and Twilight.”

Tim has another idea. He digs his fingertips into her soft plot and brings his face down to her fragrant slit. He starts licking and sucking away at it. Her immediate wiggles and squeals tell him everything he needs to know and so he continues.  Unlike when they’re on the floor or in bed, the chair is a perfect height for him to just kneel and get to work. It’s in no time flat he has her singing his praises. She was wet to begin with, but she is practically effluent due to the effects of being right in the middle of estrus.

“T-TIM!” It’s not even one minute in and she’s quivering and gasping. She gets wetter and cries out, cumming for the first time. She pushes herself backwards against him. She slumps forward and continues to moan as he assaults her pussy without mercy. She cums time and time again; all his mares are multi orgasmic, but heat puts them on rapid fire and a hair trigger. It feels like he can’t breathe without making them cum.  He feels his dick straining against his pants. He frees it to stand proudly without stopping his ministrations. His lips find her clit and he sucks it like a nipple to a howl of approval, followed by the mare going limp forwards. She can barely moan, “T-T-T-Tim, please just take me b-b-efore I’m t-t-t-t-t-t-tooo s-sen-sensitive!  What you’re doing feels amazing, but the only thing that eases heat is being ejaculated inside by a male. I need you to fuck me, to cum inside of me. Please.”

“Well I can’t say no to that. Just a heads up, I’m shooting faster than Silver right now, so I thought I’d show you a good time before I just plow on in.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, just please fuck me!”

“As you wish.”

Tim grabs her ass and teases her entrance. He’s found it and immediately slides inside, hilting with no resistance. Hellfire! She’s practically burning up and flooding on the inside!

Tim fucks her, going fast immediately. Pleasure begins to build. She feels incredible. Her tight body is against his and he’s staring down at her tight little ass and how it twitches as he hilts and slams into her. She’s making her noises and calling his name. He’s calling hers, too. Her body feels so good. Being mated feels so good. His balls start to tighten.

North cums again, her insides practically coiling around him. He can feel the juices oozing from her cunt, it’s the most pornographic sensation. He kisses from her shoulders, up her spine, to her mane, and finally a few along her horn. She shakes and gasps, reacting immediately. He’s speeding up his pace, not wanting to restrain himself. She told him to cum in her and to not stop until he had. She won’t be disappointed.

North is into it, just letting him fuck her silly. She’s a constant mass of squeals and shakes, just relishing what he’s doing to her. She can’t even form a sentence, let alone speak a word. Every sound from her lips is a moan of pleasure or a grunt as she tries to fuck him back. The pleasure is building in his dick. He is not going to last as he feels the sparks start to jangle up and down his spine.

North cums again. Tim calls out to her, “I’m gonna cum.” She can’t say anything back, only her horn lights. Tim feels something like an extra hot sheath just start rubbing his whole length.  It’s like hot, tight, squeezing oil.  He grunts, knees shaking. Seconds later, he loses control. “NORTH!” Tim groans, surging into her, hilting as the first torrent of cum flies from his cock. She cums again, joining him in climax. Her magic hits his head and it’s heaven. He sees spots of light dance across his vision. He’s screaming her name, just clamping down on her hips while he fills her with so much cum it hurts. He can feel his own fluids spewing forth but still they don’t stop. Just as hers is starting to die down, another burst of light happens and he feels something rub around her entrance. She quivers and cums again, him along for the ride. He reaches around to flick and rub at her clit to take her to heaven with him. The result is his lightning bliss is accentuated by a blinding eruption of light and an ear-piercing scream of ecstasy as her body convulses at his touch, milking his cum from him even harder for as long as they both can stand.

Tim falls to his knees, barely conscious, cock spent. North Point just slumps over. He can barely make himself rise to check on her. When he does, she’s out cold, cold but smiling. He himself smiles and kisses her on the cheek, then lays his head down on the table and passes out, too.
> Chapter 37.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a huge sigh, the lone human of Herd Blush collapses into his seat at the table. The chime of magic has two plates floating through the air, the first lands in front of him, the second at the empty place next to him. Though in moments, the pegasus of the herd lands on the second seat. Silver takes a long look at the fork on the table, considering whether to fit it onto his hoof. Finally his decision is reached, and he buries his face in the chicken alfredo, growling a bit as he wolfs down the food as quickly as he can suck it into his maw. Tim is a bit more reserved, though he understands the pegasus a lot more after the last week and a half. Cayenne is out of heat now, though the rest of the mares of the herd are quite insatiable still. Tim looks up while chewing a decidedly excellent morsel. The cabinet with the potions they had bought is on the wall, the door ajar. He can glimpse the last sterility potion and he knows there is one more enhancement potion as well. Silver has used more of the enhancement potions than he has, but he has used a couple himself. 

“We are almost through this.” Comes Silver's voice, causing Tim to turn. The silver stallion has white sauce covering his muzzle, and a fettuccini noodle is hanging from his jaw, getting a chuckle from the human.

“Yeah.” 

Cayenne walks up and rears up to embrace Silver, though she darts her head forward to suck the noodle into her mouth, then she licks his cheek. “You’ve done wonderfully, my big, strong, stallion. You bred me nearly constantly for, what, five days?” She winces a bit and looks over at Tim. “It has been pretty intense though. I did read somewhere that heat in a herd, thanks to all the mare’s pheromones and hormones somehow mingle and reinforce each other, can be extra rough the first time or two.”

Silver’s eyes widen. “So, you are saying…”

That gets a throaty chuckle from the spicy mare. “You two got dropped in the deep end thanks to biology.” She steps back to drop to four hooves. “I know Twilight could explain it a lot better than I could. But it doesn’t always happen, and we are in a herd with an alicorn. And you are aware that her pheromones tend to be quite a bit stronger than a unicorn's.”

Silver looks at Tim. “I knew it would be amazing to mount a Princess, but making heat even stronger than it usually is.” He slowly lowers his head to the table. “Tim, you just had to fuck her, didn’t you?”

“Hey, it wasn’t entirely up to me.” Tim says, his cheeks aflame. “She was interested in me from pretty early, I didn’t even know for a long time.”

“Chill, dude.” The pegasus makes calming motions with his forehooves. “I was just ribbin ya. I wouldn’t trade Twilight for anything, not only is she a blast in bed, but she’s so damned smart. I swear I gain a few IQ points every time she talks. She’s just so interesting, she knows so much. It’s fun having her in the herd.”

Cayenne turns from the counter, three more plates suspended in her magic. “I’m gonna feed the beasts.” With a flip of her tail, she trots up the stairs.

Silver turns to Tim. “One potion left. I should take my last sterility potion. But there’s one giddy yap potion left. You need some help getting it up, pal?”

Tim looks at the bottle just barely visible in the cabinet. Nearly two weeks of near constant sex. He actually finds himself smiling. “I know it’s been tiring, but ya know, it’s been fun too. You weren’t kidding about falling asleep exhausted and waking with a smile on my face.” He stands up and walks over to the cabinet, pulling out the last of the enhancement potions. “I think I’m gonna sleep for a month after this, though.” He sets the potion next to his seat as he sits back down. 

Silver’s wing claps him on the back. “You and me both, Cock Blockington. Remember, we are keeping four mares, one of them a fucking alicorn, happy over this time. Something to be proud of.”

Tim looks at the pegasus stallion sideways. “Okay scarface, are you fucking kidding me? I had to deal with three while you just had one to play with for almost a week until you were fairly certain she was gonna get pregnant from this.”

Silver guffaws. “Yeah, and I guarantee you, over that week, Cayenne was as insistent as all three of the others. I did you a favor.”

Tim rolls his eyes. “Yeah, getting ridden by Twilight in my sleep multiple times a night, almost every morning being ridden by a different mare as the way to wake up. I swear, if one of them tries to wake me up with a blow job or trying to rut me awake for the next couple of months, they are going to have a hell of a ride.”

“No kidding. But let me let you in on a little secret. After heat is done. The mares will not be all that interested in sex for a while.” He glances at the empty stairs before looking back at the human. “I know they are wanting it all the time right now. But you’ve got to understand, they are getting just as worn out as you are. I guarantee they are all sore back there. And I know that Cayenne is pretty chaffed herself. Did you watch her walk up the stairs? I guarantee every step had quite a bit of soreness.”

Tim gapes, “Chaffed? Every mare has been dripping wet, how would they be chaffed?”

Silver shrugs. “Friction is friction. The mares are going to all breathe a sigh of relief when all this is over. Happens every heat season.”

The clip clop of hooves down the stairs gets both males to perk up. A faintly blue unicorn stops at the base to the stairs. She smiles happily before hopping up on the seat.

“North, you okay?”

She smiles happily as she glances over at the platter that Cayenne had been serving from. A plate floats over and is loaded up before flying quickly to land in front of her. She picks up a fork and twirls it around in the noodles before taking a bite. After chewing and swallowing, she nods with a smile at the stallion. “I’m really good. I woke up clear headed this afternoon.” She shifts a bit on the chair. “I’m a bit sore, but that’s to be expected.” She glances back at the stairs. “Citrus was snoozing a bit when Cayenne came up with food. Twi is gulping hers as fast as she can.”

“So, she’s still…well…you know.” Silver chokes out.

She nods. “Yeah, but she’s an alicorn, start early, keep going late. It’s just the way she is. She was making some noises about being mounted again. But she is really tired. I think you can probably stay out of the bedroom for a couple more hours before she starts getting really demanding.”

Tim stops and looks at his plate, running a finger along a small line of sauce on the plate, he sticks the finger in his mouth before standing up. “She needs the attention, and she really has been very sweet.”

North looks at Silver, then back at Tim. “You know, she’s still in that weird form she made for you, that half pony half human design. Do you like it?”

Tim smiles. “Yeah, she’s quite pretty like that. And Citrus likes it too because she’s found she likes holding hands with me.”

North nods. “And it helps that your form is pretty flexible. In that shape, she’s gotten into positions that would be impossible as a pony. I don’t know about the other mares, but I’ve got to say it’s pretty hot to watch you go at it in some of those positions. Even though I don’t even understand how you can thrust in some of those.”

Tim shrugs, “I read a book once, showed all kinds of sex positions. But some are harder than others.”

Silver perks up. “What book? I’d like to read it.”

Tim blushes and looks away. “It’s a book from my home. I don’t have a copy of it.”

“Aw man, that sucks.”

Tim nods. “I wouldn’t mind having it here in Equestria.”

North giggles. “Well, it would be all over Canterlot, fun sex positions of the humans.”

Silver watches Tim’s cheeks get even more red. “What is it?”

“I just think it’s crazy. The amount of sex you ponies have on a regular basis would be called nymphomania back home. I’m not complaining, but you act as though humans are sex machines.” He stops and takes a few breaths. “I’m about totally worn out after this. Karen liked sex, I mean really liked sex, but you ponies put her libido on her strongest days to shame." He stops for a moment. “I wouldn’t trade this life for anything. I know that Twilight hasn’t stopped looking for a way to at least send a message back to my family, she has pretty much ruled out sending me home. But Silver, North…” He looks at both of them, “This is more than almost every human has ever experienced in a lifetime.”

Silver guffaws loudly. “That’s hilarious! And you’ve been doing damned good keeping all three of them happy. North, you ready to swear off sex after that?”

North’s fork hovers inches from her mouth. “Maybe not permanently, but the thought of being mounted right now.” She stops and shudders. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Both males laugh in response. Tim turns and looks at the stairs. “I’ll see how she’s doing.”

“What a trooper.” Silver hoots.

“You can take a break, Tim.” North murmurs.

He smiles. “It’s okay, it’s almost over, but you all were in need, and she still is. If I can help her, I will.” He walks slowly towards the stairs. Cayenne is coming down the stairs, and she pauses to rear up and hug the human quickly before he starts to climb. As he gets to the second floor of the apartment, he walks down the long hallway. At the end is the master bedroom. He passes first the first spare bedroom, where the magical focus for teleportation is, then the second spare bedroom, where Spike is now sequestered, and finally he puts his hand on the door handle. A quick push down and a second push to open the door has the dimly lit bedroom greeting his eyes. Floor lamps are on low, giving the room an eerie, half lit look. He passes the small sitting area and moves into the room proper. On the large bed are two lumps covered by the duvet cover. Citrus is the one he sees first, she is curled up into a ball, her head lying on her flank. He leans down and kisses her cheek, getting a happy sigh from the exhausted yellow mare and she murmurs his name before stilling once again. He crawls between the two ponies and gathers up the larger body of the purple alicorn. She murmurs fitfully in her sleep as she reaches an arm out. He lets it curl around his shoulders and she pulls him closer, her other arm wrapping around him as she murmurs happily in her sleep. He brings his lower half fully onto the bed, pulling the covers around so he’s fully body to body with the alicorn. He smiles as he lets the exhaustion that’s been dominating his mind finally win.

He’s woken by a finger running along his cheek. He opens his eyes to big purple eyes gazing lovingly into his own. “Morning Twilight.”

She smiles. “I can think clearer now,”

Sometime while he’s slept, Citrus had moved over and is now pressed up behind him, her forehooves wrapped around his middle. He reaches out and traces a finger along the soft fur of the alicorn mare’s jaw line, she leans her head into his touch, getting a smile from him. “So, you are out of heat?”

Her smile falters a bit. “No, but I can tell I’m on the back end of it.” She huffs. “This isn’t the worst I’ve had to experience it. Trust me, Tim, without a stallion to keep up, heat is miserable for mares.”

“So, this time wasn’t miserable?”

She leans forward and kisses him. Their kiss continues, her hands roaming along his body. But finally she breaks away. “No, not miserable at all.” She shifts her legs a bit. “A little painful, but between you and Silver, I haven’t had to deal with as much pressure as the last couple of times.”

That gets him thinking. He squeezes her tightly. “You had mentioned Cadance when it came to your heat last time. What did you do?”

She flinches a bit, her face could light the room. “It’s not all that appropriate to discuss, love.”

“You are lying in bed with me, after we’ve been having a mind blowing amount of sex for nearly the last two weeks. I think intimate subjects would be commonplace to talk about after this.”

She stops and looks at him, obviously mulling things over in her head. But after a bit, she seems to come to a decision. “When it comes to mares in heat, there are a few ways to alleviate the problem. For the first couple of times, when a mare comes of age. Around thirteen or fourteen years of age, the typical methods to assist her are the use of coolers. Though for some herds, a mare getting to that breeding age is a celebration. Very often with earth ponies, it’s quite the celebration. If she has her eyes on a stallion in her age range, quite often he will be given sterility potions and they will be able to have private time. For the first few times for young mares, heat is over in a couple of days. And while their bodies are technically ready for carrying foals, we don’t want them having foals just yet. In four or five years, heat will become what you have been experiencing for the last couple of weeks.”

Tim mulls over her words for a moment. “So the younger ones go through a trial heat before the full effects come in?”

She nods. “That’s a good way of putting it. It also allows the older members of the herd help curb some of the more destructive behaviors associated with a young mare in heat.”

“Destructive?”

She nods again. “Oh, yes. Most of the fillies wouldn’t fully realize what they are feeling, and would be presenting themselves to any stallion. And it’s quite taboo for a stallion to breed a young filly. And the poor stallions would get a nose full of the pheromones, it would be quite difficult for them to resist. You’ve experience first hoof how strong those can be.”

“Yeah.”

“And also, young mares have broken up established herds by enticing a stallion away and ending up pregnant by him. And if the mare isn’t mounted during early heats, it could be very detrimental to her health. So, it’s incumbent upon her family to help restrain her natural instincts, and to direct that energy into more productive uses. Many young stallions get their first mountings with fillies their age during their first heats. Very rarely does that result in a new herd, though it has happened.”

“What if there are fillies that haven’t found a colt they are all that interested in?”

She cocks her head to the side. “Well, that’s a pretty rare occurrence. Even with the lopsided birth rates between mares and stallions here in Equestria. But if no suitable stallion is available, coolers would most likely be used by some of the older mares of the herd on the filly, to help ease her stress. It isn’t as satisfying as the real thing, but it does alleviate the excess of hormones associated with heat. So the health problems can be avoided. That situation is rare, but it does happen.”

“Okay, how about you?”

Her eyes get a bit dreamy. “I was normal as a filly, it happened when I was at Celestia’s school. My herd was informed, naturally, but my sire was out of town on business, and my dam was actually on a research mission for one of her books. The only one available to come was my brother.” She stops and her ears flatten. “I love Shining Armor, but he was just a few years older than I was. He came to the school, but I never actually saw him until it was over. Princess Celestia took me under her wing from when I got to the school. She noticed my first heat starting to happen. She asked me if I had any colt at the school in mind.” She turns and hides her face in the crook of his neck. “I didn’t really have a colt I was really interested in. I was more absorbed in my books, in learning. I didn’t really understand what was happening to my body. I mean, well, I knew what it was, I did read about that. But actually feeling that pressure, that desire, really confused me.”

He holds her tightly. “So, what happened?”

“Princess Celestia had a nice older stallion come to my room with her. I was so overcome with heat, I couldn’t think straight, she offered me to use a cooler on me herself, to help me. I’d read enough about those, but it didn’t sound all that fun. And she offered the stallion to help me if I didn’t want the cooler. I chose the stallion immediately. He did seem surprised, but I turned around and lifted my tail for him right in front of Celestia.”

His eyes widen. “Oh no.”

She nods, “He was so nice. I wish I remembered his name. He was chosen because he wasn’t particularly well endowed, but Celestia liked him, I found out later that night, because he was a very considerate lover. He was interested in the mare’s pleasure more than his own.” She laughs briefly. “Celestia excused herself, after giving me a long hug and telling me that she knew I was going to do wonderfully. I knew he was ready pretty quickly, my eyes were fastened on his stallionhood as he moved closer, and I had to watch what he was doing.” She closes her eyes. “It was fascinating to have what I’d only read about happening to me. And yes, he was gentle, and loving.” She stops and looks into Tim’s eyes. “Much how you make love to me. How you show that giving me pleasure gives you pleasure.” She squeezes him tightly, he lies there, just enjoying the love the purple mare is offering.

After a bit, finally he is able to get a lung full of air, that mare is damn strong, for being as small as she is in relation to him. “Okay, you’ve told me about your first time, and how it typically is for mares in Equestria. But back to my original question. What happened when you became an alicorn?”

She flinches. “I’m sorry, I get on a roll when it comes to explaining things.” She flinches. “I was just about to go galloping off on another tangent. But I caught myself this time.” She clears her throat. “Well, to lead up to last spring’s heat, I need to tell you about my first heat as an alicorn. After the elements had worked their magic on me, it was late fall, so I had some months to wait until the first one happened. But when it came in, it was before you had arrived, and I hadn’t really found a stallion that I really was interested in. There aren’t all that many single stallions in Ponyville, and already I was having the gold diggers and toadies starting to gather. Which really turned me off. So, I went to my friends a couple of weeks before it started, and I actually spent my first heat as an alicorn at Applejack’s place. She had a couple of stallions she was thinking of courting into making a herd, and wanted a real stallion for her heat. We had a great time, actually.  Caramel was a real sweetheart, but I think I drove him away, I was so insistent, every time we weren’t having sex, I was almost to the point of begging him for sex, and while he was good for it at first. He started shying away towards the end. Applejack was a little upset with me for that. But she quickly forgave me, she can be quite understanding.”

“Okay, and then last spring?”

“I’m getting to that. That was a learning moment for me.” She stops, her ears flattening. “He wasn’t like most of the others. He was a pegasus pony, a member of the guard, and he was sweet, smart, and fantastic in bed. I thought I was in love. And I thought he was in love with me.” Her ears flick back and forth. “Turns out, he did like being a consort of a Princess of Equestria. And quite a few of the perks associated with it. Not only did he love being with me, he loves cloaking himself in my royalty and helping himself to the treasury. And some of the mares that were looking to herd with a Princess, he really loved them. I wasn’t the only mare he loved body and soul. To make a long story short, he’d brought me a healthy bacterial culture from another mare’s nethers that decidedly liked me enough to get a roaring infection going.”

Tim flinches. “I think we’ve talked about sexually transmitted diseases before.”

She nods. “Yeah, given the normal way ponies are when it comes to sex, pony healers are dedicated to isolating and eradicating anything like that. I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks being cared for. Then I found out all of what I just told you about with him. The money he was spending, the mares he was bedding. Though tracking them down was easy, they were coming in with that nasty infection as well. Healers found all the mares with it fairly quickly, and that strain of bacteria is no more.” She groans. “I only barely escaped being an absolute scandal because of that. Though he did teach me one thing.”

“What was that?”

“That I do enjoy some of the sex play we do sometimes, getting trussed up, some of the different things I ask you to do to dominate me. I learned that I loved saddles, and halters, and some of that stuff that a lot of ponies consider to be a bit perverted.” She nuzzles his cheek. “Once heat is over, I want to get back into some of that. Sound good?”

He nods, she smiles fondly. “Then you fell into my life, quite literally. That first spring and fall after you arrived, I was thinking about you. Wishing I could do something with you, even though you were recovering from so many injuries. And working to help you. That first spring heat, I was so busy, I essentially ignored my body. Did you know I lost thirty pounds over that year? I barely ate, and I neglected myself so badly my friends were scared for me. Then you moved in with Citrus. And I had to realize that you and I wasn’t probably going to happen. I called Cadance to help me with that. I first confessed my feelings for you to her. She used magic and a couple of coolers to help me. And she encouraged me to talk to you. Talk to Citrus. And of course, you remember what happened with last fall.”

He hugs her tightly. “Yeah, I remember, it was difficult for all of us. But it worked out in the end, right?”

She kisses his cheek. “I’m glad it did. I was actually looking forward to heat with you. And it was just as wonderful as I was hoping it could be. Both you and Silver have been wonderful.”

“Silver is ready for it to be over.”

“Are you?”

He stops and thinks. “Well, I wouldn’t be upset if it were done with, I am super tired. I could probably fall asleep with you right now.”

She giggles. “Yeah, but I’d want you to ride me first.”

“Still going?”

She nods, biting her lower lip. “Though even without heat, there are times where I just sit there and watch you. If you are busy with something, or even just sleeping. You are so beautiful, I just want to touch you, to be close to you. Make love to you. And that is just heightened when I’m in heat. I don’t think I could get into sex with just anypony now that I’ve discovered what it means to be in love.”

He reaches out and runs a finger along her breast. “I like the idea of a nap, but for that, need some riding first?”

Her hand works its way south on him, her eyebrows rise. “I’d love some play before another nap. Keep it slow, okay? I’m at least as sore as every mare here.”

He wraps his arms around her and brings her close for a kiss. “Can do, love.”
> Chapter 38.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If someone were to keep track of how many times Tim has come home to something unexpected, whether it was after work and coming back to Twilight Sparkle dressed in the pony version of bondage, or coming back from dropping off Spike and finding his mares temporarily human. That person would very likely be forgiven if they thought that Tim dreaded coming home. Such would definitely not be the case when it comes to the lone human in Equestria. Coming home from being sent out by his mares has quite often been a very pleasant adventure. Tim whistles softly as he walks down the hallway heading towards his apartment door. He takes a moment to breathe before opening his door.

“Oh, Tim!” Cayenne gallops from the kitchen. She takes a flying leap and lands in his arms, hugging him tightly.

“How did the healer appointment go?”

Her response is to kiss him deeply. “How many?”

She shrugs. “Just one it looks like, still early. We won’t know tribe or sex until later. But it is definitely confirmed.”

“Have you told Silver?”

She frowns. “I have told Silver, but you are the lead stallion of the herd, love. For all intents and purposes, this foal is legally yours.”

He cocks his head to the side. “I know that Twilight has explained how this works in Equestria, but I’m human. I can’t be the foal’s father.”

She giggles and snuggles into his chest. “Oh, don’t worry, we know that Silver is the sire. But both of you are going to be daddies, and for legal purposes, you are head stallion, so you will be the sire of record. Either way, we are bringing a new life into the world. Silver is over the moon happy.” She stops, her ears flattening back a bit. “Are you happy too?”

He hugs her tighter. “Cayenne, I could not be happier. A new little one. This is going to be fun.”

She sighs softly as she traces a hoof along his chest. “Thank you, Love.”

The clop of hooves on the marble flooring announces two ponies, Citrus Blush smiles at Tim. “I see Cayenne’s told ya.”

He nods and offers a fist towards the pegasus standing next to Citrus. “One down.”

Silver taps the fist with a hoof. “Three more to go, right?”

Citrus rolls her eyes. “I want foals, but I want to wait a couple of years. Cayenne might have a whole herd of foals by the time I decide I want my own.”

“Can you do that, Cayenne, what if you get well, uh, too old?”

“What makes you say that, Tim? Why, do your human mares have that problem”

“Well, yeah, actually…” Tim never gets to explain as he is glomped by Cayenne.

Cayenne huffs from Tim’s chest, squirming a bit to be let down. As she gets her hooves on the floor, she shakes her body. “One is fine for me. Or twins would be great. But I don’t know how I’m going to handle being pregnant.” She looks up at Tim, then moves over and runs her body along Silver’s, getting the pegasus’ wings to snap to attention. “They are going to be beautiful, no matter what.”

They are all silenced at a vigorous knocking on the door. The ponies and the human all look around at each other. “Did you bring somepony home with you, Tim?” At his shaking of his head, he finds himself being gently but firmly pushed back with Silver while the mares step a bit towards the door. The knock repeats and Citrus lights her horn, opening the door.

“Galileah!” Tim calls out, seeing the griffon sitting at the door.

She smiles briefly at him before bowing her head at the mare standing before her. “I humbly apologize for my actions at the Grand Galloping Gala, Citrus Blush.”

Citrus glances back at Tim before clearing her throat. “You really caught me at a bad time, so I may have overreacted. For that…” She stumbles to a stop at the raised claw of the griffon.

“No, you didn’t overreact, I announced intention to steal your stallion from you. Was willing to fight you for him. And you trussed me up like a chicken. I was letting my hormones overtake my good sense. There was no excuse for my actions. I humbly beg your forgiveness.” She lowers herself to where she’s bowing as low as she can.

Citrus Blush takes a step back. “As I tried to say, my anger was directed at another…”

“Please!” The griffon interrupts.

Twilight Sparkle trots into the entryway, skidding to a stop. “Galileah!” She exclaims. “What is Celestia’s name are you doing here?”

The griffon’s head pops up, and she takes a couple of steps backwards. “Last I saw, your brother and your herd’s junior stallion were fighting to regain your herd’s honor. Now you are living with the herd? What’s going on?”

Twilight’s face is red. “The problems between our families were resolved at the Gala, we have since worked to build our herd as strong as we can. That doesn’t explain why you are here.” She glances at Citrus. “What’s going on?”

The griffon moves to speak up, only to subside at a glare from Citrus. She again prostrates herself before Citrus as the yellow mare looks back at Twilight. “I don’t know if you were aware, but Galileah here tried more directly to poach our stallion the night of the Gala. She offered one on one combat.” She blushes and her ears flick back and forth. “I…kinda overreacted, ripped some curtains and bound her rather unceremoniously on the floor.”

“You did WHAT?! with the daughter of the griffonian ambassador?” Twilight shouts, before she sees the look on Citrus’ face. She takes a step back and blushes. “Sorry, Citrus.”

Citrus moves over and nuzzles Twilight before turning back towards Galileah. “So, I accept your apology. Is that it?”

The griffon stands up, glancing briefly at Tim before continuing. “My father sent me back home while you ponies were in heat.” Her face reddens a bit, truly a surprise for Tim considering her feather covered face. “He said he didn’t want me getting caught up in the mating habits of the ponies. He wants me to settle down with a nice griff back home. Figures he’d stay through estrus, of course… I’m never allowed to have fun!” She clicks her beak a few times. “But I want to enjoy my status, get to meet different creatures.” Her blush intensifies. “And maybe a little more.” She bows to Citrus. “With your permission.”

Citrus’ voice could freeze a lake. “You are still wanting to poach our stallion, even after apologizing for the attempt?”

Galileah takes a step back into the closed door. “Oh, no, no, no, no.” She glances at Tim, then looks levelly at Citrus. “I would like to play with him, with your permission.” She looks around. “Well, all of you.” She scuffs a claw on the floor. “I had to understand that you ponies are very tightly knit when it came to your herds. I can’t be a huntress, maneuver out the one I want, then bring them down. I’d have to play by your rules. I’d have to think like a herdsmare, join the whole herd, for the benefits to be had by all.”

Citrus shifts a bit. “As you probably know, heat is over. While we have no plans on being truly celibate for the next few months, we are not really looking to expand our herd at the moment, and it’ll be a while before we put our kettles on the fire again.”

“That’s just fine. You don’t have to accept me as a full-fledged herd member.” She stops and gulps. “I’m sorry, but griffs don’t really talk this frankly about this subject. Please forgive me if I am not versed in all the correct ceremonies when it comes to pony herds. I wouldn’t object to joining your herd fully. But that truly isn’t my goal.” She looks levelly at Citrus. “When your herd decides they want those activities, I would appreciate an invite.” She shrugs off her messenger bag. “I’ve got gold that I can offer. I can get you ponies to visit my hometown anytime. I do have some really good connections that we can…” She stumbles to a stop at a raised hoof from Citrus.

“North isn’t here, and while I would normally get all of your input for such a decision.” She looks over at Cayenne, then at Twilight. Then she turns to Tim. “Silver Wing, Tim, I am seeking your input on this decision here. An eligible mare is offering herself. We are not looking to expand our herd right now.” She huffs softly. “I think our herd is big enough, to be honest, but she wants to join in on bedroom activities. I have no objection in that respect. So it falls on you, Tim.”

Tim looks at Citrus, fighting hard to keep his jaw from falling on the floor. “Hold up,” he says before taking a few breathes, “you were pissed that she tried to poach me, but now she’s coming to you, you have no objection?”

That gets a giggle from Citrus. “I will admit, tying her up was pretty cathartic. I was in a bad mood when she landed in front of me and challenged me for you. Now she wants to play, not as a full fledged herd member, but to join us when we have sex.” She cocks her head to the side. “Never had the opportunity to sex up a griffon, might be fun.” She moves over to Tim, she rears up and brings herself close to speak softly. “She’s offering herself the right way. Your mare has approved. What is your decision?”

Tim gulps, glancing from Citrus to Galileah, to the other mares before settling on Silver. The stallion has a smile on his face. Tim focuses on the stallion’s ears. They are perked forward in interest, with the occasional flick of alertness. Silver subtly nods. Tim smiles at him, and Silver’s smile widens a bit, only marred by the scar stretching from the side of his mouth across his cheek. He looks back at Citrus. “I don’t know what to say, Citrus.”

Citrus giggles. Silver zips up next to the human, whapping him on the shoulder with a hoof. “He says yes, Galileah.”

Citrus turns back to the griffon before sitting down on her haunches. “Well, you’ve stunned our stallion into silence.” She glances back at Tim before continuing. “I think Silver said it correctly. I’ll have a message sent to you when we decide we are going to have some planned family time.”

The griffon reaches into her bag, pulling out a small card. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Citrus gestures towards the kitchen, “Would you like to join us for a meal? We have a pegasus and a human, so we have meat always on the menu.”

Galileah shakes her head. “No, I didn’t have all that much time today. Daddy’s got me running all over Canterlot, some kind of ball he’s preparing to celebrate something or other from back home.” She rolls her eyes. “He loves all that formal crap.” She reaches and opens the door. “Let me know, and I’ll drop everything to get over here.” The door slams as she streaks off. Though Tim would have to guess she was blushing even more at that point.

“What was that all about?” He asks.

Citrus guides them through the kitchen and into the living room. Tim sits down on the sofa and immediately gains a passenger on his lap. Citrus snuggles up close to him, Twilight crowds in on the other side, he runs a hand along her mane, enjoying touching her. Citrus nuzzles his cheek. “That was how things are done correctly. She’s interested in you. She can’t claim heat, I don’t know if griffon’s go into heat like ponies.”

“They don’t.” Twilight murmurs softly, nearly asleep. “They are similar to how you said humans do it.”

“Okay. But what was right about it?”

Citrus snuggles closer. “Since she can’t claim heat, and the stress associated with that. She mared up and asked the entire herd, starting with the lead mare, to join all of us. She knew that if all of us get to play with her, she’d be more likely to get a positive response.”

“Has anypony here had any sex with a griffon?”

Cayenne raises a hoof. “Yeah, he wasn’t too bad in the sack. Not really big back there, but he was pretty skilled with using it. Not hurting me, yet some pain is common for griffon mating. It wasn’t much more than a fling, not really looking to get serious. I think we dated a couple of weeks before his duties pulled him out of town. Just some advice, don’t kiss her on the beak, you’ll just get cut bad.”

Tim looks around, though Silver looks rather proud, his chest puffed out a bit. Cayenne and him are fairly well intertwined at the moment. 

Tim briefly considers picking back up the book he was reading before he had gone out. Twilight has been drilling him on reading the pony language. He’s starting to get the hang of it. It’s some weird cursive thing with clusters that writes with diacritics and semi complex read direction. The herd has been enjoying a lazy morning, though North Point had headed out quite early on a mission she’s been following. Her newest work, an amazingly detailed sketch of Ponyville, is hanging from the wall in the living room. He does briefly reflect how he did things back at home, a day like this would typically either be on his phone or watching some TV show he’s watched a hundred times before. He does kinda like the ponies emphasis on reading, and the little hobbies all of the herd has. Silver and his metalwork, Twilight and her research. Cayenne always loves to cook, quite often their lazy day would include taste testing the newest creation of the spicy mare. Though she’s pretty considerate and usually has cups of milk ready to go to quench the fire some of her meals have lit. Though occasionally they will be good enough to be added to the menu at her restaurant. Tim really doesn’t find all that much desire to have a phone in his hand all the time when he’s not driving. One thing the ponies do have that he enjoys, though. “Hey, anypony up for a movie?”

***

Tim handles the slab of glass and metal that Twilight had floated over to him. He inspects the bottom of the device. It looks like the USB-C connection of his phone. Though the device is a good twenty percent bigger than the Note device that was in his pocket on his arrival in Ponyville. The heft of the device is pretty nice, enough to know it’s there, even in a pocket, but not so heavy that it’s distracting.

“Go ahead, turn it on!”

He looks up at the alicorn, then feels along the side, three buttons, just like a lot of human phones. He pushes and holds the smallest of the three buttons. After a few seconds the screen flashes and shapes appear.

“There is a lot of tech in it, much like how your phone worked. But my team has been busy. This is five months of fourteen hour or longer days, fabrication delays, trying to get the chip yield up to something where building them would be profitable. Memory production, and most of all, fine tuning the battery crystal.” She makes a sour face, sticking out her tongue. “You humans do amazing things when it comes to the microarchitecture, when it comes to the memory design, and so much more. But your way of powering things is so icky and tingly.”

Tim laughs, “Yeah, Twilight, I know. We don’t have magic to power things.”

The home screen finally appears. “Wow, that looks a lot like the operating system of my phone.” A few icons are on the screen, familiar phone, text messaging, settings, and a few others. He looks up at the top of the screen. “It has service?”

“In my castle, in Canterlot Castle. And throughout most of the city of Canterlot. The tall buildings are more conducive to building the necessary infrastructure for data transmission. Ponyville will have full service within six months, and we are working on getting relay towers built along all the major rail routes. We will expand out from there. I’ve gotten half a billion bit investment contracts with several new startups to build and maintain the data infrastructure.”

“That’s a hell of a lot of money.”

She giggles, blushing slightly. “Oh, Tim, the profit potential is many times what the initial investment will be. Just the profits off of selling this service to the ponies all over Equestria will be enormous.”

“What about competition?”

She cocks her head to the side. “If somepony wants to compete, let them. I’ve seen how much capability one phone can do, both when it comes to data usage, and transmission speed. We are overbuilding the technology here. If they want to pay usage rates for the network and set up their own competition, or if they want to build their own network from scratch, I’ll be happy to share the basic communication protocols so it’s possible. Healthy competition means more for all.”

Tim shakes his head. “Back home they’d be talking about freezing out the competition and limiting how many can develop the technology.”

Her ears flatten back, “You humans are weird.”

“How so?”

She cocks her head to the side. “You’ve told me some of what your economy is like…”

“You know, I told you I really didn’t pay attention.”

She nods. “I know that, but from what I could piece together from what you told me, from cache information on your phone and computer, and everything else I could glean. Your economy, especially the one of your nation, is a crazy hodgepodge of every economic theory I’ve ever heard of. And a few ideas I haven’t.”

He shrugs. “Well, it works pretty well.”

She nods. “But you have so many things holding it back. Total debt that would make the worst gambler blush. Ponies do things far more efficiently. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna don’t really do much more than organize the various parts of the nation. I mean, they do have the Guard corps, which patrol and guard our borders. And fight wars, but we haven’t had any war to speak of in quite a long time.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard. Humans like to kill other humans.”

She nods. “I’ve read enough on that. Your species is crazy at times.” She flattens her ears for a moment before leaning forward and running her head along his chest. “You aren’t like that, though.”

“But I know you have taxes, your government does more than do defense, right?”

“Not at the Princess level. The princesses don’t levy taxes on the ponies. We get tax income from the mid-level royals, and we also supervise them. Make sure they aren’t taxing the ponies too hard. More than once has Celestia had to call a noble to heel for either not doing their duties to their subjects or demanding too much of the ponies. We don’t have a huge debt to deal with. We just don’t need all that much governance because we’re mostly pretty harmonious. You’ve seen how we solve problems by befriending them. We learned long ago that cooperation is the essence of life.”

“Back home, the government has a lot more to do; kinda needs to, given how we can’t quite seem to stay out of trouble. Well, most of us can, but somebody has to pick a fight, somebody else wants what isn’t there, somebody else ends up on the losing end of life, somebody else takes advantages of the powerless… In short, governing humans is really difficult because we didn’t evolve as herds but as individualists. What about ponies that can’t take care of themselves?”

Twilight flicks her ears as she looks at him. “They are taken care of. Ponies take care of each other. We don’t expect the nobles or the princesses to take care of ponies in need. We help each other.”

“Well, I think my world would be a lot better off if we had that attitude. We’re too good at being apathetic.” She nods. Tim looks at the device in his hand. “So, what all can this do?”

She floats up a second identical device. “Well, the camera technology in your phone is amazing. That little image sensor is something I’ve never dreamed of. So, you’ll be able to take and share pictures. The encoding for video was in the firmware on your phone, so a little work has our own encoding working as well. I decided to use the same basic terms you humans have for the data. A bit is either on or off. Eight of them is a byte. One thousand twenty four of them is a kilobyte, and so on and so forth. Solid state storage is fascinating, so is the spinning disk hard drive that your computer had, though your phone won’t have those. Just so much that joined you from your world when you landed here. You have no idea how many uses your computer has inspired here. Tim, all of this means a true technological revolution for Equestria.”

She runs her hoof along the screen. “I was able to figure out how to make it usable for earth ponies and pegasi. So, it will respond to a hoof as readily as to a magical touch. Just poke with edge of a hoof, or a styles, or even your snout. We can make calls, we can send little text messages, and data services. We don’t really have much of a true internet.” She flicks her ears a bit. “Well, we have the data infrastructure being built. We don’t know much about the other programs, but we’re figuring it.” She brings over his phone, lighting the screen. “You mentioned social networks, Facebook, Twitter, and all of that. I think we will eventually invent our own versions of them. As it is, the pony phones are in their infancy. So most ponies will use them to talk to one another. But I think that will expand fairly quickly.” She sets down both devices gently then moves over to crawl into the human’s lap. “And it’s all because of you,” She purrs, nuzzling his neck. 

He reflexively puts his arms around her, holding her close. “So, what are you going to do with all this newfound income?”

She giggles into his chest. “You mean, what are you going to do with all of this income? You are the primary owner in all of this that I’ve set up. You might end up richer than my family at this rate.”

“Twilight…” 

She pulls back, looking him in the eyes. “Tim, it’s already set up. I’m not changing it. You brought this technology to our world, it’s only just that you should benefit by the engineering and development from what you brought here. I’m a minority shareholder simply because I’m helping build the financing for all of this. You’ll have whatever debt incurred here taken care of quickly. Your species has created some wonderful things. You can profit by that.” She stops, blushing. “You should profit by that. I’m just trying to help.”

“I have all I’ll ever need, between you, and Citrus, and Cayenne, and North. And I contribute to the family, with my work. I know I work for Cayenne, but she’s paying me for actual work that I’m doing. I don’t plan on buying a fancy car, or a big home. We have a nice home, and ponies would probably flee if I bought a brand new human car. So, what do I need the money for? I have no head for finances, the numbers you’ve mentioned, they are just numbers, I can’t fathom that kind of value.”

She boops him on the nose gently with a hoof. “My family made it big well before Shining and I were born. If we wanted to, we could have simply lived a life of luxury for as long as we lived. But that’s not our nature. Shining wanted to join the Guard. I wanted to learn magic. Our herd made sure that we were taken care of financially, but our drive kept us going. You’ve mentioned to Citrus and Cayenne that you wanted to feel useful, you have that same drive. Having more bits won’t do anything to that drive. But maybe you can expand what you do. You’ve proven to be good at repairing things. Maybe you could open a shop, fix whatever your heart desires.” She stands up and stretches like a cat. “Don’t worry about making the decisions on this. I’ll be there to help you in the decision making process. I’ll give you ideas on how to proceed in the future, what direction to take the company. You aren’t going to be a figurehead, just making money off the company like some trust fund lush. You’ll be an active part, but not full time, there are ponies hired to make the day to day decisions as things go forward.”

“I wash dishes most of the time, Twilight.”

That gets a loving nuzzle. “I hate doing dishes, I usually have Spike do it.”

“Or me.”

She giggles, “Or you to do the dishes at home. But that’s the thing, with this income, you don’t have to work for the money, you can do what you want for the passion of what you do. You may not have a cutie mark. But you have the same passion to do things that us ponies do. Now, with this money, you can do exactly as you please, feel useful, and you won’t have to feel like a burden on anypony no matter what you do. You will have to spend some time, though, learning what’s going on. And making decisions on how to go forward. And you’ll have me by your side. So no worries, right?”

Tim looks thoughtful. Twilight watches him for a moment before darting her face forward and licking his cheek gently. “Love, you are going to be rich in your own right. Just enjoy it.”

Tim sighs, “Just feels weird.”

She looks at him seriously. “So, there’s really one more thing to do. We have to name the device. We can’t just call them phones. We have to come up with a name.”

Tim frowns. “What makes you think I can come up with something?”

“Just think on it. You’ve got a few days before we start letting the ponies know they exist and that they’ll be able to buy them soon.”

That gets a sigh from the human. “You know, everyone having those devices really changed how humanity acted. We used to have to learn from books, or TV. Then with these devices, and the information accessible through them, we didn’t even remember phone numbers anymore. Nor the name of a favorite band. We’d just look them up. It is kinda weird. I remember when things like them but more primitive were stuff of fiction set centuries ahead, lo and behold they’re a fact of life now.”

That gets a full throated laugh from Twilight. “Oh, Tim. Ponies will adjust, just as humans adjusted.”

***

Citrus Blush walks slowly towards Canterlot Castle on a secret mission. The last several months have been almost idyllic, Tim is happy, Silver is happy, Cayenne is pregnant, and the other mares of the herd have been happy. She has noticed their social standing since Twilight has been spending more time with them has upgraded. Some of the nobles of Canterlot have been dropping hints that her herd should be spending more times among the elite of Canterlot. While her mom has really stayed away from the noble scene in Canterlot, her sire has not. While she has a strong distaste for anything that Rotten Apple holds dear, being in a herd with an alicorn princess does have responsibilities. 

One of those responsibilities has prompted her to head to visit with Princess Celestia this afternoon. Tim is in Ponyville with Twilight, more prep work for the new technology from Tim’s world being rolled out for the ponies. At Twilight’s insistence, work is being done all throughout their apartment building, as well as in buildings all over Canterlot for this new internet thing. Computers are starting to be advertised, and when it comes to many businesses, it’s a lot easier for a lot of business tasks like record keeping, inventory, and more. She can understand why humans are so enamored of the devices. 

But today is going to be interesting for Citrus. She’s here to talk to Princess Celestia about a personal subject, and she hopes her request will be granted. She looks up at the spires and domes of the castle on the mountain. Part of her is looking forward to this talk, part of her dreads it. She sighs softly. Time to mare up and do what must be done. She walks into the castle, the large doors closing magically behind her, controlled by a unicorn guard.
> Chapter 39.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The lone human in Equestria is a rather unusual title. For the ponies of Canterlot and Ponyville, he’s merely a curiosity. Though when it comes to the ponies outside of where he usually visits, he’s pretty much an attraction. The reaction to him is fairly universal. The adults shy away from the tall biped, though after they see that he’s not menacing the ponies, and more often they see that he’s got herd mates that dote on him as much as any herd mates will dote on others in their herd, the ponies will calm down around him. And quite often he gains a following of foals. The curiosity of children, no matter their species, is boundless. This is also the case with the ponies on the train heading north from Canterlot. A few hours into the ride, Tim now has every pony under the age of twelve gathered around him, peppering him with questions from why is he so tall, to questions about his herd.

One of the colts pipes up. “Why are you furless?”

As Tim opens  up his mouth to respond, the filly next to the colt blurts out. “Mom  said if you don't wash properly all your fur can fall out.”

A yellow unicorn filly looks at a blue pegasus filly. "Does that mean he doesn't wash?"

The  colt leans forward, sniffing his leg. "Does he have the mange?  Fluttershy said that mange causes some animals fur to fall out."

“What happened to his tail? Every creature has a tail doesn't it?”

"Yeh even bug ponies have tails."

Tim  looks over at Twilight, eyes pleading, she smiles at him and hops off  her seat. “Okay my little ponies. You’ve had plenty of time with Tim,  head back to your herds and leave the nice human alone.”

One particularly aggressive filly is on Tim’s lap, enjoying ear skritches. She gives the Princess a sour look before hopping down and slowly walking towards the front of the car, her ears down and her tail drooping. Though his lap doesn’t remain empty for long, the head mare of the herd sits on his lap, leaning her body against him. While the ponies are passionate and expressive in private, in public, Citrus Blush is content with simply leaning her body against his chest as the ponies do tend to be physically close most of the time as is their nature. Though the ear skritching ends up happening to her.

Cayenne Pepper is enamored of the view out the window, the train is heading North, to the Crystal Empire. And is following the mountain range that includes the mountain where Canterlot resides. So, to the east of the train tracks, the mountain range stretches up high and off into the distance. On the west of the tracks, however, is flat plains, dominated by mile after mile of cropland. Back home, he would expect to see tractors and other heavy machinery moving through the fields. Not so much here in Equestria, though small clouds are scattered around, with pegasi in attendance, keeping the growing crop of early summer nourished. Twilight has explained the agriculture of Equestria. About half the farms are smaller affairs and orchards much how Applejack runs her family farm in Ponyville. However, there are also larger operations, growing wheat, and corn, and quite a few other crops that would be just as familiar in a farmers market in Dubuque, Iowa as they are in Baltimare. 

Usually they are family operated as well, the tendency of Earth ponies to have larger herds does fare them well with dealing with some of these enormous operations. Though there are some that are owned by companies, just like Twilight’s family owns a couple of large farms, that they pay teams of workers to operate. These are usually generalist affairs that just focus on raw output to make sure the nation stays fed. Twilight has mentioned that one of her family owned farms will be coming up during their trip north.

The ponies don’t have to deal with much of the pests that plague food growth back at his home. Through the Earth pony’s harmony with the land, and quite a few skilled mages, diseases like black chaff, and crown and root rot, are pretty much nonexistent. And the incidents of pest damage are greatly reduced, though some is allowed to happen as such pests are part of the food chain overall. Though the ponies seemed rather upset when he had spoken of droughts, like the one much of California suffered under for much of his young life. Pegasi keep the weather ideal for growth. They make sure there’s enough rain and when it’s needed. The farm ponies have clear, cool weather to do their planting. And then the season is regulated quite strictly by the regional weather managers and the source of weather in Equestria. The floating city of Cloudsdale. The ponies control the world around them far better than humans can. Though, Tim does agree, having magic really makes that kind of thing much easier to do.

He watches the faintly pink pony’s cranberry colored tail swish gently as she watches the mountains to the east of the train tracks. He leans over towards her. “Missing home already?”

She jerks, apparently she had been lost in thought. She looks back at him. “No, it’s just the mountains are just so beautiful.”

He sits there for a time, apparently Citrus has fallen asleep on his chest, he can feel her soft, regular breathing against his body. Finally he grins. “Yeah, the mountains are quite beautiful.” He reaches out a finger and runs it along the spicy mare’s ear. “And so are you.”

Her ear flicks. “I’m fat and ugly and nopony would be interested in me.” She huffs.

That gets her nuzzled by North Point. “That’s not what you were saying last night.”

Cayenne blushes heavily. “You were helping me feel sexy, North. That’s different.”

The two mares lean against each other, Cayenne purring. North wraps a hoof around Cayenne. “You are just pregnant and even lovelier than before.”

Cayenne looks over the back of her seat at the pegasus snoozing quietly on his seat. Then she looks over at Tim. “Would you have joined North and I last night?”

Tim grins. “Of course; I love being with you.” He pitches his voice low, keeping the conversation private. “If I had known some fun was going on… we’ve been celibate for more than a month now… for better or worse”

Cayenne coos, “Awww, has somepony been feeling underappreciated.” She kisses him on the mouth. It is a full, deep kiss with lots of tongue and a bit of moan. Tim finds himself digging his fingers into her neck in a clench. He exhales to find his tongue is sticky and his breath feels hot. Cayenne glances around, her face turning red at the view of the other ponies in the car. Though it seems as though the ponies are deliberately avoiding their herd violating much of the customs of the ponies. Perhaps because he's human? He glances over, or perhaps they are allowing for the Princess sitting next to him.

Twilight giggles as she leans against his other side. Normally he’s not enamored of the middle seat, be it in planes or trains. But here, he gets affection from his mares on both sides, so he’s happy. Twilight looks over at Cayenne. “North is right, Cayenne.”

The spicy mare looks at her middle, grumbling. Tim speaks up. “You really aren’t showing so far. No need to worry. And when you do show, you’ll still be as lovely as ever.”

Cayenne turns and looks at him, her cerise eyes wide. “You’ll want me when I’m just about to drop this foal?”

“Not a doubt in my mind, love.”

That gets a snort from the pony snoozing on his chest. Prompting him to wrap an arm around her. He looks over at Twilight. “So, what’s with the trip to the Crystal Empire?”

Twilight grins. “Well, the primary reason is I’m going to see my niece. But I also get to see my sister-in-law and my brother.” She glances over the back of her seat at Silver, then looks back at Tim. “Shining wants to do some sparring with Silver. He said Silver was the first to lay a hoof on him in quite a long time. He says that our stallion has got some skill and he wants to foster that skill.” 

“Sparring?” Tim asks, his brows furrowing.

“Just with gymnasium proxies; nopony uses real, sharp weapons unless they want to hurt somepony. This will be more in line with simply training rather than any serious dueling. No, Silver is not going to gain any new scars, and Shining won’t have any more broken bones to deal with.” Twilight giggles. “Though I think Shining was brought down a peg or two.” She leans closer. “He refused magical healing, so Cadance did her best to make him suffer for trying to play tough.”

Tim tries to suppress a laugh, but it’s futile. He’s never broken a rib, but he knew a friend who had, that was a whole new level of pain. And the Prince didn’t even really show how much pain he was in at the Gala. From what he’s heard of Princess Cadance, she’s got a bit of a troll side to her, so she was likely having him do all kinds of things to keep that rib hurting. The stallion deserved it in his view. That second cut may have been part of reflexes, but he got Silver really damned good. Then he stops, remembering what got them all into that situation.

Fortunately for the human, Twilight is paying attention to his face, she leans forward, putting a wing around his shoulders. She nuzzles his cheek before whispering into his ear. “Love, it’s over. You are forgiven, and the herd is healing.”

He pulls back, looking at her, then he remembers who he’s got in his lap and snoozing lightly against his chest. Citrus snuggles closer, murmuring his name softly. “Yeah, you are right.”

He leans back, the trip has a bit over a day to go, and he has to admit, the seats in the train are quite comfortable. It’s not too long before his own eyes are getting heavy. Twilight is looking at him mischievously. “Still feeling underappreciated?” He nods. “Just wait for when we arrive at the Empire tomorrow night. Your patience will be rewarded.”

***

A jerk of the train car has everyone in the car waking up. Twilight could have requested a royal coach be attached to the train in Canterlot. But she had decided the necessary delay would not have been worth it for a casual trip. And add in the fact that she really doesn’t like to use many of the perks of her royalty on a regular basis. In fact, she’s fine with not being treated by the ponies the way they act towards Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. As the Princess of Friendship, she’s far more comfortable being among the ponies of Equestria. And this is not an official state visit, but simply her visiting her family. Her sire and dam were due up in the next few days as well. Though she hasn’t disclosed all of her reasoning to visit the Crystal Empire. Among her plans is a visit to the company overseeing the installation of data services in the Crystal Empire. Twilight looks out the window, noting the new advertisements for the phone and data service. Tim had come up with a good name for the phone. She doesn’t expect them to immediately explode in demand. Actually, one of her engineers had informed her that it may be a few decades or longer before the devices become ubiquitous throughout even the larger cities. And in the mean time, they will continue innovating and developing the technology. The projected time to self sufficiency for income from the new technology is actually quite soon. Tim will be spectacularly rich within his lifetime, and any foals their herd births will not ever have to struggle for income. Allowing them to follow their passions, much as she's been allowed to by her own birth herd.

Twilight Sparkle smiles. Her human stallion has actually brought a lot more than a revolutionary communications system to Equestria when he arrived, but also data storage, computer architecture that will do amazing things for the Equestrian economy, and she’s not mentioning the materials science advances due to the jet engine that landed in Equestria. The cost in lives sometimes gets her to pause, most certainly everyone else on that airplane ended up dead thanks to that absolutely freak accident. If Twilight could find ways to get information from Earth scientists on a variety of subjects that her probing into the tech that came with the human, she would. But the magic of the Sonic Rainboom is hard to quantify, the portal was open for the merest fraction of a second and there is no way to reliably tell where in the human world that portal would appear. No, she would have to be content with what she’s been able to glean from her research along with the other ponies at the castle, and those working for her, have been able to ferret out. Some of what they’ve discovered has pointed them in directions they hadn’t even speculated about. Others simply confirmed theories that they’ve held. All in all, the human’s coming to Equestria has been a good thing for all involved on their side of whatever barrier there is between the worlds.

“Twilight!” The familiar voice brings Twilight to the present, surrounded by the guard contingent, her sister in law is galloping towards her. She smiles as she crouches down. The two alicorns say in unison. “Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake.” They both sit up. “Clap your hooves.” Then the flip and shake their rears at each other. “And do a little shake!”

Tim steps up next to them. “That’s adorable,” he says, which gets giggles from the two alicorn mares. 

Cadance nudges him with a wing. “So, what’s it like knowing you are going to be a dad?”

He shrugs. “Still trying to understand it all.” A quick glance at Twilight. “But technically, Silver’s the dad. I’m just here to help.”

Cadance snorts. “Here to help, just be happy you haven’t had to deal with an alicorn foal. One not only able to fly, and with magic, but is also stronger than some full grown ponies.” She shakes her head. “Flurry has been an education, that’s for certain.”

“Twily!” Comes a masculine voice. Tim turns to see Shining Armor galloping up. He grabs his little sister in a big hug. As he lets her go, he notes the stallion standing next to Tim. “Well, hey there Silver. How’s the jaw?”

“Still attached. How’s the barrel?”

That gets a laugh from the white unicorn. “Oh, you got me good there. Two broken ribs.” At the severe look from Cadance, he chuckles. “Yeah, I asked for healing later. My beautiful wife thought it wasn’t necessary. I think she wanted me to learn something.”

“Yeah, don’t let your opponent get under you on his back, bad place to get bucked.”

“No kidding.”

The two stallions stop and look at Cadance and the rest of the herd. Silver grins. “What?”

Citrus rolls her eyes, glancing over at Cadance. “Stallions,” she huffs.

Cadance nods. “When they aren’t thinking with their equipment, they are thinking about hurting each other.”

“Hey!” Tim grumbles.

Both the other stallions stop and look at him. “Hey, we were fighting on your behalf, studmuffin. Cause you couldn’t keep it sheathed. Don’t blame us for this.”

Silver takes to the air, landing his hooves gently on Tim’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, buddy, it’s all water under the bridge. I actually like marshmallow boy over there.”

Shining’s horn lights up. “You are going to pay for that.”

“Could be different next time.”

“No grapples or sharps this time,” Cadance hisses at them both. Her wings spreading.

“Yes dear”, Shining says before winking at Silver.

They turn and it only takes a few moments for the herd to gather up their luggage and the entire group heads towards the large castle. Cadance and Twilight chatting the entire way. Tim notes that the Duchess’ husband has their foal strapped to his barrel, and he’s also talking animatedly with Silver. The two stallions laughing as they walk along towards the center of power of the Crystal Empire.

As they get close, something catches Tim’s attention. He’s never really noticed all that much when it comes to magic going on at home, the mares are using magic all the time. This, though, is completely different. A large crystalline heart is spinning rapidly, not touching anything, but being kept centered between two crystalline structures, one rising from the ground, the other descending from the castle itself. But the heart, the heart itself simply floats there. “What is that?”

Cadance gestures for the rest of the herd to head inside before walking over to him. “That’s the Crystal Heart. It’s center of power for the Crystal Empire.”

He reaches out, but keeps his fingers clear of the spinning heart. “It’s beautiful.”

She looks at it for a long moment, finally she shakes her head a bit. “Yeah, it is.” She reaches out a hoof, careful not to touch the spinning heart. “It’s saved us a couple of times. It’s powered by the love of all the ponies in the empire. Without them, it would be just a pretty piece of crystal.”

Tim looks around, the crystal ponies are walking through the town, happy smiles on their faces. He looks over at Cadance as she walks towards the entrance. She stops and looks over her withers. “You coming?”

He nods and follows her inside.

***

“Careful.” Cadance says softly, “she’s not going to break, but you still need to be careful with her.”

Tim gently scoops up the bundle, the small form yawns cutely. He cradles her as Cadance takes a step closer. “Remember, foals are shaped differently than humans, so you have to hold them differently than you would a human baby.”

“I have no idea how to hold a human baby.”

That gets a soft laugh from the pink alicorn. “Okay, so no bad habits to unlearn. You support her body, she’s not swaddled, so get that claw…er…hand under her barrel, bring her up to your chest. Pony foals can stand and walk fairly quickly after birth. But you holding her like that causes her to let her legs go limp, lets you hold her up against your body.”

Tim looks at the little foal in his arms, she blinks slowly before yawning again. He and Cadance have woken her from her nap. When he had first gotten close, she had tensed up, but then relaxed when she saw her mom next to him. “She’s so beautiful.”

Cadance nuzzles her foal. “Yeah, she is. And yours will be just as cute when she is born.” She looks up at the human. “So, when can we expect Twilight to be expectant?”

Tim is so startled he very nearly drops Flurry, though he recovers quickly by hugging her close. “Ummm.”

That gets a chuckle from the alicorn. “Nice recovery.” She lights her horn. “I’ll take her.”

Tim pulls away, “I’m fine holding her. And I’m going to need the practice, right?”

She smirks at him. “I’m getting a better handle why Twilight picked you.” She nods to herself. “While I do regret some of what happened, Twilight did get what she needed. But you and I both know she wants a foal of her own.”

Tim’s eyes widen and his eyebrows rise. “You know as well as I do, I’m an entirely difference species, not from your world. Twilight’s checked our DNA, it’s not possible.”

That gets chiming laughter from the Alicorn of love. “Never underestimate the power of magic, Tim.” She nuzzles Flurry, who’s eyes have closed, and her breathing has evened out. She looks up at the human. “So, what do you think of Cayenne having a foal?”

Tim looks at the foal in his arms, then at her mom. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around that.” He stops, looking at Flurry. “To be honest, I’m terrified.”

“Of what?”

“Being a dad or a sire, however you ponies word the relationship.” He contemplates the small bundle of life in his arms. “I have to be responsible for him, or her. I have to teach them to be a good pony, when I really don’t have any idea.”

That gets a soft nuzzle from the alicorn, her greater height allowing her to reach his cheek without really stretching too much. “Oh, Tim. You are overthinking it. That teaching doesn’t just fall on you, but on the entire herd. You will have lessons that you teach, so will Silver, Citrus, North, Twilight, and Cayenne.” She takes a step back. “Remember, Tim. We are herd creatures, what you teach, by being an example, is important. But the entire herd is what brings up the fillies and colts. The job is big, that’s why you have the herd to lean on in that respect.” She tilts her head slightly. “Your contribution will be important, don’t ever forget that. But remember that we are ponies, this new life that Cayenne is bringing into this wonderful world is a pony. He or she will look up to all of you.” She looks down. “That’s why a foal being brought up with a herd is so important. Our cultural mores, where it’s not acceptable to have a foal outside a herd, it’s because that herd is important for the life of the foal.”

He looks over at her. “What if something horrible happens to the sire, or the dam shortly after birth?”

“It’s rare, but it does happen. Herdless mares that are with foal are typically brought into a herd fairly quickly, the mare’s drive to take care of her foal or foals is overriding pretty much everything. A stallion caring for a foal will likely attract eligible mares pretty quickly.” She smiles. “Nothing sexier to a lot of mares than a stallion that can take care of foals."

She tilts her head to the side slightly. "Stallions like fecundity, especially junior ones who haven’t had their turn to sire yet. And mares like stallions with a love of family. Just to warn you a little bit, we hit on dads a lot. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself getting propositioned.” She nudges him gently. “And speaking of, I think Flurry likes you. She’s out like a light, so she trusts you. No need to worry when it comes to being a sire. And speaking of that stud you know…” Tim cannot mistake the purr. “If it’s no offense… what would you say Silver’s best qualities are?”

Tim pauses. “Silver’s best qualities… well, he’s hardworking and speaks his mind. He’ll be your best friend and tell you when you’re full of crap.”

“Mhmhhm, I see. That’s what I thought from what he told me when I was putting his jaw back on. What does he like in a mare?”

Tim laughs, “If he were here he’d say his dick or something. He first joined the herd by chasing after Cayenne. He likes caring with a bit of an attitude. Between you and me, I think he actually likes having somepony to fuss over, even though he pretends to be annoyed.”

Cadance smiles and ruffles her wings. “You would not mind if I were to seek his company?”

“Meaning…?”

“We’ll see. I don’t want to go behind your back.”

Tim laughs, “He’s not my slave or anything; feel free to see him.”

Cadance suddenly hug tackles him, planting a lush kiss on his lips with an embrace like a coil of steel. “Oh! Thank you! Some stallions are just so insecure! I knew you wouldn’t be!” She kisses him again and suddenly peels off him. “I mean, that is very welcome.”

“What did I just agree to?”

“Like you need to ask,” the pink alicorn giggles, magically pulling the filly from his arms and places her gently in her bed, her little stuffed snail tucked up next to her. Galloping hooves gets both the human’s and the alicorn’s attention. Cadance darts ahead of Tim as the door opens. The guard walks gently, quieting down his hoofsteps, though he makes a beeline for the duchess. He bows his head to her and speaks quietly as Tim takes one last look at the alicorn filly peacefully sleeping. “Tim.” Cadance’s voice startles him from his thoughts. Getting him to look at her. “Come here.”

“What’s going on?” He asks as he gets up next to her.

Her horn lights, and his hand is placed on her withers. “Something is wrong with Twilight.” She surges her magic and they both disappear.

They pop back into existence in a different part of the castle. Tim looks around. The herd is all gathered around the purple alicorn, as well as her brother and a few of the Empire guards. An explosive sneeze rebounds through the room, along with a beam of magic that splatters the ceiling.

Cadance steps up next to her sister-in-law, her horn alight. “What’s going on, Twilight?”

Twilight sniffles. “I don’t know, but from the moment I’ve gotten into the castle, I’ve been sneezing.” She stops to sneeze again, another beam from her horn, though this time it streaks across the room.

Shining Armor looks back at his sister. “Did you just turn that apple into a bird-apple hybrid?”

Twilight sniffles, her eyes are inflamed and red. “Did I? I dunno…” One of the guards floats over a tissue, where Twilight takes it and blows her nose. Her eyes search around and her gaze lands on Tim. “Oh, Tim! I’m so happy to see y…” Her nose scrunches up. “Ah…ahhhh.”

Tim dances back as the alicorn lets out yet another explosive sneeze. This one is also accompanied by a magical beam from her horn. The human isn’t fast enough, and the beam bathes him in energy.

Shining Armor hoofs over another tissue before looking back at Tim. He stops, frozen. “Um…Twily.”

Cadance looks at Tim, she shudders before tapping Shining Armor with a hoof. “I think it would be smart to put Twilight in a warded room, and I think I’m going to have to bolster the wards. She’s got an alicorn’s strength, wouldn’t do having her blowing holes in the walls like Flurry did before her crystalling.” She stops, looking at Tim. “You okay there, Tim?”

Tim shakes his head, trying to clear it. “I felt the magic hit me. I'm shorter, so I'm guessing she did something?”

Cadance nods her head before hoisting Twilight with her magic. “Shining, see if you can help Tim.”

Tim looks down, noting pink hooves. He lifts a hoof. “Well, this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been turned into a pony.” He smiles, shaking his head. Then he stops. “Does my voice sound different to you?” He notices a savory scent almost like unsalted nuts or sanded wood. He took a deep breath and exhales. “What smells so good?”

Citrus sits down, directing a baleful glance at the nearly unconscious Twilight as she is floated from the room. “Yeah, I think Twilight did more than merely turning you into a pony, Tim.”

He looks at his tail, flicking the big bushy two toned lavender colored tail, then he runs a hoof through his mane. “Well, it’s different than what happened when I came back through the portal.” He reaches up and feels. “Well, I’m a unicorn again.” He sits down to look at Citrus, a smile on his face. Then he closes his eyes and his horn lights. “See! I remember what you taught me.”

Cayenne steps up next to him. “Sweetie, there’s a problem.”

Tim furrows his brows. “Let’s see, four hooves, check, horn, check.” He stands up, flicking his tail from side to side. “Tail, check. I remember how to walk like this too. So that's good.”

Silver snickers “There’s one more body part that happens to be missing there, bud.”

Tim turns in a circle, “No, everything is there, looks perfectly normal, though I’m a different color.” He puffs his cheeks out. “And my voice definitely sounds different than when I was a pony before.”

North Point walks closer, putting a hoof on his mouth. “Tim, look down.”

He complies. “Okay, two forehooves.”

“Further down, sweetie.”

Tim looks between his forelegs at his rear legs. Then he gets really  still, his tail stops waving. He raises his head, looking at North, then  at Citrus. “Oh, Fuck me!”

"Bad choice of words Tim, bad choice," Silver says, laughing.
> Chapter 40.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim stands in the throne room of the Crystal Castle, his entire body trembling. “She turned me into a mare.” 

"It was an accident, she's sick," Citrus comes up and nuzzles him. “Don’t worry, love. Twilight will turn you back shortly.” She glances back at Cadance. “Umm, come to think of it, I’m pretty sure she’s the only one that can turn you back.”

Tim turns and looks up at the pink alicorn, his eyes wide. “Duchess Cadance, you can get make me normal again, right? You can handle love no problem, so why not this?”

“Ummm, I don’t think so Tim.” She takes a step forward. “I may have the necessary strength for the spell, but I don’t have the information. I don’t have a scan of your original DNA to be able to turn you back, and transformation spells aren't really my thing anyway.” She glances at the door that Twilight was carried through. “I guess I could go back to her castle, but knowing the size of her library, samples collection and such, it would take me weeks just to search through her records. She really likes keeping records of everything.”

“You could just ask her.” 

Cadance flinches. “Flurry,” she says before charging her horn and disappearing in a teleport. Tim looks around at his herd and the crystal guards arrayed around the throne room. Then he boggles as a bird-apple hybrid flutters down and lands in front of his hooves. It has no head, just the wings and tail of a bird, smoothly grafted onto an apple. He leans down, the body of the apple is breathing. He shakes his head. This is about the most insane thing he’s ever seen in his life, and he’s been living with Twilight for the last few months.

He looks at Citrus. “Can Twilight fix this?”

She tilts her head slightly. “Why are you in such a hurry, Tim? Might enjoy this for a while.”

“I quite liked being male, thank you!”

“Well, at least you don’t turn into a mare when splashed with cold water, right?”

“Oh, har har.” He looks over at Silver. “Help me out here, bud.”

Silver looks at Citrus, then over at Tim. “Sorry, but I don’t have the first clue about magic outside of flight. Hey, you are pretty cute as a girl…”

The all look over as a pop announces Cadance returning. She looks over at Citrus. “Shining is busy making sure Twilight doesn’t collapse the castle or anything crazy like that. He’s going to be useless for research. Twilight is usually the pony doing the researching, but she’s down for the count. We have no clue why she’s feeling the way she is. She’s been in the castle countless times.” She shakes her head. “So, it’s up to me. But I can’t watch Flurry and research at the same time. Can the herd help by keeping an eye on Flurry while we’re busy?”

As the foal is pushed towards her, Citrus nods as she lights her horn, taking up the hold on Flurry, pulling her over to hug her gently with one foreleg. "Will do."

Cadance offers a smile in thanks, her horn still alight. She glances over, and items float towards Citrus. “Here's her wammie, there's bottles in the fridge if needed, I'll be in the library." With one last smile she winks out leaving the herd in the room. Slowly everyone looks at Tim, everyone except Flurry, who within moments, is whining, looking at where her mother disappeared to.

“Oh, Cayenne." Citrus says in an almost sing song tone, giving her an innocent and friendly smile, "You know, you are pregnant after all, you could use the practice.” She pushes the whimpering foal to the spicy mare.

“Hey, mines still baking in the oven." Cayenne says taking a hoof step back.

“No better time like the present to start,” Citrus says as she lets go the magic. She ducks down to the other mare’s teats. “If she’s hungry, you can get a head start.”

Cayenne stands there, bringing the filly closer and looks down at the squirming filly. Lifting one leg she tilts her head as Flurry starts whimpering louder, tears leaking from her eyes. "Uh, oh, I think she's gonna blow." North Point is prancing back, Silver is nowhere to be seen, though the doors from the throne room are closing slowly on their own. Finally, her gaze settles on Tim. She smiles. “Here ya go, Tim. A stallion needs to be up on caring for foals, right?”

Tim barely gets his horn lit as Flurry floats towards him. Though he doesn’t trust his telekinesis enough to carry the foal, he sits down and the foal is placed in his forelegs. He remembers Cadance’s instruction and tucks her rear legs and cradles her body against his chest. It’s almost like handling a cat. He flattens his ears back, preparing for an impending explosion based on the look on Flurry’s face. Though after holding her, the explosion doesn’t come. He looks over at the stuffed snail and uses his magic to pull it towards him. Flurry ignores it and snuggles into the fur of his chest. “Ummm, girls.”

Citrus comes up, eyeing the bundle in his arms warily. “Twilight’s told us how demanding Flurry can be. If I didn’t see this with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it.” She looks up at Tim. “She likes you.”

He shrugs. “She seemed to like me as a human, Cadance remarked on that.” She looks at the exit to the throne room, then back at Tim. While Flurry seems happy, she’s squirming a bit. Then in a flash of light, the filly teleports to the floor. She stands up, shaking herself. Tim boggles at the foal standing there. “She did mention pony foals can stand and walk fairly quickly. Same as earth horses.”

“So, what do we do? Stay in the throne room? She’s in the library, it could be hours before we see her again.” Citrus huffs. “With the foal here, we can’t have fun with you, show you what that body can do.”

Tim takes a step back. “Oh, no. Not interested, nuh uh.”

North nuzzles his cheek. “Oh, come on. Might be fun.”

Tim sighs heavily. “Please, girls. I barely have any practice as a pony, being a mare would just be too much. We can find some books, or check out the computer setup Twilight was trying to keep a surprise.”

Citrus grins. “She’s horrible at keeping secrets, isn’t she?”

Tim nods, then he eeps softly as his eyes go wide as saucers, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints, and his ears droop.

Citrus looks around. “Okay, you take your eyes off a foal and they disappear. Though most foals can’t teleport. Where’s Flurry?”

Cayenne looks around. “Where did she go? Should be able to hear her hooves. Especially on these crystal floors.”

“Citrus.” Tim says softly, though quite high pitched.

“In a moment, love. Flurry Heart has decided to take a walk, or fly, or teleport. Maybe she’s looking for her mom. We need to find her.” As she speaks, the other two mares of the herd are walking around.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s all that much of a problem.” Tim says, his voice strained.

Citrus’ eyes widen. “Ummm, telling the Alicorn of Love that we lost her daughter is very much a big problem.”

Tim shakes his head vigorously. “I know exactly where she is.”

Cayenne yelps. “What? Where is she.”

In response, Tim lifts a hoof. The alicorn foal has reared up on her hind legs, her forelegs are braced against one of Tim’s hind legs for stability, and her mouth is securely latched on… 

“Oh dear Celestia.” Citrus moans, covering her face and muzzle with her own foreleg.

“What do I do?”

Citrus takes a step forward, ducking her head to look. “Just be patient, don’t make any quick movements. When she doesn’t get anything, she’ll let go.”

Cayenne walks slowly towards Tim. “Ummm, she’s not letting go. And your teats shouldn’t be hanging like that.” She stops, one hoof raised, her mouth an o of shock. “Tim, are you lactating?”

“How the fuck am I supposed to know that?!?” Tim shouts, then he covers his mouth with a hoof, his eyes wide.

Citrus huffs. “Language in front of foals, Tim.”

North leans up against his side. “Okay, let’s get you on your side, it’s far more comfortable for you and the foal to nurse on your side.”

“North. I’m a guy, I’m not supposed to be nursing! Ever! Cayenne, you’re the one with milk tits, you handle this.”

Citrus whirls and gallops towards the door. “Cadance did mention that there was a bottle. I’ll go get it!”

Tim nods, then he shifts to the side, both North and Cayenne’s horns light, assisting to gently bring him down on his side. As he gets comfortable, Flurry snuggles in closer.

Silver moves closer. “Boy, she’s really going to town there, isn’t she?”

Tim glances at the door, apparently the pegasus has returned. “Shut up, Silver.”

He noses closer. “No, I’m serious. What the hell was going through Twilight’s skull when she sneezed?”

Citrus moves over, nuzzling the stallion. “There are real limits to such a transformation spell, even Twilight can’t bypass those limits. Tim is a mare now, and a gender change is a lot of magic, as well as the species change.” She looks at Tim. “He is how he would be if he were a pony before and a gender change was cast on him.” She smiles. “But don’t worry, Tim. If Twilight can’t, we’ll help the Duchess find the right sample so you can be turned back.”

Tim squeaks a bit as the foal bites down. “Please, hurry.” He moans.

“Don’t worry, Tim. Everypony is working as fast as they can.” North says as she walks over and lays down beside him. Gently, she stretches out her neck, lying it on Tim’s side to watch the foal. “At least she isn’t crying and shattering all the windows.”

“There is that.” Citrus says with a nod.

Inhaling deeply, North sighs, then she turns her head as she closes her eyes, snuggling tighter against Tim’s mane.

“Um, North?” He asks, flicking an ear. “Are you okay?”

North lets out a long, contented sigh and a soft, “Mum, hmmmm.”

“North?” Citrus says softly. “What is it?”

“Safe, warm, I smell…” She opens her eyes and lifts her head. Slowly she glances at Citrus before sniffing deeply again. “Comfort…” She flicks her ears. “Home…happiness…” She lowers her head, watching the foal nursing on the human turned pony.

Tim’s eyes widen. He looks at Flurry, then back at North. He’s quite trapped, lying there. Confusion is painted on his face as he yelps. “What are you talking about?”

North slowly curls her body closer to him, wrapping her forelegs around his barrel, lying her head on his withers. “I smell mom.” She says softly as her eyes drift closed.

Cayenne slowly walks over, lowering her head to sniff at Tim.

“Okay, will everypony stop sniffing me?” Tim grumps, scrunching up his muzzle and nose.

Closing her eyes as well, Cayenne gives her head a quick shake, lifting it away from Tim. “You smell almost like my mom. When I was a little filly, I’d snuggle up against her, and she’d brush my mane. It was so comforting.”

Tim looks helplessly at Citrus as Cayenne joins North in snuggling up with him. He looks down, the filly has fallen asleep, only occasionally sucking. Citrus walks slowly forward, her horn lighting and gently picking up the filly. She looks apologetically at Tim before placing her in his forelegs. “Sorry, but if I pull her far enough away to where she can’t feel your presence any more, I’m pretty sure she’ll wake up. Let’s let her keep being peaceful at the moment, okay?”

Tim holds the filly close, then glances up at Citrus. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Citrus lays down next to him, though she’s not snuggling as close as the other two mares. She does sniff the air, however. “Tim. Why do you smell so familiar?”

“How should I know?” He moans. “Did I smell like this before? When the portal turned me into a pony?”

“Not to this degree. You were quite pleasant smelling, but you didn’t have this kind of effect on us.” She surprises him by nuzzling his cheek, following with a lick. She pulls back, smiling and blushing. “Though I could say the difference between how you smelled then and now could easily be chalked up to mare versus stallion smell.”

Tim’s eyebrows draw down as his ears flatten to the sides. “I’ve gotten plenty of smells of you girls, of Silver. I’ve never had anypony that reminded me of my mother.”

She tilts her head. “You don’t smell like our mothers. At least, not exactly. You smell like…” She stops, lowering her head, she gently skuffs at the floor with a forehooft, trying to determine the words. Finally, she brightens, her ears perking as she nods and looks up. “You smell like what we associate with our moms. Comfort, protection, love, happiness, all the positive emotions that us ponies feel with members of our herd that we are closest too.” She smiles. “To make it simple, you smell…safe.”

“Safe? Seriously? What did Twilight do to me? I make everyone think I’m a mothering type?”

She nods. “Yeah. That’s why Flurry likes you, I think.”

“Come on, she liked me as a human. In fact, Duchess Cadance was quite surprised how quickly she took to me, given I’m completely alien to her.

“Well if you were a pony, I’d say it was your special talent.”

Silver chuckles. “Oh, I can see it now, a baby bottle with three stars.”

Tim scrunches up his nose again, releasing an almost a canine growl. “Keep it up and you’ll wish Shining fully took off your jaw.”

Silver notes the two mares snuggled tightly to Tim, both North and Cayenne are breathing deeply and evenly, both have small smiles on their muzzles. Then a the foal in Tim’s forehooves. “Oh, I think I’m getting a cavity.” At Tim’s sour look, he holds out his forehooves in a placating gesture. “It’s all just too sweet.”

Tim shifts his hind legs. “Except for the fact that is feels really uncomfortable back there, Citrus.”

Citrus blinks, looking down before her eyes become very wide. “Well, she did nurse on just one side. The other side is just…full.”

“Full?” Tim’s new feminine voice comes out as a croak. He whisper-shouts at her. “What the fuck do I do about that?”

“Language, Tim. Going to have to watch that around Flurry.” That gets Tim to tighten his hold on the sleeping filly. Citrus tilts her head, thinking. Both her ears flopping off to one side before she perks back up and brightens. “Be right back.” She turns and gallops from the room. 

Tim holds Flurry close to him. Then he looks at Silver. “You keep that thing sheathed, for one, I’m not interested in guys that way.” The stallion wilts a little bit. “And another, I’ve got a foal in my arms, and Cayenne and North are lying next to me.”

Silver sniffs the air. “Well, I’m not trying to put on a display for you.”

“Says the stallion with his wings up.”

Silver starts to retort, then he looks back, indeed, his wings are up and vibrating a bit. He looks back at Tim as he fights to fold his wings at his sides, his face bright red. “Sorry, I’m usually affected by the mares of the herd on a regular basis, but I wish I knew what Twilight was thinking when she sneezed that magic at you. Because you are about the prettiest damned pony that has ever been born.” He glances back at the door Cadance had exited. “Hell, you’d give Duchess Cadance a run for her money. It’s not that you’re hot, it’s more like you’re just very pretty and look welcoming.”

Tim finds his face heating. “Oh, come on, Silver. I’m a guy. I’m not a pretty mare.”

“Dude, you sure do look like a pretty mare right now.” He cocks his head to the side a bit. “I’d say your mane is a lot like Cookie Crumbles, but your face, your body right now, straight out of perfection. I’d think Celestia herself would want to ravage that body of yours.”

Tim flinches. “She’s already shown me the goods, right before heat. I really wouldn’t want even Celestia sniffing back there on me.”

Silver looks up. “Saved by the bell.” The stallion murmurs softly as the sound of galloping hooves reaches both their ears.”

“I’m glad Cadance told us about the milk in the fridge. That means she saves her own milk. So, she has some sterile containers for milk.”

Tim groans. “Ummm, so, I’m guessing you want me to…what?”

Citrus advances, two large glass containers in her magic. “We have to…” She gulps. “Milk you, Tim.”

“Oh no, no, nuh uh, fuck off with that shit. No way, no how, no!”

Citrus looks over at Silver, “Either turn around, or leave the room. This is hard enough for Tim already.”

Silver gets a stubborn look on his face. Tim pipes up. “Silver, do as she’s said.”

“You aren’t a stallion right now, I don’t have to listen to you. Chief stallion of Herd Blush pro tempore! First order of business, ,making a night and a day of it with Citrus!” The mare blushes.

Tim growls, “So help me, Silver. If you don’t do as we ask right the fuck now, when I’m back to myself, I’m going to whip your ass from the Crystal Empire back to Ponyville and then up the fucking mountain into Canterlot.”

Silver takes a step back, his ears flattening to the sides. “Tim, old buddy. Come on…”

“Don’t give me that old buddy shit. You want to enjoy the view, and normally, I agree with enjoying that view. But that’s my plot we are talking about, and I don’t want you having any ideas about it. So, do as Citrus asks, or you will pay the price when I’m back to normal.” Tim stops ranting for a moment, comforting Flurry a little. Then he looks up at Silver. “I know what I’ll do. I’ll ask Twilight to do a gender change on you. Then the herd and I will have fun going at you, like you are wanting to go on me right now.”

“You wouldn’t.” Silver snaps. “Twilight can’t.”

Citrus glances over. “She turned Tim into this by accident. Can you imagine what she can do when she’s serious about something?” She looks at Tim, and impish smile appearing on her face. “I might as her to turn me stallion. Then I’d want first crack at you.” She glances over at Tim. "After Tim of course."

Silver blanches and takes a step back. He lowers his head, his wings low and back. “Sorry Citrus,” Silver murmurs softly before looking at Tim. “Sorry Tim.” He turns around and sits down, his back to them.

Citrus nods her head firmly. “Okay, Tim. I guarantee this is going to feel quite different.”

“Right now?”

She nods. “Right now, Tim. The pressure will keep building, and it will definitely be unhealthy for you. There is a reason two foals at a time is actually the norm for ponies. Keeps both teats drained. But about half the time, it’s just a single foal. So the mom has to be.” She looks at the other two mares lying curled up. “Milked.” She leans closer, pitching her voice to only be heard by him. “Do you want me to move North and Cayenne?”

He shakes his head. “They are comfortable, what do I need to do, spread my legs?”

She nods. “Not too much.”

“What are you going to…” The chime of her magic interrupts him. “Oh, magic, that’s good.” 

She giggles as she works. “This is still quite intimate, Tim. Just hush and let me work.”

Tim keeps looking at Citrus’ face as she sticks the tip of her tongue out the side of her mouth as she concentrates. He tries to ignore what he’s feeling, but before too long, he’s fascinated by the waves of magic pressing against the teat. Though he has a really hard time correlating that feeling with what he’s seeing. It’s not erotic, though she has used similar magic on him in a sexual situation. But it does feel really good, and as she fills up the first container. She deftly moves the second into place. It feels really good, really intimate, but in no way sexual, contrary to its location and the purrs and moans of relief Tim makes.

A loud pop of teleportation announces the return of the Duchess. Citrus ignores her arrival as she focuses on Tim. Though Cadance comes into view. “What in Celestia’s name is going on here?”

Tim looks over at the alicorn of love. “Well, it’s actually a funny story.”

Cadance raises one eyebrow, looking severely at him. He gulps under the scrutiny. “Well, I was holding Flurry, and she was squirming. Then she teleported to the floor. I was talking to Citrus, then she somehow made it between my legs and started nursing on me.” He looks down at Citrus, the second vial is nearly three quarters full. “And well, everypony made me stay quiet and let her finish.”

Cadance covers her face with a hoof before taking a deep breath. “I just got back from talking with Twilight. She’s still sneezing pretty bad, eyes watering, runny nose. We had to have a suppressor put on her horn.  If you see a gazebo with spider-legs running around, would you let the guards know." Citrus can't help but giggle but quickly hides the expression behind an innocent smile. "Though with her strength, I have no idea how long it’ll be before she breaks it."  Cadence went on with a sigh, "I was able to figure out a bit of what she was thinking when she had the outburst that changed you. Possibly. Don’t quote this in any lawsuits. Prior to that we had been talking about foal sitting. She had wanted to spend time with Flurry, but was going Twilinannas because she had so much to do and couldn't fit it into her schedule. I told her not to worry about it, and I should find a nanny to help around the castle, this started her Twilighting hard. That must have been on her mind when it happened. Sorry…” I’d offer you a remedy of some kind, but ever since the duel and my stripping, funds and means have been… limited…”

He shifts as Citrus pulls away. Two full containers held in her magic as she caps them. Cadance leans down and nuzzles Tim. “I’m sorry. I haven’t had any problem keeping Flurry fed so far. But sometimes, when Shining and I are away for a few days, I worry that she might not have enough. So, a mare with a filly of her own would be our desired choice, because the mare with just a single filly would have enough for Flurry as well.”

Tim looks down between his legs. Then back up at her. “How often am I going to have to do this?”

Cadance blushes, looking over at Citrus, who shrugs. “I’m not certain, I have to every three or four hours.” She lights her horn and Flurry floats gently from Tim’s hooves and up to her. The foal squirms in her magic, starting to whine. Cadance brings up the filly’s stuffed snail, and she bats it away, then she reaches out towards Tim. “Flurry, let Tim alone. We can go up to the nursery and play.”

In response the filly lets out a piercing shriek. Then she teleports and lands in Tim’s arms. She folds her forehooves over his foreleg, looking at her mother defiantly. Cadance clicks her tongue in annoyance. “Now, Flurry, it’s time to go. Let’s give the herd some peace.” She lights her horn, her aura covering the foal, who’s own horn lights, with a flash and a loud bang, Cadance’s aura is broken. She looks on in shock as Flurry snuggles into Tim’s chest, snuffling as she buries her face in the fur, whimpering.

Tim stands up, holding onto the filly with a foreleg and walks over to Cadance. “Flurry Heart, go to your mother.” He says sternly. The foal’s only response is to look up at him, tears leaking slowly from both eyes. Her lower lip quivering and sniffling.

“Wow, she’s got a good begging face.” Silver says.

Tim looks from Citrus over to Cadance. “What the fuck do I do now?”

“Language!” Citrus and Cadance say in unison.
> Chapter 41.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They move through the dark tunnels with ease, their eyes almost glowing as sharp claws dig into the hard rock and dirt. Their tunnels now extend for miles, as their powerful forelimbs cleared the way. They are not silent in their movements but little could hear them underground, and few could get to them in the safety of the earth.

With a loud *tink* and scraping sound, the dirt gives way to crystal. Hard and strong, buried deep into the ground. A firm foundation for a spire. White fangs glint in an almost demonic smiles as they begin to work their way through the crystal.

***

He’s gotten pretty good at walking with three limbs rather than four as a pony. For the last day and a half, Flurry Heart has been in his hooves. When free, Cadance has been at his side, helping with daily care for the foal, as well as increasing his abilities when it comes to magic. Though feeding has been a different thing for him to experience. His herd, even Silver, has been amazingly helpful. Citrus has milked him like clockwork, and between his production and what Cadance has been making, supply is no concern. Citrus Blush has been at his side almost constantly as well.

They are walking through the cavernous chambers inside the crystal castle. Cadance is next to Tim, with Citrus on his other side. At his insistence, the others of the herd are spending time outside the castle, spending money, having a good time, one of the main reasons the entire herd went to the Crystal Empire was to be tourists. They turn the corner, and the nature of the crystal of the walls changes, getting Tim to narrow his eyes almost in pain. 

Cadance notices. “Shining and I have both had to bolster the wards here. She’s just so damned powerful.” She ducks her head. “She puts me on my best day to shame, and I’ve been an alicorn longer than her.”

Citrus nods. “Weren’t you a pegasus before you ascended?”

Cadance nods. “I was. And a damn good one. I don’t mean to brag, but turning alicorn only increased my physical talents.’

“How much?”

“I fight Shiny and his best guards for fun. Keeps them sharp so they’ll be ready if anything truly tough ever comes back their way again. They get magic and practice weapons, but I get my wings. With my agility and reach advantages, it hardly seems fair. Still, it’s a shame I’m a magical lightweight. I’m a match for any of you, but any more than just one wizard and I’m outdone. Sunburst even has gotten the better of me a few times… Believe me, it took a lot of training to learn to use this horn.” She crosses her eyes, looking up at her horn. “But alicorns are supposed to be the embodiment of their aspect. Mine is love, hers is magic. I have a lot of strength, more than nearly any unicorn by a fair margin, but she’s on a wholly different level. Shining’s special talent is shields, and without his expertise, she’d have blown holes in the castle no matter what I did.” She frowns and looks at Tim. “As much as I love my sister-in-law, she’s dangerous to Flurry. So, I’ll stay out here with her while you go in.” Her horn lights and the foal is enveloped in magic. Flurry’s eyes go wide when she notices she’s being picked up from Tim’s foreleg hold, but he nuzzles her quickly and she seems to be somewhat willing when Cadance gets a hold on her. She does squirm a little bit, reaching out for the shorter mare, but Cadance offers a quick smile. “Quickly, I’ll keep her distracted.”

Citrus brings her horn close to an outgrowth of crystal, which glows in response, allowing the large door to slide into its pocket, the crystal of the room glowing brightly in response. As they get through the door, it slides quickly closed behind the two unicorns.

“H’lo.” Comes the familiar voice followed by a sniffle.

“Twilight, you need a bath,” Citrus says softly. Tim’s nose wants to recoil from the smells of sweat from the miserable alicorn.

“I took one before we got here,” Twilight says defensively.

Citrus moves closer, putting a fetlock on Twilight’s brow. “I thought this was just allergies, you are burning up!”

That gets a wan smile, she ignores the sweat streaming down her face. “I don’t know what this is.” She sniffles. “I felt fine during our trip, then once I get in the castle, something here is just making me feel absolutely miserable. Ahhh… ahhh…” The others flinch away but the sneeze never completes. She sniffles loudly, using her hooves to pull a tissue from a box and blows her nose. “I’m so sorry, Tim.”

He grabs her, hugging her tightly. “It’s weird, but I’ll be back to myself as soon as you are feeling better, right?”

Twilight holds him tightly, her augmented strength making his ribs crack. “I was just stressing so much, I can’t be around Flurry as much as I should. And Cadance has enough responsibilities that too often Flurry is with guards or with some others, I wanted to help my sister in law. I was going to pay for a full time nanny, hopefully have another filly for Flurry to play with as well as somepony to take care of her.” She sniffles again. Then she pushes Tim away as another explosive sneeze overtakes her. Her horn blows out a beam of energy, which splashes into the wall and is absorbed. Though to Tim’s surprise, the crystal that was impacted shows small cracks.

“How long will the room last?” Citrus asks, looking at the smoking impact point.

Twilight brings Tim closer again, “I don’t know. I don’t have any control about how much energy I’m putting into it, but I’m trying to keep from doing organized spells. I think maybe…a few days?” She lights her horn then huffs and lets it extinguish. “I can’t trust my magic right now even for simple levitation.”

Citrus nods and her magic brings up another tissue, which Twilight honks loudly into, blowing her nose. “Cadance has been trying to think of anything new about the castle since the last time I visited. They’ve done some renovations.” She sniffles again. “But nothing that should affect me like that, whenever the crystal is cut, they use water to keep down the dust. And the cleaning staff is as efficient as ever, so I’m pretty sure not that. And the work they did to make Flurry’s room, and the repairs after she blew holes through the castle walls, none of that work bothered me.” She shakes her head. “I don’t want to be barred from the castle, but I don’t see any way around it.”

“No.” Tim mutters. “We’ll just have to find what is bothering you so much.”

“Can you tell somepony where your samples are? So maybe Cadance can turn Tim back?” Citrus asks.

Twilight snorts, “The spell is rather complex, more than Cadance knows. I can teach her, but it will take time.” She looks up at her horn. “Add in the fact that I really can’t use my magic, so teaching her will have to be with the book and instruction. I’ve had a message sent to Spike. He knows the filing system, he will find the book, and the sample, and he’ll get it here in the next couple of days.” She looks at Tim, her face crumpling. “I’m so sorry, Tim.” 

Tim smiles. “Well, if you have to be miserable. At least I can hold up without too much complaining. You need to get better.” He looks at Citrus. “Why don’t we simply get her out of the castle? It only started when she got in here.”

Twilight shakes her head. “I wish it were that simple. But right now, I’m a danger to everypony. If I sneeze, I could really damage other ponies. You saw how I cracked the rock. Whatever effects of whatever is doing this to me could linger for hours, or even days even if I were removed from the castle, I will not risk other ponies like that.”

“What about a suppressor?” Citrus asks, only to get a vigorous head shake from the princess. 

“The first one lasted maybe an hour. The second one, supposedly bolstered, didn’t even last that long. No, I’d have to teleport to someplace completely away from ponies, or anything I could affect, and then I’d have to wait out whatever it is.” She sniffles. “Add in I think I’ve got some real sickness going on here. I just don’t think it would be safe, for anypony. I can’t teleport, and I’m too disoriented to sfly.”

“Or for you,” Tim murmurs. Getting a look from Twilight, who eventually nods.

Citrus backs away. “Well, maybe in here, you are far enough away from whatever it is, maybe you’ll recover.”

“That’s the hope, Citrus.” She shudders and turns away, another explosive sneeze along with its attendant magical beam splashing the wall. The affected wall seems to shrink under the onslaught. Getting Twilight to shudder. “Please, hurry!”

***

It’s pretty close to the evening when Cayenne, North, and Silver all make it back to the castle. Cadance and Citrus are in the reception hall as the others enter the castle. Citrus moves forward, joining with greeting the other members of her herd. After a few moments, they go to the stairs heading into the Crystal Palace proper.

“Silver. May I speak with you?”

The pegasus stops, looking at his herd as they ascend the stairs. Then he turns back, folding his wings firmly at his sides. “I’d be happy to, Duchess.”

She darts her head forward, nuzzling his cheek, getting a blush and an extension of his wings, which causes her to smile brightly. “I’m glad, would you please walk with me?” She leads him to the same stairs, staying carefully back from the rest as they get into the main corridor leading to the throne room. The herd turns off to another set of stairs, heading up to their quarters. Cadance leads him into the throne room, then her horn lights to open another door, leading to another set of stairs. 

“Are you enjoying your visit to the empire?”

He ruffles his feathers a bit. “Well, except for Twi deciding to turn Tim into a really hot mare, yeah.”

“And my hospitality?”

He frowns. “Duchess, you have gone above and beyond when it comes to accommodating my herd.”

She nudges her shoulder into his. “No need to be so formal, you are mounting my sister-in-law and have crossed swords with my husband. Both of them seem to like you well enough.” She looks over at him. “You know, I’m talking about you, personally, not just the herd.”

He finds himself blushing. “And do you like me?”

She extends her wings and takes to the air. Getting up high in the corridor. He takes to the air himself, following her. “You know, the corridors here were designed high, so the pegasi could move through easier no matter the ground traffic.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, this area, before there was a true Crystal Empire, before Sombra, before me, was where Pegasopolis was. It didn’t move like Cloudsdale does. This is one of many secrets of this place.”

He smirks, “You showing me all the secrets here?”

She looks back at him coyly. “Not all of them, yet.” She leans forward, speeding up. He follows and they streak through the hall. As they land, she laughs happily as she folds her wings.

Silver lands and her laugh is infectious enough to get him laughing too. Sometimes pegasi simply need to fly, to remind themselves that they are the winged ponies that they are. But a thought occurs to him. “Duchess, I’m feeling that you are trying to seduce me.”

She ducks her head a bit. “What if I am?”

He clears his throat. “Well, at least I’m not that stupid, no matter what Cayenne jokes.” He chuckles. “Citrus?”

“I’ve already spoken with her, and with Tim. Both have approved.”

His eyebrows rise. “Duchess…” He clears his throat. “I’m honored. But…”

Any additional words are muffled as the alicorn leans forward and kisses him on the lips. For a long time they stand there. Their lips writhing with each other, their tongues battling for dominance before he pulls away. “Cadance, I want to, I really do.” He looks back. 

“Twilight? Tim?” She says softly.

He nods. “I’m flattered by the offer, Duchess. It would have been nice, though.” Any more musings are interrupted by a passionate kiss from Cadance. They bring their wings into the embrace, both holding the other tightly. Finally they come up for air. “This isn’t some spur of the moment thing? You really like me?”

She licks his cheek before nosing his nose with hers. “Once we get Tim back to himself, and we get Twilight on her hooves and feeling better, I’m going to drag you into by bedchamber and show you how much I appreciate you.”

“And Shining?”

That gets a throaty giggle. “Oh, he knows how much I appreciate him, and he can play too. But for this, I’m going to ravage that body of yours.”

“Duchess, there’s nothing I would like more.”

“What part of me is best?"

Silver pauses, taking a gander all over the princess. "Your legs?"

She stretches out, showing their toned length, sensuous cords that can wrap around a stallion. "Not these things, these poor little stubs, ugly things."

"But they're lovely and so trim." Silver differs, his pupils dilating.

"No, no. Can't be. Tell me, what is so lovely about me?" Cadance flies a slow loop, showcasing herself to him.

"Your butt is toned, not like those doughy earth mare plots."

"Are you calling me threadbare? Do I not look like I can nourish a foal?"

Silver begs, "No, no, no, don’t insult yourself, you're very lovely. The curve of your back leads to your lovely wings, so large and plush with plumage."

"My wings? Those horrible things that get in the way and molt everywhere? Shaggy!"

"But they're lovely, Duchess!"

She floats closer and extends them. "Show me then." Silver kisses her wings, starting at the tip and working towards the join. He catches Cadance's devilish grin and shows a blush. She sighs at his touch, offering herself to him more. Silver makes a happy noise.

“Wings! Wings, wings, wings, wings, wings, wings!” His own pomf out. He kisses Cadance’s great wings greedily. “Wings! Wings! Wings! Real pegasus wings! Sorry to my herdmate, but ascended unicorns just don’t have the right texture, softness, taste, or smell! Wings!” Silver crows, drawing back to kiss Cadance’s wings from tip along the bones, getting heavier and sloppier as he nears the pinion joint and then nears where they meet the body. Upon reaching the body, Silver trails kisses up the smiling Alicorn’s body, neck, face, and ultimately plants a deep one square on her lips, his wings now thrown around her, rubbing feathers together with hers in a soothing rustle.

Cadance sways and giggles, “Okay, my little pegasus, how about we fly to the nest?”

He smiles, then he frowns. “I’d love to, but it doesn’t feel right with Tim transformed and Twilight sneezing gales.”

She nuzzles his cheek. “I’d expect nothing else from you.” She sighs, running her wing deliberately under his chin. “I’m fine with a rain check, Silver. But once your herd is back the way it should. You are going to have that check presented to you post haste, got it?”

He grins. “Deal!”

***

Flurry Heart has actually been a pleasure to take care of. She is demanding, but she knows what she wants, and appreciates getting it. Her whammy is her favorite toy, and losing it is a source of panic for the filly. Fortunately it was only lost once, and found within a matter of minutes. She also likes Tim, and so long as he’s nearby, she’s content. Cadance, over the last couple of days, has mentioned that it’s a good thing she doesn’t get jealous, though she has admitted that Flurry has been focused on Tim a lot more than she would have believed possible.

Cadance is walking with him as they head towards Flurry’s nursery. “Are you sure that you wouldn’t prefer to sleep with your herd?”

Tim smiles tiredly. “Nah, Duchess. They are planning on some amorous time tonight, and as much as I’d like to join in, I don’t have the equipment necessary.”

That gets a laugh from the taller alicorn. “You do know, Tim, sex as a mare is fun too.”

Tim shudders. “I’ve seen, but I have enough on my plate just walking on four legs and going to the bathroom as a mare. I know all kinds of guys would probably become total sexpots if they got turned female.” He sighs. “I’m not one of them. I just want to ignore that part of this anatomy.” He brings Flurry up and nuzzles the tired filly quickly. “And I like taking care of Flurry. She’s super sweet.” The alicorn’s horn lights to open the door to Flurry’s nursery.

That’s something a mother always likes to hear. “Maybe after you are back to yourself, I could still hire you to take care of her.”

He places the small form in her crib, lighting his horn to pull her covers over her. Her whammy is placed in her forehooves, where she snuggles into the stuffed snail and sighs happily. “Duchess…”

“Tim, you can call me by my name, Cadance is just fine. Considering what’s happened with our families.”

He looks at her. “Okay, Cadance… I don’t think she’ll be as happy with me as a human. Twilight said she’s looking for a mare to be a full time nanny for Flurry. Another pony would likely be the best for her. Given that I can’t feed her as easily.” He looks between his forelegs. “I think I’d better have Citrus take care of that before bed.”

“I could do that, if it would be okay with you. I’m experienced with taking care of it myself.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose, Citrus is good at it.”

“It’s not an imposition. I’ve got to do it for myself anyway. I promise…” She grins. “No funny business.”

Tim looks at her for a long moment, before nodding. “Okay, it does get rather uncomfortable when that area gets full. And Citrus and the rest are probably already busy anyway.”

That gets a beaming smile. “See, it works out. Then we can get some sleep.”

As they head from the room, Cadance puts a wing over the human turned pony. “Don’t worry, Tim. You’ll be back to yourself in a few days.”

***

Their claws are really good for digging through the ground, however, through the crystal of the Palace it’s a bit harder for them to make headway. Diamond hard claws can make it through the structure of the building, if slowly. The unusual shape means they have taken a few days to make their way through the internal structure without being detected. 

“Is right room?”

That gets the speaker cuffed hard and shushed. The three invaders look at each other in the wan light that filters through the crystalline structure of the Crystal Palace. Days of work all culminating in this. As they’ve been tunneling slowly through the structure of the building. They’ve listened to the patterns of the guards, of those that live and work in this enormous castle. It’s late at night now, the perfect time to take their target and get away. They can demand many gems, much gold, for the alicorn filly. Enough to make the time involved in getting through the castle be worth it and then some.

“Hurry, get the little pony.” The leader says to the one digging.

“I know!” They are close. In moments the digging has produced the desired results, they’ve made it through the wall and turned to make a hole to exit the thick crystal of the wall. The creatures wiggle through the hole they’ve made. The three of them dash towards the crib. Only to discover it’s empty.

“Where is pony?” The leader whispers.  

A soft snore gets their attention, on a spare bed a pink unicorn is sleeping, with the filly curled up in her forelegs, sucking on her hoof. The creatures dash over to her, in their haste the click of their claws on the floor jolt Flurry out of her sleep. Opening her eyes, she cries out in fear at the shapes moving up.    

Tim opens his eyes to look at the foal before the shadow draws his attention.  Looking up he sees the large form, dark, with glowing eyes reaching for flurry, its teeth bared as its scent fills Tim’s nose, leading to a very feminine screech of fear. With an almost primal whinny, he stands up on the bed, rearing around and planting his forehooves on each side of Flurry Heart. A massive double rear hoof buck that even Applejack would be impressed by knocks the largest creature back. 

He turns his head, eyes narrowed and ears flat against his head. His horn flashes to light and the second one is picked up in his magical field.  A quick snap of his head and the form is thrown at the wall, slamming into it with a sickening crack, weather the sound came from the creature of the wall itself doesn’t seem to matter. The third, seeing how easily the other two have been dispatched, runs for the hole in the wall. Tim snorts, lowering himself protectively over the foal as the sounds of the creature retreating reach his ears. 

In a matter of moments, dirt comes up and fills in the hole. He closes his eyes and flinches as the light snaps on. One of the royal guards is standing there, a look of shock on her face. Another guard crashes into the room as the first turns and vanishes.  Tim stands, body low over the foal blinking, as he tries to get his sight back.  The guard backpedals to safety at the edge of the door.  “Miss, its ok, I’m a guard.”    

Only a few minutes pass by before Cadance and Shining Armor teleport into the nursery.  “Tim, what happened?” Shining Armor asks as he advances on Tim, only to throw up a barrier shield as he sees Tim’s horn glow bright.  

Cadance lowers herself a bit, sitting on the floor, “Tim, its okay, you and Flurry are safe now. Relax.”

“Cadance?”  Tim ask’s almost timidly as his ears slowly come up, looking down at Flurry, he sits back down on the bed starting to shiver.  “It’s okay Tim, I’m coming over.” Slowly, Cadance moves up to Tim and sits on the floor at the edge of the bed.  “What…  What happened?”  

He shakes his head. “I don’t know. I woke up to something in the nursery with me. Something big and dark, it smelt… bad.”  He looks down. “I don’t know, just did what felt right.”  

Moving up onto the bed beside him, she wraps a wing around him to hug him tightly, “Oh, you brave and wonderful human.” Her physical strength is pretty close to Twilights as she squeezes him hard in her hug. 

Shining Armor drops his shield as he tilts his head, almost meekly asking, “is it safe?” 

A nod from Cadence is all the assurance he needs before he joins in the hug, holding the human turned mare tightly as well. 

“Sir!” One of the guardsmares comes up. “It looks like Diamond Dogs.” She gestures to the wall, shards of crystal along with soil are plugging the hole in the wall. “The rest made their escape.”  Moving her wing to block Tim’s line of sight, Cadance hugs both Tim and Flurry protectively in her wings.  She looks at her husband, giving him a single nod.  Shining Armor moves away, and points to the guardsmare before he lights his horn, lifting a lifeless body.

Nodding, the guardsmare follows suit and they both exit the room. A few moments has the rest of Tim’s herd with the exception of Twilight coming in. Quite quickly he’s mobbed with a mass of mares, all hugging him tightly as Cadance picks up her filly, who merely yawns and giggles before snuggling in to fall asleep again.  

“Oh, my brave stallion.” Citrus coos in his ear.

“Oh, Tim. You are going to be a great dad when Cayenne drops her foal.” North says, nuzzling him with her forelegs around him in a tight hug.

“Okay, I’m okay.” Tim says, though the mares don’t really move. He looks over at Cadance, who stands there with a soft smile on her face. 

More guards pour into the nursery as Citrus guides the herd from the room. Cadance and Shining Armor follow, with Flurry in their grasp. The filly is going to complete the night between her parents.

***

North Point is walking slowly from the observatory at the very top of the Crystal Castle. Originally, it was where Sombra had hidden the Crystal Heart during his reign. It’s absurdly early in the morning, everypony is sleeping, Tim is with his herd at the moment, since that attack by Diamond Dogs the night before, Flurry has been sleeping with her mom and dad. Twilight, on the other hoof, is still in her isolation. Cayenne has spent a night with her, so has North. Just to make sure the purple alicorn has somepony to be near in her sleep.

She turns a corner, and watches as a buttery cream colored mare working a broom. She picks up the dust pan and dumps it into a small cart.

“Good morning,” North says softly.

The mare whirls around, her forelegs spread wide, her eyes flicking around. After a moment she relaxes. “Oh, didn’t see ya there. For a moment I thought those horrible Diamond Dogs were back.” She tosses the broom into the cart and shrugs into the harness. 

“Mind if I walk with you? Staying with another pony sounds good to me after last night.”

The mare nods. Pulling the cart through the hall. “I’m Fleur de Verre.”

North’s eyes flick back and forth. “I know some Prench. The Glass Flower, right?”

“Exactly!” 

She glances at the cart, then at the pony pulling. “I’m North Point. You aren’t a royal guard, right?”

She nods. “No, I actually am here at Princess Luna’s request. I don’t know if you know, Princess Luna decorates the halls of Canterlot Castle with lavender to help the ponies sleep. She suggested I do that. But getting lavender flowers up here in the Empire is actually quite hard. So, I found a local flower that I can get a consistent supply of, which also helps ponies sleep.” She gestures into the cart, which is divided in two sections, withered crystalline roses in one side, fresh ones in the other.

“Oh, they’re pretty!” North exclaims. 

“Yeah, they aren’t just beautiful flowers, their scent is calming and restful for ponies. I’ve been doing this for the last three months or so.”

“Well, I hope the ponies here appreciate your hard work.” 

That gets a smile from the cream colored mare. “Thanks, North. I hope they do too. Princess…no…Duchess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor both seem to like my contribution to their castle. I’m always happy to help.”

They get to one of the many doors along the interior of the castle. “Was nice to meet you, Fleur.”

As North lights her horn to open the door, the other mare smiles brightly. “It was my pleasure to meet you, North.”

North walks inside the room, then after a few moments, she stops, her eyes going wide. She turns and gallops out the door, catching quickly up with the crystal pony mare. She skids to a stop. “May I have one of those flowers?”

Fleur nods, confusion on her face. North thanks her quickly before darting off, a flower suspended in her magic. North dashes through the castle, ending up at the reinforced door for the warded room. Hurriedly she touches her lit horn to the outcropping of crystal, inducing the door to slide back. She stops for a moment, Twilight Sparkler is huddled in multiple sets of blankets on the soft bed. 

“Twilight,” North whispers. The alicorn doesn’t even twitch, North reaches out a hoof and nudges her herd mate. “Twilight, wake up.”

“Huh, wha?” 

She nudges Twilight again, a bit harder. “Please, wake up, love.”

Twilight’s purple eyes slowly open, she blinks a few times before focusing on North standing before her. “What? What’s going on? Another Diamond Dog attack?”

“Oh no, not that. I need to know something.”

“Okay, what?”

“Before this trip, when was the last time you were here?”

Twilight narrows her eyes trying to fight of lingering sleep. “Umm, I think it was…five months ago? I’d have to check my calendar, but I know it was before our heat, I think it was just before I came to the herd.”

North smiles. “I think I’ve found the problem.” Her magic brings the flower forward, quickly explaining who she met and what she discovered. Twilight leans forward and sniffs the flower, getting an immediate reaction. North snatches the flower back as Twilight sneezes once, twice, then a third time, blasting the wall each time. North frowns at the wall, which is certainly showing damage from her unintentional onslaughts. “Yeah. I’ll get the herd and the Duchess.” She turns and vanishes from the room.

Twilight throws off the covers, then notices she’s more than a little cold. She brings the covers back and covers herself tightly, only her muzzle exposed as her herd bursts into her little cell, along with Cadance and Shining Armor. North takes a moment to run through everything she’s discovered, Shining Armor has to make a shield once again as Twilight is exposed to the ice rose in front of them.

Cadance steps forward. “Ice roses, I’ll have to do some research, but this is primarily an allergic reaction for you, Twilight.” She blushes. “I know a way to fix it, but it would take weeks, and…” She clears her throat. “Would be kind of embarrassing.”

Citrus looks at Cadance. “What are you talking about?”

“We all have been exposed to this, but Twilight is the only one who’s shown an actual allergy to it. But the rest of us are immune. We have to get that immunity into her.” She shifts her hind legs a bit uncomfortably.

Citrus frowns. “We have antigens, right?” Cadance nods. “Okay, I doubt we can do a transfusion, we’d have to be the same blood type. So, we test for that?”

Cadance nods. “Blood is possible, but blood chemistry between ponies is rather different. We’d have to match for type, for quite a few factors. And her being an alicorn would mean that either Celestia, Luna, or myself would have to be tested to match for her. And it’s quite possible that we wouldn’t be close enough. But, luckily, there’s another way.”

Citrus looks between Cadance and Twilight, then she frowns. “If it’s not blood, then it’s…” She looks at Tim, so does Cadance.

“What?” He takes a couple of steps back, lifting a hoof in surprise at their scrutiny.

“Mother’s milk. It’s how we help our foals build up their immune system.”

“Oh no, no, no, no, no.” Tim backs into the wall, looking everywhere.

Cadance gestures to the walls of the room. “Look around you, Tim. There’s not much more time before Twilight breaks this room. We will work to make one stronger, but this is about the limit of what’s possible.”

Tim’s eyes are wild. “Wait a moment, don’t we have saved milk, it’s kept cold, wouldn’t that work?”

Twilight shakes her head. “The cold would lessen the effectiveness of the antigens. It will work, but be a lot slower. The best source is…” She blushes brightly. “Directly from the source.”

Tim gulps. “Oh fuck!”
> Chapter 42.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim gulps. “Fr…From…From the source?” He looks down between his forelegs. It’s been a couple of hours since Citrus had milked him last, and Flurry had been feeding from Cadance most of the day. He’s feeling the pressure at the moment. He looks at Twilight’s bright red face, then over at the herd.

Citrus comes up, putting a hoof on his withers. “Tim, we won’t force you. I mean, if you want, you can have me express you into a jar, then have her drink it immediately.” She looks over at Twilight, then at Tim. “But I must say one thing here. You’ve had Flurry nurse directly from you. It’s not much different than having Flurry than having Twilight. I know she’s bigger.” She clears her throat. “But it is easier this way.”

Tim looks from Citrus to Twilight and back. His ears flicking back and forth furiously. Then he chuckles. “Well, I’ve done enough suckling at her teats, haven’t I?” Then his ears fall. “But I didn’t get anything for it, just the fact that I was giving her pleasure.” He sighs. “W..wh…when should I start?”

Cadance perks up. “The sooner the better, within two or three feedings, her immune system should be bolstered enough to lessen her allergic reaction, perhaps after a few times should be enough to suppress the magic reflex part of the allergy. So she can get out of here.” She gathers up the rest of the herd. “I’m going to do some searching, see if I can find these ice roses, see if there’s a counter to them somewhere. You never know, she might be able to join you in looking for the cure.” In moments, it’s just Tim and Twilight in the room.

Tim glances around frantically. “I know how it is for Citrus to do this for me. And I’ve nursed Flurry. Those are words I’ve never expected to have come out of my mouth.”

Twilight sneezes again, the beam heading up to the ceiling of the room, leaving a serious scorch mark and fractures in the crystal. “I’m sorry, Tim.”

He smiles. “I’ve been thinking of new ways to sex you up, you beautiful mare.” 

That gets a renewed blush from the purple alicorn. “Though not in a million years did you expect for me to suckle on your teats, right?”

He shakes his head. “You know, as awkward as this is, and it’s very awkward. I’m glad I can help you.” He looks around. “How do you want to do this?”

Tim blanches, taking a step or two back. Then he stops, sitting down. He’s quite aware of his different anatomy with his nethers and his teats touching the cold floor. Finally, he hops up on the bed. “I think it would be best if I laid on my side, like how I do with Flurry.” He stops, looking down. “She’s too short to do it easily while standing, and you are a bit taller than me, so that would be awkward.” He flops down on his side, lifting a hind leg as Twilight hops up on the bed herself. She scrunches her nose a bit.

Tim notices and flinches back, covering his teats, “Oh, what’s wrong?”

She flinches a bit. “Oh, no, trying not to sneeze.” She glances around. “I’m glad they got that Celestia forsaken plant out of the room, but I can still feel its effects.” She shakes her head before sneezing, the beam from her horn splashing into the back wall. She sniffles. “I’m trying to spread out the effect when I sneeze. If I hit the same place every time, I would have drilled a hole through the wall by now.” She sniffles again. Then leans forward a bit, using a hoof to spread his legs.

Tim, for his part, leans back, looking away as he can feel her hot breath on his teats. She latches on and starts to suckle, getting his eyes to go wide. She gets into a rhythm fairly quickly. And before too long, he’s lifted his head, watching her as she feeds from him. He tries to ignore the pleasurable sensations of what Twilight is doing, but quickly he finds himself panting, it feels damned good, and he watches the taut skin slacken as she rapidly drains one side. She then moves to the other teat, suckling strongly, and in a matter of minutes, he’s completely drained. Twilight pulls away from him, licking her lips. “Wow, Tim.”

“What?”

She flips over, bringing her head up to his, she wraps her forelegs around him, then her wings and holds him tightly. “If I had known you’d taste this good, I’d have done this sooner. Any chance you can stay a mare, please?” His eyes go wide as she kisses him, her mouth opening and her tongue invading his mouth. He melts into the kiss, only to have her tighten her hold on him as she pulls away and lets loose another explosive sneeze, he can hear the beam and the crack of its impact on the wall, but she quickly relaxes and resumes the kiss. For a long moment, they simply enjoy the taste and touch of each other. Finally she pulls away from the kiss, nuzzling her face into his chest. “Wow, mare you is so soft it’s unbelievable. Tim?”

“Mhmm?” He was pretty close to sleep. But her calling his name jolts some energy into his body, he looks down at the alicorn in his legs.

“Thank you. I know it’s very weird for you to have me do this.” She sniffles. “And it’s really weird for me to do this with you. I mean, I’ve suckled on all the mares of the herd, but that was while having sex. I don’t remember actually nursing. It’s twisting my head a bit, but if it helps me, keeps me from being a danger to everypony around me, I’m going to have to just mare up and do it. Are you okay with that?”

He looks at Twilight for a long moment, before bringing her closer and holds her tightly. “Twilight. That was the single oddest thing I’ve ever done. And the trouble is, I’m incredibly turned on, too.”

“Well, we could call Silver, or have you head over to our room and…”

“Oh, fuck no.” Tim shudders.

“Why not? You’ve got mare parts. Might as well give them a try.”

He shakes his head emphatically. “I don’t want to, Twilight. I’ve seen his package, I don’t want it in me. I’m not into that.”

“But…”

“No, Twilight. Please.”

She sighs. “You don’t know what you are missing.” She lays there for a moment, thinking. She brightens. “Well, you did say you were turned on, there’s things mares can do…” She stops, her face scrunching, she turns her head to the side and lets out another sneeze. This time, the beam causes the tinkling of shards of crystal hitting the floor. She reaches over and grabs a tissue, blowing her nose. She inspects the tissue for a moment. Then looks up at him while dropping it to the floor. “You know, perhaps Citrus or the rest of the mares of the herd should. I could hurt you unintentionally.” She looks down. “And I’d never be able to forgive myself if I did that.”

Something in her voice has him looking down at her. “Twilight, are you still blaming yourself for turning me into a mare?”

She shudders in his grasp before nodding. Getting him to hold her tightly. “Oh, Twilight. I’m not injured. And it’s kinda fun being a pony. I can walk among the other ponies around the Empire without having them shrink away from me. I’ll admit, I prefer my usual self. But this isn’t bad.” He shifts his hind legs a bit. “Though in the future, if you’ve got to turn me into a pony, let me be a stallion, please?”

She nods, tears leaking from her face. “Okay, Tim.”

***

Tim is heading towards the herd’s room. Just as he gets a hoof on the door the sound of rushing hooves stops him in his tracks. He turns as Cadance comes into view, a book is suspended in her magic, and a smile is on her face. She skids to a stop. “How’d it go?” His blush seems to be an answer, getting her to smile brightly. She holds up the book. “I think I’ve got the answer here. There does seem to be an allergic reaction to ice roses. But it’s very rare, Princess Celestia is the only other one known to be allergic. But a cure for it was found.”  She flips open the book, the pages blurring as she gets to the right part. “Evidently nearly fifteen hundred years ago, the flowers grew in abundance around the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia visited and within hours of arriving, she was in much the condition that Twilight was in.” She stops, tapping her chin in thoughts. “I wonder if it’s something to do when an alicorn is raised from a unicorn. I haven’t had that problem. And the crystal ponies would have to be immune.”

She continues reading. “Okay, the cure.” She clears her throat.

“The cure you seek for the crystal rose,
A quandary for unicorns this did pose.
While over time some young ilk,
Did find a cure in their mare’s milk.
But for those so stricken and magic ary,
A cure was found in a dragon’s cry.
Deep in the ice did a sky blue gem,
Ground into a powder they did blend.
Add to this the water of fire,
And stir three times with a heart’s desire.”

She snaps the book closed. “Who wrote this? Zecora?”

Tim frowns. “Pardon?”

She shakes her head. “Nevermind. Spike is getting on the train tonight, I’ll send him a message. Since somepony he knows quite well will be able to help with getting the dragon’s tear jewel.”

“Dragon’s Tear?”

She nods. “It’s a blue gem, tear drop in shape. They are very pretty, but quite rare. I know of a few ponies that can find gems rather easily. Twilight is one of them, but she’s not good with magic while like this. And a couple of her friends in Ponyville can help. If she can get on the train with Spike, they’ll be in fairly quickly.”

“And I can keep helping Twilight myself.”

Cadance nods and smiles. “Thank you for doing this. Flurry isn’t going to be happy about such developments. But she’ll have to adjust.” She leans forward, wrapping her foreleg around the human turned pony, adding in her wings quickly. After she pulls away, she leans down. “The guards have fully filled in the tunnel those nasty creatures dug in the castle, and we’ve added wards to prevent any more encroachment like that. It’s safe if you want to hold Flurry in her sleep again.”

Tim looks at the door to his room, then at the alicorn. “Perhaps another night. I want to spend time with my herd.”

She nods. “Perfectly understandable. You’ve had some time to get used to the body, gonna let Silver have a go?”

Tim flinches back. “Why does everyone assume that the moment I get girl parts, I want to be mounted?” He shakes his head. “No, Duchess, I simply want to hold them, and be held.”

She taps the side of his head with a wing. “Don’t knock it til you try it, Tim. As evidenced in your milk production, that body is fully functional. And while you might find the idea of being mounted and penetrated to be rather scary, I’m certain Silver will be gentle and loving.”

He ends her words with a hard hoof on the floor. “No, not interested.”

She shrugs her wings. “Okay, but remember my words. Hopefully soon we’ll get Twilight all fixed up, or she’ll have taught me the weave to make you back to normal, and you can go back to banging like before.”

“Cadance, I do appreciate what you are saying, but our herd is far more than just sex.”

She nods. “I know that, Tim. But bedroom activities are just as important as everything else.” She stops, her face heating. “You know, I think I’m a little lacking in that department, perhaps that’s why my mind is so in the gutter.” 

“Sorry, I can’t imagine our visit has been conducive to that…”

She offers a sheepish smile. “I need to go find my husband. Let him know that Flurry will be in her nursery tonight. And let him nibble…” She clears her throat. “Good night, Tim.” She moves off, her tail flagging, to where Tim has trouble avoiding seeing her… He clears his own throat before opening the door. That mare is physical perfection, even the quick view he had has renewed his ardor from earlier.

**

“Citrus,” Tim calls out, moving into their large apartment. The others of his herd, minus Twilight, are all spread throughout the sitting room. He moves over and whispers in Citrus’s ear. She grins.

They move into the bedroom, Citrus taking a moment to close the door firmly. She turns to him. “Okay, you said you are horny.” She smiles brightly before he moves in and kisses her firmly.

“I want to ravish your body,” he moans out, bringing her closer. “I may not have the equipment right now, but I do know how to please a mare.” He lights his horn, picking her up and depositing her on the bed on her back. He crawls up and kisses her more. Enjoying the taste of her, he nuzzles her neck, following up with a lick, moving slowly down her body. He quickly finds he likes having a tongue more than double the length it was as a human. He writhes it slowly around one of her teats, getting the mewling pants from his mare that he always loves to hear. He feels her wink under his ministrations, and he laps his tongue around her clit, getting her breathing to stutter. He grins as he dives down into her.

He can feel his own tail thrashing in pleasure. He wants to make his mare cum loud enough to have the entire herd hear. Then a tongue runs along his own dripping mareness. Getting a loud scream from him. He flips off the bed onto the floor, panting. “Silver!” 

North is sitting there, licking her lips. She smiles at him. “Being ridden unconscious by Cayenne as we speak.” Citrus is still lying there, panting. North lights her horn, and Citrus groans in pleasure as North looks at him. “I know you don’t want Silver to mount you, but you didn’t say no to me.”

“Oh, please, Tim…” Citrus moans. 

North smiles. “Silver has been following your rules. Which means she’s been not getting mounted. She wants your attention, love.” She pats the bed. “You give your lead mare attention and I’ll give you attention. You need some stress relief too, right?”

He takes a moment to think, well, it’s not Silver mounting him. Finally he nods. “Okay, but nothing inserted.”

North’s grin turns predatory. “No promises there, love. I’m going to make your knees weak, and I promise this, you will love what I do.”

Citrus seems to have come back to herself. She turns her head to look at him. “Tim, you can trust North in this.” She wiggles a little bit. “Now, please, come back and show me the love you were wanting to.”

Tim nods slowly before hopping back up on the bed. North moves a bit away so he can resume what he was doing, his rear in the air as he dives back down into Citrus’ folds. He runs his tongue gently along her lips, and in moments she’s panting. North starts in on him. He gasps as her tongue parts his lips and finds his clit. For a moment, he forgets everything as she lovingly sucks on his clit, the feeling of him winking nearly gets his knees to buckle. His vision blurs as he tries to focus on Citrus. He does the same to Citrus, sucking gently on her clit, enjoying the sound and feel of her breathing becoming stuttered again. Then he sucks hard on her clit, her hind legs clamp down on his head drawing him closer as she cums for the first time. He rides out her orgasm as North does the same to him. His own breathing stops as an orgasm washes over him, he tightens his grip on Citrus as pleasure radiates from his clit all the way through his body. As the orgasm leaves, he’s barely holding on.

“Holy shit! That was intense!”

Citrus lifts her head, smiling at him. “You don’t know the half of it, love. You know that thing where you or Silver is fucking me while Twilight’s got magic on my nub? Now that’ll make you boil over til you see lights.”

North moans softly as she runs her tongue along his lips. He winks hard in response, getting quick licks along his clit from the other mare, eliciting multiple gasps from him as he dives back into Citrus’s nearly burning hot marehood. Though what North is doing back there is exceedingly distracting. It’s not very long before Citrus is moving away, helping North put him on his back, his rear legs spread lewdly. North settles between his legs as Citrus moves to kiss him. After what seems like forever, she breaks away and moves her mouth next to an ear. “Focus on how it feels, love.”

He closes his eyes as Citrus takes an ear into her mouth and bites down gently at first. North has her forelegs around his rump, trapping his tail underneath her chest. He gasps as she parts his lips with her tongue, just gently teasing the entrance, and lighting a fire in his skull. He moans loudly, and doesn’t see the smile both mares share. He nearly comes off the bed as her tongue gently probes inside, finding that special spot and getting a guttural groan from him. “Oh fuck.” He whimpers as another orgasm overtakes him, having his body vibrate on the bed. When he finally relaxes, he knows there’s no chance of him moving any time soon. Every muscle feels like water. He’s panting like he’s run ten miles at a gallop.

North moves closer, trapping his lips in a kiss. Their tongues battle before North lays her body next to his, Citrus on his other side. “See, you taste pretty good, you know that?”

Tim smacks his lips. “Okay, I’ll concede this. There are some really good parts to being a mare.”

Citrus squeezes him tightly. “You know, Silver could…”

“No, Citrus. No.”

She laughs. “I’m just teasing you. No pressure from us.”

He gulps and snakes his forelegs around the other two mares. “That was amazing.”

North giggles. “That was only the start.”

His eyes widen. “What?”

North grins, kissing him, then licking his nose. “Remember, you don’t have to worry about recharging like you did as a stallion. I can have you howling all night.”

He looks over at North. “Huh?”

Citrus bits his ear, much harder this time. North licks his cheek. “Oh, Tim. We are just starting. You are going to find out some of the best parts of being a mare tonight. It’s going to be a long night, and you aren’t going to sleep all that much.”

North hugs him tightly. “Now, for my next trick, I will make your sexual tension, disappear!”


Spike scampers along the paved surface of one of the main roads in the Crystal Empire. Next to him a mare walks sedately. The message from Duchess Cadance had asked him to bring somepony who’s very good at finding gems. His first choice was unavailable. But the pony with him is exceptional with rocks in her own right. He leads her into the castle, and they make it into the throne room. He bows before the Duchess.

“Thank you for coming so quickly, Spike,” she says formally.”

“It took a couple of days to find everything I was asked to, my Lady.”

“You have the sample?”

He nods, reaching into his bag and pulling out a small container. He shakes it a bit, showing a few dark hairs, then he pulls out a book. “Once Twilight is able to teach you the spell, you’ll be able to turn Tim back into a human.” He look down. “Would it be possible to…” He looks up, his determination firming. “To see Twilight. I miss her.”

Cadance smiles. “Of course, the last couple of days she’s been getting an alternate way to address the allergy she’s been suffering from. She should be able to be visited safely.” She looks at the pony standing next to him. “And who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”

Spike gestures. “Duchess Mi Amore Cadenza, this is Maude Pie. She’s here to help you find the dragon’s tear gem.”

Cadance frowns. “I thought…”

Spike cuts her off. “She’s out of town, Manehattan, I believe, she’s working on a new fall line, and is very busy. She does send her regards, Duchess.”

That gets a beaming smile from Cadance. “Well, if Maude can help find the gem, this will make Twilight’s life so much easier.” She comes forward. “If you would follow me.” Spike and Maude follow the Duchess through the castle. She quickly opens the room for Spike to visit Twilight before turning to the gray mare. “So, have you heard of the dragon’s tear gem?”

“I have.”

Cadance clops her forehooves together. “Oh, good! I hope it’s not too far away.”

Maude tilts her head to the side slightly. “The deposit I’ve heard of is north of here, in the mountains between here and Yakyakistan.” She turns, then looks back at Cadance. “Am I going by myself to retrieve it?”

“Oh, no! Shining Armor is sending a half dozen guards, and some of Twilight’s herd is going to join you.”

Maud nods. “It’s not the most hospitable of places, Duchess.”

Cadance nods. “Quite understandable.” She stops, “When would you like to leave?”

“The sooner, the better, Duchess.”

“That’s fine, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She trots off. Maude sits down to wait.

As she’s waiting, Spike walks into the throne room, his head low.

Maud looks over at him. “How is Twilight Sparkle?”

He gives a great big sigh. “She’s feeling a little better. She wouldn’t tell me what they are doing to help fix her, only to say that it will take weeks for it to work fully. That’s why the dragon’s tear is necessary.”

“Mother’s milk.” 

Spike frowns. “What?”

Maude looks at him. “The reason they need the dragon’s tear is an allergy that only happens to alicorns that were rasied from unicorns. Mother’s milk is the only other remedy. Though she is wrong, it can lessen the symptoms, but it’s unfortunately not curative, since it’s a magical malady, mother’s milk can’t fully fix it.”

Spike frowns. “So, she’s having to drink mother’s milk? Can we just buy it? Get her home to Ponyville?”

Maude almost smiles. “Mother’s milk is milk from a mother.”

The dragon’s eyes go wide. “Cadance is feeding Twilight?”

“No, she isn’t,” comes a feminine voice neither recognizes. A pink unicorn is standing at the door. “I am.” Cadance walks in behind the mare, along with some other ponies.

Spike looks at the pony, noting the blank flank. “Who are you?”

The mare lowers her head. “It’s me, Spike. Tim.”

“WHAT?!” Spike shouts, rushing over to Tim. “I was told you were turned into a pony, they didn’t say anything about turning you into a mare!”

Tim chuckles. “I didn’t want it broadcast too loudly. But yeah.”

Spike’s eyes go wide, “What do you mean you are feeding her.” Then he stops, putting his claws over his mouth. “Oh, wait, you are?” His eyes dart to look at her flank. “You are making milk?” He tries to whisper.

Tim’s face reddens and he takes a step back.

“And he’s doing a wonderful job, Spike. He’s been helping Flurry and now Twilight. So no joking and there’s a fire ruby in it for you.”

Spike nods. “Of course, no jokes.” Then he rushes over to Tim, hugging him tightly. “Thank you for helping Twilight.”

Cadance nuzzles the dragon before turning to Maude. She says, “This is Silver, he’s one of the stallions of Twilight’s herd. And this is Citrus Blush, Twilight’s lead mare.”

Maude doesn’t even shift. “A pleasure.”

Silver looks back at Cadance, then over at Spike, lifting up a hoof for a hoof bump from the dragon. Spike giggles a bit before Maude heads towards the door. Silver and Citrus walking with Spike and the gray mare. Citrus looks at him before exiting, giving him a wink and a smile. He smiles back as the door shuts. He sighs and glances between his forelegs. “Well, it looks like it’s time for a feeding.”

Cadance smiles brightly at him. “Yeah, me too.”
> Chapter 43.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is a very peculiar procession that makes their way through the Crystal Empire back to the castle in the city center. The group slowly makes their way up the stairs and into the throne room. Maud Pie walks at the lead, her cold expressionless face fixed in form as she is the first to enter the throne room.

“Oh, you are back so quickly?” Cadance starts. “How did it go?”

Not stopping, Maud turns to look at Cadence and states simply, “Educational. We need to study more.”

“Study more?” Cadence asks then her head slowly turns towards the door.

Another pony walks in, one of the Royal guards sent with Maud and Tim’s herd. She’s walking herky jerky, like she’s been electrocuted, her mane and tail is puffed and frazzled. A few items are stuck to her fur from a static charge. A second mare steps up next to her, mane and tail charred. Another guardsmare is floating in within Citrus’ magical field. The guardsmare is trembling as she’d curled into a ball, eyes closed tight.

“What,” Cadance leaps down. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Citrus says softly, shuddering.

“The horror! The horror!” The guardsmare moans from her ball.

Another guardsmare is walking like she’s drunk, barely able to keep on four legs. “Mommy, is that you, mommy?”
Cadance looks around, alarm growing on her face. Shining Armor walks through the door grumbling then turns quickly, “OK! The next pony that mentions the unholy offspring of a winterchilla and a turvydirvy will spend a month cleaning bathrooms.” He moves over and nuzzles his wife for a moment before huffing. “We are going to head back out. We just need a few things before we go, however.” He nods to Maude, who gallops off.

“Shiny, what happened?” Cadance asks.

The big white stallion takes a deep breath. “It’s a lot to explain. When we get back with the gemstone, I will fill you in on all the details. As it is, I’m going to have to take a few more guards with me. Maud mentioned she would have liked Pinkie Pie with us for this. But she’s back in Ponyville, and we don’t have time to wait for her.”

Maud reappears, walking in with a large bag on her back, “I found Pinkie’s stash, she is always so well prepared.” She looks over at the Duchess. “I knew she had a Cadance emergency party stash in the castle. It had most of what we needed. Though I directed a guard to get the few remaining items.”

Cadance frowns, mouthing the words that Maud just said with a quizzical look on her face. Shining nods at Maud as they head towards the door. Cadance glances at the items in the bag strapped to the mare’s side and back. “Rope, a rubber chicken, battery and cables, several hooflengths of silk cloth, a feather duster?” 

“Don’t forget the vibrators,” Maud says without inflection.

A guardstallion gallops towards her, a large bag in his teeth. As he gets close, a small tear in the bag widens, and several anatomically correct devices fall to the floor. “I’m going to need so much soap and toothpaste after this,” he says as he blushes brightly as he works to gather them together. 

Cadance slowly looks towards her husband. “I… I didn’t know we had those in the castle.”

That gets a chuckle from Shining, “I had him go through the guard’s barracks. I knew we’d find a dozen or so.” He looks over at the guard. “Well, pick them up, soldier! They are just as necessary as everything else we grabbed.” The beet red faced stallion picks each one up one by one, depositing them in another bag that one of the other guards was able to find.
“I’ve got some extra alcohol, just in case,” a guardsmare says looking at the one with the bag of… toys?

“Alrighty, let’s go for take two,” Shining Armor says turning and heading for the door. “Let’s get this party started!”

“Pinkie likes parties,” Maud says as she follows the group out.

In a matter of minutes, the party has left once again, “What?” Cadance stands, wings spread slightly spread in shock as she slowly tilts her head to the side, “I… That…What the heck did I just see?”

One of the castle maids shivers once then looks up at Cadance. “I’m… not sure how I feel about this.”

***

Tim knocks on the door. “Twi, love, you awake?”

“Yes. Come on in, Tim.”

Tim smiles, the door isn’t secured as it was earlier, which can only mean one thing. “How long since your last destructive sneeze?”

That gets a bright smile. “Since before my last feeding. You’ve been doing wonderful, my beautiful stallion.”

Tim fights the blush that wants to spread across his face. “Well, I’m full again. If you don’t need any more, I can have Cayenne…” 

“Oh, if you stopped, I’d be back to sneezing in a matter of hours. Though if you are ready, I need to…” She lifts a wing. “Spike.”

“Mrph, huh, wha?” The dragon snorts softly as he sits up slowly.

She nuzzles his cheek. “Snuggle time is over for now. I have to take my medicine.”

The dragon blinks at Tim. Then he looks over at Twilight. “I know what mother’s milk is, Twilight.”

She nods. “I know, but there’s a difference between knowing what happens, and watching. This is a very personal time between my stallion and me. The less eyes on the act, the better. Don’t worry, I’ll call you in and we can snuggle more later. I know you are feeling lonely, though if you want, Cayenne or North would likely want a warm little body snuggling with them, it’s pretty close to bedtime, right?”

Tim nods. Spike looks at Tim, then over at Twilight, then he scampers to the door. He skids to a stop at the door. “After you are done, Tim, you gonna snuggle with them?”

Tim nods. “Though I’ll likely spend some time with Twilight too before I come to bed. You go ahead and get comfortable, I’ll just find a place to squeeze in when I come in, okay?”

The dragon nods before he disappears. Tim turns to Twilight. “I’m starting to get used to this.” He looks down, his ears flicking back and forth. “Well, to be honest, I’m actually enjoying this.” His ears flatten back. “I never thought I would think something like this would become the norm.”

Twilight smiles. “Oh, Tim, it’s not what you think it is. Some of the hormones that help with a bond between the foal and their mother are washing through your bloodstream, it simply promotes being closer as a herdmate. Once you are back to normal, those feelings should fade.”

Tim hops up on the bed. “I know. I do not blame you, love. It was an accident, and had you been thinking of something else when the magic overwhelmed you, I could have been turned into something totally crazy, a lactating mare would be the best option.” He notices the look on her face. “No more apologies.” He lies down on his side, presenting swollen teats to the purple mare. “I don’t want you to be sorry for one more moment. I am over the initial shock, and I really don’t mind you draining me. It’s actually pretty hot, and the last couple nights with our mares has been fun. I never knew how intensely you ponies feel things. Not just physically, which is amazingly intense, but also emotionally.” He stops, his ears flattening to each side. “It’s a bit overwhelming.”

Twilight looks at him for a long moment. “You enjoy our touch and company. It’s just going to be a little more intense than usual with all the hormones surging around your brain.” Tim looks away, ears flicking back and forth. Twilight waits a moment before reaching out a hoof and pulling his face around. She leans forward for a kiss, which continues and leaves them both quite breathless. She again puts a hoof to his cheek. “Love, I know for certain how you feel towards me, towards Citrus, and the rest. Your love is as intense as any. No worries at all about how you feel towards us, okay?” He looks down, nodding shortly. That induces another protracted kiss. Finally, she pulls away. “I’m guessing being full back there is uncomfortable?”

He nods. “A little.”

“Let’s get you taken care of. You know, this is kinda kinky.”

“Yeah, I know, for me too.”

“Have you tasted yourself?” His face immediately turns beet red. Twilight giggles. “Don’t worry, pretty much every mom tastes her own milk, at least out of curiosity. Though I actually have a reason why I’m asking. I want to know if you like the taste.”

His ears flatten to the sides. “I’m not going to say no based on the taste. It’s actually quite good, very sweet, but it’s weird having it warm.”

“I’m sure I can find a spell if you ever come to miss it. You ready?” At his nod, she leans down, bringing a teat into her mouth. Tim watches in fascination as only a matter of minutes pass before the other mare has drained him fairly dry. As she pulls away, she quickly flips and brings him into a tight hug, burying her face in his chest. After a long time, she murmurs softly. “Thank you, love. I know it isn’t easy for you.”

He shrugs. “I’m used to it now. Between you and Flurry, I don’t have to worry about too much milk.” He nuzzles the top of her head. “Though I’m beginning to wonder how I’ll feel when it’s all over. I heard about what the herd was going through. Shining and the rest came back for a bit, getting supplies. And at least two of the guard that went out the first time are in the infirmary now.” He stops for a long moment. “What if somepony gets killed? What if one of our family, our herd, is seriously injured or killed in the quest to allow me to be turned back into me.” He stops, breathing heavily. “Citrus, Silver, they are out there. What if one of them doesn’t come back, due to my desire to be back to my usual body?”

Twilight stops for a moment. “My brother is out there, too. He’s tough.”

Tim nods. “I don’t know what to think there. I want to be back to me, but at what cost?”

“The cost will be the cost, love. The guards signed up for their job. They are well compensated for their time and danger. That’s why we have them. Even my brother knows the dangers he’s faced.” She tightens her grip on him. “And you have to remember who this is being done for. Yes, you being back to you will be a side benefit. But this is out here, to fix me. To give a more permanent solution to this problem than suckling on your teat every few hours.”

“But you can trust your magic now, you could teleport away, get away from this pollen.”

“And never return, never see my niece again, never see my brother, or sister-in-law. Or other friends we’ve made in the Crystal Empire. Or even have them visit, since they could have that nasty pollen on their coat, or in their mane. And one sniff and I’m blowing holes in the castle.” She shakes her head vehemently. “I can’t help that this happened, though I wish that Princess Celestia had warned me about this before. But this is something that needs to be addressed. And the sooner, the better.”

“And what if the cost is one of our herd? Citrus? Or Silver?”

That gets a short sob from Twilight, who takes a long time to control her emotions. “That is a bridge I don’t want to cross, but if I must, we will make decisions from there.” She offers a half smile. “Silver could come back with a new scar, wouldn’t he be proud?”

Tim sits there for a long moment. Finally he shifts a bit. “You know, he’s so proud of the ones he’s got already. Yeah, he’d be on top of the moon, especially if he were to get it defending Citrus.”

“Or my brother. It would really stick in Shining’s craw if he owed Silver his life. And Silver got injured in the process.”

“Doesn’t he feel bad about what happened before?”

She nods. “Oh yeah, but Silver’s forgiven him, and apparently Cadance has worked something out with her, Shining and Silver.”

Tim’s eyes widen. “So, that was what that was about?”

Twilight nods. “I have no desire to find out more about my brother’s sex life. But I think we aren’t going to see much of Silver for the remainder of our trip once you are back on two legs.”

Tim leans back, “Well, I’ll admit, he’s gonna be pretty lucky in that case.”

Twilight looks at him. “Are you sweet on my sister-in-law?”

“She’s sexy. Nice trim body, long legs, tight little as. Back home, human mares who looked like that could make a living just off their looks.”

“Ah hah!” Twilight nearly shouts. She leans forward and aggressively nuzzles him. “Well, if you went to Citrus, perhaps she might allow something.”

Tim thinks for a moment, before bringing her closer. “But I have you, Twitwi, I don’t need another princess.”

She melts into his embrace for a long moment, and for a time, both are content to simply hold each other. Though eventually, a knock at the door has her popping her head up. “Who is it?”

“Oh, Dear, you know who this is.” Comes through the door.

Tim recognizes the voice at the same time Twilight does. It’s mom,” she says softly, letting go of him and allowing him to roll off the bed

“Oh Twilight, when I heard of your little problem. I just had to stop by.” The gray mare says primly. “I know Night and I were already planning on coming. But then we get into the castle, and find that you’ve been sequestered, and the some of your herd ended up looking for something to fix you.”

“Mom?”

Velvet smiles at her daughter. “Well, me, Cloudy Quartz, Windy Whistles, Cookie Crumbles, and Posey Shy are all taking a trip, but I couldn’t go until I checked up on you. Are you getting better? I brought you some of your favorite pea and carrot soup.”

“I’m fine, mom, my friends are out getting me some medicine I need, but everything’s fine. Really. Go on your trip.”

Velvet plants her hooves. “You’re not going Twilinanas all cooped up in here?”

Twilight flushes. “Mom, I don’t go Twilinanas.”

That gets a smirk. “Of course you don’t dear.” She looks over at Tim. “Oh and this must be the nurse mare I’ve heard so much about. Oh she is just adorable, she’s the most precious thing.”

Tim backs up several steps. “I… you… Twilight… help.”

“Mooooom, stop… you’re embarrassing Tim.” 

Twilight Velvet stops and looks at Tim, her eyes blinking slowly. Then her eyes widen. “Wait a moment, you are Tim? The…” Her brow furrows. “Hoooman that my little Twi-twi is so in love with?”

Tim’s ears flatten and he ends up backed up against the wall as the older mare gets close to him. “Ummm, yes?” He looks over at Twilight, whose eyes are wide in shock.

Velvet cocks her head to the side. “And you are staying turned into a nursing mare to help my little filly start feeling better?”

“Moooooooom, I’m not a little…”

“Oh hush, Twi. You’ll always be my little filly.” Velvet says over her shoulder before turning back to Tim.

Tim flinches, Twilight is blushing and her mom has completely overruled a princess of Equestria. Velvet focuses on Tim. “Twi-Twi, you’ve recently fed from Tim, right?”

“Yes…but…”

“Oh, goody. Now, Tim. I know you aren’t your usual self, though I do want to see how you look normally before you head back to Canterlot.” She whirls around, her tail smacking him in the face. “But for now, I’ll let the girls know we will be delayed leaving a bit. I have some questions for your herd’s lead stallion.

“Come along, Tim.”

Tim looks at Twilight, her ears are back and her face is entirely red. Velvet walks from the room quickly, though at the threshold, she stops and looks over her shoulder at Tim. “Now, young stallion.” Her voice brooks no argument.

Tim stares at Twilight as his hooves move of their own accord. “Help?”

***

The party is gone for several days. Each passing hour has Tim either pacing back and forth, or snuggling with his herd, or sleeping. The feeding has allowed Twilight out of her sequester and into the massive suite in the castle that Tim’s herd has been living in. Cadance has been joining Tim in stressing out. Her husband is out there too. Though one thing that Tim has been throwing himself into so he doesn’t go stir crazy is caring for Flurry Heart. That little filly teleports to him almost every time she sees him. And walking around the castle, he’s been having her clinging to his body, usually sitting on his back and holding onto his neck. She’s even clung to him while asleep. Caring for her has made the time rather pleasant. Flurry is a joy to be around.

Tim is walking through the castle with Flurry in her usual spot as he’s heading to the throne room. Duchess Cadance has been dealing with her normal duties even while fretting about her husband being in danger. To the northwest of the Empire is Yakyakistan, but to the northeast is wild country under nopony’s rule. This outcropping of very rare jewels is in wild country. At the very top of the highest spire of the castle, there are watchponies scanning the horizon, when their party is returning, Cadance will be the first to know. 

Tim walks into the throne room and stops. The duchess is holding court. Two ponies are standing before her. She looks from one to the other. “Does that sound equitable?”

Both of them bow. “Yes, Duchess,” they say in unison. They turn away and head towards the exit as Cadance climbs up towards her throne. She looks at it for a long moment before sitting on her haunches before it. She sighs a long moment, looking immensely tired before she spies Tim. She brightens immediately.

He smiles. “Good afternoon, Duchess.”

She teleports over to him, grabbing him in a tight hug. “I think we’re past being that formal, don’t you?”

He enjoys the hug, the Alicorn of Love is easily as physically strong as Twilight, like any Earth pony. When she pulls reluctantly away. He cocks his head to the side. “Missing your husband?”

She flinches. “Could you tell?” She stops, clearing her throat. “I mean, that’s silly. Prince Shining Armor is doing his duty, as I must as well.”

Tim looks around the vacant throne room. Even the handful of guards that typically attend the Duchess during court have disappeared. It’s family time now, no need to be guarded from family. Flurry Heart squeaks a bit as Cadance’s magic lifts her off of Tim’s back and brings her to her mother’s waiting forelegs. Tim smirks as he watches the mother with her foal. “You do know, you and Twilight have worked hard to help my herd. I know you are officially forgiven by Citrus.”

Cadance’s ears pin back. “Yeah, I know.” She blinks a few times, covering her emotions by nuzzling her foal.

“Just for the record, I think your punishment was too harsh.”

She frowns and looks up at him. “No, actually, it was exceedingly light, Tim. I am an alicorn, my lifespan is measured in millennia, my foal, the only born alicorn in recorded history, has the same.”

“First? I thought Celestia and Luna…”

Cadance smiles. “It’s not really widely known, the diarchs don’t really suppress the information. It’s simply… not discussed. Before Celestia started moving the sun, and Luna moved the moon, Celestia was a unicorn. An exceptionally powerful unicorn of her time, but still with just the aspects of the unicorns.” She looks in the general direction of where Tim’s suite is. “She earned her status, she earned her wings, when she moved the sun by itself. A feat that Starswirl the Bearded thought was impossible. But he had worked with the unicorns to establish a link with the sun. That link had connected him to the magic of the sun. It had halted his aging, and he had been moving the sun with the help of unicorns for centuries at that point. Generations of mages had to be taught, had to learn how to link with Starswirl, so he could move the sun and moon. Then Celestia comes along and moves it despite his link to the Sun.”

“Must have been a shock.”

She nods. “It was. Imagine if a novice came out of nowhere and upended a truth that had governed daily life for centuries. Imagine his surprise being doubled when she does that, then the entire world turns white and she disappears, leaving a scorch mark in the shape of the sun where she was standing. Only to return hours later with the most incredible story, meeting alicorns of old, who controlled aspects she didn’t even know exist, saying how happy they were to name her to their ranks. Then they got sad, saying she had to go back to serve as our ruler.”

“Serve?”

That gets a lilting laugh from the pink alicorn. “Oh, our lives are not about ruling ponies.” She cocks her head to the side. “I’ll admit, there are some nice perks about being Equestrian Royalty. But we serve the ponies we are given charge of. Ponies, in general, are very self-sufficient. We form our own herds. We handle most of our disputes. And we are harmonious.”

“Harmonious?”

She nods. “Yes, harmonious. We interact with each other from the idea of love, tolerating the differences of others, and loving them anyway. It’s magical, even the times you see ponies spontaneously bursting into song. That is an expression of the harmonious magic that suffuses our world.”

“And Luna? She was a unicorn too?”

Cadance shakes her head. “No, she was a pegasus, one of the fastest ever, with magic in her wings that would put even strong unicorns of today to shame.” She holds out a wing. “I was a pegasus too. But a matter of months after Celestia ascended, her sister was tired of the moon staying stationary. Remember, Starswirl’s link was to the sun, and the sun only. The moon stayed in place, but it wasn’t that much of an issue, survival and having the sun in its daily motion around our world was the priority. But Luna had spent years looking up at the moon, she knew there was more to the moon than to just hang in the sky. She was drawn to the magic of the moon the same way Celestia was drawn to the Sun. She set about flying as high as she could, trying to reach the moon, even though it was impossible. Then one day, she was up high, where even pegasi have trouble flying or even breathing. She reached out with her magic, and she touched her magic to the moon, and it obeyed her. At the same time, Celestia was working with ponies to build the first Castle of the Two Sisters, because even though Luna wasn’t an alicorn like she had become, she loved her sister dearly, and wanted her by her side. She disappeared in front of the pony’s eyes. She met her sister and was there when Luna gained her horn.”

She smiles. “They reappeared a few hours later, hugging each other and crying from happiness, both of them ageless, both of them with the aspects of all ponies, not just of their birth tribe. They ruled side by side after Starswirl disappeared. Until the dark times, until Nightmare Moon.” 

“I know that story, Luna has filled me in on that.”

Cadance nods, then her ears perk forward. “Somepony is coming.”

Tim’s own ears pick up the sound of galloping hooves. In moments one of the guard bursts into the throne room. “Duchess, the Prince’s party is returning, they will be in the castle within the hour!”

Cadance claps her hooves together. “Do they seem well?”

The guard nods her head. “Yes, from looking at them through the telescope, they are all accounted for, and they seem to be in high spirits!”

Cadance stands there, and to Tim, it looks as though tons of weight have been taken off her shoulders. She sighs softly, nuzzling her foal for a long moment before floating Flurry back over to Tim. “If you would, Tim. I would like to prepare for my husband’s return.” With that, she disappears in a flash of light. 

Tim grins before lighting his horn to bring Flurry Heart into his forelegs. He nuzzles the filly, noting that she’s yawning. Squeezing his hind legs together, he can tell he needs to feed Flurry before putting her down for a nap. He walks slowly to the nursery before placing the foal on her hooves so he can get down on his side. Flurry drowsily moves up and starts to feed. Though it’s not too long before she’s passed out, only draining one teat. As he places her gently into her crib, he quietly exits the nursery before scampering to his suite. Twilight helps by draining the other teat, though Cayenne smirks a bit as she watches. Tim knows he’s going to be messing with the pregnant spicy mare when she finally drops her foal. After Twilight is done, they quickly get ready and are waiting in the throne room with Cadance when the party makes it inside. 

The guard’s assessment seems to be correct, the team looks tired, but triumphant as they make it into the throne room. Shining Armor lines the guard up for a moment before dismissing them. Maude walks up to Twilight, a bag on her back. She bows. “Princess.”

Twilight lights her horn and picks up the bag, she extracts the large gem. “Oh, this is far more than I would need.”

Citrus steps up. “We know, Twi. But what we don’t use here can be stored if another pony has this issue, or if you need additional doses.”

Cadance beams. “Brilliant.” She looks at Twilight. “Okay, lets get the book and mix this up.”

Twilight’s horn lights, and with a pop, the book is there, along with a bowl and other implements. She flips the book open and the pages ruffle in her magic as she makes it to the right passage. “Okay, first the mortar and pestle.” She grunts as she holds the gem in her magic, and a large chunk breaks off, which she places into the mortar. She takes the pestle and carefully starts to break down the gem, in a matter of minutes it is a fine powder. A quick glance at the book and she picks up a flask. “It doesn’t say proportions, so that means the magic of it has to feel right.” She pours a bit of the flask. The smell of it hits Tim’s nose, getting him to scrunch it. 

“What’s this made of?”

Twilight nods as she pours slowly, her magical aura touching the bowl. “Okay, Maude, did you bring the last bit when you came up from Ponyville?”

“Of course, Princess. I visited Zecora and got it.” 

“Good.” 

Maud reaches into her bag and brings out a purple flower. Twilight’s magic grabs it quickly and she holds it for a long moment. “Here goes nothing.” She lowers the flower into the potion and stirs deliberately. The first time around, the potion turns bright green, a second stir causes sparks to fly from it and it settles on a light blue. A third stir has the magic completing and the entire potion turns clear, so clear it’s almost invisible. Twilight looks at it, then looks at the diagram on the page. Then she looks up and smiles. “Okay, it’s exactly how the book describes. Now, I drink.”

Without waiting a moment, Twilight gulps down the potion. She sets down the bowl, blinking a few times. “Did it do anything?”

The herd gathers around, watching the purple mare, who sets down the bowl. Then she sneezes explosively, though the magic from this flies straight up, then turns and flies out the window. She sneezes a second time, with the same result. Then a third time, the magic slams into Tim, lifting him up and causing him to glow. After several moments, the magic lets him go, he puts a hand to his head. “Hey, I’m me again.”

Twilight sneezes again, another beam bending its way out the window. “I think the gazebo is about to be fixed.” She pants. Then she stops, looking at Tim. “Oh, Tim.” She leaps at him, wrapping her hooves and wings around him. “It’s so good to see you back as yourself.”

“Ya know.” Silver says loudly. “More than Tim was involved…” His words are caught up short as him and Citrus are grabbed magically by the alicorn and brought into a giant group hug.

“I know, love. Thank all of you for all you’ve done.” She murmurs as she nuzzles each pony and the lone human strongly. “All of you. I love you.”

Tim notices something. “I’d like to grab some clothes.”

Twilight drops down, letting Silver and Citrus down gently. “I dunno, Tim. I kinda like you like that.”

His hands move to cover certain parts of his body. “Yeah, but I don’t want to show off to anypony.”
> Chapter 44.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim stretches his entire body. The first night back again as himself has been amazing. Twilight is on one side, Citrus on his other. Silver is against one hip with Cayenne on the other. North is curled up around his head. Then he looks down. Spike is usually snuggled in with one of the mares, and this morning is no exception, he’s snuggled up next to Twilight, she’s got a wing covering him. But he’s got one more in the warm pile than usual. Flurry Heart is curled up tightly on his chest.

The opening of the door has him lifting his head a bit to see who’s coming in. He’s not worried about some intruder, the guard is always patrolling the hallways of the Crystal Palace. “Good morning, Duchess.” 

She breathes a sigh of relief. “I checked on her and she wasn’t in her crib.” She lights her horn and lifts up the sleeping filly. Flurry slowly floats to her mom and Cadance cradles the filly to her chest. “I’m sorry about this, Tim.”

“No, don’t apologize, she’s a pleasure to be around, and I’m kinda happy she still likes me as a human.”

She tilts her head. “After the initial sniffles and whining. And she tried to use her magic on you. I think she was trying to figure out why you are different. She probably wanted to change you back.”

He nods, keeping his voice low for his sleeping herdmates. “Can she do that?”

She nuzzles the sleeping foal. “She likely has the strength, but she doesn’t know the spell. Give her a few years, she just might turn you when you go to pick her up.”

“How strong is she?”

“Tim, she’s an alicorn, and exceptionally strong. When she was only a matter of hours old, before her crystalling, she didn’t have any idea how much strength she had, so she was blowing holes in walls, destroying things with unfocused magic blasts. I’m so thankful that crystalling ended that problem.”

Tim furrows his eyes. “Twilight explained what was done in the crystalling. How did that stop anything?”  

Cadance sits on her haunches, one forehoof still holding the sleeping filly. “The spell bound her magic, she’s not losing any strength, but it helps temper her abilities, allow us to train them to help her be the mage she was born to be.”  

“Are all alicorns super strong mages?”  

She cocks her head to the side a bit. “Well…” She scuffs the floor with a hoof. “As you know, alicorns have the aspects of all pony tribes.” She looks down at the sleeping Twilight. “Twilight would be better at explaining this. But an alicorn is an aspect of the magic of our world, Celestia, the sun. Luna, the moon, myself, love, Twilight, magic.” She looks down and nuzzles her filly.  

“And Flurry?”  

“We don’t know, Tim. We are in new territory.” 

Twilight’s sleepy voice intrudes. “We’ve tested her magically. We don’t know as of yet. But even then, she’s exceedingly powerful, in the range of Celestia and myself.” She opens her eyes, smiling brightly at Tim. Her forelegs are already around him, so she squeezes him tightly before moving her head up to nuzzle his cheek. “Good morning, love.”  

“Morning, Twilight.”

“Morning, Cadance.”

The two mares brush against each other and chat. Tim takes his leave to get breakfast. Human breakfast. Meat’s back on the menu.

***

The Duchess has been stalking the corridors of the Crystal Castle for hours now. The guard has long since known when Cadance is in the mood, either clear out, or be ready for a grilling, and if she finds Shining, be prepared for a show. Some of the mares of the Guard have a tendency to keep an eye on Cadance when she’s in such moods. Not just for her safety, though. Today, she has been a bit more aggressive than usual, with the extended absence of her husband on their little quest to find the gem to fix the human, she doesn’t jump random stallions, but as the princess of love, her prancing around and her tail flagging, with quite visible winks has a tendency to get any stallion in the area grow a fifth leg. Though that is something some of the single mares of the Guard have an appreciation for, those stallions do tend to find their distress comforted rather quickly. 

Inner palace is a very sought assignment indeed.

Most of the guard have seen the Prince and the Duchess in the act. And while most ponies consider it rather uncouth. Most of the ponies of the Crystal Empire know that Duchess Cadance is the aspect of love and are quite understanding of some of the natural quirks associated with her aspect. Two guards are following her down one of the upper corridors of the castle. Both are quite aware that Cadance is on the prowl. Though both are rather confused. Shining Armor is sparring in the gym, and they know he’ll be there most of the day. Yet her path has only had her in the gym once, and nothing of note happened, though the guards didn’t get too close as the couple conversed. 

She’s prowling down one of the numerous corridors of the Crystal Palace, then she pauses, causing the pair of guards to stop as well. One of the mares leans towards her partner. “She looks like she’s ready to pounce,” she whispers to the other mare, getting a wary nod in response. Then they hear what has the Duchess’s ears perked towards, the slow flapping of wings of a pegasus simply staying off the ground.

“Silver!” Cadance calls as she unfurls her wings and streaks forward. The blonde maned pegasus only has a moment to turn his head before the Duchess impacts. They go down in a tangle of hooves and wings before he ends up on his back, Cadance straddling him. “You’ve had two days since your lead stallion was returned to normal.” 

Silver looks back at the two guards, then up at Cadance. “Duchess.” Is all he’s able to get out before she kisses him firmly. His wings quickly extend and it’s quite obvious that he’s gone five legged himself as the kiss continues. 

She pulls away. “I’m calling that boil, right now,” she says with a lascivious grin.

His eyes flick towards the guards, then back to her. “Ummmm.”

She silences him with another more aggressive kiss. She lowers her body onto his, running her forelegs across his fur. She pulls away momentarily. “Don’t worry about them, nothing they haven’t seen me do, nothing they don’t do themselves. But I’m not going to ravage you in the hallway. That’s what my chambers are for. Shining knows, he’s gonna keep clear for now, and Tim is playing with Flurry in the nursery. I’ve got you until sundown.” She bats her eyelashes. “Or later, if you are still up for more.”

Silver’s eyes widen. It’s not even noon yet. “You sound like Cayenne during heat.”

She tilts her head a bit. “I’m certain I can outperform her.” She licks his cheek, “Can you keep up?” She stands up, noting what was trapped between them, she grins and leans back and lowers her head, running her tongue all along his extended member. The stallion shudders and his tongue flops out. She watches him pant for a moment before lighting her horn and bodily picking him up. “You are coming with me, Silver.” She turns and prances by the guards, her tail flagging high. 

The guards turn and watch the duchess as she trots. “Somepony is getting lucky.” They bump hooves. “Finally.”

***

Silver normally prefers floating on his own wings, so it’s weird to be carried by a unicorn, or in this case, a powerful alicorn. It’s weird enough when Tim has carried him following heavy nights of partying. Though the Duchess is very careful with how she’s carrying him, part of him is looking forward to what’s coming.  He knows Cadance must be pent up with her husband gone for multiple days, and a mare like her going for years with just one partner, no other mares, just one stallion to keep her satisfied. And her the aspect of love. He grins, most of a day with her sounds like he’s going to head back to his suite with a drained dick and sheer exhaustion. Sounds delightful.

He kisses her. Her body is so warm and sleek. He could cum right now. He wriggled up to kiss Cadance deep on the lips. He’s been with alicorns before, but it wasn’t until now he’s realized just how big they are. She could swallow his lips. He gets an idea of what it must be like to be North Point, the smallest of their herd, with their big strong human about to fuck her senseless.

It scares him to know his partner could crack him in half with a stray flex.

The doors to her own massive suite open before her, and the guards that have been keeping an eye on her take up their positions at either side of the door. Though their ears are greeted with utter silence, as Cadance made sure to put up a soundproofing ward around the door. She wants to be loud.

She throws him on the bed with a pomf, then glides over to him. He’s so hard. He smells pheromones and he curls. 

“How long can you give me?”

“I could cum right now.”

“Let me taste you, the first is always the most potent.”

She brings her head down to hiss balls and carpets them with kisses.  He moans and she begins to lick, showing them attention. Silver wishes he could take notes, but it’s too intense for his mind to work. He can feel the blood surge in his excited dick and balls.  “Your balls are so rock hard, poor things,” Cadance teases, nestling them with her soft cheek. She smiles. “Say no more. Don’t hold back, don’t try to last longer, just give in to the pleasure.” She kisses his rock hard cock. Then she licks up and down its length. She pays attention to the medial ring, a neglected part disregarded by most ponies as a biological plug to keep the cum in during insemination, but known to her as a queen of the nighttime arts to be the perfect spot to tease a male to make him sensitive elsewhere. A few nibbles and kisses on it, and he’s moaning.

“Don’t torture me, please.” He bucks his hips. 

“They’re throbbing. Oh my my. When was the last time you came?”

“Last sex was night before I left”

“You poor thing, you haven’t had a mare take care of you in weeks. Poor baby. Let Cadance take it all out for you.”

With that, Princess Cadance gets a first lick on his dick. Her tongue is better than anything he has ever experienced. White flashes across his eyes. “I-“ Then the alicorn mare sucks the tip, hard. He grabs her head. “Caaa-dAAAnce!” He loses control in a blast of pleasure. Hot lightning leaps from his cock, and he ruts the alicorn’s throat. He loses control of his voice and screams her name.

Just as he starts to soften, she lets him go. He feels almost dead. He reaches down and touched his balls. They must be a quarter the size they were to start with.

Cadance gives him a show of enjoying his cum, contemplating and sampling it, thoughtfully cleaning his cock from base to flair. “Oh me oh my, what a potent stud you are. Thick, voluminous, and tasty.” He couldn’t respond. His limbs started trembling with relief. “Ask for my mouth whenever, it’s yours for the taking. Anywhere with some privacy and I’ll do it.” She grins, “Or it doesn’t have to be totally private. Just not during business.”

He can only pant heavily, his wings limp on the bed. He snuggles into the bigger pony like a kitten. She waits patiently as he gathers his wits about him and starts to control his breathing. He takes a big breath. “Wooooooooooow.”

How’d you make it so intense so fast?”

“I just pump out love, never fails to excite.”

“Yup. I’m surprised you trust changelings at all.”

“Only the reformed ones, so just Thorax’s hive. Those two, they’re responsible for the household. When my presence gets too strong for anypony of mine, I send them their way, and they take care of it.”

“Trust me, Cadance…you are amazing, in so many ways.”

That gets a giggle and a nuzzle of his cheek from the alicorn. She nibbles on his neck, noticing his wings are extending out once again. “I want you inside me.” She murmurs as her horn lights. She touches him with her horn and it’s as though he’s had a full night of rest in a matter of seconds. “You ready?”

“Not yet. Kiss me, please, Duchess?” 

She gathers him up again and kisses him deeply. Cadance is an amazing kisser. She can balance pressure and suction precisely. Her large size offers so much surface area to play with. Previously he’d had a thing for tiny little mares, now he’s got a taste for something he’d need a ladder for. He pushes and brushes her lips against his own. It’s like the time in his youth when he drunk kissed a minotaur, but without being facefucked by a leathery cracked ruminant tongue. Cadance’s tongue is soft and pleasant, gently working against his. He could kiss her forever. He’s melting in happiness.

Cadance is moaning softly into the kiss, her eyes closed blissfully. She breathes up his nose, and he catches the essence of it. It’s a sweet scent, gentle and nuanced. He can feel himself falling in love the longer he stays there. He hugs a leg around the Duchess’s barrel and hold them body to body. He caresses her back of her head, gently cooing her name.

His kisses go bolder. He wins the upper hand and looks down at the mare, unable to stop smiling. He kisses down at the mare, letting his body just bloom in happiness. She’s petting him, holding him close. The notes of her breaths are getting hotter. She hugs him gently. He feels safe. He kisses her cheeks and traces a line around her large jaw, then over her snout and between her eyes, lastly gently nibbling at her great horn.

He meets her now open eyes. “I think I’m falling in love with you,” Silver sighs softly.

“It’s okay, it’ll pass, I just have that effect on ponies.”

“I was worried.”

“Don’t be.” She pulls him down into another kiss. One he truly now embraces without hesitation. He finds himself growing. “This is nice, but, uh I thought I’d get more time to enjoy this.”


“It’s my magic. I radiate love. Your body just can’t help itself; my scent is like a young fertile mare in heat, precisely when she’s ovulating. And when I’m aroused, there’s my pheromones wafting about. Add the look and touch of my body. Hey, I am sexy and I know it. I’m not a fully flesh being, I’m fundamentally magical by nature. I need love, like literally need it. If I’m not loved enough, I will die. I cannot be happy and healthy without sex, but other types of love, like friendship and adoration, they can sustain me when Shining Armor isn’t around. If I’m not careful with my pheromones and aura, I sometimes make more sensitive, pent up, especially virginal stallions just spontaneously ejaculate. Nothing my chamberlains can’t help with. You’ve seen those reformed changelings in the nice suits, yes?” At his nod, she continues. “One male, one female, though when it comes to changelings, the terms are rather vague. When anypony needs to express some love, all they have to do is ask and it’s off to the nearest private space for a quick working over. And let’s not get into the mess that can happen when foreign leaders sometimes get a sniff of me. It’s taken some work to prevent war due to my nature; everyone wants me for their bride.” She stops, her face flushing. “I’m sorry, Silver, I’m rambling.”

“No no it’s fine, I like talking to you.”

She kisses him on the neck and whispers into his ear, “You’re so sweet.”

He levers himself up as she hops off the bed. She backs up and stands there, her tail up and to the side, her nethers winking every few seconds. She looks back. “Ready to fuck me?”

Silverwing jumped off the bed, then he pulled Cadance’s hindquarters off and into the air. He had to crane to reach them, but they were at eye level when he reared. “I am. The question is are you?” He gently licks her clit.

She shakes at the first lick. As though her body has been struck by lightning. She can hear him chuckle in the back of his throat as he uses his muzzle to fully part her outer lips and pushes his tongue into her. The lewd sounds of him licking her has her ears twitching as bolts of pleasure wrack her entire body. Minutes pass as her breathing gets heavier and heavier.

“Oh…I’m gonna…” She’s not able to finish her sentence as a massive wave of pleasure starts at her clit and rolls all throughout her body. She cries out with what little strength she has left as the stallion captures her clit with his lips and runs his tongue along it. Her front legs collapse and she just moans in pleasure as the orgasm finally ends, leaving her panting as hard as she had him panting only minutes before. But he’s not done, he pulls up and parts her folds again with his muzzle, his tongue darting out to its full length and plunging into her. Her eyes cross as another orgasm wracks her body. She can only vibrate in place as Silver tongue fucks her, his forelegs wrapping around her rear, pulling her closer to him as he writhes his long tongue all around her most intimate of places. Only moments has a third orgasm dancing across her consciousness. When it ends, all she sees is white as she loses consciousness.

Cadance blinks her eyes, looking up at the concerned face of Silver Wing. “Are you okay, Duchess?”

She reaches for him, grabbing his head and planting her mouth on his. Her tongue invades his mouth and she pulls him closer to her as she dominates his tongue and uses her hooves and wings to caress the pegasus, moaning softly into his mouth as the kiss progresses. “I want you inside me.”

Silver gets off the bed and is once again faced with her red cunt and the height difference. He musters up his strength and flies up, using his wings to get in position. He guides his cock slowly into her hot wetness. He clenches on her hips. “Amazing.” He grunts, anything else lost in the sensations running wild in his head.

“Glad you like it, now shut up and fuck me.”

And so Silver does. He takes Duchess Cadance and slams deep. She squeals in delight and offers herself, pushing her fantastic flanks at him aggressively, making him bottom out in her. He fucks Cadance as best as he can. It’s a wordless animalistic torrent of sensations and noises. He devotes himself to reaming her cunt, pounding away at with no reservations, no hesitations. He is enjoying every inch of its velveteen embrace. He feels her grow hotter and wetter. Soon, her little moans grow into larger ones. His cock is throbbing fit to burst. It feels amazing. He cannot stop himself and loses himself in the sex. He is buried inside Cadance. She is loving it, taking his dick at full measure. With other mares, he has to be a little careful to not hurt them, but since she’s deeper, he can go crazy and fuck her however he likes, which right now at this very moment, is hard enough to make the carved single piece northern great yew canopy bed shake, shiver, and groan perhaps even more than the couple in throes of pleasure upon it. Something is happening to his body, too. He’s panting, getting jerky. He feels like he’s breathing fire. His balls tighten almost by surprise. Cadance’s pussy is clamping on him, she’s yelling his name.

He tries to warn her, but it’s too late. He buries himself to the hilt and cries out. But he’s not done yet.

Still sensitive, he feels a force of magic shove him from behind and then wrap around his body.  “More, more, more, Dear Celestia, MORE!” Cadance yells, taking him like the toy he is to her and fucking him in and out of her needy hole. He grins, idea to run by Twilight later acquired.  Blinding pleasure runs through him as more seed bursts from his tip. He can feel it gushing out and swirling around her insides, and then the viscous fluid washing around his shaft, then out and down his balls, but still she fucks him into her.  And just as he begins to soften, a zap on his cock and he’s hard again.  He surrenders himself to the alicorn and their frenzy. There is nothing he can do but surrender to the heat of their lust.  His cries are answered by hers, and he feels her quake and quiver with another orgasm. The pleasure fades for a time, and he is pounding her again at full mast. But it’s not to last. Her walls clamp on him and he knows it’s the end.

Silver Wing leans forwards. “I’m cumming inside you!” He wraps hoover around her shoulders as he explodes with seed into her searing depths again, giving her vagina the deluge of male seed it craves. He bites down on her neck, hard, hard enough to taste blood, and the duchess whinnies and shivers as he does this, thrashing out of control.

Cadance collapses forwards, and Silver tumbles forwards, barely limping to land beside her.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m dead, Silver, you’ve killed me, your cock killed me good.”

“Sorry for biting you.”

“No no, thank you, I love when a stallion gets primal like that. I can feel I’m bleeding and it’s so nice… I turned you on so much you really lost full control of your instincts… You fuck so good, you’re a beast, you know that?”

Silver grins, “Well, if that’s the case, you are fantastic at giving blowjobs, I will tell you that.”

“Thank you. Shining has really excelled at teaching me that.” She giggles. “Well, I do have a tendency to give him one when I’m in the mood. That’s usually what the guards see.”

His eyes widen. “So, he just gets random blowjobs just because?”

She nods. “He loves it, and he hates it, especially when I went down on him right before a parade. Silver, I love sex, and my husband does an amazing job of keeping me satisfied. But I know how ponies are, the press can’t wait to talk about the next stallion or the next mare being added to the Royal herd. And of course, we have the same problem that Twilight did. Toadies and hoof lickers wanting to attach their stars to ours. And that has been a big turn off to me.” She licks his cheek. “You have a herd that loves you, and you don’t care about the fact I’ve got this horn in addition to my wings. You like me because of me. And you are loyal, you were willing to risk your life against a blade master to support your lead stallion’s dalliances. I would never even suggest stealing any stallion from a herd, but I want you to know, my bed, my body, is yours whenever you want. I will tell Citrus that is the case as well.”

Silver gulps. “Thank you, Princess.”

“Please, I am…” She’s stopped by his wing touching her lips.

“You are a princess to me, Princess.” He leans forward and kisses her deeply.

When they pull away for a breath, she grins impishly. So, I am beginning to think you might need some more relief?”

Again, his face turns red as she moves away to inspect his member. She kisses his sack and licks about the orbs. “Oh, my poor dear, they’re practically swollen to bursting. We need to act fast to relieve your poor balls. She darts her head forward for a quick lick of the face. “Can you go for another round?”

He looks down at his engorged member. “I can go as much as you can.”

“I’m going to show you what an alicorn body can do. Lie back and hang on for dear life. I want to fuck you until you give me every last drop of cum. I want you to make some noise for me, don’t hold back. I may have soundproofed the room, but I want them to feel the rumble in your voice. Be loud, I love it when a guy’s loud, make me hear how good it feels.”

Silver Wing doesn’t argue, not with the goddess demanding her satisfaction with him. She mounts him and looks down. He’s got the biggest smile on his eager face. She sees some fear, realizing until now he hasn’t really understood just how much bigger and stronger she truly is than him; she’s a full third larger, and she is empowered by magic. The last time she saw a colt so nervously awaiting her body was when she took Shining’s first time, just like this, too. He’d actually fainted, but not before screaming her name in bliss. loudly enough to make her ears ring.

He hadn’t talked to her for a week after that. And not because of anger.

Okay, so he’d nearly expired for real in her bed at the age of fourteen. So? She’d revived him well enough, maybe with a few IQ points missing.

And she is going to fuck Silver just as hard. 

She kisses him gently. “Let me take care of you, don’t hold anything back, cum as loud and soon as you want.” She kisses him gently. His eyes are wide in a good way.

Getting him inside her is easy. She’s done this thousands of times.  She puts her hooves on his chest and he holds them. What a sweetie.

She begins to ride. He’s full inside her and hard. Not swelling and bursting hard, but properly ready to fuck hard.

The pleasure soon begins to mount in the pink alicorn as she rides her partner. Sex with her on top is her favorite. It’s the purest expression of her desire to love and give love she can think of. And nobody has ever complained about being made love to be an alicorn who fucked them clear through the peak of their pleasure.

Her insides are filled pleasantly. The pressure is a warm glow that prompts her instincts to emerge. It begins to bloom and spread. She fucks him faster, adding a flourish to her hips. He grabs her hips and stars to move her, guiding her to his favorite spots. He works his hips, fucking her back as she fucks him. He takes a wingtip and brings it to her clit. It’s just a soft touch, but it drives her wild. She makes a strange noise and speeds up. She grinds herself on his hips with him fully hilted. Her pussy grasps for him, wanting to hold this cock as best it can. She can feel the electricity in her stomach, the early precursors of her future orgasm. Silver grunts appreciatively, lifting her up to give her more air before yanking her down to be filled again with full force. She can feel him in her depths. She loves his hardness and his vigor. This is what she’s needed.

The bed is shaking and moaning. It’s seen a thousand years of fucking, this is nothing, it’s one solid piece of yew wood. Many a royal orgy has been hosted here. This is her favorite place to fuck; she can feel the echoes of this place’s past adventures. Cries of pleasure, cries of pain, mares’ noises, stallions’ noises, the sounds of many species, names shouted, some she recognizes, some still around, and some long gone.

Cadance begins to pant. She leans down to kiss Silver. He takes fiercely, giving her his lips and tongue. He moans into her mouth. He grabs and squeezes her ass. He’s panting, too, red blush showing through the light grey of his fur.

Cadance shakes. She’s close. She looks Silver in the eyes. He’s even closer. She just has to open her mouth. “Good boy. Don’t hold back. Cum inside me.”

He hugs her again, sitting up to cling. “Not yet, I want this to last!”

“I’m close, too. Release it inside me!” Her lungs felt smokey, her legs were twitching.

Silver fucked her up at her. She took it all. He was so close. His eyes rolled in his head. “Cadance! I’m fucking cumming. I’m gonna fucking cum, I’m gonna fucking cum! CADAAANNNNCEEE! CADANCE! CADANCE! FFFUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK!”

Silver screamed. She felt cum like hot lava erupt into her insides just as her body broke, and she came with him. Lightning pleasure ripped through her. “Me too, Silver! YES! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!!! Cum inside me! I’m cumming for you! YEEEEEESSSS! I’M CUMMMMMMIIINNNG!”

She fucked him through his orgasm, not stopping no matter how loud he yelled, no matter how hard he desperately tried to hold balls deep inside her, no matter how shaky her control of herself. She yelled wordless cries of ecstasy as they came together, him spurting everything his body had inside her.

She collapsed atop him, giggling uncuntrolably, her cunt still clasping and winking wildly, her hips still trying to milk the softening length within her, kissing the bemused pegasus, muttering sweet nothings as they carpeted each other in kisses.

“Oh, fuck, oh, yeah. Oh Celestia.” Silver groans as his body is entirely focused on pumping everything he has into this beautiful mare. He jerks one more time before he falls backwards, some of his cum pouring out of her dripping slit as she turns around and lays next to him gathering him up close as both of them fight to recover their breathing.

For a long time they simply lay on the bed, enjoying the after effects of their passion. Cadance finds herself fighting the urge to sleep. She simply feels so satisfied after just this time with this stallion. Her mind drifts, listening to the breathing of the stallion. Finally, what was in the back of her head comes to the forefront. “Silver?”

He snorts softly. “Mh?”

She squeezes him with all four legs and wings. “What is Tim like? In bed, I mean?”

He focuses on her. “What? Are you wanting to ask Citrus to try him out?”

She shakes her head. “No, I’m really not into non-ponies for myself. I’m just curious.”

That gets a smile from Silver. “He’s…different. By pony standards he’s really weird, very mare like in a lot of ways. His species would definitely call mares rather masculine by their standards. But in bed, that’s actually one thing I like about him specifically. He wants to give the mares pleasure, as much as he can. He loves going down on them, and let’s not mention that he lasts for fucking ever.”

Cadance’s ears redden further. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve watched him bang all four mares into absolute submission without jizzing, I mean he was going for a solid half hour of nothing but banging the mares. One would tap out, and he’d look at the others, and the next mare would present for him. Though his body is super flexible compared to a pony, he can be ridden better than most stallions can, and I’ve seen him thrusting into a mare in positions I wouldn’t be able to breathe if I tried.” He smiles. “When he finally did cum, he let Citrus know he was close, and she sucked him off, let him blow in her mouth.” He blushes a bit. “It was really hot to watch.”

She tilts her head a bit. “So, have you and him?”

Silver sighs. “No, not really. I mean, I’m not really into stallions myself, I prefer to pound beautiful plots. But I wouldn’t object to kissing him at least once, and maybe tasting his seed, even if it's just once. It feels wrong that we haven’t. We shower together, took him a long time to be okay with that. He’s really a lovable guy. He’s protective of his mares, and all he really wants is to make them happy. And he wants to make me happy. You know, when we were getting ready for my duel with Shining. He kept on me, trying to have me let him do the duel.”

“That would have been suicide. Shining is a class of his own.”

He reaches up a hoof and touches his scarred cheek. “Yeah, I know. I was certainly outmatched, and I’m no novice myself with the blade.” He looks at her and smiles brightly. “He loves all of us, even me. I have no doubt if there was a situation, he would die for me in a heartbeat. Any of us he would.”

She tightens her grip on him. “So, would you say your herd has healed?”

Silver adopts a pensive look. “From the infidelity?”

She nods. He smiles. “I think so, Citrus is able to trust Tim again. And the hard feelings against Twilight are pretty much water under the bridge. She’s fully a part of the herd now.”

Cadance smiles. “I’m so glad to hear that. You know, she needed a good herd.”

He nods. “I’ve met her friends, they are some really good friends. But yeah, a herd is really what she needs, those late-night pillow talks, snuggling with her on my chest is a great time. So much sex. She is my favorite, sexually speaking.”

“Silver, you meanie! Didn’t what we just did change anything?” They locked eyes and then laughed.

“We are really happy that she’s a part of our family.”

She snuggles closer. “You have no idea how much that makes my heart sing.”

She lies there, her hooves running over his body. “You know. I could ride you again, you seemed to like that.”

He grins. “Yeah?”

She nods. “I’m pretty flexible myself. Oh, look who’s popping up for another round.”

Silver looks down at his member, he didn’t remember Cadance using her magic on him again. He grins and looks at her. “Ride away, then.”

She kisses his cheek quickly. “Oh, you are going to enjoy this.” She extends her wings and stands up before balancing on two hooves. She lowers herself onto him, putting her forehooves on his barrel. “Ohhhhhhhhhhhh that’s nice.” She murmurs as their pelvises meet. She looks down at him. “I want you to be even louder this time. Now mate me like a stallion takes a mare. Fuck me like you did Cayenne. Show me how you do it.”

***

For Tim, the remainder of the visit to the Crystal Empire has been quite fun. They got Silver Wing back the following evening after he had went to Cadance’s chambers. He was dehydrated, exhausted, famished, half delirious, and wouldn’t stop kissing every pony that came within wing grab distance, including Tim. It took him more than a week to rise again for his mares. He could barely talk, his voice had been well and truly burned out. It was fine by Tim; that reward had been earned, and it gave him plenty of chances to enjoy having his penis again.

After Twilight had fully recovered, they had visited the various sites throughout the city where the cell networks were being built. The plethora of tall buildings all throughout the main part of the city were ideal for installation of the antennas and the buildings had places that the electronic equipment could be set so they could run power and data.

Twilight has explained that the ponies use electricity for simple things, such as lighting in homes, and a few appliances. They had never really figured out the micro circuitry endemic to so much of his modern life. Though they do typically use magic to make up the shortfall in that respect. With the new computers, designing the power supplies much as he had used in his laptop and his old desktop computers back home, had been quite challenging, according to Twilight. Though the display technology was jumped light years ahead of what the ponies had used. The old CRT had never been invented, magically powered displays had been the norm, but not all that common. With the tech in his laptop and phone, Twilight had said that screens and even hoof responsive touch screens will be common place in a matter of years, far better than the multiple decades that humans had taken. Then it had dawned on him, ponies buying all this, he was going to get a small percentage of nearly every screen purchased. He had stopped in his tracks as he had pondered that basic fact. The rapid advancement of pony technology thanks to what he had brought with him. It boggled his mind for quite a bit. Even days after he found he was shaking his head in wonder as to what all of this means to not just him and his herd, but all of Equestria.

That is not to say the ponies had been lacking in technology before he had arrived. They had figured out electricity, refrigeration, and so many other things that modern society were based on, they had even figured out wireless communication and so many things on their own, though their connection to their magic had sent them in different directions when it comes to building such things than it had humans. 

Tim had even spent a long afternoon and evening with Twilight Velvet, the human has decided that he really likes the adventurous older mare. He can see where Twilight got a lot of her temperament from her mother. She is truly a wild child, especially when compared to her sire, who is a bookbinder. So, in her family, can see where she got her love of books, and her love of the adventures that her and her friends routinely are roped into.

Tim walks with the dams of Twilight and her friends back into the palace. They had shown up because Twilight had invited them to do some shopping up in the Crystal Empire. Tim had enjoyed spending time with them, and had spent a nice pile of bits on things for his herd. Some of the craftsponies of the Crystal Empire produce some of the best durable goods that he’s seen. The deliveries that will be coming over to the castle today will look good in their house. Twilight had mentioned that the walls of their home are rather bare. So, Tim’s been working to find wall hangings and paintings to spruce up the home.

They are climbing up the stairs into the palace proper when every mare around him stops for a moment, their ears twitching. Twilight Velvet frowns. “Princess Celestia?” she murmurs softly. “She’s here?” She takes off, galloping up the remaining stairs, with the rest of the mares following. Tim’s own legs eat up the distance as the faster ponies gallop off. They skid to a stop before one of the windows. A small procession is exiting a brace of air chariots, all emblazoned with the sun that also graces the Alicorn of the sun’s flank. A few guards are blowing flourishes on horns as the rest of the guards are organizing and leading Celestia herself into the castle. Though Tim also spies a dark shape walking next to the white alicorn. He looks down at Velvet before they all bolt towards the throne room.

Duchess Cadance is there with Shining Armor next to her as they enter. Only moments have the rest of Tim’s herd galloping into the throne room. Citrus gestures, and Tim sprints over to stand with his herd. He leans over. “What’s going on?”

“Princess Celestia is visiting,” Citrus says, tapping her hooves excitedly on the floor.

“What’s going on?”

She looks at him. “Hush, let’s see what she has to say.” She says softly before the doors open, admitting two alicorns, their wings spread regally.

Celestia smiles. “Duchess Cadance, I am glad to see you are here today.”

Cadance is sitting before her throne, she hasn’t actually sat in that place since her loss of her Princesshood. She inclines her head. “Princess Celestia.”

Celestia looks around. “All assembled, and I’m glad that Herd Blush is here this day. For I have important news for the Crystal Empire.”
> Chapter 45.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia has always enjoyed her occasional visits to the Crystal Empire. Her protégé’s brother lives there, along with the very curious born alicorn Flurry Heart. She knew some of the legends that were ancient when she was born. Before the ponies were able to lift their voices in joy, there were the alicorns, they had aspects, just like hers and her sister’s aspects. They controlled the very moon and stars, water, life, death, and a million other aspects to the world. They were born as they are, but none since. She doesn’t let the soft smile falter from her face as she contemplates the small alicorn sitting contentedly in her mother’s loving embrace. No matter how Cadance had decided to meddle, she’s an absolutely amazing mother. 

The clatter of hooves and the sound of the human’s boots ring through the throne room as Tim enters with the mothers of the rest of the Elements joining him. She smiles. The rest of herd Blush has shown up without the necessity of summoning them. Celestia turns to the assembled ponies.

“Herd Blush, welcome.”

“The pleasure is all ours, Princess.”

“This is a very special day,” she says softly, looking back at Duchess Cadance. “A day acknowledging redemption, a day to signify forgiveness.” She looks around at all assembled. “As we all know, magic is a part of our world.” Her eye catches the lone human. “And there is very special magic in forgiveness of transgressions.” She stiffens her body, and her sister catches the cue. Both of them spread their wings in a regal display. “Duchess Cadance. Stand before us.”

Cadance frowns slightly before passing her foal to her aid and walking slowly to stand before the two royal sisters.

Celestia smiles. “I would not have made this decision this quickly if not for the urging of the lead mare of Herd Blush. Citrus Blush, please stand before us as well.” She pauses as the yellow mare moves to stand next to the Duchess. When Citrus is standing, and trembling a little, she continues. “Duchess, you should know that Citrus came to me, and told me of her feelings towards you. First after your meddling in her herd’s affairs, by pushing Twilight Sparkle in her heated state into a sexual relationship with Tim, the lead stallion of Herd Blush. She explained the feelings of betrayal, of the pain and damage your meddling caused on their new relationship.” 

Cadance opens her mouth to speak, but is silenced by a look from the solar princess. “At my behest, she explained how the herd had treated the young human, so outside his social norms, they treated him as a stallion who had strayed. And she had explained how they finally understood that what works on intrinsically herding ponies doesn’t work in the same manner on humans. Who have different cultural roots as we ponies do. And how that treatment nearly broke his heart.” She looks warmly at Tim. “And how they had to work to heal him, understanding how utterly different he is compared to the ponies of Equestria.” She stops for a moment, looking at all assembled. She notices the blush on Citrus’ face. “Take heart, Citrus, your impassioned plea on behalf of the duchess has been heard. But she must know all the ways your herd was affected.”

Citrus Blush bows her head. “I understand, Princess.”

Luna takes up for Celestia. “I will say I was against how lenient the sentence was for those transgressions, as the herd, the family, is paramount in our lives. A mare with child without a herd is anathema to our ways. Had Twilight gotten with foal in this transgression, the consequences to Herd Blush would have been far more devastating.” She looks at Twilight, who had also leaned forward and was starting to speak. She subsides quickly under the unyielding stare of the lunar princess. She clears her throat. “But, that unpleasantness is behind this family. Through the sharpness of blades and two brave stallions, justice was meted out, according to ancient rites that all ponies know.”

“The lead mare of Herd Blush has informed us of the actions of both Twilight in her continuing education of Tim, and her appeal to formally join the herd. As well as Cadance’s work to help heal this rift, to restore the trust vital to a healthy herd. Today, the herd is far stronger than before, stronger than that fateful day.” She smiles brightly. “So, as Citrus has requested, Duchess Cadance.”

Cadance bows. “Yes, Princess.”

Celestia looks at her sister before speaking. “It is our ruling that you are restored the title of princess. And you are restored all that said title entails. The lands you were forced to sell as retribution are sold, but the other holdings that you did not have financial access to are restored. At the end of the mandated twenty-five years, you may buy back your holdings from their current owners at a price you would have to negotiate with them. You are restored to the Canterlot Day and Night courts, and your access to the Royal Treasury is now restored. You are again to be known as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

Tim looks around as whoops of joy rise in the throne room, as well as the pounding of hooves as the ponies celebrate. Though it’s amazing to him to see that the staff and guards of the castle seem to be the most exuberant when it comes to celebrating. He looks at Cadance, who has floated her foal back into her grasp, and she’s nuzzling Flurry aggressively with a hard blush on her face. She looks up at Princess Celestia. “Thank you, Princess.”

Celestia smirks slightly. “Come now, I know the lifespan of an alicorn such as yourself. If you had remained Duchess for a century or two, it wouldn’t really be much, I was thinking to leave you duchess for at least eighty years. I did not inform her of our decision, we simply said we would consider her words. And consider them we did. You did well in helping them heal. Be proud of your accomplishment here, Princess. You have turned your most angered detractor into a passionate advocate on your behalf.” She smiles at Citrus. “And you may have gained her as your friend. Now, Crystal Princess, do you have words for the ponies assembled?”

At those words, the entire throng of ponies instantly hushes, all eyes are on Cadance, whose wings spring out in surprise. She looks at her aids and staff, then at Twilight, and finally at Citrus Blush. She clears her throat. “Words cannot express the gratitude and love I feel towards you for your advocacy on my behalf. If I had known you were talking to the Princesses on my behalf, I would have counselled against doing so, as I did not believe I had done enough to warrant your advocacy. I merely had tried to show your herd that the bonds of love that you had forged before my actions were not broken, merely buried in pain. Truly, I have not done enough, in my eyes.” She stops for a long moment, eyeing Tim for a quick second before focusing on Citrus. “As I believe my work is not done, I want you to know, my husband and I, my herd, is open to you, to all of your herd, for anything you require.”

Citrus moves and places her head under Tim’s hand, getting him to run his hand through her mane. “Princess, I merely ask that you not be a stranger. As you wish to visit your sister-in-law, that means you wish to have her herd join her in visiting you, and our home in Canterlot is open to you as well. We are stronger with this mare, Twilight Sparkle, in our herd. You did know what she needed, and while your methods were wrong. The outcome could not have been better. Twilight is a valued and loved member of our herd. She will be a wonderful herd-mother to our first expected foal, and will hopefully contribute her own offspring in a time of her choosing.” She glances at Twilight, who blushes. “But between you and her, the work you have done, talking to me, to North, to Cayenne, to Tim, you have shown your heart to be true, and your intentions were pure. Our herd is strong thanks to you and Twilight.” She stops looking up lovingly at Tim before blinking a few times and looking back at Cadance. “I now understand that Tim is an alien to us, more than just in body, but in mind. We needed to understand that he thinks differently than a pony, reacts differently than a pony stallion would. Had we not had this realization, we do not know what else could have damaged our herd, simply through a lack of meaningful communication. And while we made those first steps to understanding our human. Your work helped us expand on that understanding. And Twilight’s teaching him our cultural mores has been equally valuable. I thank you for your work, and wholeheartedly accept your offer of continued openness.”

Princess Celestia smiles brightly. “Thus concludes this unfortunate event. Now, let us celebrate!”





Tim stops for a long moment, looking around the train station. Situated on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire, the station is grown crystal, just like most of the buildings here. Looking north, he can see the towering castle, Tim feels a pang of missing Flurry Heart, that little filly has been near him almost the entire time he’s been in the Empire. Once again, Twilight has not insisted on using the Royal coach. They are waiting with a small crowd of other herds as they wait to enter the train. As usual, the adults are eyeing him with his tall stature. Though living with his mares for his time in Equestria, he’s gotten pretty good at reading their body language. He doesn’t see anything more than wariness over the tall human. No actual fear. Though having a herd with him seems to keep any fear at bay. Citrus moves up and leans against his leg as they watch other ponies board the coach. Merely content to keep physical contact with each other. Silver has Cayenne next to him, and Twilight and North are sitting together, their tails intertwined as they all wait.

Tim looks down at the yellow mare. “Ready to head home?”

Citrus leans into his hand. “Oh, you know it.” I loved visiting the Crystal Empire, and there was so much to do, once we weren’t stuck in the castle due to Twilight’s allergies.” She blushes a bit. “I need to focus on my store for a while though. I’ve hired some good staff, but I need to make some more products.”

“And your volunteering at the hospital?”

“I’ve missed that so much! But don’t you worry, I’ll be spending as much time home as I can.”

Tim smiles. “Oh, don’t worry about us. I think Twi is going to be busy with the computer and internet rollouts, and I know that her duties as princess do take time as well. She’s already said she needs to spend a few weeks in Ponyville. She hasn’t seen her friends in forever, and she has duties as Princess she has to take care of too.”

Citrus nods. “So, the vacation was nice. But we need to get back to life now?”

Tim chuckles. “Well, sorta. I guess. We just need to take care of our lives outside of each other.”

She stands up, the crowd of ponies have mostly made it aboard, it’s time for them to start moving. “Well, yeah.” She looks up at him.

Twilight and North board the train, right behind her is Silver and Cayenne. Tim follows with Citrus and they work their way down the coach. Citrus humms softly as she walks. Their baggage has already been checked and loaded into the freight car. Tim smiles easily as the herd makes their way to a set of empty seats. Again, he ends up being the middle of the large, comfortable bench, with Citrus on one side, and Twilight on the other. The rest of his herd is facing him on the other set of benches. He looks around, the coach is about half full. Citrus continues humming as she leans against the human. After a bit, she huffs. “I don’t even know what song is stuck in my head.”

Twilight perks up. “You know, my horn has been itching today.”

Citrus’ eyes widen. “Yours too? What does that mean?”

Twilight reaches up and rubs her horn quickly before peering around the cabin. “I don’t see anypony using magic right now. Though I don’t usually feel that when some unicorn is doing something. I only really feel this when…” Her eyes widen as her ears perk forward. “Something big is going to happen, I can feel it.”

Citrus blinks a few times. “Huh? How?”

Twilight’s tail thrashes as she tries to keep herself from bouncing. “Magical harmony, or music of harmony, perhaps. The last time I felt this was when Pinkie Pie led nearly all of Ponyville in a musical parade.” She glances around the coach as the locomotive howls out before it starts to move, pulling the cars slowly down the track.

Tim reaches and puts his arm around the purple alicorn. “How much time ‘til this event happens?”

That gets a bark of a laugh from Twilight. “I have no idea. I don’t have Pinkie sense, but I can feel a change in the magical currents around us. Soon is the only word I can apply here.”

He says, “When I was a pony, I do understand what you are talking about when it comes to magic being important, especially to unicorns.”

“Tim, you know magic is so important to ponies. And I’m not just talking about myself, or even just unicorns. But all ponies.”

Citrus nuzzles the alicorn. “You sure that it isn’t because you are the element of magic?”

Twilight flushes. “Oh, I know it’s a factor. I’m not a completely corporeal being, much how Cadance isn’t, the same with Princess Celestia and Luna. It’s part of being alicorns. But magic is a part of our world. It’s integral to everything. It affects every pony, every unicorn, every pegasus, every earth pony too.” She nuzzles Tim’s cheek. “And over the last couple years, you have gone from being completely magically resistant to being the same as the rest of the ponies. Magic is a part of you too.”

Tim chuckles. “No kidding, you turned me into a pony mare by accident, Twi.”

Twilight ducks her head. “I said I’m sorry about that.” She’s stopped by a finger touching her nose, she scrunches up her nose cutely, and Tim leans forward to kiss her nose gently.

“Twilight, Love, I was never angry at you for it. I was scared, I didn’t understand exactly what was going on. But I knew you didn’t want that to happen.” Tim stops, blinking.

Twilight peers into his eyes. “Tim, is something wrong?”

He shakes his head. “No…” He rubs the middle of his chest for a moment. “I feel warmth, I feel something different there.”

Twilight glances down at his chest then puts a hoof on it, feeling gently. “I feel…” Her horn lights, the warmth in his chest intensifies a bit and he frowns down at Twilight, noting a small smile on her muzzle. 

“What’s going on?”

Twilight looks up at him. “Magic, love.”

He feels the warmth in his chest as it expands, all around them within the train compartment familiar music to Tim starts to play. He wants to look around, but somehow, he knows where it’s coming from, it’s coming from everywhere, and yet, nowhere. This is a primal force, he has absolutely no control. He closes his eyes, the magic wants something, though. It feels, blocked, pushing against something. It somehow feels similar to when he was a unicorn. The magic has a will of its own, but it requires something. To let the magic loose, he must surrender to it.

He’s never been good at surrendering, in fact, surrendering has been a fight for him, something that he had to work on to have easy access to magic as a pony. But thanks to his time as a pony, he’s able to take a deep breath and let go his resistance. To his immeasurable surprise, it works and the magic surges within him as he starts to sing.

“Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.”

Everypony in his herd has sat up and is now watching him intently, and everypony in the coach is focused on his herd. He finds he doesn’t mind the attention. The magic is so strong within him. Though it’s cute, Citrus and Cayenne have identical looks of shock on their faces. Twilight, however, has a wistful smile as her horn is lit. The magic surges within him as it takes him deeper with a strong breath.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence”

Twilight leans against his chest, mouthing the words silently as he continues to sing. Her lit horn allowing him to have some kind of connection between them. Her own emotions crash against his own, she’s feeling the power of that magic just like he is. Their connection in this moment is more intimate than sex, more intimate than their herd bonds. This is two souls touching. She looks up at him, and he can feel her love for him swell. Just as his love for her swells with the bright light shining in her eyes as tears run down her cheeks as she just experiences the music and magic as it surges through him.

“And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence”

Tim is having trouble believing that there is a limit to this magic. He feels as though an ocean of magic, of power, of strength, is pouring through him. Inside his head, though, keeping him from being terrified of the energy that he feels could burn him to a crisp, is Twilight Sparkle. Her power, her connection to him, her love for him, is keeping him safe. He can weather anything, with this mare. He reaches a hand out, touching Citrus, somehow that draws the yellow unicorn into this connection. He doesn’t hear her gasp as the power yanks her into the connection. Tim smiles, the presence of Citrus enhances the love flowing through his chest. He momentarily wishes for the rest of the herd to feel this, and Twilight’s own magic surges, bringing them into the magic. He shudders with the feelings of his entire herd flowing through him.

“‘Fools,’ said I, ‘You do not know
Silence, like a cancer, grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you’
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells, of silence”

He shifts a bit as his voice swells as the song continues, his throat opening as the magic surges even stronger. Is there a limit to this? He has no idea, but the connection with his herd intensifies as they all are swept away as the music, the magic, flows.

“And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence”

He can feel the tears streaming down his face as the final bars of the song play and the magic lets him go slowly. He blinks, the power is gone, but its aftereffects are roiling through his body. “Woooooooooooooow.” He murmurs softly. 

“That is human music?” Twilight asks softly.

He nods.

“That was…” Silver stops for a moment, trying to frame the emotions. “Beautiful. Captivating. Enchanting. Exhilarating.” His voice fails him. His throat works a bit before he speaks again. “Is all of your music like that?”

Tim barks a laugh. “Oh, no, there are a lot of really good songs, and I really love that version of that song. But no, most human music isn’t that exceptional.”

Twilight blinks. “That version? What do you mean?”

Tim smiles. “Sometimes artists will play a song that was popular years before, and maybe make some small changes to make it their own. And very rarely that version can become so much more popular than the original version did.”

Twilight frowns. “Did you know you sang that in your language, right?”

He blinks, “And you understood it?”

He looks around at his herd, all of them nodding. “How…why?”

Twilight leans into him. “It’s magic, love. It makes sense within its own confines, but we don’t always understand why magic does what it does.”

“It was crazy, Twilight. I felt that the magic wanted me, but it couldn’t start, it couldn’t surge until I consented, until I surrendered to it.”

She nods. “That is the nature of Harmony, Tim. The magic of Harmony is overwhelmingly powerful, but it requires a living mind, a soul, to guide it.”

“And what happened, where your magic touched me like that, and everypony…”

She snuggles up against him. “That connection couldn’t have happened when our herd was broken, with what I did, what Cadance did. But we are healed, and I think the magic knew that. You’ve been connecting with the magic of our world for the last few months, but I think with what happened just now, you are a part of us, part of Equestria.” She looks sad for a moment. “I don’t think you would survive going back, if we were able to find a way, Tim. Once you’re an Equestrian, no other land will do.”

He hugs the alicorn tight against his chest. “I miss my old life at times. But no, I don’t want to go, to leave you all.”

Twilight relaxes against his body. “I’m glad, love.” She says softly. The train’s rocking as they continue down the rails is relaxing for the only human in Equestria, and the alicorn on his chest slowly fades off to sleep, happy tears still slowly leaking from her eyes.

***

The distance involved means that a trip from the Crystal Empire to Canterlot takes a few days. But Tim enjoys the view out of their coach as they watch the mountains slide by on one side, and the great plains, the bread basket of Equestria, on the other. On the last day of the trip, they can feel the train slow down slightly as it starts going up the gentle grade that ends up with them at the city on the mountain. Tim really enjoys that part of the ride, since the terrain gets rather rugged, it means several tunnels as they slowly ascend, but also some seriously impressive trestles over some beautiful country. One major river along with several beautiful, nearly idyllic, valleys, then all culminating in a long tunnel where the train emerges into the station in Canterlot. With another howl of the train’s steam whistle, the train slows down and finally stops at the station. 

As they are gathering their posessions and throwing away final rubbish, Tim notices Twilight is bustling about with the rest. “Aren’t you going to stay on the train, Twilight? Don’t you have to go to Ponyville?”

Twilight looks at Citrus, noticing her smile and she smiles brightly herself. “Oh, I don’t have to be there until the morning, I’ll just teleport from the house when I get up.”

Tim glances at the two mares and smiles himself. “So, we are planning on a herd evening together.” He does notice the young dragon is snoozing on his seat. “Spike going to Ponyville?”

She nods, moving over to nuzzle him. “Spike,” she says softly.

“Mrrph, wha?”

“Your next stop is Ponyville. Don’t oversleep.”

He turns over and waves a claw. “’m good…” 

Twilight rolls her eyes and giggles. “I’ll tell the attendant, they’ll make sure he gets off. Wouldn’t do for him to make it all the way to Appleoosa.”

Tim follows the herd out of the train and they make it over to baggage collection. The family had all been busy spending bits. Twilight looks at the bags that are theirs and tsks. She lights her horn and all the bags disappear. She turns back and grins. “There, we don’t have to carry them so far.” Tim shakes his head, a smile on his face. Twilight is always doing simple things like that to make life easier, well, simple for her. She trots towards the exit, the rest of the herd in tow, with Citrus moving up to walk next to her. Those two mares walk side by side, talking quietly to each other, both of their tails waving back and forth. Noticing they are winking in unison as they talk. Tim smiles, they haven’t been celibate during their trip to the Crystal Empire, but there is just something about having sex in a strange bed that just doesn’t feel as comfortable. Tim is looking forward to their bed at home, he glances over at Silver, who seems to have noticed not only the female pheromones in the air with his herd, but how the mares are showing off their goods. He’s got a bit of a fifth leg going on there.

The trip through the city goes fairly quickly, being early evening, the streets are busy, but not crowded. They walk past restaurant row, and Cayenne smiles at the traffic around her restaurant. She’s been working with a few ponies in Ponyville to open up a second location. She’s not strong enough to teleport, but Twilight does take her back and forth from time to time to save her the time involved in rail travel. As they greet the ROG trooper at the door to their building. That mare is too well built to be simply a door mare, that’s for certain. They get a friendly nod back as they head into the elevator. He looks back at the entrance quickly as he’s heading into the elevator, one thing he’s always had to try to understand, the ponies aren’t nearly as interested in transportation in the same way that humans have. He doubts that they would ever build cars, not in the way he used at home. Though for cargo, that might be another story. Perhaps something he could bring up with Twi, he thinks as the doors close and the elevator heads up. The elevator stops for another small herd to exit before making it up to their floor. Citrus leads the way out, with Twi right behind her, the rest of the herd following with Silver next to Tim. Though Tim stops in shock, looking at who’s waiting for them at their door.

“Galileah!”
> Chapter 46.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The griffon flinches at Tim’s shout. She turns and smiles, though Tim can see that it’s forced. She waves a claw. “Hi there!”

“Hey, uh, wasn’t expecting you, Gal?”

“Am I not welcome?”

“No, no, you are, come on in.” Tim holds it wider with a smile.

That gets a blush from the griffon. She glances at Twilight and Citrus, getting big smiles from both of them. Citrus moves back to lean against Tim. She tilts her head a bit, a gesture he’s learned is her asking him to lean down, which he complies with quickly. She leans to breathe into his ear. “You remember when she asked to join our herd for bedroom activities a couple of months ago, just after heat?”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Well, I’ve been sending her letters every so often, since we’ve been busy with life since then, and hadn’t had any real big sexy times planned. While she’s been quite understanding, we couldn’t ignore her request. And I thought our arrival tonight would be the perfect time to have her join us.” She leans back and looks at the human. “Did I assume wrong? You don’t want a long sexy night tonight?”

Tim smiles at the griffon and turns that smile to Citrus. “Oh, I thought we were planning on this, just didn’t know you planned on a guest.”

Citrus glances at Twilight and giggles. “Oh, nothing was really finalized until today, so I had Twilight use her new phone and send a text to Leah, letting her know when we’d be home.” She raises her voice to be heard easily. “And she’s a little early, but no worries.” She smiles brightly. “Cayenne was planning on making dinner before we start.” She glances at Cayenne.

Cayenne rolls her eyes. “I’m tired and sore. You can get started now, maybe I’ll join later.”

That gets a big kiss from Citrus as the front door is opened, revealing their bags all lined up precisely. The herd piles into the entry foyer before Citrus makes a beeline for the stairs, her magic urging Tim to follow her. Twilight and North are on his heels, with Silver following quickly as well. Tim stops at the top of the stairs, looking back at the griffon, who is standing there, looking rather indecisive. He taps Citrus on her withers, getting the yellow mare to stop. The rest of the herd disappears into the massive main bedroom as Citrus stops at the top of the stairs, looking down at the griffon. “Leah, are you coming?”

Leah puts a claw down on the first step, looking up at Citrus and Tim standing there. She stops, looking up, fear flashes across her face and she pulls her claw back. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe another day.” She turns and darts for the door.

Citrus charges her horn and teleports, the pop of her reappearing comes from the front door, Tim rushes down the stairs to see Leah skidding to a stop before Citrus. Leah backs away from Citrus and ends up backing into his legs. She looks up at him and squawks loudly. “Fuck!” She darts a couple steps towards Citrus and skids to a stop again. She looks back at Tim, then at Citrus, then she sits down, curling her tail around her claws and she hangs her head.

Citrus takes a step forward and puts a hoof on the griffon’s shoulder. “Sweetie, you seemed so enthusiastic when we were sending messages back and forth. And your text back to Twi seemed as though you were really looking forward to an evening with the herd.”

Leah sniffles a bit, big tears dripping down her beak. “It was great when I was considering the big guy here, and then your herd, you are all so sweet. And I’ve been dreaming about this day for weeks, months even. I know you ponies are big into sex.” Her face flushes. “And while I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done…” She looks up at Tim. “Having the big guy here use his…” Her eyes focus on his crotch for a long moment. “Yeah…I don’t know.”

Citrus cocks her head to the side. “Sweetie, he isn’t as long as a pony.” She stops and smiles at Tim. “But he’s certainly wider. Ponies and griffons have had sex before.” She glances at the kitchen. “Cayenne has had a griff lover.”

Leah looks at Citrus seriously. “But I haven’t.”

“You haven’t have a griff lover?”

“Or a pony.”

Citrus looks at Tim, then back at Leah. “You haven’t had any lovers, at all?”

Leah shakes her head. “No.” Her voice is really small. “I’m scared.”

Citrus’ eyes dart back and forth and finally she focuses on the griffon. “Oh, that’s why you were so aggressive. You are wanting your first lover. And you decided on my stallion for your first.”

Leah looks down. “Yeah.” She stops and looks intensely at Citrus. “Sorry.”

That gets a laugh from the yellow mare, she looks up at Tim. “Don’t worry, Leah. He’s a good choice for a first time, he’s got a selfless streak about him, he wants to give you pleasure, and has even at the expense of his own. A very considerate lover, and is about the sweetest you’ll find.” She smiles brightly at the human. “Tell you what, as a lead mare, I wouldn’t just let you have unrestricted access to my stallion just willy nilly.” She stops and takes a deep breath. “But I can make an exception this time. We have our whole herd here, and let him plant his seed in me first thing, then you’ll have time to play with him, we’ll be close in case you need anything. But our bed is big, you and Tim can take your time, let him show you pleasure, let him be caring and considerate without all the other mares clamoring for his attention.” She stops at the sound of pleasured cries comes from the upstairs. She looks at Leah with a smile. “Looks like somepony is getting started in earnest.”

“His…seed…” She looks at Tim, then back at Citrus. “In you?”

Citrus nods. “We have rules, I’m the lead mare, Silver is a junior stallion. If Tim is occupied with you, that would mean I don’t get dick for a while. So, he can mount me, I’ll make sure he releases quickly.” Her smile turns lascivious as she glances at Tim. “And then he can focus on you.”

“Citrus…” He trails off at a look from Citrus.

“Tim, the rules exist for a reason.” She moves over and rubs her body against his. “I know you are just as nervous as the griff is here. Let me bleed off your stress quickly.” Her horn lights and his clothes disappear, his cock is fully hard, he hadn’t even noticed it rising as they’ve been talking. She darts her head forward and traps it in her mouth quickly, running her tongue around the glans quickly, getting a moan from the human. She lets it go with a pop, smiling at Leah. “Don’t worry, he will be gentle. Males are all the same the first round.”

Galileah’s face is positively glowing, her wings are up and vibrating. Interesting, Citrus grins, griffs get wingboners as bad as pegasi do. She smiles brightly as she gestures for the griff to follow her. Her own tail is swishing from side to side, anticipating Tim entering her. Tim’s eyes are fastened on the plot of the yellow mare. She winks with almost every step as she ascends the stairs. They enter the bedroom, noting the rest of the herd is already quite busy, North and Twilight are in a sixty-nine position, both of their horns are lit, with Silver on his side and breathing heavily. He raises is head as Citrus hops up on the bed. She stops at the edge, her rear legs spread slightly as she lifts her tail. She looks back at Tim. “Come on, big boy. Give me your seed.”

He looks down at his member, it feels as though it’s straining to reach her dripping plot. He looks over at Leah, who is sitting on the bed, her wings are still up and the blush from earlier remains. Though she looks at him, and he could swear he could feel her hunger as she contemplates his hardness.

“Please, Tim. Now,” Citrus says softly, almost a whine. “I’ve been thinking about you riding me most of the day.” Her plot winks hard. “Please, love.”

Tim doesn’t need any more encouraging than that. He mentally thanks God that their bed is the perfect height for this. He grabs Citrus around the waist and enters the yellow mare. She sighs happily and thrusts her rear so their bodies meet perfectly. He stays fully engulfed in her, enjoying the feel and warmth of her beautiful plot. Citrus wiggles her rear a bit. “Okay, love. Now give it to me.”

His body moves with a will of its own as he starts to move in her. He starts slowly, and every thrust has her moving back into him. In moments they accelerating, quickly they are both groaning as Citrus climaxes for a first time, her horn lighting brightly. 

Galileah hasn’t sat still and simply observed. After a few minutes, she’s moved close, and is intently watching him plunge into the yellow mare. She looks up at Tim, then back at their coupling. She seems to almost be drooling, and the look on her face is more than a little predatory.

Surprisingly soon, Tim can feel his peak getting close. Citrus seems to notice and she moans loudly, and she bounces back harder. In almost no time he’s hilted himself inside her, pulling her body to him as his breathing gets stuttered. Citrus’ horn has been lit almost the entire time, though as he feels himself convulsing within her, her horn blasts out motes of her magic, lighting up the room and bouncing everywhere. 

He pulls away from the yellow mare, panting hard. Citrus turns around and rears up, hugging him tightly. “That was perfect, love.” She murmurs into his ear. “Now show her what you’ve got.” Her horn lights and only seconds has him hard again. He looks down, he feels like he could go for hours like this. Citrus turns to the griffon. “His duty to his lead mare is done. Enjoy my gift to you.” She kisses the griffon on the cheek gently. “We will give you space.” She looks over at the others, who had stopped what they were doing at Citrus’ passionate cries. She reaches over and grabs Twilight, kissing her strongly before looking back at Tim and offering him a wink.

Leah takes a hesitant step closer. “That was hot.” She murmurs softly. She leans down, inspecting Tim’s hardness. After a moment she looks up and smiles. “Don’t worry, I know how sharp my beak is. Hold still and don’t kiss me.” She leans back down and her tongue extends, running along his length and getting a shudder from the human. She brings up a claw, and runs the knuckle along the underside. “It’s pretty.” She says, looking at his manhood. She turns and presents herself the same way that Citrus had. She waggles her rear, it’s so close, his tip brushes against her own dripping cunt.

“Leah, don’t you want to take your time? Be gentle?”

That gets a bark of a laugh from the griffon. “Gentle? Soft? Do I look like a pony? I want you to give it to me just like you gave it to Citrus.” She looks back at him with a grin. “Just grab my wings.” He hesitantly reaches out and grabs her wings. Which gets a soft squawk. She tilts her head a bit. “No, not on the elbow joint, right at the base.” He adjusts his hands slightly. He contemplates the plot before him. He will admit he hadn’t really looked at griffon plots before. This isn’t a pony, and she’s not winking the way his lovelies do. He can feel Galileah bracing as he parts her lips gently. She hisses as she feels his gentle probing. She again looks back at him. “Just shove it in, already.” 

Mentally he shrugs, he can see that the rest of the herd is paying attention, though the encouraging smile on Citrus’ face spurs him on. With a good grip on her wings and his tip barely parting her lower lips. He thrusts forward, hard, hilting himself inside her.

Her gasp turns into an outright scream, and her entire body clenches on him, getting his eyes to pop. “Oh, fuck, sorry, Leah.”

She stops, panting heavily. Finally she looks back. “No, it’s alright. Citrus said you were wider.” She pants a bit more. “Okay, you can move.”

Tim stands there, fully inside the griffon, but not really knowing what to do. He looks at Citrus, who smiles and nods very slightly. He raises his eyebrows in a silent question, getting another nod from the yellow mare. He looks down and pulls almost all the way out, getting another gasp from the griffon. He pushes back in, getting a yelp this time, and her body relaxes a bit. “More,” she murmurs.

He doesn’t need any more encouragement. He quickly gets into a rhythm. Not as fast as he usually does with his mares, but fast enough that he’s panting after a few minutes. Leah, for her part, has grabbed the duvet cover and has it wadded up in her claws. She’s mewling with every thrust, but any time he’s slowed down, she’s fixed him with a stare that has him resuming. Her plot is nearly burning hot to him, though.

Silver is mounting Citrus as Leah screams out in her first orgasm, her plot squeezing down on him tightly as he keeps pounding. Before long, she’s got a second orgasm going on. Tim watches the silver stallion plunge into Citrus, while Citrus is giving Twilight pleasure with her mouth. North seems half comatose, sprawled on the bed, breathing heavily. Tim smiles as the silver stallion grunts and starts to shoot a load into Citrus.

“Oh, yeah. Oh wow. That…fucking…amazing.” Leah pants out as Tim can feel his peak getting close, his balls are slapping against her with every thrust. “Holy…fuck!” She moans as another orgasm washes over her. He speeds up, he’s going to blow his load once again. She looks back at him. “Oh yeah. Give it to me.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice. He grabs the griffon by her waist and pulls her close as he finally tips past the point of no return. He slams into her, holding his body against hers as tight as he can as he roars his own orgasm. He can feel his body convulse as gob after gob of cum fills the griffon. He holds on for dear life as she squirms and squawks her own renewed orgasm with her being impaled on his shaft.

He grabs something and Galileah screams. He’s yanked out feathers.

After what seems like forever, he’s spent. His cock is still rock hard, but his energy is spent. Part of him, doesn’t want to pull out of her, but he needs to lay down after that. He gets an idea and pulls out quickly, picking up Leah as he lays down on the bed. Unlike the pony, she’s about his size. She’s looking at him confused as he gets comfortable on the bed and then he lowers her plot onto him, ending up with her still impaled on his cock, but he’s looking up at her. She looks down at the union of their bodies, then back at him. Then she smiles brightly. “Oh, I like.” She experimentally lifts herself up and drops back down. After a few times, her bright smile turns predatory once again. 

“Your feathers.”

“Don’t care! Still horny! Again!”

He nods. She starts up and down, short, quick movements that quickly have her moaning softly. She flails her arms as she momentarily loses her balance before he reaches out his hands and she catches on with her claws. He’s got to be happy with the griffon, she’s a quick learner. Quickly she’s enthusiastically bouncing on his cock, her eyes closed as she moans her way through another orgasm.

Griffon vagina isn’t like anything he’s felt before. It’s more like a textureless velvet hole. It’s more smooth than slick. It feels good, but it’s different.

Tim’s eyes are closed, but after several minutes, he notices the bed shifting around him a bit. He opens his eyes to a purple plot mere inches from his nose. He looks up at the alicorn mare, her wings are spread wide and she looks down at him with a wide smile. He can feel the griffon is still enthusiastically bouncing on him as Twilight closes the last few inches of distance and he dives into her beautiful plot with his tongue. He can feel her tail thrashing around on his chest as he feasts at the delicacy the purple mare has provided. It’s a little different this time, though, usually he has his hands to help give his mares oral pleasure, though it seems that Twilight knows just what to do. Her horn is lit as she moves to give him more access to her plot, letting him lick along her lips in addition to him sucking on her clit. It’s only minutes before the alicorn is screaming her pleasure to the world, her cries are joined by the griffon as Leah powers her way through another strong orgasm.

After that orgasm, Leah falls to the side, moaning softly. “Oh, it’s so…wow.” She murmurs, “I can’t, but I want to more.”

Citrus’ horn lights and she gently brings Leah up next to Tim, letting him get an arm around her as she moans in pleasure. Though his cock is quickly back in use again, since Twilight is riding his face, and Citrus is moving up to cuddle with the griff and holding onto him. The one now riding him is North. And he gets quick confirmation as he can hear her cute squeaks as he reaches up a hand and pulls Twilight closer. Pleasuring Twilight orally is always fun. His chest ends up getting more and more wet as he keeps playing with the alicorn mare. North keeps bouncing on him as his entire vision is taken up by the purple mare. Though finally her legs squeeze against him as she works through another orgasm, this one stronger than any other this night. She rears her head back and screams her pleasure, her horn lighting brightly and her magic working throughout the room. When it’s done, she’s panting, and she collapses off of him.

North, for her part, has her forelegs braced against his chest as she keeps bouncing on him, moaning and squeaking as her horn is lit. He reaches his hands out and she holds his hands with her hooves as she starts moaning out another orgasm. Her magic doesn’t push everything around like Twilight’s did. But the warm burst from the motes of magic bouncing around get a big smile from the human and the mare as she finally subsides. Finally, North pulls herself off of the human before collapsing against him on the other side. She reaches up and grabs to hold around his chest. “Thank you, love.” She murmurs softly.

Citrus stirs. “It looks like he’s still ready to go.” She reaches out with her magic and strokes his hardness, getting a groan from him. She looks at Leah. “Ready for another round?”

Leah’s eyes get wide. “Again?”

Citrus nods. “Don’t you want to feel him cum again?”

Leah looks at the cock pointing up, lightly held by the magical grasp of the yellow mare. Then into Tim’s eyes. She looks down at her own plot, then back at Citrus. “You sure?”

Citrus nods and Leah gets up, contemplating the rock hard penis before her before grinning. “I’m going to extract every drop of cum from you,” she growls before she moves to where she’s facing away from him in a reverse cowgirl as she lowers her plot to where it’s barely touching. As she has him part her lips, she slams herself down quickly, engulfing his manhood and stopping while fully impaled, gasping loudly as she does so.

“Careful, you can break body parts doing that.” Citrus murmurs softly.

“Oh, I’m tougher than that, Citrus.”

At Tim’s groan Citrus runs a fetlock along his chest. “I know you are, but a penis can be broken, just be careful.”

Leah raises herself, inspecting the penis halfway inside her. “Break a penis? It doesn’t have any bones.”

Citrus shudders. “No, they don’t, but they can still break, please, Leah.”

“You okay back there, big guy?”

Tim groans a bit. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Leah nods. “I’ll be careful, Citrus.” She bounces a few times slowly. “Holy fuck, you feel good.” She keeps up a slow rhythm with her claws on his knees to keep herself balanced. Tim reaches out, running his hands along her back, getting moans of delight from the griffon. Her tail thrashes along his chest as she continues bouncing. Whatever Citrus did to him earlier is starting to wear off, he can feel his own peak coming. Then he notices something, Leah seems to be getting tired, her legs are trembling as she lifts herself up, and she’s slowing down. He grins as he moves his legs and starts to thrust, hard. She gasps and starts to squawk as she cums once again. He’s merciless, she ends up just holding herself in place as he rams into her. Citrus moves up next to the griffon, wrapping her forelegs around Leah as Tim continues to frantically pump into her.

“Okay, I’m gonna cum.” He moans as he finally hilts fully in her, roaring his pleasure as his body focuses a hundred percent in pumping his load into her. He collapses down to the bed, pulling her with him and holds her close as his body convulses again and again. Finally he’s spent and he relaxes back onto the bed, gasping for breath. Citrus is the first to cuddle up with him, though Leah crawls on his chest and relaxes, her body draped over him, his cum oozing out of her cunt onto his belly. 

She nuzzles his cheek. “Thank you, Tim. That was the best first time of all first times.”

He reaches up and caresses her cheek, and smiles when she leans into the touch. “It was pretty damned good for me too.” He can feel Citrus squeezing tightly on his side, he turns his head and kisses her right next to her horn.

Citrus purrs softly, just enjoying the afterglow, but after a while she shifts a bit. “Leah?”

Apparently the post-coital bliss had the griffon nearly asleep, she snorts a bit and turns to look at Citrus. “Mhm?”

“It looked like it was painful at first.”

Leah clicks her beak a few times. “Oh that’s normal for griffs. I know we lay eggs, so we have to stretch to lay them, they aren’t small, that’s for certain.” She huffs. “But we aren’t huge back there, and I’ve been told that the first time is always super painful.” She stops for a moment. “And it was.” She shifts her wings. “But worth it, you are everything I imagined and more.”

Tim narrows his eyes. “Did you…” His eyes dart to Citrus and back. “Masturbate to me.”

“NO!” She flinches back, her face coloring.

Citrus giggles. “You did, didn’t you.”

Leah turns her head away. “I don’t have to answer that, you know. I have rights.”

Citrus leans over and kisses the griffon on the cheek. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us. And to be honest, before Tim and I did anything.” Her own face gets red. “I did play with myself, dreaming of his beautiful body. So, there’s no shame there. But something you need to learn about sex, Leah. It doesn’t have to be painful. Next time, Tim will have all of us clamoring for his attention too, but don’t think you have to get your rocks off quickly. And as you saw, he knows how to pleasure all of us. Have him pound you hard when you want it.” She nuzzles his ear quickly. “But also enjoy the slow lovemaking he is so good at.”

Leah looks thoughtful for a long time, finally she smiles, still something that Tim finds amazing on a creature with a beak. “Okay.” She looks at Tim. “It’s crazy, I’m totally sated, but I still want you.”

He reaches up an arm and squeezes her to his chest. “I’m here all night.”

She looks confused for a moment, then Citrus leans closer. “Sweetie, this was just the first round. We are going to be going most of the night.”

The bedroom door opens and Cayenne slowly walks in, several plates of food suspended in her magic. She smiles. “I could hear you from downstairs, sounded fun.” She grins as several plates head to everyone. “I made chicken alfredo in commemoration of our new bed guest.” She huffs, “Eat up! If it’s all over, I’m getting Silver’s crescent saber.”

Tim takes a bite and watches Leah as she sniffs the food dubiously. After the food was distributed. Cayenne hopped up on the bed and went over to Silver. She’s got him extending out almost instantly as the pegasus is wolfing down his food while she starts giving him a blowjob.

Citrus giggles as she gets up. She looks at Tim. “Want to take a nap, love?”

He thinks for a moment, looking at Leah while she devours her food, stopping only to yawn hugely before continuing. “Yeah, I think we’ll snuggle right here. You don’t seem all that tired yet.”

A bright smile from Citrus. “Oh, I’m not worn out at all. I’ll start wearing out Cayenne while you rest and recover your strength.” She leans down to kiss him on the cheek, he turns his head and it turns into a full on kiss. They lie there for a long moment, making out before she pulls away with a smile. “Rest, love.” She turns to Leah, who has finished her food in record time and is snuggling against his chest, her eyes closed and a blissful smile on her face. He smiles himself as he feels sleep starting to wash over him. This has been a wonderful day.
> April 2021 celebration
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim walks into Canterlot Castle. Waiting for him is a guard. “Good evening, Tim Blush, follow me,” the guardsmare instructs. He follows without hesitation. He does not know why he has been summoned, only that it will be a few hours and sate some of the diarchs’ curiosity about him. It has been quite a while since he has seen the princesses, and he is missing them, especially Luna. Celestia had seen to his care and protection upon his arrival to Equestria, but he had also been her prisoner, and though it was petty, he had never quite gotten over that. She had been good to him, but it was Luna who had made herself his friend, arguably his first pony friend. He regrets not seeing her as often as he should, and he had virtually avoided her at the Grand Galloping Gala. No time like the present.

Tim notices that they are leaving the public areas of the castle. Past the halls, the galleries, and the offices they go, now into the private sections. These are the residences, quarters, armories, and backrooms that make civilized life here possible. He vaguely knows where he’s going, and soon his guess is proven right as he recognizes the familiar corridors to one of the state meeting rooms for confidential discussions. The door opens and he is shunted inside before it is closed behind him. There is a grand table surrounded by fourteen luxurious chairs, two of which are clearly grander than the other, and off on the side is a fine velvet couch.

Occupying the two grand chairs at the head of the table are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

“Tim, welcome,” they say together.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, always so nice to see you.”

Luna smiles and nods. “We apologize for the suddenness of this meeting. We hope to not have inconvenienced you.”

“Oh, not at all,” Tim says, “I got off work already, and so long as I don’t forget to go baby, er, foal shopping before I return, I’m free.”

The mention of offspring makes the princesses look at each other. Celestia asks, “A foal? Your foal?”

“In name only, Silver is the real parent.”

“Congratulations,” says Luna.

Tim laughs, “Don’t congratulate me, Silver did all the hard work. Cayenne half rode him to death last estrus.” They shuffle again when he mentions estrus. There is a pause. “So, what’s this all about?”

Celestia gives a glance to Luna, who stands and walks away out of sight. Celestia meets Tim’s eyes. “Tim, I’m afraid we have some rather shocking news…”

“Is everything okay? Is my herd okay?”

Celestia shakes her head. “No, nothing is wrong, nopony is in trouble.”

“That’s a relief, so what it is?”

Celestia hesitates. “Tim, the reason we summoned you here is because, recently, one of our experimental magic teams pierced the veil of the world.”

“What do you mean?” He gripped his chair arm tightly.

“I mean that, it was only for a few seconds, but we saw into your world. And your world saw into ours. Mankind does not fully know it yet, but they have discovered Equestria. They are trying to reopen the tear we made, and I fear they are going to succeed, sooner rather than later.”

“Do they mean us harm?”

“I don’t know. Can you tell me? What happens when humans meet a new… people…?” Celestia glances to the side at Luna, who is still out of Tim’s vision.

Tim hesitates. “That depends. We’re not always the nicest lot.”

“Do we have anything they’d want?”

Tim sighs, “Sadly, yes. Equestria is extremely rich in gold and minerals. Empire have gone to war, nations destroyed for less wealth. The biggest diamond ever found on earth was smaller than my palm. Here, that’d barely rate as a stone. A man’s family could live for generations in comfort just off the sale of that one diamond.”

Celestia pauses. “I see…” She sends a crooked nod his way. Tim hears some shuffling and sliding. “There is only one thing to do.” Before Tim can even open his mouth, he feels his pants being yanked off by magic, followed by a hot wet mouth engulfing his dick down to the balls. “You told us once that your kind makes alliances by marriage. In that case, we need to marry you.”

Tim tries to shove the mouth off his cock while he rebuts, “What the fuck!? You don’t mean-“ The mouth gives a long lick along his underside and he shivers. He’s rock hard now.

“The pony herding ceremony is considered complete when the lead stallion and the new mares have copulated. We’re marrying into your herd, Tim.”

“But Citrus! You can’t just do this.”

“We can. We have the right by the Old Law to take any male who strikes our fancy. I had already dispatched Twilight to delivery the proposition while you were coming. She has reported Citrus Blush accepts, knowing that this is purely political. We will not be joining you in your home, nor adding ourselves to your register. We even will not seek you out during estrus under the terms of our agreement as they are.”

Tim nods, trying to focus on Celestia’s words as the pleasure is growing down below. Whoever is doing this is a champion blowjob princess. She kisses along the shaft, igniting all the nerves, and then she licks the underside, petting it with her tongue. And then she takes him all the way with pressure and suction into her hot mouth and lavishes loving twists of tongue on it. He looks down. Sure enough it’s Luna.

“Luna,” Tim gasps, stroking her ears. The pony’s eyes are closed shut happily as she is lost in the act of giving pleasure. She bobs rapidly and hums, sucking his cock like her life depends on it. He can feel his balls beginning to boil. “Shit, you’re good.”

“So, do you accept?”

“Are you sure it’s okay, and it’s the only way?”

“I’m positive,” Celestia says. She is fidgeting and blushing. She is watching the human lose control. He hasn’t been fucked in a few days and he’s feeling the pressure. “Don’t stop, Luna, if he’s like Twilight says, we’ll be able to enjoy the legendary human stamina once we get his first, quick one out of the way.” Luna’s head is bobbing. The pleasure is nearly unbearable. “So, what do you say, our new husband?”

“I- I- AH!” Tim tenses and groans. He knows what’s about to happen next, and so he clutches at Luna’s face. “Lu-Luna! Cumming!”

He loses control and cries out. It is one of the most erotic, surreal, and somewhat humiliating experiences of his life. In a secret meeting room, he is trying to have a serious conversation with a goddess while her sister fellates him like a ravenous madmare, and he is emptying his sperm down said sister’s throat while the absolute sovereign of a nation watches him in amusement. And Luna doesn’t stop to let him speak – she sucks him harder and faster. He groans and quakes, spurting blast after blast of cum into her wonderful mouth, her gulping it all down. She’s fucking him with her face!

“Y-yes! Fuck! I ag-reeee!” Tim strains in between pulses of pleasure.

“Excellent,” says Celestia, getting out of her chair and now walking across the table. She reaches him and looks him in the eye. “How was my sister’s performance, Tim?”

“Incredble,” he gasps.

Celestia chuckles, “Of course it was. Luna and I have been using sex to get our way since before the tribes were united. Nopony has more practice than we do, why she practically lives to make stallions empty themselves into her mouth. You may think it a submissive act, but with her, it’s quite dominant with how she can completely overwhelm her recipient with pleasure. How was he, Luna?”

Luna emerges from under the table. “Enjoyable, Sister. He is much smaller than a pony stallion, so I could suck him at full speed as deep as I wanted, and I could get my tongue wherever I wanted. His dick is pleasant. No hairs, no sheath dirt, and it’s nicely tapered. His load is rich, albeit less than I am accustomed to. When we have normal relations with Earth, I’m getting myself a harem of human stallions.”

“One thing at a time, Sister. Now, Tim, now that your soul isn’t being slurped out through your penis, what do you say to our offer?”

“I agree.”

“Wonderful,” cheers Celestia. She lights her horn and his clothes poof to a few feet away. She stoops down to kiss him. He kisses her back. It’s a little awkward; the alicorn is much bigger than him and he has trouble figuring out exactly where to kiss.

Luna joins the kiss and a three way tongues and lips shoving match ensues, with the sisters paying each other as much attention as they do to Tim. Celestia’s kisses are surprisingly light and dainty, girlish, for a mare of her size and strength. He finds he can easily win the push of mouths. Luna, on the other hoof, plays hard, practically fucking his face with her tongue. Though coarse, her technique is good and she managed to be assertive but never uncomfortable. She has the exact same take no prisoners attitude here as during the blowjob.

Celestia breaks the kiss with a huge blush dominating her face. “Now, Tim, I understand your kind needs to recharge between rounds. So, if it is okay with you, could you do that thing to me with your tongue you do for your other mares?”

“You mean lick your pussy? Sure.”

Celestia turns around, sits, and then backs her curvaceous ass up to his face, her legs standing off the edge. Her pussy is dripping and winking at him, craving attention.

“Go on, show Tia a good time,” Luna encourages, smacking Celestia’s plot audibly, getting a squeal. Tim needs no further instruction to put his face to the needy mare before him and lay a kiss on the clit. Celestia quivers.

Tim kisses around the clit and the edges, avoiding the inner pussy. Celestia has a nice, easily enjoyed flavor, great considering how much juice she was making. Tim’s face was soon slathered in royal mare fluids.  He dabs and darts with his tongue. “Tim, yes, that’s the spot,” Celestia moans as he locks lips onto her large horsey clitoris. He began to lick up and down regularly as he inserts his fingers into her hot hole, and then rakes the tips back along the top of Celestia’s clit, causing the princess of shudder.

Tim doesn’t stop. He gets faster and faster. Celestia is moaning loudly and only getting wetter and wetter.  He finger fucks into her depths. He has her swollen clit trapped in his mouth, sucking and licking on it in time with his fingering. Celestia is singing in pleasure. “Oh, Tim! Tim! Tim! By the Queens!”  Luna is watching intently, rubbing herself off, not even trying to pretend watching her sister get eaten out isn’t absolutely blazingly hot.  Celestia gives a big heave. “I’m close! Just like that! Oh, Tim!”

Tim doesn’t stop. He carries the exact speed, pressure, and motions out. He can feel his cock is hard again – how could it not be when he’s ears deep in a ravishing pony princess? With a cry and a suddenness of wetness, Celestia locks her legs around Tim’s head. She shakes, quaking the entirety of the great oak table, shoving her haunches madly onto the man’s mouth, eating up all the pleasure he can give. Tim can’t breathe for the mare in his mouth, and the pressure feels like it’s going to crack his skull, but he soldiers on.

Celestia releases him to fall directly onto his lap. Luna pulls her off him to give him some air and the two princess collapse into a heap. They kiss each other.

“That was great, Tim,” Celestia pants. “Now, won’t you see to mounting my sister whilst I recover?”

Tim looks at Luna. “Shall we?”

Luna gets up and uses magic to spin his chair around, backing herself up towards it. Her pink is showing plainly. “Get ready to experience your first ascended alicorn. Hang on for dear life and don’t disappoint me,” she jokes.

Tim grabs her supple ass and gulps. She probably means it, if the blowjob and the makeout were any indication.

“Don’t break him, Luna, I need him alive and intact,” laughs Celestia.

“Fiiinnne!” Luna play sulks and lays down on her side. “Your lucky day, Tim, you get to lie with me and not get your pelvis broken.” She spreads her legs. He doesn’t need to be told twice and gets on the floor to kneel by her beautifully pert ass.

He aligns his dick with her entrance? “You ready?”

“Shit yeah.”

Tim goes forward into the mare’s hot cunt. “Luna, wow!” He can never get over how achingly, wonderfully hot and wet mares are on the inside. It’s all he can do to not lose control for those first few achingly pleasurable seconds as he hilts inside the goddess of the night.

She shuffles her hips. “Come on, fuck me.”

Tim starts thrusting. He angles himself to brush Luna’s clit and takes short thrusts – he knows this position puts crazy pressure on him, so if he takes long strokes, he won’t last and give his partner a good time. Luna is looking at him approvingly. She reaches a hoof down to between her legs and feels where his cock is going into her. He grasps her hoof and pulls her deeper onto him, getting a sound out of her.

Tim is now warmed up and fucking Luna. She encourages him. “That’s it. More. Deeper. Harder.” Tim obliges, ramming into her needy cunt. And she is fucking him right back. She works her ass up at him, proferring herself to his dick, and he is more than happy to feed every single inch to her lower lips. The heat is magnificent, and he is gliding effortlessly in and out. Luna keeps her legs aspread with one high in the air, resting it on Tim’s shoulder. She pulls him in with it and her hoof. She plunges him into her depths over and over again. “Fuck yeah, more. I want it.”

She’s starting to pant and shake. “Luna, I don’t know how long I’m going to last.”

“Just don’t cum before I do,” she playfully threatens, nearing the edge herself. He slams deep, immersing himself in the pleasures of her silky soft vagina. Luna cheers, “Fuck yeah! Use this pussy!”

Tim pounds her even harder. He’s lost in the spectacular sensations of her pussy. She’s his, and he’s going to fuck her raw until he’s satisfied! And just as he takes his pleasure with her, she’s loving having him inside. She spreads her legs even farther to allow him ever deeper into her cunt, and he goes ever faster, ever deeper ever harder. “Fuck me! Fuck me! Fuck me! Fuck my brains out! Make me scream! Don’t stop! Make this princess your whore!” Arousal clouds Tim’s mind. He’s in a fucking frenzy. His cock is about to explode. Any second now, he’s going to make Luna’s pussy drink every last drop of what his balls got!

Tim doesn’t stop. His balls are slapping against the alicorn’s ass. Luna is moaning aloud, calling his name and swearing in pleasure. He’s sweaty – as good shape he’s in, marathon pounding princesses isn’t an easy thing. He can feel Luna’s pussy beginning to flex – she’s going to cum! Just a little more. His dick is flexing. So close. Luna is shaking, even as her leg and hoof yank him in harder and faster. Luna cranes her other hoof around and holds Tim’s hand. She looks in his eyes and tries to make words come out. He understands. Her hips start bucking out of control and she groans.

Luna’s pussy clamps down on Tim’s dick as she cums around him. He’s trapped inside, and the clenching walls and bucking hips bring him over the edge. “Luna!” he cries out, releasing his sperm for her again. He thrusts into her frantic form, making his pleasure heard. They writhe together, and Tim collapses forward to hug Luna’s barrel from behind.

“Who’s your favorite princess now?” Tim laughs at her joke and kisses the back of her neck. She smells nice. He closes his eyes and just gently strokes her.

“That’ll be me once he’s recovered,” Celestia calmly states. “Honestly, Dear Sister, you may fuck harder, but I do it better.”

“You wish,” Luna says weakly, still caught up in the afterglow.

Tim pleads, “Let me rest first and I’ll do you, Celestia.”

Celestia tuts, “No need, my human.” And with that, she lights her horn. Within seconds, Tim’s dick grows again and he feels brand new energy. “We have ways in Equestria of keeping a gentlecolt at attention to his royal duties. Other erotic enervation spells merely force the organs to perform. Ours is the real deal and adjusts the hormones and tissues to refresh the penis back to fighting shape. We can do this as many times as we want with no risk of harm.”

Tim says, “Please, never teach Twilight this spell.”

Celestia gets a glint in her eye. “Oh, I wouldn’t go out of my way to, but I can’t guarantee she won’t find out about it herself, perhaps because something was mentioned in her presence…”

Tim asks, “Have you ever fucked anypony to death?”

“Oh, not in a long while. I mean, it does happen. It’s generally better to let the body recover than force performance with magic. The sword may yet be sharp, but the owner can become exhausted still.”

“Just checking,” Tim said. “So, how do you want to do this?”

Celestia crouched down with her ass in the air. “Let’s do our nuptials in the traditional pony way.”

“Works for me,” said Tim, standing up and going over to the prostrating princess. She was still wet from before, so all he had to do with rub against her entrance a little to find the hole. Then he slid in, hilting from the first. Celestia made a pleased noise.

Tim gently but firmly held onto the alicorn’s hips. She gently swayed, letting him take the lead.  She didn’t fuck anything at all like Luna; Celestia was a much more gentle pony, willing to just enjoy sensuality with no need for jagged adornments. Sex for her was a relaxing and pleasing affair, romantic, relaxing, soothing, calming, not crude. It was an experience to be savored, not a race to be run.

Tim and Celestia made love slowly but surely. Each thrust in was balanced by a withdrawing outwards, almost achingly separating before driving back home into Celestia’s lush depths again.  Tim loved the sweltering heat of the alicorn’s pussy. Luna’s may have been tighter, but Celestia’s had the better texture and wetness.

They got into a rhythm. Tim would let Celestia work herself off his dick and then he would pull with his arms to hilt in her again with a quiet but firm smack of flesh on flesh. Surely enough, Tim’s pleasure was building again. He felt his balls tightening. He was beginning to go faster and faster. Celestia was making noise – faint little moans were crawling from her lips as she basked in the pleasure inside her hips. Her back was more arched, her pussy even hotter, and movements becoming more insistent. She was grinding deliciously onto his dick, driving it into the heavenly sensations of her walls.

“Celestia, I’m close.”

“Me too, Tim. Just keep this up. Cum inside me whenever you want.”

He doesn’t stop. He’s working her just every so nicely on just the right spot on the head of his dick, relishing long strokes upon it. He clasps hard onto the royal rump. It’s a nice ass – generous, round, very… kidnap resistant. And Tim is hilted all the way inside it. Celestia is shoving it onto his cock harder and harder, her soaking wet, burning hot, and silky soft insides teasing electric sensations from him. Her pussy is beginning to clench. She’s moaning loudly. No words are coming out, just long moans of instinctual lust.

Her hindquarters tremble. Tim grunts. Pleasure suffuses his whole body as he cums inside Celestia. He hugs her haunches while lightning runs around his spine. He clings to her, the two of them rocking together in shared bliss. She accepts him into her body and milks him for everything he has as his hot cum pumps into her pussy. He hugs her tightly, doubled over in carnality.

The fever pitch subsides and Tim flops softly backwards out of the white mare. He lands on his butt with a bemuse pant.

“To your liking, your majesty?”

“Ye-yes, inde-deed, Tim,” Celestia answers, still unsteady on her hooves. She turns around and sits, looking at Tim and Luna.

Luna asks, “So, Sister, what do you think of human penis?”

Celestia says, “I like it. It’s different, but I like it.”

Tim says, “Glad to please. So, is this all, or does anypony want some more? I can go another round or two. I mean, we’re already here, already naked.”

Celestia said, “Actually, I do have an idea. Twilight has told me about your herd’s transformation play. I would like to experience sex with you, a human man, as a human woman. Luna?”

“We think that sounds excellent.”

“Do you know the spell? Has Twilight taught it to you?”

“Indeed my faithful student has. First I shall do Luna.” Celestia aims her horn at her sister. “Are you ready, Sister?”

“I am.”

Celestia lights her horn. Luna’s body shifts. Four legs become two, the muzzle shortens into a jaw, the tail disappears, and breasts emerge on the chest. Human Princess Luna is slightly tall, though not pushing six feet. She is very slender and svelte, having a model’s physique. Her skin is dark black.

“And now myself.” Celestia fires off the spell. While large before, Celestia becomes even taller as a human – easily about a full seven feet. Her great rump flares into a very generous pair of hips that make an hourglass with what develops into a spectacular bust. Her flowing mane transforms into long curly and silvery locks that cascade down her back. And when she emerges from the light, her skin is as marble pale as Luna’s is basalt dark.

“How do we look?” the princesses ask together.

Tim cannot lie. “You’re both beautiful.” Indeed, back on Earth, they’d easily be the most beautiful women in whatever rooms they walked into, no contest. Tim finds himself getting hard just looking at them. His body knows good mates when he sees them, and it’s been so long without a partner that looked like his own kind. “Who wants to go first?”

“ME!” Luna shouts, pouncing him like a tiger. She rubs her soaking wet pussy over his hard dick. She grins with just a hint of sadism. “Now you’re going to hang on for dear life; I’m going to fuck the shit out of you!”

Tim clapped her hips as if to approve. After a few more seconds of shuffling, he was inside her. Luna looked down at him devilishly. “Oh fuck yeah, I’m going to enjoy this.” She began to rock back and forth, getting the hang of her new body. “MMmm, shit, Tim, you feel so much BIGGER in this form, like you’re filling me all the way.” 

“I was about to say you’re way tighter in this form.” He bucked his hips up into Luna.

Luna gave him a surprised expression, then pinned him down by his shoulders. “Hang on tight.” She shuffled faster and faster, gaining speed. Tim could feel her pussy growing hotter and wetter as her body became more aroused and habituated to his cock. 

Soon, Luna was bouncing up and down. “How you like me now?” she laughed as she fucked Tim. Tim grabbed her hips and answered back with his body. He guided her with his hands, leading her along his hard dick. The walls of her pussy gripped and massaged him deftly. He watched her breasts bounce, jiggling with every rise and fall and impact. She was gorgeous. She played with her own chest, tweaking the nipples and squeezing the teats. “I like me now. Tia, these human teats are sensitive. Tim! Play with them!”

She grabbed his hands and placed them on her tits. He kneaded into them, using his fingers and palms to massage them. He appreciated the softness that his fingers sank into. She mewled and reeled. He smiled at her. He got the nipples between his fingers, causing the princess to gasp.  She clearly was not expecting that. She ground her pussy down onto his cock. The heat was terrific.  He looked down at his hips, seeing where they joined, how his dick would be visible for moments before being swallowed up by her pussy so closely no light was between them.

Luna bucks faster, secure on her seat.  She bounces atop Tim’s dick. She lets out soft cries of pleasure. She arches her back and shakes her ass, adding sideways motion to the mix. The combination of pleasure from all directions makes Tim grunt and try to fuck her harder. Just like before, they get into a fucking frenzy, going faster and faster, in synch with each others’ body, caught up in lustful wonder.  Tim keeps going at her breasts, listening with satisfaction as her cries grow louder and her hips shake more. He wants to see her at the peak of pleasure, cumming atop him. He takes a hand down to her clit and strums it gently with his thumb. The effect was instantaneous. Her pussy twinged and he felt the suffusion of heat. “Fuck yeah! Make your princess cum! Almost there! Almost fucking there! Fuck me with your fucking dick! Fuck me crazy!” Tim bucks up into her as fast as he can, his own orgasm looming near. Luna lets out of a hoarse yell just as he reaches his limit.

White hot pleasure gushes from his cock He sees Luna writhing like a snake atop his hips. She grabs his head and shoves it onto her nipple. He suckles greedily while his cum floods her insides., Luna bucking him all the while in a haze of pleasure, her turn also to cling to his head now. He cums so much his dick hurts. Her kegels stroke him even though he is immobile from pleasure. 

At long last, she releases him to flop exhausted onto his chest. She kisses him weakly but still with some tongue.  “Wow. You’re good…” Luna sleepily says as she rises off him. Their combined juices dribble out of her well enjoyed and still pulsing pussy. She rolls off of him to collapse on the floor asleep.

“Bravo, bravo,” Celestia congratulates. “Not many stallions can make Luna tap out like that. You should be proud.”

“Thanks. Just trying to be a good lover. Any chance of that spell again?”

Celestia smiles. “Certainly, if you are really okay to go again. After that, I’ll respect if you’ve had enough, it looked seriously intense.”

“Do you always have sex together?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes we do it with each other. It was convenient to do you together this time – there would be no sense in one of us sending for you, doing the deed, sending you home, then the other having to repeat the entire process. No, just summon you here, lay out the situation, get herd approval, get your consent, and lay you. One and done.”

“I see. I can’t say I’m the biggest fan, but I trust you and Luna. And you know there’ll be hell to pay if you’re fucking with my herd and I.”

Celestia sighs, “It is with great shame that happened at all. And the scandal was deeply hurtful to the diarchy. We would not dare risk a foolish move like that. Two princesses dethroned, a bloody duel at the Grand Galloping Gala, and public scandal. Twilight’s little stunt with you cost us dearly. Rest assured this is all above board and handled with care.”

“I’m glad.” Tim kisses Celetia. She is much more manageable now. They make out. He gropes her magnificent, enormous, soft breasts.  He pushes her down and is atop her. Though she is far larger than him now, he has the advantage. He can see the blush plainly on her almost ghostly pallor. She holds him close and kisses him again and again while he plays with her boobs. She’s getting turned on, letting little sounds out into his mouth as his fingers find true. He breaks the kiss to ask, “Wanna fuck?”

“I want you inside me.”

Tim slides down. Celestia parts her thighs and he situates himself between them comfortably. His cock rests at her entrance. It is but the work of a moment to slid into her. She smiles. His head is between her breasts. He nurses at them even as he begins to fuck her.

Celestia lets him do it. To her, this kind of treatment is a relief. So much responsibility, a life of duties, obligations, and commanding. Never once can she ever just relax and receive, save in bed, like right now. Tim fucks her. He is going deep into her pussy. The texture is amazing. It’s soft, it’s silky, it’s smooth. It’s wet, it’s hot, it’s tight. Celestia truly has an exquisite vagina. Tim avails himself of her breasts, too, suckling at one while squeezing on the other.

Tim thrusts faster. He’s hilting in her time after time. Celestia gives little moans of pleasure each time he hilts inside her, filling her pussy to the brim. He can see her tits jiggle as he fucks her. The sight boosts his morale – he wants to make her shake, make her moan. He sucks on the sweet mounds, getting primal satisfaction that is only amplified as he drives his lady into new moans of bliss.  She runs her fingers through his hair and hisses out his name in a careless tongue.

He repositions onto his feet, practically squatting. In this position, he can fuck even faster. And so he goes to pound town on Celestia. He can’t get enough of the wonderful feelings her pussy is giving him, and she can’t get enough of his dick.  They kiss even as he fucks her. Their tongues clash and moans are muffled.  She hangs off his neck, calling, “Tim! Tim! Tim! Tim!” It’s not dirty, it’s sweet. He is looking into her eyes. He can see the pleasure in them, the desire, the need. She, as a female, is begging him, as a male, to lose himself within her, to empty his essence into her body. Her moans are loudening. She must be getting close to cumming. She locks her legs behind him. “I want you on me. I need you to cum inside me. Make me your woman. I want to feel like Citrus does. Call my name and then kiss me when you do it.”

“Oh, Celestia, I will,” Tim gasps. He is getting close. His cock has sparks of pleasure dancing up and down it. His balls no longer slap the statuesque ass for their tightness. No exit, she is his to fuck. And he can’t stop. The pleasure is about to overwhelm him.

“Tim…”

“Celestia…”

She looks into his eyes. She grasps his face and kisses him deeply. “I… I… I… I’m gonna cum!”

Celestia screams as her orgasm hits her. She thrashes her hips. Tim feels it. He moans, “Celestia! I’m cumming – for you – inside you – CELESTIA” He kisses her and buries his cock balls deep in her cunt. Jets of burning hot semen leap from his dick. He is giving himself to her. It’s pure ecstasy in the mating press with Princess Celestia. They kiss, gasping air and names as their bodies are caught up in the moment.  Her cunt drinks up every drop of cum he spills. He feels her fill, the excess spill, but yet he ejaculates more still.

They finally finish.

“Wow…” they whisper together, kissing again.

They lay there immobile for many minutes. Finally, Tim says, “I need to get my pants.”

Celestia says, “Yeah, sure, you do that. Just let me rest my eyes…”

Tim climbs off her, planting a delicate kiss on her cheek. He steps over a sleeping Luna, and still haggard from all the frenetic fucking, begins to rerobe.
> Chapter 47.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silver Wing is one happy pegasus this day. He’s at the healer’s office with his lovely. But they aren’t the only ones there. Princess Cadance and her husband Prince Shining Armor are there as well. Silver is sitting in the chair next to Cayenne, at eight months pregnant, she’s gone beyond starting to show, she’s gotten quite big. The pink mare shifts her body a bit before shooting a venomous glare at Silver. “You did this to me.” She mutters softly. 

He chuckles deep in his throat before leaning closer to her. “Didn’t you say give me your baby batter?” He says softly into her ear.

Her ear flicks and her face turns crimson. “Not my fault.” She huffs. “I was in heat.” She mutters.

He nuzzles her ear quickly. “So, it was a mutual decision.” 

She bats at him playfully before looking at the two royals sitting across from them. “You know, you didn’t have to come.”

Shining chuckles and Cadance nuzzles her husband before turning to look at the pegasus and unicorn. “I know. But we wanted to come. Finding out more about your foal is always fun.” She rubs her belly a moment. “I mean, I remember going to healer appointments when I was pregnant with Flurry. And with her magical abilities, they thought she was going to be a unicorn. We were all surprised when she was born with wings too.” She leans closer. “What are you hoping for?”

Cayenne absently rubs her distended belly. “I’m really hoping for a unicorn filly. I can’t wait to teach her magic, to help her discover what it means to be a mage.”

Cadance smiles knowingly before inclining her head slightly. “And you, Silver?”

He grins. “I want my foal to be healthy, no matter filly or colt, no matter unicorn, Pegasus, or earth pony.”

“Well, with the start you two are giving it out in life, I have no doubts as to the health of your little one.” She looks around the bustling office. “Twilight was able to pull a few strings, not only one of the best healers offices in Canterlot, but one of the best Obstetrics and birthing specialists in Equestria is going to be here for you.”

Cayenne’s ears flatten to the sides. “I don’t know why all the fuss. Ponies have been having foals for millennia, most of the time with only the help of their herd mates.”

Cadance smiles knowingly. “Oh, sweetie, it’s true that most of the time no real assistance is needed. Your body works very well to push that foal out. The healers are there in case something goes wrong. Occasionally a mare and her foal would die in birthing.” Her own ears flatten. “I would never want that to happen to you.”

“Cayenne Pepper?” A voice calls out, getting everypony’s attention. The approach the other pony and the normal vitals are taken and in minutes they are sitting in the large examination room with Cayenne sitting with her forehooves crossed across her chest petulantly.

“I can’t believe I’ve gained so much weight.” Her eyes shoot to Silver, whose mouth is open with a grin. His mouth shuts with a click of his teeth. They wait in silence until the door is opened by a light grey unicorn.

“And how are we today?” She asks as she guides Cayenne up onto the exam table.

“Fine.” Cayenne grumbles as she lies on her side comfortably.

She looks back at the other three in the room. “I’m so glad to see your herd is here. The last couple of times, it was just you showing up.”

“I just wanted to get the appointment over with.” She stops, her ears flicking. “And today…well…” Her eyes dart to Silver for a long moment, a soft smile appearing on her face. “But you said that the tribe was inconclusive before, and I told you that I didn’t want to know until birth.” She looks down. “Well, Silver has been really curious, and so has the rest of the herd. So, I was hoping you could tell me.”

The mare nods. “I remember you were just happy to have a foal, and our first scans did say your foal was developing nicely. And yes, it was inconclusive, I detected a strong magical resonance, but that’s not always indicative of a unicorn.” Her horn lights. “May I?”

At Cayenne’s nod, the healer’s magical field forms around her, then focuses on her belly. She stands there for a long moment, her eyes closed as her magic works slowly on Cayenne. Finally, her magic fades and she opens her eyes with a bright smile. “Good news. Your foal is developing normally, and I know what I need to know.”

Cayenne nods, looking at Silver.

“You are carrying a healthy pegasus filly.”

Silence reigns for a long moment, before Silver does a hoof pump. “Aww yeah!” He crows. He turns to Shining Armor. “High hoof!” 

The white unicorn smiles brightly and taps the pegasus’ hoof with his own. “Congratulations the two of you.”

Cadance’s beaming smile catches Cayenne’s attention. She looks at the alicorn. “What?”

“Strong magical resonance, and a pegasus. Two possibilities, a magic user Pegasus, or a speedster.”

“Awesome!” Silver shouts, his wings taking him in a short loop, his hooves clattering on the ceiling.

The healer looks at the hoofprints on the ceiling. “I have to get the ceiling cleaned from time to time from excited pegasus hoofprints.” She says with a giggle. She turns to Cayenne. “And you are quite healthy as well. Have you been taking your vitamins as I’ve prescribed?” At Cayenne’s nod she continues. “Good, I don’t see any need for any restrictions on your activities. Make sure to keep up the exercise regimen I recommended. You need to be on your hooves, keep moving as much as you want. You are about three months away from delivery, I don’t see any real need for any further appointments. But remember, if you feel any odd pains, or if you get the feeling that something is wrong. Don’t hesitate to contact my office and we’ll get you seen lickety split.” She smiles at the others before quickly exiting the room.

“And I’m going to teach her flying, how to do all the best moves. She’s got a proud tradition of pegasi to uphold.” Silver is talking a mile a minute before he stops, looking at Cayenne. He leaps forward, gathering her into his hooves and holding her tightly as he lifts her up with his wings. “Love you, beautiful.”

Cayenne blushes heavily. “I’m not beautiful like this, I’m heavy, and ugly…” Her diatribe is stopped by the silver pegasus kissing her. The kiss goes on for a long moment, his wings flapping strongly to keep both of them suspended in the air.

When they finally break off for air, Silver nudges her nose with his. “You are beautiful, my lovely. Not just to me, but to our entire herd.”

Cayenne’s red face turns to Cadance, who smiles back. “I’m in agreement with Silver. Nothing more beautiful than a mare with foal.” She glances at Shining. “Shiny had to remind me of that many times while I was carrying Flurry.”

That gets a grin from the white stallion. “Only daily.” He dodges a playful swat from his wife. “But, seriously, you two. We are just so happy for you!”

Cayenne squirms a little bit. “Okay, you can let me down.”

Silver grins brightly. “Nope.”

“She said I need to be on my hooves as much as possible.”

Silver nuzzles her neck. “Later.” He floats towards the door, which Cayenne’s magic opens. She looks back at the other two over the pegasus’ shoulder, a happy grin on her face.

***

North Point looks down at herself. She’s been rather dubious since the first time Twilight had turned the herd into humans, and Citrus has learned the spell to make her into that odd hybrid between pony and human, walking on two hooves, but having hands. They can go nude like that, but the few times she’s tried, she’s always decided to wear something. And today is no exception. Her own magic is not enough to zap herself and change her body like that. She had asked Twilight to do the spell for her today, so she could go out on this date with their herd stallion. She smiles as the human exits the door to their apartment. She stops and spreads the flower patterned sun dress a bit. “So, what do you think?”

Tim smiles brightly. “Beautiful, North. As always. Though aren’t you going to be cold? Winter is coming.”

She reaches up and adjusts her glasses. She was able to adjust the glasses herself, growing the temples and adjusting how they fit on her head with her new shape. She reaches down and grabs the human’s hand and holds it tightly as they walk to the elevator. “Oh, I’ve still got fur, and it’s not that cold out yet. But, are you sure? I’ve thought of asking Twilight to see if she could make my boobs bigger…” She’s stopped by a single finger to her lips.

“North, you are perfect just the way you are. Everyone is different when they change forms like this. You know you don’t have to do that for me.”

She giggles. “But I like to hold your hand, Tim.” She looks down at their hands together. “I can’t do that on four hooves.” She leans up against him as he presses the button to call the elevator. “I like being closer to you, love.”

With a soft ding, the doors open and a small herd walks out of the elevator. Though they note the pony and human, they’ve seen the herd enough to not really react if the ponies are shaped differently than usual. In fact, much of Canterlot has seen the herd’s mares in this shape. To the extent that a few ponies have asked Twilight about that spell. It certainly surprised North to see a couple of ponies walking around on two legs like the human. But Twilight was excited when she saw that. North flicks her ears a couple of times, it’s not a night for the other mares of the herd, this is about North and Tim tonight. The herd goes out on regular date nights, but Tim has also made sure to give special time with each mare individually. The human really goes above and beyond to show his love for all of his mares. She finds herself leaning up against him as they wait for the elevator to descend, running her hand along his arm, admiring the muscles there. She sighs happily as they exit the elevator and walk outside the building. A taxi is waiting there, and Tim gestures for her to board first. She takes a seat as the human joins her. The pony pulling the taxi looks back. “Where ya goin?”

Tim smiles. “I think we will start with some shopping.” He looks at her. “I saw a store that I thought you’d like, love.”

She just snuggles against him tighter, murmuring softly as the taxi pulls off. They relax in the comfortable seats as the pegasus stallion pulls them through the city. In a matter of about half an hour, the taxi lets them off. Tim pulls out his bit bag to pay the stallion. He refuses to call it a purse, much to the amusement of the mares of the herd. The taxi pulls off and they start walking, just enjoying the closeness as they move. North finds herself enjoying the simple touch and feel of the human as they walk. When he stops, she flinches and looks around. Surprised that she’s lost herself so much in thinking about the human. She looks up. “Wow.” She says softly.

“Well, you did mention you wanted to book a trip, and I know heat will be back in a few months, so we have some time now. I’ve already told Cayenne I’ll be taking some time off. And Twilight gave me a massive amount of bits. We are going to do a grand tour.”

North looks around. “You mean, we are going to…” She starts excitedly.

“Tour nearly every major city of Equestria? Yes.” 

“In an airship?” She notes the magical sign showing a floating airship, its propellers spinning as it floats across the sign. 

He nods. “We leave in a week, sweetheart. We just need to finalize the itinerary and of course, pay for it.” He grunts as the smaller mare leaps onto him, wrapping her arms and legs around him tightly. She raises her mouth for a kiss, and she hugs him even tighter as she loses herself in the kiss.

When they finally break away, she leaps back, her hands ending up behind her back, clenched tightly. “I’m so sorry.” She murmurs.

Tim glances at the ponies staring, he rolls his eyes at the disapproving glances of the ponies as he closes the distance and brings her next to him. “Don’t you worry, North. I’ve talked to Twilight, she has decided to visit her sister in law. Cayenne is coming along, she doesn’t want to be at the restaurant as she is right now. Citrus, of course, is coming with us, and so is Silver. But they simply want to sight see, I’m going to be here, with you, enjoying our time together.”

She squeals softly as they make their way into the small shop.

***

Over an hour later, she’s got a bag full of different pamphlets for where they are going hung on her shoulder, and she’s talking a mile a minute about what she’s wanted to see. “Oh, and we can’t forget Rainbow Falls. I hope you are bringing a camera. I want some great pictures of the falls.”

He grins. “I’ve already ordered plenty of extra film.”

She stops and turns to the human. “Tim, can I ask you something?”

He tilts his head slightly with a quizzical smile on his face. “Hmm?”

She clears her throat awkwardly. “Have you liked having Leah in bed with us the few times she’s visited when we’ve invited her?”

His face turns thoughtful. “You know I do, we’ve all had fun with her in bed.” He chuckles. “Last time, I think you really had her going pretty hard.”

She giggles. “Yeah. We kinda click pretty well, and not just in bed, she’s snuggly too.”

“So, what about Leah?”

North holds her breath for a long moment before she finally works out what she’s thinking. “I want to invite her to join us. I know it’s not just for sex, and it’s not going to be the entire herd with us on this trip. Do you think she’ll want to just…hang out? Explore with us? She’s not a pony, so she thinks differently.” She smiles tremulously. “I mean, we’ve learned with you how different you think, she may find the trip to be boring.”

He shrugs. “North, love, if she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t have to join us. We can schedule a night together before we leave, if you prefer.”

“You do know that she’s dropped everything to visit every time we’ve asked her to, right?”

He nods. “Yeah, she was even at some function for her dad once. And she said she had to talk fast to keep him in the dark.” He stops, thinking. “But why, though? Why does she care what her dad thinks of her relationships?”

North sighs softly. “Her and I talked a few times. We’ve even had lunch together. But her dad is pretty traditional for a griff. He wants her to marry a griff and give him grandchicks. He would be quite upset if he found she was herding with ponies.” She sticks out her tongue. “He really doesn’t like ponies very much. She said he respects Celestia and Luna, but he thinks we are too passive, not really worthy of his respect.” She tilts her head slightly. “But Leah feels differently about the ponies.” She reaches up a finger and taps him gently on the nose. “And it’s all because of you, love.”

“Me?”

She nods. “Oh yeah, if she hadn’t developed that schoolfilly crush and fixated on you so much. She wouldn’t have gotten to know Citrus and the rest of us.” She shrugs her shoulders. “And having Spike, an actual dragon, in service to Twilight, really made her think a lot about ponies. What we mean to her. She likes us all, not just you, now. But you were the start, the catalyst.”

They walk through the shopping district as they are talking. She’s finding she likes this form more and more, being able to walk close to Tim and continue touching him. It’s a good feeling for the mare. She finds her tail swishing from side to side in happiness. And since she’s wearing the sun dress, she doesn’t have to worry about showing off more than she intends. “You know, we usually go to Cookies, or to Spitfire, when we go out to eat. But how about somewhere new?”

“Hayburger?”

He flinches. “No, I can’t eat their food.”

She finds herself blushing. “Oh, sorry. I forgot.”

He smiles briefly. “No worries, love. I was thinking we’d try Tasty Treat.”

North looks dubious. “Are they hoof rated?”

Tim smiles back at her. “Do you really care?”

She stops and thinks for a long moment. “Well…not really. As long as the food is good, right?”

“True.”

***

“Wow, Cayenne could learn a few lessons on the food here.” North says softly as the tangerine mare with the poofy mane gathers up their plates. She nods at the mare as she bustles back to the kitchen. She takes her napkin and cleans off her face daintily. “I’ve been meaning to ask you a question, Tim.”

He looks up at her. “Oh? What?”

She looks down, twiddling the napkin in her fingers. “I was wondering, Twilight knows how to turn you into a pony. And with our next heat, we will have one foal and Citrus has already said she’s going to wait a few years. Twilight says she’s not ready for her own foals yet. I was thinking of having foals myself.” She stops, looking at the napkin in her hand. The human waits patiently as she works up the courage to continue. Finally, she does. “What if Twi were to turn you pony for heat? Maybe you could give me a foal?”

Tim stops breathing for a moment, after a few moments, he takes a big breath. “Um, North, we don’t know if my genetics will be changed over enough, Twilight said it was iffy in the genetics department, it’s likely, but she’s worried about it. Magic sometimes is unpredictable when it comes to such transformations.”

“I know that, Tim. But I’m thinking, I’d like you to try. I mean, if Silver wants to do the deed, I wouldn’t have a problem. But, if I decide I want a foal, could it be yours?”

Tim blinks, trying to wrap his head around her words. “But since I’m lead stallion, technically any foals are mine, in a legal sense, right?”

She nods. “Oh, yeah. I know that. But consider that it looks like this cycle, Cayenne is going to be just off her pregnancy, and probably won’t even go into heat. Twilight isn’t ready for foals, and neither is Citrus. So the only pony probably wanting foals will be…me. We can definitely have a few days where Silver keeps the rest of the mares happy with sterility potions, and you can give me a foal?” She looks up at him, her eyes questioning him.

He clears his throat. “Well, ummm.” In a moment, the decision is made. “Of course, North. If Twilight is sure the magic will work, I’ll give you a foal if you really want one.”

That gets a huge smile from the light blue mare. She reaches out a hand and grabs his and holds it tightly. “I already know you are going to be a great sire, love. But this is so much better. To have life from you, growing inside me.” Her smile widens even further. “That would be heavenly.” She tilts her head. “Anyway, I haven’t decided for certain. I want to see how Cayenne’s filly is. She might be a couple of hoof fulls, and I might want to wait.”

Tim grins. “Okay, love. Whatever you decide.”

She nods. “I’m still kinda on the fence about it. But I do know, if I decide to, I want you to be the sire.”

He squeezes her hand tightly. “Whatever makes you happy, love.”

She leans up against him once again. “Silver’s been so puffed up on learning what Cayenne is having, having you give one of your mares a foal would certainly burst his bubble. Knowing he isn’t the only virile stallion in the herd.”

That gets a bark of a laugh from the human. “He has been full of himself, hasn’t he?”

***

This has been an absolutely magical night for North Point. Spending the evening with her lead stallion has had her over the moon. She’s already decided that when they get home, she’s going to show him exactly how much she appreciates his attention. Visions of what she plans to do with her human spin through her head as they walk through the streets of Canterlot. After finishing at Tasty Treat, they had found an arcade, with all sorts of games of chance and skill as well as just fun little time wasters that they both found enjoyable. He had called one of the games skee ball, and he had said he’d been really good at a very similar version of this game back home. It astounds her at times how many similarities there are with Equestria and his home before he came to live with them. She’s holding a stuffed Princess Celestia that her human stallion had won several games in a row to be able to earn. He has his arm around her as she hugs the oversize plush to her chest as they walk. It’s quite late at night now, much of the shops have closed and most herds are in the process of making their way to their homes.

Suddenly the human stops, sniffing the air. He blinks a few times. “That smells…familiar.”

“Familiar? What do you mean?” North sniffs too, finding her nose crinkling and almost feeling as though a sneeze is coming on. “Ugh.” She huffs. “Fried fish?”

He nods. “Smells like beer battered fried fish.” He walks a few steps drawing her along with him. As they move, they note that several pony herds are keeping rather clear, but there’s several pegasi, and quite a few griffons all crowded around a large wagon that’s parked on the side of the street, smoke wafting from its chimney. As they get close, Tim’s head cocks to the side, trying to read the pony script emblazoned proudly on the top side of the wagon.

“Grizela's Greasy Garnele” He says slowly before smiling. “I’m getting better at reading your script!”

She nods with a smile, though her stomach feels like it’s doing flip-flops. The human walks up to it, sniffing the air and he can feel his stomach is growling with hunger, it’s been a few hours since their last meal. “Deep fried and battered fish and chips, halibut, cod, haddock, bacon wrapped scallops, breaded shrimp.” North supplies helpfully as she reads the chalkboard written menu on the side.

As they get close, a pair of griffons grab their food and flap away, their claws full of fried goodness. The proprietor of the wagon sticks her head out of the window. “What’ll you have?” She snaps.

Tim stops, she’s certainly different than many of the griffs he’s seen before, her head is more streamlined, nearly triangular in shape, though she’s thin and almost lithe. Her feline attributes remind him of a cheetah, thin but muscular, with a spotted coat that makes its way all the way up onto her feathered parts. She blinks at him. “You aren’t a pony…” She tilts her head, a most predatory look on her face. “You look…different.” She blinks at North standing next to him. “And a unicorn standing on two legs. Never seen that before.” She murmurs. “Well, don’t ever say I discriminate when I sell my food. What’ll you be having?”

Tim draws North closer to the large window, he can see inside, a couple of friers have been built into the wall, along with a good prep area with built in bowls for batter and raw material. He can see mushrooms, pickles, mozzarella sticks, and even a few sides, like creamy coleslaw. The human finds himself drooling.

North giggles. “Are you sure you aren’t part pegasus?” She asks gently using her sleeve on the side of his mouth.

He gulps down the extra saliva before he addresses the griff. "Where have you been all my life!"

She looks confused for a moment. “I’ve only been here about a month. But, probably Griffondale.”

Tim blinks at her response. “Oh, wait, no. I mean… I haven’t even thought I was missing this kind of greasy fried food for as long as I’ve been here, I want to try everything.”

She looks back into her wagon for a moment. “I’m running a bit low in stock today, it’s been a busy day. But it’s gonna get expensive, but I can cook a bit of everything. If you don’t mind waiting. You’d better have a hollow leg to eat it all. Don’t want to waste food.”

Tim blinks. “Well, not everything, sorry. I just got excited.” He clears his throat. “I definitely want fried shrimp, and cod, and some of those mozza sticks.”

She nods and turns to the friers. “That I can do lickety split.” She says brightly as she gets to work.

His nose flairs. “I smell something else familiar.”

North tilts her head slightly. "What do you smell, love?"

"I smell...bacon?"

"Yeah?  and?"

"Not...some plant thing, bacon."

The griffin shakes her head and huffs while she’s working. "Look, growing up, we didn't have any of the fancy stuff here, like fridges, ice boxes, and such. So the best we could do was smoking, salting, and drying meats. For this, I came up with turkey bacon and salmon bacon. Oh, and maple syrup glazed salmon bacon, it works really well wrapped around cheese stuffed mushroom caps. OK."  She shakers her head, "And really over frying the salmon bacon, mixing in salmon skins,  then breaking everything up and dusting it on top of salads actually makes them almost palatable for me... at least it gives me something I can fill up on." She finishes her prep work and carefully places his order into the basket before lowering it into the hot oil. The oil bubbles and hisses as the food starts to cook, getting a rumble from the human’s stomach.

"Why are griffins so much more into meat?" North asks.

Apparently the griffs ears are very good. "Taurine." She chirps.

"Bless you?"

"No, Taurine, it’s an amino acid, and a base building block for protein. Ponies, pegasi, and such can synthesize it in their bodies, but griffins and most felines can't. It doesn't appear in plants at all, it only appears in meats, fish, birds, etcetera. Add to that, a griffins digestive system doesn't do well with high sugar, high starch diets like the ponies love. So, that means the only real source of food energy we can survive on well is..."

Tim nods. "Meat. You can eat other stuff, but if you don't have enough meat in your diet..."

"Bingo give the furless, tailless cat a prize!"

"I'm human."

"That’s what I said, furless tailless cat."

"I'm not a cat."

"Nope, you’re not, you don't have any fur, or a tail. but you do eat the same as one."

“I’m actually not from this world. I’m an alien to the ponies here.” 

The griff turns and looks at him. “You the only one of your kind here, then?” Absently she shakes the basket as she talks.

He nods. She glances at North. “What’s your story, you look like a pony, but not.” 

North flushes. “It’s a spell, I wanted to hold his hand and be close to him as we walk.”

The griff nods as she lifts the basket to check the food, she clacks her beak in pleasure as she lifts the basket and hangs it on the side of the frier to let it drain for a moment. “Almost ready for ya.” She gestures. “Any sauces for you?” He points and she squirts a generous helping onto the fried fish before handing the paper tray to the human. She looks at North who shakes her head quickly. She shrugs and hands the rest to Tim. “Okay, that’ll be ten bits.”

“Eight.”

She fixes him with a stare. “I know the ponies don’t have set prices for pretty much anything. But my prices are fixed. Its ten bits.”

He nods and hands over the thin gold pieces. Picking back up the mozzarella sticks he takes a bite, moaning in pleasure. “That’s almost better than home.” Which gets a smile from the griff. He grabs a piece of fish and stuffs it into his mouth. “Hot…” He huffs around the morsel, breathing in rapidly to cool off the fried goodness.

“Pigs get burnt.” The griff snarks, earning a dirty look from the human. He finally chews the morsel and swallows. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had this kind of food. Ponies don’t tend to have much battered and fried food like I’ve had at home.”

Grizela shrugs. “Sad for them, it’s good, isn’t it?” that gets an enthusiastic nod. She glances around. “Well, it’s pretty late, I have some cleanup to do before the night.” She turns away and gets busy.

Tim slowly works his way through the fish, then he holds out a piece to North. “Try some.” He says through a full mouth.

She holds up a hand. “Oh, no. I’m good.”

“I can fry up some broccoli if you want.” The griff calls out.

“No, I’m fine, really.” North says.

Tim licks his lips. “Okay, this is seriously good, North. Trust me on this.”

She blushes. “Are you sure? You know unicorns and earth ponies really don’t care much for meat.”

“You have the meat dishes that Cayenne makes when she’s figuring out new menu items for the restaurant.” He says with a smile, holding out a fried shrimp. “This is better than many she’s even gotten from me.”

She contemplates the shrimp in his hand, and after a long moment, she shifts the plush to one hand and tentatively reaches out a hand. His smile grows as she grabs the morsel and her teeth crunch into it. She stops for a moment, her eyes widening. “Okay, that’s really good.” She murmurs.

“Told ya.” He crows, getting a smile from her.

The human turns to the griff, who seems to have completed her task and is lounging on the edge of the window, watching them. "Ok, I have to ask, what else can you cook?"

"Whatever I could scrounge up, whatever trash fish the stores had left over. Crab, lobster, they actually go well with garlic butter. Smoked and slow cooked chicken, spiced, and dried till it became tough strips but still full of flavor, great for long flights.”

He grins. “Sounds like I’m going to have to keep coming here.” He says with a wink.

She sighs wistfully. “Bits were always tight. So, I had to be creative just to help mom. While she worked all day, I looked at what she brought back the night before and figured otu how to cook and prepare it with whatever we had."

“It was a pleasure to meet you.” He says, taking a step back, North moving with him.

They move off as North nabs a piece of fish from his tray, getting a smile from him as she pops it in her mouth. Chuckling, Tim uses a napkin to wipe off sauce from the tip of North’s muzzle, when he notices Grizela lowering shutters on her wagon, closing it up for the night apparently. Tim reaches out and runs a finger along North’s muzzle, enjoying her leaning into the touch with a big smile on his face.

The griffin steps out the back door and sits down with some fries in a paper wrap held in her claws. Taking one, she stops and sighs. A small pegasus foal is sitting on the sidewalk, watching wistfully. Tim looks around and notices a couple of mares standing and talking a bit away. The griff watches the foal for a long moment, seeing him drool a bit at the food wagon. Then it seems she makes a decision. She stands up from the stairs of the wagon and walks over to the foal and offers the bag to him. The foal looks at the offering and then at the griffon for a long moment. Grizela shakes it invitingly, and finally the pegasus foal reaches out and grabs it. He scampers a few feet away, then turns around and returns, hugging the griffin before running off.

Turning, the griffin walks, head low. Before punching the side of her wagon once and climbing back inside, with a loud click the back door is locked.

"Whatcha looking at?"

"I... um...  that shop keeper,  Grizela, I think, she just gave away her own dinner to a foal."

"Oh, come on, a griffin would never give anything away for free."

"Not true, and you know it."

North giggles. “Yeah, we’ve dealt with Ghalileah enough. Griffs can be pretty generous, when the mood strikes them.”

Tim nods as they start making their way home. He takes the last bite of his mozzarella stick and chews quickly. He puts his arm around the smaller mare and they enjoy their walk home, both of them smiling, enjoying their night.
> Chapter 48
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle is walking with her herd, Spike is lounging on her back as they make their way to the city docks, where the airships depart from. She looks up at the human stallion of their herd. Her heart swells, knowing what that human means to her.

Walking with the herd is a griffon. She’s expressed multiple times that she doesn’t really want to join the herd, that she’s willing to follow the rules that Citrus puts down, and she enjoys spending time with all of them. But she does seem quite fixated on the human as well. Her tail is waving almost as much as North’s is as they walk. Citrus and Cayenne are crowding up with Silver as the pegasus walks with them down the city streets. Cayenne is huffing and puffing a bit, the filly in her belly has been bouncing around a bit. Something that is normal with pegasi foals, she’s learned. As the alicorn walks, she finds herself watching Cayenne. The off white mare is in good spirits, though she occasionally battles the idea that she’s looking bad with the extra weight. Twilight had never understood how it’s said that mares are aglow when they are with foal. And Cayenne is no exception. Even with the extra sway, Twilight finds herself mesmerized by the pregnant mare’s movements. Being attracted to both sexes is the norm for Equestria, especially for mares. Though Twilight finds herself leaning more towards stallions, both Silver, and Tim. But even with her preferences, she finds watching the mares of her herd, especially Cayenne in her current state, to be more than a little distracting. 

She clears her throat as she moves up next to the human. “Are you sure?”

Tim huffs slightly. “Yes, Twilight, I want to stay human for this trip, I know ponies outside of Canterlot and Ponyville really don’t know about me, but I’ve got my mares with me. You don’t need to turn me into a pony for the trip.”

Twilight looks down. “I’m just trying to help.” She pouts. Only to be stopped by his hand rubbing behind her ear. She looks up into his smiling face. “Really, I am.”

Tim smiles. “I know you are, Twilight, but as we’ve seen in Canterlot, ponies will be put at ease better seeing that I’m with a herd. And I like the idea of exploring more of Equestria. Didn’t you say that you going to Ponyville was the first time you’d left Canterlot?”

She nods. “Yeah, but since then, I’ve certainly gotten around much more. I’ve visited Manehattan, Fillydelphia, of course the Crystal Empire, Appleoosa, and so many other places.” She ducks her head under his hand again, enjoying the feel of his touch. “And some of those places you are going to enjoy. But as a pony…”

Tim looks down at her. “Twilight, I know, you guys like to walk more than I do. But it’s going to be fun, whether I’m a pony or human.” He scratches her behind an ear. “We are almost there. I’m going to miss you, love.”

She looks up at him. “I’m going to miss you too. But this is primarily you and North’s trip. And I really need to spend more time with Flurry, and Cadance, and my brother, of course. She’s had her finances restored, thanks to Citrus. But she still needs a good caretaker when she’s doing her duties as the Crystal Princess.”

He nods. “And you are going to help with that. Just don’t zap anypony into a lactating mare.”

She turns her head a bit away. “No promises.” She grumbles, getting a laugh from the human. After a few moments, she looks up at him. “What do you think of Leah?” He looks down at her questioningly before she continues. “What if she decides she wants to be a full part of the herd?”

He glances at the griffon, who had moved up to walk next to North when Twilight had gathered Tim’s attention. “She said she doesn’t want to. She’s fine playing with us. But her father.”

Twilight winks, keeping her voice low to keep the conversation between the two of them. “Tim, have you seen how she looks at you? That’s a griff in love. And the fact that she’s okay with the entire herd, she does that because of you, love.”

“Me? I’m nopony special.”

She giggles. “Of course, you, silly. I should have seen that look in Citrus, I would have been smarter about how things turned out with us, and Cadance and pretty much everypony could see how I felt about you. But now that I know what to look for, I can see it in her. She went about it smarter than I did.” She misses a step for a moment before a reassuring touch from Tim. “I know, we are past that, but I really do feel bad about what I did.” She stops and takes a few breaths. “But Tim, she’s gonna have to make a decision sooner or later. She’s already told us that her dad wants her to marry a griff, they are more monogamous than ponies tend to be. What if he finds out?”

“She’s already told him a cover story about this trip. She said he bought it.”

Twilight shakes her head. “She’s pretty young, Tim. Sometimes things she might think may not be true.”

“Well, I’m glad she’s coming with. I think she’ll have fun, bond with the rest of the mares more.”

“And teach you more on how griffons can be intimate when so much of them is sharp and dangerous?”

Tim shakes his head with a bit of a laugh. “Well, that too. Speaking of intimate things. How are you going to be dealing with us all being gone?”

Twilight tosses her head. “I’ve gone without plenty of times.” She reaches out a wing and nudges him. “So that means when you get back, I’m gonna jump you.”

He reaches out and fondles one of her ears, getting her to close her eyes and her wings to pop. “Looking forward to it, love.”

Twilight blinks a few times, that walk went quickly in her head. “Well, I’d better head to the train station.” She lights her horn and her magic field appears on his cheek for the briefest of moments, she tilts her head and looks at him. “Safe journeys, love.” She turns to the rest of the herd as they’ve gathered at the entrance to the docks. “Safe journeys to all of you.” She reaches her head back to nuzzle the dragon snoozing on her back. “Okay, lazy bones. Time to head for the train.”

Spike emits a snore, getting rolled eyes from the alicorn. She walks over and nuzzles each mare quickly before taking her leave and walking slowly away. 

Leah smiles after Twilight before turning to the human. “Ready to head out, stud?”

Tim reaches out and strokes the side of her head, enjoying her leaning her head into his touch. “Of course. We can have fun with this trip.”

***

Nearly three weeks into the trip, the airship is moving slowly through the sky. They started their trip visiting Baltimare, and have moved along the coastline of the continent. North has been on the bridge quite often, taking notes and making drawings of what she’s been seeing. Tim noted that the faintly blue mare is happier than most times he’s seen her. She had remarked while she was working that her cutie mark had felt warm. And Tim had seen it glow a time or two. Remembering what Twilight has said, North is following her cutie mark, and that alignment has had the mare feel more content than at any time in her life.

The rest of the herd on the trip, on the other hoof, have simply been enjoying an extended vacation. On the upper deck, Cayenne is reclining in a lounge chair, staff on the airship have been assiduously caring for every need and desire of the pregnant mare. Leah has been spending much of her time with North, either fetching drawing supplies, or just crowded up with the unicorn as she works. Watching those two together has had Tim smile quite often. Nights together have been pretty fun, too. Cayenne even joining in more than once, even though she’s spent quite a bit of time simply resting, she’s found pregnancy isn’t the most fun thing in the world in her view.

Tim, though, has been keeping busy. Not only has he been assisting North with her various needs throughout the trip, along with sightseeing journeys through the places the airship has docked, but he’s also been going through schooling by the other stallion of the herd. Tim is on his knees, sweat streaming down his body as he pants. 

Silver laughs. “Are you ready to give up?”

Tim looks up through his hair, he’d let it get almost shoulder length, something he’d decided to try, even though the natural curliness has turned it into more of a mane than even some of the ponies. He growls. “No.”

“Well, stand up and face me, then.”

Tim slowly levers himself to his feet, wishing for the millionth time as he’s grown his hair out that he had some sort of tie off to keep it out of his face. That stray thought falls by the wayside, though, as he levels his weapon at the black maned Pegasus. Silver smiles, holding his own weapon at the ready. The pegasus has had Citrus zap him to be the half pony half human shape that the girls like to do on dates with the human. Though this time, it’s because silver wants the greater height and reach of the taller form. Though even with the changes, he’s not as tall as Tim, something that irks the silver pony to no end. Normally, he does use his hooves to manipulate his weapon, something that Tim had called sticky hooves when he first saw the ponies manipulating things with their hooves. Silver couldn’t begin to explain how the inborn magic of the ponies manifests that way. Twilight had tried to explain, yet the explanation only gave Tim headaches. Silver has a firm grip on the hilt with his hand, though. 

“Okay, again.”

Tim doesn’t simply rush in at his sparring partner. Hard teaching and getting whapped multiple times by the wood blade has cured him of that stupidity. He does, however, advance slowly, keeping his own close to his body. He glances down, trying to estimate the pegasus’ reach on this deck. Tim attempts a cut with his forearm, but he barely gets through the windup before Silver has again surprised him with how quickly he can move into range and smack Tim with his blade and then withdraw from reach quicker than a blink.

“Come on, Tim. I am fast, but not special. You’re trying to muscle it. Use your speed and trust in your blade. That strike can be done with just a flick of your hand.

Forgoing any dramatic yell, Tim takes a step bringing his rapier from the guard position he had been holding it in and slashing at Silver. “Much better.” Silver now has the outside line on him and is paused. “Now, what moves can you do from here?” Time wheels the sword around to push Silver’s away from the inside. “Good. Now thrust.” Tim stabs, landing a poke on Silver’s chest. “Now let’s try that again. That’s a very good basic combination to either use for a first strike, or as a counter to a more committed attack. Offend, mill, thrust.”

Tim tries it again, and finds he’s having more luck with it. Silver varies his angles, putting Tim through his list of cuts and parries, but he sees the principle is sound. By using a rotating motion, Tim can disengage blades while forcing a defensive response and getting his point on line for an attack.

To his surprise, the pegasus is suddenly up against him, back to him. Silver had pivoted around his clumsy strike and is now inside his defense. Silver twists his whole body to deliver a strike that goes full across his chest. Tim falls onto his rear, his breath momentarily gone. 

Silver crows in delight. “Come on, Tim. You know you are faster than this. Strike then withdraw. I’m trying to teach you nearly a decade of experience in a matter of months. It may have been a bad idea to start you out on rapier, it’s a very technically demanding type of sword.”

Tim huffs a couple of times, trying to regain his breath. He notices a purpling bruise on his bicep. “I know, Silver.” He pants. He grunts and groans a bit as he levers himself to his feet. He brings up his blade to his guard position. “You’re too fast, Silver.”

“As I said, Tim. I’m not exceptionally fast. With training you can be this speed.” He rolls his eyes. “In about five to seven years of three times a week training. I am always going to be faster than you because I am so much shorter. But you are always going to have the advantage in leverage and reach. That’s why I put you on rapier.”

“So what am I doing wrong?”

“You’re trying to punch me. You forget your weapon extends four feet past your fist. Next lesson, we’re just going to do footwork and ranging. After that, I’ll bet you my date night you can beat me at least once for real.”

“Sorry.” Tim looks down. “I know it’s frustrating to try to school a noob like me.” Tim takes a step back.

Silver looks at him critically for a long moment before reaching over and grabbing a water bottle and tossing it at the human. “Tim, I love the sword. I love sparring, I love the exercise.” He walks up closer, his eyes showing genuine affection for the human. “And it’s turning out I love teaching what I’m so passionate about.” He offers a brilliant smile. “You are a rank novice, I can’t even call you an amateur. But you learn quickly, and try not to make the same mistakes over and over. So, it’s not all that bad.”

Tim’s eyes flash down to take in the stallion’s cutie mark. “Does that mean you enjoy teaching metal work?”

Silver nods. “Yes. If I find somepony interested in learning from me.” He cocks his head to the side. “Why? You interested in learning?”

Tim takes a deep swig of the water. “Oh no. I’m good with you thrashing me with a sword. I don’t have the patience for what you do with gold and silver.”

That gets a soft chuckle. “No worries, Tim my boy.” He reached down a hand and runs a thumb along the cutie mark. “You’ve been talking with North, and Citrus, and Cayenne. We are more than our cutie marks. My first love is what got me this.” He smiles fondly for a long moment before opening his eyes and looking at Tim. “But I am an Equestrian stallion.” He stops for a moment. “No, I’m a pegasus stallion. I have a warrior tradition of my tribe to uphold.”

Tim shakes his head. “But the tribes have been at peace for, what? As long as the Royal Sisters have been around for?”

Silver nods. “Yes, fighting between the tribes is pretty much done. But you have no idea how long from unification it was until multi-tribe herding started happening.”

“With as horny as the ponies are, about ten minutes.”

That got a guffaw from the pegasus. He flexes his wings a bit as he reaches for another water bottle. He takes a gulp of his water before wiping off his mouth. “Oh, Tim. I’m pretty sure that ponies from different tribes banged pretty quickly. But herding, making a family with pegasi and earth ponies, or with unicorns. That was taboo for a long time.” He stops and thinks. “I’d say that within the last fifty or so years was when having more than one tribe in a herd was commonplace. I mean, it happened. But herds that had that makeup were few and far between. And from what I’ve heard, it was mainly the unicorns that were resistant. Didn’t want to muddy their bloodlines, is what I’ve heard. Some old snooty unicorns can still be dismissive of multi-tribe herds. Hell, it would have been easier having Leah or you in a herd with a unicorn a hundred years ago than a pegasus.”

“Wait, really? Other species, but not other tribes?”

He nods. “You forget, Tim. I’m a reader of history. And yeah. Princess Celestia, for a long time after Luna, was in seclusion. The local nobles of Canterlot were basically running Equestria, all unicorns. For a while, it was almost as bad as in the bad old days before unification.” He raises his sword. “Now, again.”

Tim sighs and puts his blade in the guard position that Silver had shown him. He nods grimly before the pegasus takes a step. With a loud clack, he is rewarded with the sting of the strike hitting his own sword rather than vulnerable flesh. He takes a step back, lowering the sword to intercept another strike aimed at his legs. He swipes out with his own blade after deflecting the second strike, only to have Silver dance away. Tim grits his teeth.

“Watch my shoulders, Tim, trying to watch my hands or the blade is futile, they move too fast. Watch what moves them, what controls them.” He strikes out, and Tim desperately blocks the strike. “Good.” Silver steps to the side, his blade on high guard. He feints, and Tim flinches into a guard, while Silver pivots the pommel in his hand and strikes from the other direction. Tim is helpless to the strike from the unexpected direction and Silver crows in delight on giving the human another bruise. Tim stumbles back and holds up a hand. “You done?”

Tim pants a few times before nodding. “Damn, Silver.” He reaches out and grabs his water. “You are good.”

Silver walks over and places his sword on the table before walking back and holding out his hand. Tim meekly places his own sword in the pegasus’ hand and Silver places the human’s sword next to his. He stops for a moment and looks at both weapons. A few months after his fight with Shining Armor, Tim had come to him, asking for Silver to train him in the ways of the sword. And for quite a while, Tim had sufficed with a wooden practice sword. Not knowing that Silver had talked to Citrus and Twilight, getting them to contract a royal armorer to make the human his own blade. Shortly after Cayenne’s pregnancy was confirmed, Silver had been able to present the blade to Tim. The blade itself is forty inches long, with a leather wrapped handle, made heavy for the humans large hands. The royal smith was an absolute master and had charged a premium price. Which Twilight had happily paid over Citrus’ objection. Silver had to confess, it was of a higher quality than his own rather utilitarian blade. But, Silver is happy to have a sparring partner. Even though he’s had to drag Tim’s skill level up quite a bit for the human to be any sort of challenge to him. He knows it would be years before Tim would have any chance in any kind of sword fight. He turns back to Tim. “Ya know, I don’t think I’ve ever asked you why you were so keen on getting into sword fighting.”

Tim smiles. “You defended your herd’s honor over my actions. I want to be able to do the same, for you, bud.”

Silver stops, looking at Tim. “Tim, my boy, I know what a mare in heat smells like. I know what to do. Yes, challenges do happen. But you caused the problems you caused because of your ignorance.”

Tim huffs. “I know that, Silver. But…”

Silver cocks his head to the side, his ears flicking back and forth. “You really felt helpless, didn’t you?” He gets a nod from his herdmate, eliciting a smile. “No worries, Tim. I sincerely doubt that you would ever need to call upon these skills in a real fight. That being said, I have no doubt that, under my tutelage, you’ll be able to lose gracefully to a grand master like Shining Armor.” He punches Tim in the shoulder. “And if you are lucky, might get a good lick or two in.”

Tim smiles wanly as Silver moves over and grabs the storage bag to put both swords away. Citrus is in their cabin, and he’ll stow the swords there, and get changed back to his usual four hooved shape. Being on two legs has its own benefits, he has to admit. But he much prefers being the way he was born. Even if he can say honestly that having hands is a nice thing too. Silver watches as Tim heads up to the bridge, where North has become a near permanent fixture during the trip. Silver moves over to the hatch down into the interior of the ship. As he walks, the bag slung over his shoulder, he notes the silver and gold work done throughout the rather utilitarian corridors of this airship. When Twilight Sparkle books an airship, she goes all out. Silver would have charged a lot of bits for this work. As he reaches the stateroom, he opens the door and steps in. He smiles at Citrus as he stows the swords.

“Have fun?”

He nods. “He told me why he’s been so keen on learning the sword.”

Citrus leans forward, “Oh, really?” Her ears flick back and forth. “You wanna switch back?” He nods and in moments she’s zapped him. He smiles as she tilts her head to the side. She continues. “Why?”

“He wants to be able to do for me that I did for the herd and him.” He stops and looks at Citrus. “How sweet is he?”

She blinks a few times. “Really?” At his nod, she sniffles a bit. “We really treated him wrong, didn’t we?”

He tilts his own head. “Yes…and no.”

“You are going to have to explain that, Silver.”

He chuckles. “Well, we are ponies, we think like ponies, and we expect others to think like us. So we treated him like a pony. Which is actually kinda good. Since we accept him, as different as he is, as one of us. He’s a member of the herd, a member of our family. Reaping the benefits, and suffering the woes of our lives.” He looks down, his ears flicking back and forth. “But that’s also a downside. We didn’t realize exactly how different he was to us. We thought he was just another intelligent creature like us. But he has his own thoughts and feelings, that we didn’t understand.” He smiles a little bit. “It took North, realizing how our treating him as an equal in our minds, wasn’t right for what he needed. To his way of thinking, we were unjust. He didn’t understand how others should be punished for his transgressions. How I was treated by the herd.” He looks up at her. “Don’t get me wrong, as I am a pony, I know that the fuckups of the head stallion can easily fall on all the stallions of a herd. But he didn’t understand that. He didn’t know to redeem himself, he had to get those stallions on his side.” He reaches over and nuzzles Citrus. “I didn’t fully understand how he was human, how different he was, so my reaction was to be salty towards him. To goad him, get his temper up. And for a long time, that backfired too. I didn’t understand that he felt guilty over his own actions, and having me pile on just made him feel more like dirt.” He stands straighter. “Though I think I got through to him.”

“Yeah, getting him pissed enough to clock you in the jaw.”

He barks a laugh. “Yeah, but he did show that he was the alpha, he is the stallion lead of our herd. He got me behind him, he showed me his strengths. He earned my respect. Something that is instinctual to us, he had to figure out. I’ll give it to him, though. He did figure it out, and he got me wanting to uphold our family honor. And in doing so, he showed that he’s a smart cookie. He’s a great choice for lead stallion of our herd.” He sighs softly. “And now he wants to be able to protect our herd the way I fought for our honor.”

“Can he?”

“Not yet. He tells me they just don’t use swords back home.” Silver rolls his eyes. “But duels aren’t always swords in the middle of the Grand Galloping Gala. Sometimes they are out and out brawls, and if he goes up against an Earth pony, he’d be in trouble. But he’s smart, smarter than most ponies would think he would be. I don’t doubt he’d come up with a way to win. You chose well when you fell in love with him.”

She snorts. “As if I had a choice, he was just so…”

“Wonderful?” Silver says softly.

She nods. “Yeah, just something about him.”

He nods, “Yeah, I know. He’s got four devoted mares, and a griff, and little ole me.”

“Little?” She smiles. “I remember you the other night, and I wouldn’t say you were little.”

That gets a guffaw from the silver Pegasus. “Okay, maybe not all that little.”

She reaches out and drags Silver closer, giving him a long, passionate kiss, getting his wings to flair. When she pulls away, she whispers into his ear. “Why not get him, and both of you can see if you can wear me out. North is busy, and Cayenne is being fawned over by the staff.”

“Ya know, we haven’t spit roasted you, yet.”

Her face glows, yet she has an excited smile on her face. “That sounds like fun.”

***

Being a griffon, Galileah sometimes like to perch up high, having many of the instincts of a pegasus speedster, without actually being a speedster herself. As Tim is walking through the streets of Canterlot with his herd, he has the griff on his shoulder, her wings slightly extended which brings her inborn magic into play, reducing her mass and making her weight on his shoulder to the point that she’s not taxing for her to be perched on his shoulder, but he is aware of her weight. She’s laughing with the herd as they get closer to the herd’s apartment building. Finally the large structure is visible among the other high rises in the district. Her claws clench slightly on his shoulder, getting Tim’s attention from a joke that Silver was saying, he gestures to the pegasus and looks up at Leah. “What is it?”

She huffs out a big sigh. “We are at your home. I have to go to mine.” She looks forlorn to the point that Tim is a bit worried about her.

“When are you going to visit again?”

She grins. “I’m leaving and you can’t wait to mount me again?”

“That’s not what I…” Tim sputters his way through an attempt to respond, only to be interrupted by laughter from the griffon. 

“Oh Tim. You are so easy to fluster.” She leans down and rubs her cheek across his for a moment. “No, I miss you when I’m gone. I think about you and your herd all the time.” She stops, her face warming. She blinks a couple of times. “I don’t know, but I know I’ve fallen hard for you…” She glances around at the rest of the herd. “But I think this is ending up something more.” She sighs. “Well, those are questions for another day. He tenses as he feels her shift her weight, she launches off of his shoulder and does a loop in the air before landing before the herd and offering an elaborate bow. “Til next time!” She crows and takes off straight up. Everypony’s eyes follow the griff as she heads off.

Cayenne clears her throat. “Well, I’m glad she had fun.”

“Well, we all did.” Tim says, looking at North, who is standing there, she offered to pull the wagon they had rented at the station, over Silver’s objections. Though in the end, they had hired an earth pony mare to pull it so it can be returned. In it is all the herd’s luggage, along with several boxes full of maps and notations the unicorn had been working on the entire trip. She’s already exclaimed several times how much she wants to do with all of the notes she was able to garner with this expedition. She tosses her head a bit and the herd gets the point and continues walking. Before long they are standing before the entrance to their building. Cayenne and North light their horns along with Citrus and everything is lifted into the air. Citrus offers a stack of bits to the driver, who had been paid in advance, which are accepted with a bright smile and the mare turns and pulls the wagon back down the street. The herd all look at each other for a moment before they head inside. Quite quickly, they are in their apartment.

Tim looks around. “I’m guessing Twilight hasn’t made it home yet?”

Citrus giggles, “She easily could have been called away by that map in her castle. Or a friendship problem requiring her to be in Ponyville. She’s fine. Don’t need to worry about her.”

Tim nods. “She certainly knows how to take care of herself. We don’t need to worry, do we?”

Citrus nods. “Of course not.” Her ears flick back and forth. “Well, I guess some. She’s told us about some of what she did before you came to us.” She shudders. “That mare has gone through a lot.”

Cayenne moves over and nuzzles Citrus. “You are lead mare of this herd. She may be a princess, she may be a fantastically powerful alicorn, but she’s still a member of the herd, and of course you’ll worry about her well-being. That’s your job, Citrus. And you are exceptional at being a lead mare.” She gestures to her swollen belly. “Just like you’ll be a fantastic herd mom once I drop this little one.”

Citrus offers Cayenne a kiss, and for a long moment, time ceases to exist for them. When they come up for air, Citrus glances at Tim, and she flinches away, her face reddening. 

North trots back downstairs, grabbing a couple more bags. “Come on, lazy bones. I, for one want to get a nap in before we get into dealing with life outside our herd.” 

Cayenne nods. “Well, I, for one, am hungry.”

“We can use the phone, order from hayburger?” Citrus offers, bringing up the device from her daily carry pouch. Then she notices Tim’s face. “Oh yeah.” She giggles. “Perhaps something else.”

Cayenne shakes her head, “Oh, no. I’m not in the mood for food made by somepony else. It’s nice to have a personal chef during an extended cruise taking care of your every whim. But no, I want to make something.” She looks at Tim. “With meat. I swear, with a pegafilly in me, I find myself hankerin for some meat almost daily.” She tilts her head towards the kitchen. “Want to help, love?”

He nods. “Of course, love. Any time.”

Silver grumbles a bit, sometimes it seems almost like a competition between the two on who gets to help the mares with daily tasks. Tim directs a grin at the pegasus before they both head into the kitchen.

Tim loses track of time, helping the spicy mare as they work in the kitchen. Her attitude while cooking is far different than the executive chef she hired at her restaurant. But within an hour or so, two pots are bubbling on the stove and the oven is fired up, bringing delicious smells as they work. Tim opens the oven door as Cayenne floats the laden pan into the interior. He smiles as he closes the oven, getting an answering smile in return.

“I’ll get it.” Silver says as he bounds towards the front door in response to a knock. After a few seconds, Silver’s voice floats into the kitchen, “Ummm, Tim, Citrus?”

Tim looks at Cayenne, who nods and he grabs a towel to wipe his hands as he walks into the entry foyer. Silver is sitting there, holding Leah, who is sobbing into his chest. “What’s going on?” Citrus walks in and stops, a hoof raised in surprise.

Leah turns and looks at the human, her eyes red and tears streaming. “Daddy kicked me out!”
> Chapter 49.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leah’s pronouncement has galvanized everypony. Citrus is the first to rush to the griff, adding herself to Silver in the hug, but no less quick is North and even Cayenne. After everypony has glomped onto the griffon, Tim moves in with his longer arms, and grabs everyone as he gets down to their level. The sobs from the griffon hammer into his heart as she tries and fails miserably to keep some semblance of control. In only a few minutes, she’s full-on wailing. Citrus talks gently into her ear, letting her know everything is going to be okay while petting her head gently and chewing gently on the feathers of her head. Everyone stays together like this for a long time before the sound of footsteps in the hall interrupt.

“What the heck, why is the door…” Twilight asks. She stops abruptly as she sees them all hugging and the sounds of the sobbing griff reach her ears. Those ears perk forward in curiosity for a long moment as she takes cautious steps into the foyer, her magic chiming briefly to close the door.

Tim looks over at the alicorn. “That isn’t going to be good,” he murmurs softly.

Twilight’s reaction has even Tim flinching. Her ears pin back while her eyes widen and wings flair, her tail flagging straight out. Tim is only able to nod. Twilight blinks a few times before she leaps forward, squirming among everypony to glomp directly onto Leah, who buries her head in Twilight’s shoulder as she weeps, “Daddy kicked me out!”

After a long time crying, Leah sniffles a bit before squirming away from Twilight, breaking the hug. She ends up on all fours, though tears are still flowing. She runs a foreleg along her face, somewhat cleaning herself up. She sniffles again, looking at Twilight. “No…he did know I was with you, but that’s not why…” She stops for a long moment, steeling herself. “He apparently has decided that it’s time to get a return on his investment in me.”

Twilight’s eyes narrow. “Who is he marrying you off to?”

Citrus blinks, looking between Twilight and the griffon. “Okay, for those of us not schooled in Griff society, could you explain it?”

Twilight looks at Leah, then smiles at the small nod from the griff before clearing her throat. “What she’s saying that in griffin society, they are more money based than ponies. Chicks are an investment, effectively literally. Male chicks are trained to make money, learn to invest and work hard, to provide for a family. When they get to be the age of majority, which is usually between fifteen and twenty years old, they are figuratively booted from their homes, to thrive or not, and an amount is assessed by the parents. The chick’s responsibility is to pay back that investment. For females, it’s a little different.”

Tim looks between the two. “Wait, it’s all about money?” His gaze settles on Leah. “That’s why you talk about money, and investing and return on investment all the time?”

She nods. “Go ahead, Twilight, tell them the rest.” She puffs out her chest. “We are different than the ponies, and I won’t say our way is perfect. But it works well for us. My father, as a fledgling, was able to get in with a good and well-connected minister, he built up a good fortune, which allowed him to purchase my mother, and was able to have me and my brother and sister and have us live in prosperity. My brother is older than me. He was sent out early, but Daddy helped him set up, he’s been paying back his parents for raising him for nearly five years now.”

Citrus gasps a bit. “Purchase? Like trade goods? Paying parents back? That’s…”

“How griffons do things.” Twilight says softly before swallowing and looking up at Tim. “It’s a bit different for females. You noticed she said purchased her mom, right?” At Tim’s nod, she continues. “Well, when a young male is ready for a family, he will look for a family he wants to get a mate from. And he will approach her dad, and pay a dowry. The size of that dowry is based on not only her looks. Ahem…her physical characteristics. And also how successful her family is. As griffs go, Leah is actually quite attractive.”

Leah blushes a bit, looking down. “Thank you, Twi.”

That gets a beaming smile. “I’m just speaking facts, Leah.” She reaches forward and nuzzles the griff quickly before looking at the rest of the herd. “And also if he finds her attractive, he can ask to see some of her test scores from school, to see how smart she is, what kind of chicks she could be expected to produce. So, he bases his decision on what he’s willing to pay on how she looks, and how smart she is, so their chicks could be successful.” She stops and sighs. “How much, Leah?”

That gets a heavier blush. “Five hun…” Her voice trails off.

Twilight blinks. “I didn’t catch that, how much?”

“…”

Twilight tilts her head to the side. “Sweetie, you’ve been having hot, sweaty sex with everypony here. I don’t think you need to be shy…how much?”

“Five hundred thousand bits, if I’ve got the conversion correct.”

“Half a million bits!?” Twilight shouts. “And he’s willing to pay that much!”

“He already did!”

Tim asks “I know that’s a lot, but is that a high price?”

Citrus says, “Our house was two hundred fifty thousand bits when we bought it.”

Citrus reaches over and grabs Leah and hugging her tightly. “Oh, sweetie, you are so valuable to your family! The griff that wants you is willing to part with that kind of bits.” She pulls away. “Don’t worry, if you want to go with him. We’ll all be sad, but if you want to.”

“I said no.”

Citrus blinks. Then brings the griff close for a tighter hug. “We support your decision, no matter what it is.”

“That’s why daddy booted me out. I got stupid when he told me how much. I said I didn’t care about the bits. I didn’t care how much he invested in me. I wanted…” She stops for a long moment before looking down. “Something other than to stay with some ugly griff because he has money. I told him I didn’t want to be popping out eggs every breeding season, having to hatch them, nurture them. I told him to give the crowns back. I’m not going.”

“You don’t?” Twilight blurts out. “I know you are having fun with us. But you yourself have said this was just a bit of fun. Nothing serious.”

That gets a sniffle. “Well, it just got really serious, Twilight.” She looks around. “When daddy was telling me I didn’t have a choice. I was just thinking of you, my heard., and I knew I just couldn’t. I couldn’t see myself getting married. I couldn’t see myself staying with any griff or anypony. I don’t know if I want to get married at all.”

Citrus seems to falter a bit, Leah notices. “Don’t get me wrong, Citrus. I don’t want to stop what we have. I love spending time with your herd. I love our fun nights together. The hot sweaty sex is pretty good too.” She leans closer and nuzzles the yellow pony. “But I don’t want to be a mom. I don’t need any little chicks running around.”

Cayenne clears her throat. “Well, if you stay around here…” When Leah turns to look at her, she gestures to her belly. “We are going to be having a filly bouncing around pretty quickly, you do know that, right?”

Leah clacks her beak. “Well, of course. And I can’t wait until I can spoil that little filly of yours absolutely rotten.” She turns and looks at Twilight. “But…” She falters for a moment before firming up. “I’m saying I’m not ready to be a mom.” She shrugs. “As I said, I don’t want to join a herd on a permanent basis. I also don’t want to get married to a griff either. I’ve been learning from daddy, I’ve been learning from you, Twilight. I’m good with money, and I can make my way. If daddy wants to assess me like he did my brother, I’ll gladly pay him back.” She gets a sour look and sticks out her tongue. “But no, dropping eggs, nesting, no. Not me. Not for a while, I’m still young.”

Twilight frowns. “If that’s your choice, your father should respect that.”

Galileah laughs, “That’s not how griffons work! The closest our culture gets to a herd relationship is familial debt; ponies bond with fluids, griffs bond with money and contracts. This is as bad to a griff as adultery is to a pony. I have to handle this myself, it’s going to get even uglier.”

She’s grabbed by Citrus and hugged tightly. “Oh, you don’t need to get all independent on us. If you don’t want to sleep in bed with us, we have two spare bedrooms, well, one when Spike’s here. Don’t need to worry about a place to stay.”

To Citrus’ surprise, tears well in the griff’s eyes and she hugs Citrus back, hard. She murmurs softly into Citrus’ fur. “Thank you.”

Tim has been rubbing his chin, he looks at Leah. “I’m worried about what you said. He knew what we were doing on our trip?”

Leah looks down, scratching a claw on the marble floor. “Yeah. Turns out, he’s smarter than I thought. He knows I’ve been visiting you for a while now.” She looks up at him. “He apparently figured out what we’ve been doing. He said he knows I’m not a virgin anymore. That my deception was good, but not good enough. He suspected it was you. He called you the monkey man. He asked me if I was letting the monkey man mount me.”

Tim’s eyes widen. “And what did you tell him?”

“I didn’t say anything. Though I think he knew.” Her face was turning red.

Silver chuckles, “I don’t think you had to say anything. Your face told him everything he needed to know.”

She extends a wing and hides behind it. Twilight moves closer and nuzzles the griff. “Don’t worry, sweetie, we will figure out something to do.” She takes a step. “Let’s get you settled in and you can stay with us until we get this all sorted out.” She stops and tilts her head. “Any idea who the griff was that wanted to pay so much for you?”

Leah folds her wing, looking around at the ponies for a long moment before focusing on Twilight. “He told me his name, and who his family was. One of the richest griffs back home. Half a million bits is a lot of gold. You forget I’m an aristocrat with connections; I am valuable.”

Twilight nods and smiles as she draws Leah with her towards the stairs. “It’s not a worry, and it’s a mark of how wonderful you are that he’s willing to part with so much for you.”

“You don’t understand, Twilight, when Citrus said trade goods earlier, she was right. A griffoness when married disappears into the vault of her husband. If I were to go with him, I’d probably never leave home again. My life would be getting mounted by him and pumping out chicks.

“Oh, hush, sweetie. We aren’t going to let that happen to you. You can determine what you want in your life. If worst comes to worst, we can appeal to Celestia for an emergency petition to make you an Equestrian subject.” She glances at Tim. “Maybe some sort of deal like what handled for Tim.” She grins. Might just make you the official ambassador to the Griff homelands instead of your father.” They disappear upstairs as Citrus looks at Tim.

“Well, Cayenne was making a meat dish tonight. Let’s get some good food in her and get some rest tonight.”

***

“Citrus, where’s Twilight?”

“Don’t know, Galileah, she said she had to deal with some business when she went out this morning,” Citrus says as she’s stirring cream into her coffee. She offers a cup to the griffon, who takes it gratefully. 

As they are drinking their coffee, a loud growl interrupts their peace as Twilight enters the kitchen. The purple mare’s horn lights as she pulls her day bag off and slams it onto the counter. “Of all the insufferable, bigoted, simple minded…”

“What’s going on, Twi?” Citrus asks with a bit of a laugh.

Twilight blinks a few times. “Oh, I went to the Griffon ambassador’s office this morning.” She grumbles for a long moment before looking at Leah, then back to Citrus. “I was trying to end this.”

“Twilight, you don’t need to…” Leah says as Citrus chimes in.

“You what?” The yellow mare asks.

Twilight slaps a hoof on the floor. “I was trying to make this easy. I offered to pay her dowry back, and when he refused. I doubled it. He still refused.” She huffs. “And he said that Leah having some fun and ‘sowing her oats’ with the ponies and that monkey man as she called Tim was one thing. But his daughter was an upstanding griff. That she was going to calm down her wild ways, and get married like a respectable griff.”

“Wait a moment. You offered a million bits?” Leah squawks a bit, her wings extending.

Twilight smiles. “Yeah. You know we are good for it. I mean, you say yourself I’m a one mare economy; I’d have to liquidate some of our assets, forego our next vacation, but I absolutely could, Herd Blush on the whole could, it’d be a huge pull from our accounts, but we’d be fine.”

Leah blinks. “How rich are you, Twilight?”

That gets a blush from the alicorn. She ducks her head to the side. “I could buy your father as my breeding stock.”

Citrus tilts her head. “Don’t need to be shy, Twilight. We are all family here.” She turns to Leah and names a few figures.

Leah’s eyes widen. “I had no idea.” She looks around. “Everything here should be gold plated, and you could buy this entire building.” She focuses on Twilight. “And you could probably buy the block with your pocket change, Twilight. I knew you were loaded, you are a princess. And with all those bits coming in from those phones.”

“That’s Tim’s money, not mine. I’m a minor investor.” Twilight says quickly.

“It’s all part of your family. He’s a stallion.”

Twilight shakes her head. “He doesn’t have to contribute to the family income. We are quite well off. And he deserves every bit he’s gotten with what happened to him how he came to this world, and what he brought with him.”

Citrus looks at Twilight. “He’s insisting that he contribute to the family. Even when he has to meet with financial managers to deal with the amount of bits rolling in. I don’t think he really realizes how much income there truly is.”

Leah holds up a claw. “So, what you are saying, you offered daddy a million bits. And he said no?”

Twilight blinks, before flicking her ears back and forth. “Yeah.”

Leah blinks a few times. “Okay, let me get this straight, you, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria, Princess of Magic, no less, offered my father a million bits to relieve my debt to him.” She stops and shudders. “While I have no idea how I would ever pay you back for that. But the real question is… he said no?”

Twilight’s ears fall and she ducks her head down, her tail clamping to her rear as her wings shuffle a bit. “Yeah.”

Twilight gasps as the griff tackles her, the griffs wings joining her arms as she embraces the alicorn tightly. Leah’s sobs come through after a long moment of her clinging to the alicorn. After a long moment, she sniffles and pulls back a bit. “Thank you, Twilight. I didn’t know I meant that much to you.”

Twilight reaches up a hoof, petting the griff’s head. “Oh, sweetie, I’d do it for any friend.”

Ctirus smiles as Leah finally takes a step back from the alicorn. She sniffles a few times as she moves off, going up to Cayenne in the kitchen and continuing what she had been doing before Twilight had gotten home. Citrus glances at Twilight, “Twi, could you meet me in the bedroom?”

Twilight offers a smile as she nods. Citrus turns and heads up the stairs, one ear cocked back listening as the alicorn follows her. The light tread of Twilight always amazes her, she had remembered when Twilight was a unicorn many years before, and she was smaller than average, almost Pegasus size. Becoming an alicorn had added inches to her height and she was no longer a small pony. She had said someday she’d be the size of Celestia.

As they get into the bedroom she lights her horn to close the door before whirling on the larger pony. “Twilight, that was very kind of you, but you aren’t lead mare.”

Twilight’s shock is evident. She takes a step back, raising one hoof in the air, her mouth an o of shock, even her wings half extend in surprise. “What? No, what? I don’t…”

Citrus takes an aggressive step forward. “I understand you may be Princess of Magic and your word is law in Equestria, but you are not princess of this household, you can’t just go making huge group decisions like that for us all by yourself. Unless you can’t stand my authority and would rather lead yourself.”

She’s stopped by Twilight taking a fast step of her own as the alicorn grabs Citrus and wraps her forelegs around Citrus, bringing her wings into the hug. “Oh, no. Not at all. I love you, and I love having you to look up to, the rock for our herd, to keep everypony happy.”

Citrus sniffles. “Then why did you go? You evaded when you were asked where you were going. You just said you were going to deal with something. Now, I suspected, but didn’t say anything. Then you come home and we find this out. And I ask you, why didn’t you ask me?” She pulls away, standing strong before Twilight.

“I have to ask your permission? Aren’t we past where anything has to have lead mare approval?”

Citrus groans, “I forgot, your first herd and all. Ly-ly, this isn’t some fiefdom where you must bow to your mistress, to me. But this was something big. Something that affects the entire family. At the very least it should have been run by me, not because you were doing something. But because it affected the entire herd. This was a huge group decision you tried to make for all of us all on your own.”

Twilight’s ear flick. “If it’s about the money, I’m willing to…”

“I know we have the money, and while it would be taxing for our finances without your income, it’s doable. It’s not about that. It’s that you stepped into this and made a big decision without any input from me, from your herd. Just imagine our shock when we saw our next bank statement. It makes the other ponies feel disvalued when you don’t ask them, even if they’d say yes, it’s that everypony likes to be asked, to know that their thought of and considered.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re not in trouble. Something this big, I would have had Tim, North, Cayenne, and Silver all at least voicing their input. It’s like we are adding a new mare to the herd. Well, since it’s technically paying a dowry, that’s exactly what it is. And that is certainly something that a mare would bring to the lead mare. So, I ask you, do you want to be lead mare of this herd? You are strong, far stronger in magic than I am. In most herds, you would rightfully challenge my lead. And given your strength, I would yield. So… Do you want that?”

Twilight blinks, her ears flicking back and forth. “No, Citrus. Not at all. In fact, being a part of this herd. Not having to deal with the day to day of being a princess of Equestria. I can be relaxed here, I can just…” She stops, trying to search for words as her emotions play about on her body, her wings shifting, her tail flicking back and forth, her ears pinning back momentarily before relaxing. “No, I love not having that extra responsibility that rests on your withers, Citrus.” She looks down. “I’m sorry, I should have told you what I wanted to do. I was just so focused. And then what he said, it made me so mad.”

Citrus moves up and nuzzles Twilight. “Okay, thank you. When you did that, I thought you were trying to show to the herd that you wanted this responsibility.”

Twilight giggles. “Oh, no, definitely not. I have enough on my plate, I deal with enough. No, not in a million years.” She stops and takes a few breaths. “Love, I will make sure that you are in on any decisions that affect the entire herd, I should have thought of the whole herd first before I jumped in with all four hooves.” She offers a smile. “And then stuffed all four in my mouth.”

Citrus smiles back. “Okay, love. There are times, where I feel like such an imposter, telling you, of all ponies, what we will be doing.”

Twilight nuzzles Citrus. “I’m happy to live by your lead, Citrus. No worries there.”

“Good. I love you, Ly-ly – do you like that nickname?”

“It’s perfect,” giggles Twilight, kissing Citrus on the lips. The other mare kisses back fiercely, pushing Twilight Sparkle towards the bed. 

***

It’s not an official date. Leah has adamantly said that she’s not courting to join the herd. Yet even though she has set herself up in a small apartment across town, she still spends more than half her time with the herd. Tim smiles as the griff walks next to him.

“Now, as we are talking about political marriages within griff society. Daddy had to fight his way to earning his position. He had to buy his title before he was appointed.”

“And he’s had two other appointments as ambassador?”

She nods. “First was to Yakyakistan, I spent much of my fledgling years there. Then we moved to the Minotaur homeland. After about five years, Daddy got promoted to Equestria.”

Tim looks around. “Promoted?”

She nods, a big smile on her face. “Dealing with the ponies that literally move the sun and moon? Definitely a choice posting. Daddy had to spend a lot of money and political capital he’d built up, negotiating trade deals and gaining the favor of Prince Rutherford was a big feather in his cap. And in case you didn’t know, the minotaurs are quite good negotiators. It takes real skill to deal with them.”

Tim looks thoughtful. “I’ve only met two of them. One was a real piece of work.”

That gets a chuckle from the griff. “Oh, Twi has told me about Iron Will.” She clacks her beak. “No, he’s not typical. I’d say he’s especially bone headed for a minotaur.” She looks around. “I thought you said we were going out for food? I’m starving!”

Tim smiles. “Oh, so am I. But I wanted to take you somewhere special.”

Her eyebrows rise. “Oh? Really?”

He nods enthusiastically. “Definitely. I was with North when I found this place.” He looks around. “It’s usually in this area.”

Her brow furrows. “Huh? A restaurant that moves? How?”

He sniffs the air. “Okay, we are close.”

She looks doubtful, sniffing the air. Then it hits her and her eyes widen. “Oh, that smells good.” Then she gets a quizzical look on her face. “A restaurant you find by smell. That’s different. But you never know with the magic of the ponies. I’m surprised the staircases in Canterlot Castle don’t move around, with how much magic Celestia possesses.” She follows the human as he picks up his pace. Then they round the corner and she comes to a stop. “Wait…what?” Before them is the same cart that Tim had found, and the delicious fried food smell is a lot stronger. While there are plenty of ponies around it, primarily pegasi, though with a smattering of unicorns and earth ponies. Contentedly munching on their food. There are also quite a few griffons eating and waiting in line. Then Leah gets a glimpse of the proprietor. “Oh, Tim. Let’s find something else.”

“Why? The food is delicious.” He falls into line behind a pegasus, who is periodically wiping her mouth with a hoof to stave off the drool. He’s brought Silver to this place a couple of times too. And even Citrus, who admitted that the deep-fried mushrooms and broccoli are spectacular.

She sniffs. “It’s not the food…” Leah says before reluctantly stepping up next to the human. She shuffles a few steps forward as the line moves. She taps a claw impatiently as they slowly move forward.

The griff inside hands off a plate to another griff with a tough leather jacket and then stops and sizes up Leah before her gaze falls on Tim. “Hey, Tim! How’s my favorite human?”

“I’m only your favorite because of how many bits you make off of me.”

That gets a laugh. “Ok so you’re the only human here, but still better than being the only human and not being my favorite.” She stops and looks at Leah. “I just fed several delivery griffins, and a mail courier griffin.  I even have customers in the staff at the embassy. Eating on the fly.” She blinks. “The daughter of the ambassador though, that’s a new one.” She clicks her beak. “Let me guess, slumming around today with us commoners, or just wanna see how the lower-class lives, Princess?”

Tim puts a hand on Leah’s withers as her wings extend. “Grizela, no need to be antagonistic.” He says, an edge of warning in his voice.

That gets a sigh. “Sorry, griffin nature, but” she says drawing out the word, “Bits are bits, so, what are we having today? I have some fresh sweet potato and corn clam chowder and Crab cakes with a garlic butter dipping sauce today, along with my regulars.  Cod, haddock and monkfish.”

Tim looks at the claw written menu on the side and tells her his selection, the griff listens with rapt attention before looking at Leah. “And you?”

“Nothing, thanks.” Leah says acidly.

Tim looks down at Leah. “Now, now. I don’t know what bee got stuffed in your bonnet, just order some food, or I’ll order for you.”

Leah directs a glare at the human for a long moment before her gaze softens. “It’s good that you are so cute.” She stops and blows out a sigh. “Fine, fish and chips, and stuffed mushrooms.”

“Got it, thirty-five bits.”

Tim reaches for his bits but Leah is faster, she slams down the bits on the ledge. “Can’t ever say I don’t pay my debts.” She glances up at Tim. “And that I don’t rely on some stallion to pay my way.”

Grizela looks at the bits for a long moment before sweeping them into her claw and shuffling through them for a moment before putting them in the tray and turning into the interior of the cart as Tim leads Leah away.

“The fuck was that about?” He says, after making sure he’s far enough away, griffs can hear better than their lack of external ears would make him think.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Leah says primly as she picks her way over to a makeshift table and stool setup a bit away from the cart that were obviously set up by the griff for her customers to have a place to eat.

Tim eases his frame onto the stool, rocking a bit back and forth before judging that despite its rickety appearance, it can hold his weight. He looks at Leah. “Come on.” He looks around. Leah had led them to a sparsely populated part of the makeshift dining area, and most importantly, no griffs in earshot. “You went from happy to grumpy in no time flat.” He looks at the cart. “Do you know Grizela?”

“Know her? Personally? As if.” That gets an ironic laugh. “I’m used to eating in the finest establishments. Not rude street vendors.” She looks at Tim. “She has to have some skill. The food actually smells divine. So, I’m giving it a shot, for your sake, Tim.” She looks at the cart. “But some commoner, with barely a crown or two to her name isn’t a fine dining establishment.”

“Wow.” Tim says softly. “I know you lived in luxury. But this is the kind of food I grew up on. Deep fried food was a staple of mine growing up. I remember there was a time when I was young where I’d only eat corn dogs.”

That gets a blink of confusion. “Corn…dogs?” Leah sticks out her tongue. “How disgusting.”

That gets a laugh. “I don’t think the ponies or griffons have ever heard of them.” He takes a moment to explain the food, getting a small laugh from Leah. 

She shakes her head. “Okay, for a moment I thought you were talking actual fried dog. And that’s just nasty.”

His eyes widen. “You’ve eaten dog?”

“Yeah, hasn’t everyone? Roast dog meat is great!”

He shakes his head emphatically. “Oh definitely not!” Tim stops for a moment, thinking. Though in a matter of moments, Grizela is shambling towards them, a platter being held high. She rears up on two legs and uses her other claw to distribute the food. Though Tim notices that there’s a back in ten minutes sign on the window of her cart and she has an extra paper tray of fried goodies which she deposits on the table before making a long stretch and setting down the tray. She hops up on the seat and settles in, offering Tim a smile.

“Thank you, you are dismissed.” Leah says primly.

“Not keeping you company, him.” She gestures to Tim with a morsel before popping it in her mouth. 

“That's... a corn dog!"  Tim says blinking, "You never said you had those."

"Huh?  no, no dogs or corn are involved in this, it’s a breaded bacon sausage dip. Starts with a sausage, dipped in the batter then deep fried, then that’s wrapped with bacon, dipped again, and refried.” Grizela smiles. “AND, You were in luck, came at the end of a rush, and I was hungry anyway.” She looks at Leah. “I’ve heard some rumors flying around the embassy.” She tilts her head. “Dad is sore at ya?”

Leah jerks back, looking extremely offended. But after a moment, her face reddens. “You heard?”

"There are only a few things that fly faster than me, Rumors are one of them." Grizela swallows and nods. “The ambassadorial staff talks, not noticing the staff lower on the totem pole. Word gets around, Princess.”

Leah ducks her head. “I’m no princess.”

That gets a sharp bark of a laugh. “No, you aren’t an alicorn like the one in buddy boy’s herd here. Or the royal sisters. But you refusing to abide by your dowry is definitely the talk of the town. You really embarrassed your dad, you know, right?”

Leah’s face is about as red as possible. Her wings flutter, and she almost seems as though she’s ready to zoom into the sky. Tim reaches out a hand and grabs her claw, being careful on how sharp they are. “Leah. We couldn’t expect all of this to remain secret.”

Leah hides her face with a wing. “I’m so embarrassed.” Even quieter she mutters, “Fuck my life.”

“No worries, Princess. Gripthorn is a slug. Nogriff likes him very much. His most endearing quality is that he’s loaded to the gills. He treats everygriff like they are furniture. I don’t think anygriff wants to be in your feathers.” She leans forward. “You know, I don’t think anygriff will have a problem with you telling him to suck eggs in the most public way possible.”

Leah sighs heavily. “I just don’t know what to do!” She growls. “Look at me, I’m talking to a street vendor and actually listening to what she has to say.” She reaches out and grabs a piece of cod and pops it in her mouth. As she chews, her entire body relaxes a bit and she offers a smile. “Well. This is actually very good.”

That gets a smile. “Even us lower class griffs do know a thing or two.” She leans closer. “I know you don’t want my advice, Princess. But you’ve got a pony herd at your back. One with a Princess. If anyone can make your denial stick, it’s Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Leah takes a second bite, looking at Tim a few times, smiling shyly at the human.

Tim looks up as several griffins fly by in a panic, heading for the city limits, one calls out, "Code SD!"

Blinking Tim looks at Grizela, "Huh?"

"Oh no,"  Grizela’s own wings flex a bit in fear.

"WE might be safe," Leah says softly, looking around furtively.

"What’s a code SD?"

Leah looks at Tim, "You live in Canterlot and have been to Ponyville, and you don’t know?"

Grizela shakes her head, "Code S, Song, D, Dance. It means there’s a pony song and dance number heading this way."

Tim looks at the two griffons. "Umm...is that bad?"

"It depends."  Leah says.

"This is a P level threat!"  Another griffin calls out.  "I say again, this is a P level threat."

Both griffins look at each other, and in stereo, "Run?"

"What’s that mean?"

"Its a Pinky Pie parade, we need to run, NOW!" Grizela says before diving at her wagon and hurriedly working to close it up.

Leah has stuffed most of the rest of her food in her mouth. Tim looks down at his own plate, it’s been nearly emptied as they’ve talked. He’s thinking fiercely. Then his eyebrows rise a bit. “Wait a moment, Pinkie Pie? Twilight’s friend?”

“Yeah.”

Tim smiles. “Well, it’s not a date until we end up singing and dancing, right?”

“Ummm, I don’t think that’s how dates usually go.” Leah says softly.

He stands up, grabbing a claw and drawing her up. “C’mon, you’ll be with me. And I remember how that magic feels. We’ll have fun.”

She looks at her claw in his hand for a long moment before sighing softly. “The things I do for love.” She mutters before following the human towards the sound of music.
> Chapter 50.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim and Leah are both breathing heavily, on account of the happy exercise both have just completed. He grabs the griff and holds her close, she buries her face in his chest. “Wow.” She murmurs softly. “I swear, that was the best yet!"

Tim chuckles, “Well, everypony else is out for the evening, so I don’t have to divide my attention.”

She giggles, her face red. “My goodness, I mean, I used to think that having you to myself would be the best. But, I do kinda miss the other mares, and Silve, too.”

“Well, they’ll be back, they’ll probably want to resume bedroom time when they get home.”

She hugs him tightly. “I’ll take them up on it.” She pulls her head back a bit to look him in the eyes. “Love?”

“Yes?”

“I think I need to talk to you about the other day.”

“You have to admit, joining in a Pinkie Pie Parade was fun.”

Her face turns red. “A couple of other griffs that were trying to escape got brought in too. Even Grisela. But yeah, it was fun. But that wasn’t what I was thinking of.”

“Then what were you thinking of?” He finishes with a kiss to the top of her head. She purrs softly and holds him tighter.

She is silent for a long time, almost long enough where he thinks she’s fallen asleep, but finally she shifts a bit. “You must think my culture is crazy.”

He shakes his head. “No, certainly not crazy, it works for you. It’s certainly different from the ponies. I’m a foreigner, too.” 

She nods. “Ponies are casual about money, no price is fixed, they love to haggle, to bargain, to barter. They are the richest and biggest on the planet, but they are just so damned casual about it.”

Tim smiles. “That’s what works for them. I’m no hippologist, but I’ve learned a lot from talking with Twilight. She is so very well read, and given how much her family is worth, she wouldn’t have to lift a hoof, and that’s without accounting for the income being a princess of Equestria. But she’s driven, not just being a mage, but she’s just as industrious as anypony.”

She nods. “All the ponies are. It’s their nature. Our nature…is different.”

“Oh? How so?”

“The founding experience of griffic civilization was a great famine three thousand years ago upon being forced from our homeland at spearpoint. Only the stingiest and meanest made it. Every resource is to be marshalled and exploited, wealth is to be catalogued and horded. Our homeland is not bountiful and forgiving like Equestria, it’s a harsh and unforgiving place, where between the weather, the beasts, invaders, and hunger, death is always right around the corner for the griff who ever becomes careless. Something you need to understand about the griffs, we don’t seek harmony like the ponies do. We don’t seek communion with nature the way the deer of the Everfree do. We are all about wealth, and the creation of that wealth.” She stops and buries her face into his chest. For a long time she simply lays there, snuggled up to the human. But finally she shifts a bit, though her face is still pressed against his chest, to where her words are muffled. “My dad is probably very disappointed in me.”

“No, there’s no way for that.”

She pulls away and looks him in the eyes. “Oh, but yes. A fool and his money are soon parted. And I am being a fool, because I’m in love.”

He tilts his head slightly. “A fool? You seem the exact opposite of foolish.”

She squeezes tightly to him for a long moment. “I’m a fool…for you, love. For all of you. I would give up what I’ve accumulated, I would give up everything I have.” Her cheeks redden. “For you and Citrus, and everypony else.”

He smiles at her. “But you don’t have to give up anything. We are here, and we support you. Do you need money? I have far more than I will ever need.”

She shakes her head vehemently. “No, that’s not it. Ever since I was little, I was learning what my dad was doing. How he would play the market, buy, sell, making a profit. Seeing where he could cut corners, yet still keep quality up, so griffs and yaks, and minotaurs would keep on buying. He had some really good deals, and he wasn’t trying to directly teach me. I just paid attention.”

Tim frowns. “Why would he not be teaching you?”

“Because I’m a female, I’m a girl.”

Tim shakes his head. “I know ponies have some odd ideas on the differences between male and female. But teaching is done for all.”

“Not among the griffs, Tim.” She huffs. “My dad tried his hardest to teach my brother all the ins and outs of business. How to leverage your money. How to make your money work for you.” She sighs. “But my sister, my mother got a hold of her, was teaching her how to be presentable, how to have good manners, how to attract the best possible suitor. You have no other life. That’s what she really said. And my sister listened with rapt attention. Me, I would just turn off my brain while my mom was teaching us etiquette, and how to be appealing to males. But when my dad was teaching my brother, I hung onto every word.”

Tim squeezes Leah tighter, enjoying the feeling of her being close. After a few moments she continues. “At first, I think he assumed I was simply a daddy’s girl. And I can’t deny that. I still am, to be honest. Defying him on this is the hardest thing I’ve done in my life. But I was learning. I was understanding what it means to be a cultured griff, to earn money, to make things happen. I had egg money, doing chores around the house, occasionally chick sitting, you know, that sort of thing. And finally I opened a brokerage account, I was thirteen. I had over five hundred crowns. The griff taking my money, he smiled condescendingly as he did his job. Just some featherbrained female.” She smiles a bit. “I know I wasn’t the first female to try her claw at male’s business. But I am different. I was paying attention. My first investment netted me nearly three hundred percent. Then I’ve worked from there, getting jobs in various places we lived, earning my own crowns, and investing every bit.” She looks up at him. “I learned better than my brother. I found out what he was assessed for being raised, and I’ve earned more than that. In less time than he did. If my dad had assessed me that amount when I turned sixteen, I would have been able to pay it in full right there.”

Her face drops. “But he never did. He did send tips to his son, trying to give him a leg up. And I was doing better than him. I’m not as rich as your family, especially with Twilight Sparkle as a princess. And for a while before I met you, my dad did still pay for some things that are expected of ambassadors and their families. But for almost two years now, up until he kicked me out.” Her beath hitches, she blinks away tears. “Until he kicked me out, I was paying even for everything that was expected of me being an ambassador’s daughter. But I am comfortable when it comes to bits here in Equestria. You did notice that I always pay for herd dates that I invite you on. Right?”

He nods. “I’m still trying to overcome my own tendencies, a man is supposed to pay back home.”

“The same with griffs, Tim. A female is supposed to look pretty, talk gently, and pop eggs out for her husband. My sister would be utterly lost trying to deal with what I deal with in finance daily. It’s good that the ponies are so egalitarian, if I were back home, I’d not be taken seriously, the griffs working at the brokerage houses here in Canterlot have to work by pony rules, and anypony can invest. In Griffinstone, I wouldn’t even be let in the door.”

“That’s horrible,” Tim growls.

She shakes her head. “That’s how things are back home. And as I had said. It works for us. Nearly every female wouldn’t know margin from profit. They don’t know about venture capital. Nothing about making your money work for you.” She barks a laugh. “Though many males don’t know all of that either, to be honest. But what I’m talking about is the wives of the elite of Griffinstone, of our society. They don’t know what makes their husbands rich. They enjoy what that money brings them, tea parties, high society. Everything involved with having a reputation to uphold.” She lays her head again against his chest. “Sometimes I think females like Grizela have it better, she’s unattached. She doesn’t have to worry about looking right for a suitor. She can marry anygriff she wants. I can’t.”

“You are trapped?”

“In a way, yes, but also, no. I have privileges that most griffs have no clue about, and many that griffs dream about.” She looks down. “But I’m stuck, Tim. I’m in love. And I thought it was simple. That I was horny for you.”

He chuckles. “Well, that too, right?”

She turns in his grasp and reaches up her claws to take his head gently, she reaches up her face and presses it to his cheek. In some ways, this is more passionate than a kiss for a griff. He closes his eyes and enjoys the touch, before she eventually pulls away.

“You see, Tim. We griffs…well…in many ways we are more like the dragons. Both of our kinds are greedy and warlike. We have clashed with our neighbors many times over the centuries. But even though the dragons pride power and deception, we pride the rules of trade and personal abilities which might not be power, but a beak for finance, or cooking, or such. Love is supposed to be the worst motivation for anything. It drives up costs, it makes you spend more than you should on something. If you love a meal, you might spend well more than it’s worth.”

“That’s how it works. Except in this case, it’s how much is it worth to you?"

“Yes, but that's the problem, love creates an artificial value, so what you could have for ten bits, because you love it, and the seller KNOWS you love it, they can charge a hundred or even two hundred bits, and you might pay that...for a ten-bit item, all because of love.” She sighs. “I think there is different kinds of value that many griffs don’t really understand.”

His brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

“Well a creature that only does things for you till your bits run out won't be there for you if you don't have any bits.” She shifts to look him in the eyes, her expression earnest. “But friends, true true friends, will be there for you through thick and thin, they will help you even if you can't pay. So how much, in bits, is that worth?” She leans back and huffs. “How much in bits is it worth, to have a creature that will try and help, without having to pay, so that in a time of need...they are there?  What kind of an...investment...is that?”

He gathers her up closer, holding her tightly. She relaxes into his arms. He nuzzles the top of her head. “The best kind. Because not only do you get their help when you need it. And yes, you help them when they are in need. No real exchange of money goes on. But a deeper exchange happens there. It’s not physical, like gold bits, or crowns, or whatever. But as an investment, friends who would do that for you are more valuable than a dragon’s hoard.”

“But how do you quantify that? How can you tell that you are on a good balance with those friends? How do you know if you are becoming a burden to them? How do you let them know if they are becoming a burden to you?”

He smiles. “You can’t. I’ve had friends that my payment to them, you could say, would be to come over to my place, drink beer, and spend time with them. But if things are really in a crunch, they’ll move mountains for you. But the other side of that coin is, they know that you would do the exact same for them. But that’s not everyone. Some would go to the ends of the earth for you, and then if they have problems, not even reach out for your help. Those are the ones you need to be the most ready to help. But remember to be as much for them as they are for you. Because if that balance gets too lopsided, they might pull back. And losing a friend because you were too greedy hurts.”

She looks at him. “That sounds so stressful.”

“As stressful as making sure you can pay those that you are asking to help?”

She stops and looks thoughtful. “Well, I always try to ensure that I have enough money. But I can see about those without good income.”

“But having those that will show up no matter your income situation are worth more than their weight in gold.”

“Whose weight in gold?”

***

Twilight trots into the living room, her tail flagging. “Silver.” 

Silver Wing turns from his work bench, his magnifier on his face, blinking through the lens. “Wha?”

Her tail is swishing. “You, me, upstairs, now.”

Tim looks up from his book, “You okay, Twi?” Citrus has been snoozing on his lap, he keeps his hand on her neck, she is still breathing softly in sleep.

Twi huffs a bit. “Stressful day. I don’t want to disturb Citrus, and Silver’s always ready to play, right?” She looks back at the Pegasus as he places his tools carefully in their places. 

He hops off of his bench, a lopsided smile on his face. “Always, Princess.”

Her magic drags him closer and their mouths meet, Tim smiles watching them kiss. She pulls away and walks towards the stairs, the stallion nearly prancing on air, definitely ready for what’s to come. 

Cayenne walks into the living room from the kitchen, a curious look on her face as the two disappear upstairs. “What did I miss?”

Citrus’ eyes open, “The royal plot demanded a royal pounding.”

That gets a throaty laugh from the spicy mare. “Maybe I should go up and help.”

North Point looks up from her desk, her horn glowing faintly as she has two pens dipping into ink and drawing on a large piece of parchment. She blushes. “If you are in the mood too, I can help.”

Cayenne looks at North, a big smile on her face. “I’m not in a super horny mood, but I can use some cuddles.”  

Tim looks from Cayenne to North, then down at Citrus on his lap, her eyes are open and looking at him. He smiles. “Ya know, we are already cuddling, the more the merrier.”

North and Cayenne stop, looking at the human, Cayenne gets a wide smile and saunters over to the couch, Citrus’ horn lights, sliding them to the middle of the couch to make room, Cayenne hops up and leans against the human, his arm going around her. And in a matter of minutes, North has wormed her way up and is on his other side, her side pressed in with Citrus. Both mares sigh happily as Tim keeps his hands occupied loving on both of them.

After a long moment, Cayenne leans her head close to his, pressing her cheek up against the human’s cheek. “You have told us that you need a razor for your face, and nearly every day, you scrape the hair off your face. I’ve never understood why.”

Tim thinks for a moment. “Human males grow facial hair, it’s called a beard. I’ve let it grow out a couple of days, you’ve seen it.”

“I know, but how long can it get? We have fur all over, but we get shaggy during the winter, but it stays a pretty decent length no matter what.”

“It can get pretty long. Remember, I have to have my hair cut, just like you girls have your manes cut every few weeks. My beard grows like that.”

Cayenne looks down at Citrus, a big smile on her face before she lounges against Tim. “I think I want to see that.”

That gets a chuckle from the human. “I’ve never been much for having a long beard.”

Citrus looks up at him. “I’m with Cayenne, I wanna see you with a beard.”

Tim looks between the two, then looks over at North, who is giving her best puppy pleading expression. “You too?”

Her tail wiggles. “Yes. You don’t have enough fur anyway. I mean, you’ve got a bit on your chest and legs, and a little bit on your arms, but your face, I mean, I like how your face looks. But I’m curious.”

Tim closes his eyes and sighs, “Okay, fine. It grows pretty slowly, and I’m not going to go totally mountain man, but I’ll trim it to look good and be longer than it is.”

Cayenne smiles and settles against him a bit, then she flinches, looking down at her belly. “She kicked.”

Instantly, the other mares are focused on Cayenne. Citrus leans her muzzle forward and rests it on Cayenne’s belly. After a few seconds, she pulls away, her eyes round. “I felt that!”

Cayenne smiles brightly, rubbing a hoof on her belly.

North pipes up. “So, have you decided on a name?”

“No, not as of yet, she’s still got a while. I asked my mom when she named me. She said that my name came to her when I was born. So, I’m not stressing about it.”

“Is it some sort of magic?” Tim asks.

Citrus blinks at the human’s question, then she looks pensive for a long moment. “I would have to ask Twilight.” She glances up stairs for a moment before shaking her head and smiling. “Ponies don’t really have an issue when changing our names. It happens if we decide that our name doesn’t really fit for us, for our interests and such. For example, you know Pinkie Pie’s boss at Sugarcube Corner? Cup Cake is her name now, but it used to be Chiffon Swirl. I know probably a half dozen ponies who have changed their names over the years. But most of the time, our dams get our names right. So, I think magic is involved in our names.” She looks at Cayenne. “So, you don’t need to stress about naming your foal. The name will come to you. At least that’s what my mom said to me.”

Tim laughs, “So can we game the system, name them something like Track Champion, Spell Weaver, or Biggus Dickus?”

Giggles. “Biggus Dickus? That must be a joke name, says Cayenne. I’m too tired to… you can’t game the system, the name chooses the pony.

Tim nods, though not understanding fully. Cayenne nuzzles his cheek. “I’m looking forward to the beard. Love.” 

Tim smiles, cuddling the spicy mare closer, along with the other two mares, and they enjoy their evening together.

***

A knock at the door gets everypony’s attention.

“Coming, coming!” Silver shouts, making his way from the kitchen, where he was helping Cayenne with dinner.

There are several more knocks, impatient and rapid, with little delay between them as the stallion trots towards the door. “I said I’m fucking coming!” Silver growls before he throws open the door to find himself face to face with an impeccably groomed male griffon wearing a finely tailored suit with a bow tie and a cape. Silver blinks a few times at the spectacle before him. He notices immediately his refined poise and glowing quality of his clothing. It would be a task to find finer even if crafted at the hooves of that mare at Canterlot Boutique herself.

Silver looks up and down at the griff. “Uh, hello, can I help you?”

The griffon makes a small bow and holds eye contact with his piercing gold eyes. “Good afternoon, Pony, who are you?”

Silver gulps under the scrutiny, “I’m Silver. Uh, Silver Wing.”

The griffon says, “Good afternoon, Silver Wing of Herd Blush. My name is Gripthorn, son of Gladius. I believe you have something of mine.”

Silver narrows his eyes in response. “Galileah is not some good for sale!” he snaps.

The griff offers a condescending smile, “I have said nothing of the sort, good stallion. Please, it is very public out here, may I enter?”

Silver takes a step back, holding the door open. “Sorry, come in.” The griff nods before entering and Silver closes the door.

“And might I speak to Galileah? Or is it considered taboo for the betrothed to meet in your culture before the wedding?”

Silver sighs, “Please sit at the table, I’ll go get her. But if you think for one second you can just buy us off or make off with her like some booty, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“I intend nothing of the sort,” says Gripthorn, following Silver to the kitchen and sitting down at the table, “Stallion Silver of Herd Blush, if you worry about the safety of Lady Galileah or of what may transpire between us, feel free to watch. It is nothing shameful. Here, as a token of my goodwill…” Before Silver can stop him, Gripthorn yanks out a finely machined and decorated revolver, opens the cylinder, ejects the cartridges, and places the weapon and ammunition on the table. “No tricks, no violence. Now, please, fetch the lady.”

Silver looks at the weapon for a long moment. “Very nice smithing there, sublime inlaying and engraving...” Silver murmurs before turning and trotting off.

The griffon waits patiently as Silver disappears up the stairs to go get Galileah. He returns shortly with her in tow. Her shoulders sag the moment she sees him. “Oh, it’s you…”

“Good afternoon, my Lady, I have come to discuss business with you. I first visited your little apartment, how quaint.” He smirks. “No wonder you are here. Definitely several steps up from that rude little place. Do you invite these ponies there?”

“It serves my needs.” She snaps back.

Silver stands beside the table. Galileah stands there for a long moment, taking in the scene before taking a seat. “If I must.”

“Can we trust him, Leah?” Silver says softly. “If not, I can get Citrus, or even Twi…”

She shakes her head. “No, he came all the way from Griffonstone, and divested his armament without being asked, this is as honorable as it gets with us. He won’t harm us, at least not physically, at least not today.” Silver nods and kisses her quickly before giving them some space.

Gripthorn starts by asking, “How are you, Miss Galileah?”

“I am fine, thank you. And you?”

“I am fine, but anxious. The journey was expensive and as you know, the stakes are high,” he answers.

“I see. I’m telling you now, Sir Gripthorn, I’m not coming with you to be your nest hen. You can find some other griffonness to buy for your bed.”

He laughs, “My dear, I’m not here to buy you to serve my bed, I’m here to finish the deal I made for you.”

“And I’m not coming with you!” She crosses her arms, talons balled tightly.

“Are you sure? Every griff has their price.”

Galileah says, “Why would you pay so much for me? You know females and finances don’t mix.”

“Well, as they say, exploitation begins at home.”

“Indeed, Gripthorn, and as they also say, wives serve and brothers inherit. What can you possibly offer me?”

“Wealth beyond your wildest dreams. A griffon with no profit is no griffon at all.”

“You’re not making this sound worth my while at all. Satisfaction is not guaranteed, I was always going to marry well. What can you do no other griff can?” She places her talons on the marble countertop, flexing her claws. “What’s in it for me?”

They lock eyes, each glaring an intense concentration at the other. He smiles and says, “Well played, my dear, you know the rules quite well. I expected nothing less from the daughter of one of Griffonstone’s wealthiest and greatest.”

“Would my father raise any but the finest chick? The early investor reaps the most interest.”

“Indeed, and it’s my interest he’s holding,” says Gripthorn.

“I know already, and you already know what I’m going to say next.”

“Once you have their money, never let it go.”

Galileah nods, “And I see you are no idle hereditary moneygriff.”

He says, “There is no substitute for success. Always know what you’re buying.”

She rebuffs, “Gold lasts longer than lust.”

“Everything is for sale, even love.”

“And what can you offer me that Herd Blush can’t? You’re trying to sell the sizzle not the steak,” chides Galileah at her dogged suitor.

Gripthorn only laughs, “Good, good, very good. I see you are no fledgling who sees the rules as revelation. Your father, whether or not he intended to, taught you well. You are a worthy bride to be indeed. Enough then, no more of this molt, let’s discuss real matters.”

“It is about time you said that. So, what’s your offer? What can you offer me? And don’t start on the dowry, that’s for my father. What do you offer me in particular?” Galileah challenged Gripthorn, preening out her wings as she did so like a pegasus displaying her pride.

Gripthorn smiles, “I guarantee I make more money than you. Come, what’s your income? Your job?”

Galileah hid her face in embarrassment. “I do as many griffs do, I invest, both here in Equestria, and back home in Griffinstone, as well as a few other places where the winds of profit take me.”

“You didn’t answer my question. You invest, so do many, but to invest successfully…” He drags a claw across the marble counter almost as though he were bored.

“A good month might be five or ten thousand…”

The griff snorts, “I host dinners that are more than that.”

“I’m in a herd that makes a lot of money.”

“Oh are you now? I thought you were just toying around with them, are you a member?”

“No,” Galileah admits, “But I could but…” She finds her face reddening.

“Could. Would. Should. Tell me, girl, how much do they make?”

“I… don’t know…”

Silver breaks his silence to say, “Between my herdmates and I, we make about three hundred thousand a year, and that’s without Princess Twilight – between her family income, and the fact she is a princess, she’s a one mare economy. Believe me when I say we are not poor, and if Leah wanted in, she would be in, instantly.”

Galileah mouths a thank you with a blush while Gripthorn responds, “Three hundred thousand, not bad, not bad, but that’s only a few tens each. Very nice, very quaint. My coffers take in two million crowns per annum, and given the exchange rate, you know what that means compared to Equestrian bits. I believe that speaks for itself.”

Gali nearly fall of her chair. “Two million, you said two million, right?” Her eye is twitching, a vein is pulsing in her neck beneath her feathers.

“Yes indeed, two million crowns a year, every single year. I have servants who make more than you; they all do, in fact,” says Gripthorn.

Galileah, still in visible shock, says, “That’s a lot of money.”

“It is. And it can be yours. All you have to do is marry me.”

“I…”

He smiles at her. “Come on, say yes. You’re used to a certain lifestyle, and you’ve never cared to earn your own, anyway. It’ll be just like when daddy took care of you. Marry me, I’ll put you in luxury you can’t even imagine – the tenderest meats, the newest fashions, fastidious servants, vacations to the Dream Isles, anything your heart desires. Your father will be so proud of you. Be a smart griff, what do you say?”

Leah puts her head down in her talons and shrouds herself with her wings. She rocks back and forth. Something is chewing through her mind as if it is at war with herself. Gripthorn leans back smugly, resting his head in his interwoven claws.

Galileah pushes herself back up to meet his gaze. He raises an eyebrow at the hen. She braces herself on the table with both claws and stares the other griffon dead in the eye.

“No.”

His eyes widen. “I beg your pardon.”

“I said no, I don’t want to be your property.”

“You want to stake everything on a herd you’re not even part of?” Gripthorn’s eyes are bulging.

Galileah is completely cool. “Maybe I will.”

“A pony herd?”

“Home may be sweet, but the stars are made of gold,” sings Galileah, her levity visibly agitating Gripthorn.

Gripthorn glares are her. “I think that you should reconsider.”

Gali answers, “I don’t think I will, Sir Gripthorn, I have decided where I want to be, that matter is over.”

The griff visibly chokes down his anger to stay with a forced calm, “So it is, my dear chick. The matter of your heart may be settled, but not the matter of the dowry, and do not doubt for a moment I will have my satisfaction.”

“I would imagine you intend on it. But the dowry itself is between you and my father, I was not consulted, nor did I have any input on it.”

“More than intend,” says Gripthorn. He offers a claw to Galileah. “Pleasure doing business with you,” he states stiffly. She shakes his claw and then hands him his revolver.

“Until next time, Gripthorn.”

“Until next time, Galileah.”

Silver escorts him to the door and lets him out. As the door shuts, the stallion sags and sighs out with relief. After a long moment, he turns back to Leah. “Was that for real?”

She nods. “I gave up…”

Silver walks over to her, rearing up, he uses his wings and his forelegs to give her a big hug. “You know, you are a part of this herd, even if not officially. You didn’t give up anything. Remember, that stuff that Tim brought with him when he came here, he’s going to be able to buy Gripthorn with his petty cash in a few years.”

She shakes her head. “It’s not about the money. I mean, the money is important, and that much of it, certainly means a lot. But I’m not with you, any of you, based on how much money you make. I’m with you because of you. You, Tim, Citrus, Cayenne, and North. You all mean so much to me. More than even that amount of money.” She reaches over and lays her cheek against his muzzle. “But thank you for your support in all of this, Silver.”

He smiles. “Always glad to.”

She pulls away, smiling. “Ya know, dinner won’t be ready for a little while. Tim and Citrus are out on a date.”

His eyebrows rise. “Are you suggesting something Leah?”

She nods. “Let North finish helping Cayenne, but they can join us later. I find I need some comfort, and you are just the pony to offer it.” She hops from her seat and leads the stallion towards the stairs. He whickers softly before following her.
> Chapter 51.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The months have been passing slowly for the herd. Leah has gradually been spending even more time with the herd, to the point where she only stops by her apartment every so often. Her mail tends to go to the herd’s address. Tim had described for Twilight the idea of desktop computers, and given her knowledge of his laptop, the library of the apartment now has a brand-new desktop computer. Some ponies have not only learned how to write code, but new games and other applications have been developed, making the utility of the device increase with every passing day. Twilight had tried to pass off the burgeoning internet and computer manufacturing to Tim as well, but he had finally put his foot down. What he brought with him coming to Equestria is for all. He doesn’t need to profit off of the massive technical jump the ponies have been enjoying, thanks to learning about what his people had developed.

“Tim, you’ll never guess!” Twilight chirps, nearly vibrating.

He glances over at the purple alicorn, not shifting his body at all thanks to the pregnant mare in his lap who was currently getting belly rubs from her favorite human. “Judging by how excited you look, you found somepony to build a chip fabrication lab.” She stops, her eyes widening. Causing the human to chuckle. “See, Twilight, I do listen to what you are saying, love.” He reaches up a hand to touch his chin. “And given who you said you were going to talk to, I’m guessing the Royal Minotaur League is going to do most of the construction and manufacturing.”

She comes up to him, leaning her body against him. “My goodness, you do listen to what I say.” She looks lustfully at him for a long moment before blinking and shaking her head. “No, that’s not what I’m thinking of. I want to hear more human music.”

Tim frowns. “I told you, Twi. I usually listened to streaming services when I listened to music. What you had on the phone and what you were able to glean from the laptop.”

She giggles and rears up, her wings extending for balance. “Oh, I know, silly. I’m talking about you.” The alicorn gently boops his nose. 

That gets the human to lean back, looking thoughtful. “I don’t know all that many songs by heart. I’ve written down the lyrics of some songs I remember for you already.”

She grins. “Oh, I know about that. I want more.”

“Twi, I wish I could give you access to our internet, let you access all the songs you would ever want to hear. Not just from American sources. But from all over the world. Humans have made amazing music for centuries.”

She looks at him, piercing him with her stare. “I know. But I’ve figured out a little bit on how we can hear what your culture has come up with. But it requires your consent. I’m not just going to blast you with magic willy nilly.”

Citrus perks her head up. “Wait a moment, Twi, what are you talking about?”

“You remember on the train, where the music of harmony was able to help Tim sing a song of his world?”

Citrus looks dubious. “I remember, but you can’t…”

“Oh, but I can. I would have no control what song. Pinkie Pie is the only pony I know that can initiate a song of harmony at will. But inside us, that magic, seeks expression. I can be a conduit. Songs that he’s heard, and loved, even if he can’t consciously remember the lyrics, he can still sing them.”

Silver Wing looks over from his bench, his magnifier on his head making his already large eyes look huge. “Twi, I know how the magic feels. I’ve been caught up in a Pinkie Pie song before, playing a guitar fairly well, even though I have no idea how to play otherwise.”

She nods. “I know, Silver. That’s the thing about the magic. It takes what’s available and generates what isn’t there. We have no instruments in the room right now, so the magic will make the sound.”

Citrus glances between the human and the alicorn. “But that magic is unpredictable. You can’t make it just pop into existence. There has to be a reason for the magic to express itself.”

Twilight nods. “Exactly. There has to be a reason. I tried to understand how the magic chose Tim before. Why all of a sudden on a train ride, he sings a beautiful song, in a voice that’s not how he usually sounds. I think I figured it out.”

Tims eyes widen. “Why?”

She hops up onto the couch, leaning her entire body against him. “You were resistant to magic when you came here. That’s why we had such a hard time healing your injuries, and to the point of making the translation spell in you was an absolute nightmare. You have gone native, been nourished and infected by our world, uour magic resistance is pretty much gone, and I think that was the first time the magic of Harmony was able to touch you. And so it did, strongly.” She nuzzles him. “And I think I can make it happen again.”

“You…can affect Harmony? As in the Magic that binds all the ponies and lives of our world? I thought that was too big for any one mage to deal with.” Citrus says, her eyes wide. Then she narrows her eyes. “And you want to experiment on Tim?” Her voice ends in a growl.

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Twi, you and your good idea fairy, y'all've caused me more than enough trouble."

Twilight takes a step back at the vehemence in her herdmate’s voice. “Citrus, if I thought for even a moment that this could harm Tim. I wouldn’t be even suggesting it.” Citrus relaxes slightly in response as Twilight continues. “It’s not just for my curiosity and wanting to know more of humans. Harmony has been magic that we have been trying to understand for as long as we’ve been learning about magic. Princess Celestia herself has very little knowledge of how Harmony magic works. She has asked me to learn what I can. But that’s independent of this. I simply think that Tim, being an outsider, not growing up with the magic of Harmony, the magic of Friendship, the way the ponies have, gives us a unique opportunity to learn.”

“To learn…” Citrus says, still having a bit of heat in her voice. She turns her head slightly to look into Tim’s eyes. “About magic and how it interacts with those without.” She stops, looking thoughtful. After a long moment, she looks at the alicorn, then at the human. “It’s your decision, love. I would love to hear whatever music your people have come up with. But I don’t want you to feel pressured into doing something you don’t want to do.”

Tim looks at Citrus, then at Cayenne, who’s nearly catatonic under his ministrations, then at Twi. “I’m curious. I was able to, with your help, remember quite a bit that I didn’t fully pay attention to when I was younger.” He reaches out a hand and touches the alicorns cheek. Smiling when she leans into his touch. “Whatever you think will help unlock more of my people for you to learn about us. I’m open.”

“Awwww. Does that mean my bewwy wubs are done with?” Cayenne says dreamily. Getting a laugh from everyone else.

“Love, he’s been rubbing your belly for over an hour now.” Cayenne says softly after her mirth dies down.

“Still not enough.” The mare pouts, then she looks at Silver. “You.”

Silver blinks, “What?”

“You got me into this situation. You are going to cuddle me. Now!”

Citrus giggles as her horn lights, picking Cayenne up off of Tim’s lap and floating her over to Silver. He had hurriedly snatched off his magnifiers before he grabs the unicorn, wrapping his wings around her as Citrus’ magic fades from holding the spicy mare. He guides her onto the floor and lays down next to her, his wing bringing her close as he wraps his forelegs around her. He rubs her side and back with his wing, getting her to sigh happily and snuggle closer.

Twi nods. “Okay, Cayenne is happy, now, lets see what we can do.” She lights her horn. “I’m not going to zap you or anything. Harmony doesn’t have one specific place. I’m basically playing with probabilities with my magic, to influence the chances of things happening.” She starts to grunt as the chime of her magic grows. “I can feel…” With a loud zap, her horn darkens and she looks at them, wide eyed. “Did that do it?”

Tim shifts a bit uncomfortably. “I don’t know…I feel…”

She leans forward. “I know I did something.”

Tim nods, warmth in his chest is rapidly expanding to envelope all of his body. “Yeah. You did something.” He murmurs as the heat grows. “I don’t know what…”

“Just surrender to the magic within,” Twilight chirps, her excitement plain on her face.

Tim blinks, the reason the heat was growing is he was fighting it. He’s safe, with those he loves, he can surrender. Though actually doing so isn’t the easiest thing in the world. He slowly opens himself to the magic, letting him feel the power behind it, and the gentle pressure builds. Music starts to play, he finds he doesn’t have to wonder where the sound is coming from, and he knows this song, but he’d never really thought about this one before when Twi and him have discussed human culture, but somehow, this one wants to come out. Finally, he surrenders, and the first verse pops into his head. A few more moments of the magic building, the intro has played, time to sing.

“You're just too good to be true.” Twi’s eyes widen and a huge smile grows on her face as he continues. “Can't take my eyes off of you, you'd be like Heaven to touch.” He accentuates the last word with a gentle touch on her cheek, getting a deep blush from the alicorn. He continues, looking at Citrus. “I wanna hold you so much, At long last love has arrived, And I thank God I'm alive.” He looks at North Point, who is looking up from her drawings, her mouth an O of surprise. “You're just too good to be true, can't take my eyes off you.”

Tim moves close to Cayenne, who is watching from being wrapped up with Silver. The magic is fully in control as the music fills their study. He grasps her hoof, looking into her eyes. “Pardon the way that I stare, there's nothing else to compare.” He turns back to Twilight. “The sight of you leaves me weak, There are no words left to speak.”

Leah has walked into the study, the bags from her shopping dropping to the floor as he comes up to her, grabbing her claws to have her rear up against him before running his hand along her cheek. “But if you feel like I feel, please let me know that it's real, you're just too good to be true, can't take my eyes off you.” He spins away from the thoroughly confused and blushing griffon. The music swells as he offers a hand to Twilight.

She smiles as her horn lights, her body reforming before them, to end up on two legs and she reaches out her hand to grasp his as he continues to sing. “I love you, baby, and if it's quite alright I need you, baby, to warm the lonely night I love you, baby, trust in me when I say.”





Leah has been having an absolutely miserable day. Starting off and dealing with her father. Apparently Gripthorn has been pressuring him to return the dowry. He’s fallen back on a major rule, once you’ve got their money, you never let it go. But the griff has his own political connections within Canterlot as well as back home. So, her dad has been having to spend a lot of his time and political capital to just stay in Canterlot. And with her being the reason he’s being pressured, he’s upped the pressure on her. To the point that her going to the embassy to even talk to him is an absolute chore.

Luckily, she doesn’t have to do so very often, but being his daughter means responsibilities, even if she’s technically disowned by him. Her head is down as she shambles slowly towards the herd’s building. She nodded at the guardsmare at the door. She swears, each new one is even more muscular than the one before. It’s not common knowledge that Twilight Sparkle spends a lot of her time here. She usually teleports home. Most ponies think she spends most of her time in Ponyville. And while she does spend time with her friends, she sleeps at the apartment most nights. The griff is utterly exhausted after a busy day. She grunted after putting a claw down after selecting the floor. Just everything is tiring today.

The elevator hummed as it rose to the top floor of the building before a soft ding and the door opened. She turned and made it to the door. She stopped with her claw on the door. Her apartment in midtown was tiny, but more than enough for her needs. Yet she spent most of her time at the herd’s home. She knew Silver was right, saying that she’s fully welcome in the herd, but sometimes, she felt like an outsider. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Looking around the entry foyer, she tapped the door closed with a hind foot before shambling into the kitchen and stopped, looking at the counter.

“What…?”

Silver stops from munching on an apple, looking at her. “Another one today. They are coming more often.”

The package sitting on the counter is wrapped in gold foil. She reached out a claw and touched it, yes, it’s real. Of course, it would be. She picked up the package and dumped it into the trash with a growl. 

Silver blinked. “A griffon turning down gold? Don’t see that every day.”

She gave him a dirty look before turning tail and heading into the study and collapsing onto the sofa.

Only a matter of moments has the rich aroma of hot chocolate filling her nostrils, she opened her eyes to a steaming mug sitting on the table next to her and the pegasus of the house crawling onto the couch next to her and wrapping both his forelegs and his wings around her. For a long time, he simply held her, and she felt her stress bleed out. She reached out and grabbed the mug before taking a sip.

“Thank you, Silver,” she murmured softly.

“Just glad I could help. Tim would be doing this, but he’s out with Cayenne. Foal stuff shopping they said.”

She chuckled. “Every day closer, she’s nesting. Almost as bad as a momma griff.”

“That’s not a bad thing, ya know.”

She snuggled back into him, enjoying the closeness.

For a long time, both are silent, she’s able to make it through half the mug of hot chocolate before the pegasus spoke up again. “So, I know the gifts he’s giving you are expensive. They always come beautifully packaged. Though this was the first time it was wrapped in literal gold.”

She sighed. “I know, Silver. And the bit value of the gifts are great. If I wanted to, I could take them, use them for whatever I wish. I opened the first few, and some very impressive jewelry. And he’s even tried some of the things that Twilight and Tim came up with from his world. But that was abandoned quickly, because even though it’s expensive, it’s also stuff that we have already. With Twi and Tim coming home with engineering samples all the time for us to play with.” She huffed. “He’s spent quite a few bits to woo me.”

“And it’s not working at all?”

She shook her head vehemently. “Of course not, Silver! It’s not real, it’s not genuine. It’s not…” She faltered, unsure of what to say.

He frowned. “Not real? I don’t understand.”

She lazily gestured towards the trash in the kitchen. “He didn’t choose that. He didn’t go through the decision process to get it to me. All he did was pay for it.” She shrugged. “I mean, the money is good, and his willingness to throw crowns at me is not bad at all. A girl always loves gold being spent on her. But he didn’t put a thought into it beyond telling his assistant to find extravagant gifts to give to the chick he’s trying to woo.” She leaned back. “He would never think of getting me a big mug of hot chocolate and holding me tightly as I vent about my day. He wouldn’t offer me a warm place to rest without any other expectation of intimacy.” She turned her head and rested her beak gently on the cheek of the pegasus. “If he were holding me like this, he’d be wanting to mate. At my level, marriage isn’t for love. Marriage is for power. And I don’t want to be his trophy.”

Silver kisses her cheek gently. “If you were a trophy, you’d be the most valuable one ever made.” The stallion says quietly.

She can feel her heart beating in her chest. “I don’t deserve you all," she murmurs.

That gets a chuckle from the pegasus. “Of course you do, love.” He flicks his half ear. “Trust me, I know more than anypony the price of love. With Twi, and with you. I was content with just Citrus and Cayenne. Sharing them with Tim was great. I knew you were after the huge lug, but I didn’t know how serious you were.”

She turns around, wrapping her own wings and claws around Silver. “I was serious. I was as serious as could be. But I didn’t know…” She looks down, trying to form her thoughts into words. “I didn’t know what love was. I knew what I felt. I knew how I felt. But how to express it, to show it. That’s not common in my station in life. Looked down upon.” She stops for a long moment, tears bright in her eyes. Finally she looks Silver in the eyes and slowly moves to rest her beak against his muzzle, squeezing him tightly before pulling slightly away to look again into his eyes. “I didn’t care what other griffs felt about how I was acting. I didn’t even care what Princess Celestia or the ponies thought. I just wanted him, and not being able to wrangle my way between him and you all frustrated me to no end. Then, I figured it out. I didn’t need to act like a huntress, singling out my prey and cutting them off from the herd to have for myself. But I needed to add myself to your whole.” She again rests her beak against his muzzle for a long time before continuing. “What griffs do works out for griffs in general. But it doesn’t work for me.”

He holds her tightly for a long while, and eventually the two of them fall asleep, entwined together.

“Umm, excuse me.” 

The soft voice gets the griff and the pegasus to stir slightly. After a long moment, Silver opens an eye and smiles. “Well, hi there, North.” He whispers.

North traces a hoof on the carpet. “You were snuggling, and I was…”

Guerina turns her head to look at the unicorn. “You wanna join us?” She asks. Getting a nod in return, she pulls away from Silver slightly with a smile on her beak. North wastes no time squirming to hold each of them and it’s not long before all three are blissfully unaware of their surroundings.

***

Tim has been trying to be patient. Citrus and Cayenne have been busy today, buying all sorts of foal necessities. The basics have long been bought and set up in the newly established nursery that was their third bedroom. They’ve even taken trips all over Equestria, getting nice things to decorate the nursery. Tim wants to grumble, this new foal is going to be the most spoiled child in all of Equestria, especially when Twilight Sparkle comes in regularly with something new for the filly. 

Canterlot is very much a unicorn dominant city, nearly eighty percent of the citizens in Canterlot are unicorns. So, the vast majority of the stores are centered on unicorn specific items when they aren’t just in general for ponies. But Citrus today has gone out of her way to find The Feathered Wing, a pegasus centered store in the heart of the shopping district of Canterlot. Even though the proprietor happens to be an earth pony, so many things here are centered on wings. Cayenne finds herself stopping and looking at everything a pegasus can put in and on their wings to make them pretty.

From jeweled faux feathers to very fine gold chains to hang among the feathers, all the way down to lotions and oils, that the labels say is far better than the oils naturally secreted in a pegasus’ saliva for preening their wings and keeping the feathers bright and shiny.  Tim gets around a display and runs straight into Rainbow Dash. He blinks and takes a step back. No, not Rainbow Dash herself, but a life size portrait of her, holding something. He glances at the words on the display then back at the picture. Dash is dressed in her Wonderbolt uniform. He puts a hand to his chin. “They’ve got her being a spokespony for…” He squints at the lettering, tilting his head. “Some sort of balm, I guess.” He mutters before glancing around and finding Citrus, who is standing at the register. He moves over to her as she floats a heavy stack of bits to the earth pony with the pegasus wing cutie mark. “You ready?”

Citrus smiles. “Home?”

At his nod she nudges Cayenne, who floats up a basket onto the counter. “I decided on a few things while you were getting that other stuff.” The glint of gold is quite evident in the basket. “Go ahead without me, I’ll see you at home.”

Citrus rolls her eyes and walks towards the store exit. She glances back a few times. “As if I’m leaving a pregnant mare who’s about ready to drop on her own.” The yellow mare grumbles. They exit the store and she moves up next to her stallion and leans up against him. She sits down, keeping up against him as she rummages through the bag with her magic. “We’ve got everything a young pegasus filly could ever need. And she’s buying even more.”

That gets a laugh out of the human, getting an odd look from Citrus. He puts his hand on her head, rubbing an ear lovingly. “You have no idea, Citrus. Back on my world. The things sold for babies would boggle your mind. Even real gold tiaras for babies. Or earrings, wanting to pierce the kids ears soon after birth.”

Citrus’ eyes are round. “Why?”

He tilts his head. “Vanity I think, wanting the prettiest children on the block.”

“Are human babies ugly after birth? Pony foals are adorable even when they are first born.”

He shakes his head. “Well, if they were born naturally, the head sometimes gets a little deformed in passing. But that clears up quickly. And while I’ve not really encountered all that many babies. The few I have seen in real life have been cute.” He looks at her. “Then again, you’ve got all kinds of stuff to pretty up a foal.”

She nods. “Well, I guess that’s a failing ponies and humans share. Wanting out kids to look their best.”

He grunts in agreement as Cayenne prances from the store, a large bag in her magic before she skids to a stop, looking at the two of them there. “I told you to head on home, I’d catch up to you.”

Citrus walks up to the spicy mare nuzzling her cheek. “Sweetie, you know we are going to stay with you.”

Cayenne hangs her head. “I’m pregnant, not an invalid.” She gripes.

Tim squats to get to eye level with her. “Twilight has explained more to me. Pregnant mares are the stallion’s job to protect most of all. Before you had civilization, and griffons were more feral. Not to mention other predators against you ponies. A stallion of the herd, usually the lead stallion, would stay near the pregnant mares all the time. Protecting them above all others. It’s pony instincts.”

“But you aren’t a pony.”

He tilts his head slightly. “Perhaps we aren’t as different as you may think, Cayenne. I’m finding I want to be closer to you when we are out, I want to protect you.”

“As if I’m in any danger in the heart of Canterlot.” The white mare grouses.

“Face it, Cayenne. You are stuck with us.” She moves around to be right next to Cayenne as the other mare starts walking, with Tim walking on her other side next to the street. 

They walk for quite a while, both mares happily chatting as the human stays with them, but soon, Cayenne gets an odd look on her face and stops. She reaches her head back and nuzzles her belly. 

“Something wrong?” Citrus asks.

“I don’t know, suddenly I felt…” She nuzzles her belly again before sitting down heavily.

Citrus eyes are full of worry. “We’ve got less than a month to go. Could you be ready now?”

Cayenne gives her a dirty look. “I was around my dams when they were pregnant. No, I’m not…” Her abdomen contracts as the mare gasps. “Or maybe not.”

“Time for the hospital.” Citrus declares. Nuzzling Cayenne to a standing position. “Let’s go.”

“No! I said I wanted to have her at home.”

“Twilight is out of town, some sort of friendship problem her note said. If she were there, I’d be fine with it, but she’s not. So, we are heading to the hospital. If you want, you can have a water birth like you were thinking of.”

Cayenne takes a step back. “But…” She hunches as another contraction hits. She stands there for a long moment, enduring the pressure before it eases and she starts to pant. She looks up at Citrus, her eyes wide. “I think she’s in a hurry.” She looks at Citrus. “Please. I don’t want to bother the healers at the hospital. We’ll just call the OB on our way there.” She floats out her phone, then her magic fails as another contraction hits. Citrus is quick with her magic and keeps the phone from landing on the concrete. 

Citrus looks at Tim. “I’m not nearly good enough teleporting with others, especially with her being pregnant. What do we do?”

Tim nods, reaching down and picking up Cayenne. “Which way is the hospital?”

Citrus points and they all rush down the street, the human's booted feet pounding on the pavement.